WHY THE SECRECY?

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 63, 11 March 1949, Page 5

WHY THE SECRECY?

Sir,—Could I be permitted space in your columns to ask why the results of the Pipe Band contest held in Rotorua on Saturday, March 5, have not been published in your paper? There were bands competing from different centres, and our local band carried the first places in the Quickstep, the Street March and highest points for music. It does not give much encouragement to the players who after weeks of practice come home full of pride with their efforts only to see two issues of the paper published and not even a line of congratulation for their efforts. Yours etc., A SUPPORTER. We are pleased to have this letter, and to have the chance it affords to make the needed explanation. First thing 'Monday morning our reporter started looking for the results of the l contest which would, in the case of most other districts, have been contributed as a matter of course. On Tuesday we found a man who promised to get the facts from the Drum Major, which he did, and for which help we are grateful. Later that day, we had a ring from a woman who said she had been to Rotorua, and offered us the results. We thanked her, told her we had them already, and checked the accuracy of our report with her. Still later, we had a phone call from a man who introduced himself as the Chief of the Caledonian Society and told us he thought certain names mentioned in the report should not be mentioned. He suggested we get an alternative report from the secretary, but could not tell us how to get in touch with that official right then. We pointed out that to leave it any later would mean holding it until it was no longer news. Moreover, the apparent sharp division of opinion as to what should and what should not be released for publication had a faintly unpleasant smell about it. So, rather than have it hacked around by self-appointed l sub-editors who seemed likely to hold the job up indefinitely, we tossed the copy in the waste basket. The paragraph that appears today is reprinted from the Rotorua Post. We hate serving it stale, but we feel that a report from an outside source might be less likely to cause friction.—Editor.