AUSTRALIAN VICTORIES CARRY STARS AND STRIPES

Chronicle (Levin), 11 July 1946, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN VICTORIES CARRY STARS AND STRIPES

Received Wednesdav, 3.15 p.m. MELBOURNE, July 10. General AlacArthur 's publie relations system was attacked hy a i'ormer war correspondeut, Alr. Allan Dawes, in the course of a Jecture in journalism at •MeJhourne University. He claimed that a Xew York magazine carried a map of the Pacilic with everv Australiun victory marked with Stars and Slripes. Tliis Alr, Dawes eited as an example of wartime propaganda and distortion of news. He said that General AlacArthur's communique was a handout whicli had to be swallowed though it was often a bitter enough pill. lie f'elt correspondents were led up the garden path now aiul then. Though the public relations directorate did a great job for General AlacArthur and for the Allied war effort, he l'elt tjiat sometliing less than justice was done Australian soldiers in the carly days. Australian censorship of war correspondents was harsher than elsewhere. The titles of articles written by any foreign correspondeut between 1941 and 1944 added up to a dossier 011 the garrotting of free speech with Australian censorship in the dock, The Dcpartment of Inforniation had been "a bad marriage of inforniation and non-informatioii with a lot of crockerv smashed even on the honeynioon.""