"BIAS" ALLEGED.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1214, 24 August 1911, Page 5

"BIAS" ALLEGED.

* THE PRESS ASSOCIATION, ICRITICISED IN PARLIAMENT. REPORTERS AND POLITICS. Complaints of political bias in reports supplied by the Press Association were voiced in dm House of Representatives yesterday afternoon. The following question and reply appeared on Hie Supplementary Order Paper:— Mr. Davey to ask tho Government, "Whether they will this session set up «■ Select Committee In ascertain the methods adopted by tlio Press Association 'in ,tho distribution of news, especially in view of the tact that tlio honourable member for Wellington •South has declared that tlio association is the tool of the Government? l(<jply.—lf any such committee is set up it is quite certain that an enormous quantity of debatable matter will be brought forward—such,, for example, .as the entrance fco charged to country papers, the relations of tho association with thq Australian Association, the failure to send news by the Pacific cable,' copyright of cable ■ news, etc. We are already loiiug a large sum annually on tho distribution of press news', aud the giving of any further concessions would increase the already -considerable loss on tho telegraph branch of tho sarvice. In any caso tha 'question will bo very carefully considered.

Ministers as Sufferers. Mr. Davoy said that, before discussing tho reply to his question, he would like to say regarding the allegation of tho hou. member for Wellington South, that when Sir Joseph Ward was in Dutio.din shortly before ho left for Kngland. he gave an address at St. Kilda, of which not 0110 line was wired to Christchuich. Mr. Malcolm; It was not a political address. Mr. Davey said the Prime Minister certainly spok'o of politics, and not one single word of his address was wired to newspapers north of Duncdin. The "Otago Daily Times" reported the address in a spaco of considerably over a column, and tlio report was printed in the Christchurch papers on the following day. This caso did nbt support tho view that tho Press Association was a tool of the Government. When Mr. Millar gave a long address in Dunedin dealing with tho finances of the colony a more garbled report could not have been imagined taau tuat sent to Christelvureh. lit Christchuroh, Mr. Millar advised thoso who saw him to wait until (hey received the Dunedin papers.. They would then see what he had said. AVhen Sir Jas. Carroll was in Dunedin only a very short address was tout out, and nothing wns said of the mover and seconder of the vote of thanks. The Hon. T. Stackcnzio had been similarly treated. Mr. Davey referred also to the fact that when the Leader of the Opposition recently gave an address in Wellington, and a lengthy vote of thanks and confidence was accorded him, only a brief refcrenco to the motion was sent out by the Press Association. He did not think this was quite fair treatment of the politicians of the Dominion. Kofcrring to the Minister's reply to his question, Jlr. Davey eaid that, if all these debatable questions were thrashed out, and a Select Committee pet up, the House might come to some satisfactory conclusion as to what was being done by tho Press Association. It seemed to him that tho House might very well set up a committee. Newspaper proprietors were bitterly complaining all over New Zealand as to the sums demanded 'for tho supply of Press Association iiaws. He thought it a very great pity, in fairness to all concerned, that the Acting-Prime Minister had not agreed to set up a committee.

A Distinctly Unfair Rpport. , . . Mr. E. A. Wright (Wellington South) slafcd that the day agent of Ihf. Press Association in Wellington was a meinbor of tho staff of the evening paper. Night messages were sent by one of the principal officers of a. morning paper. With regard to messages sent from Palinerston North, those sent by the evening papers were vovy fair, but the night ngoni of tho Press Association in Palmerston was very unfair. As to Wellington, on Tuesday, Juno 15, 1509, a mass meeting was held at tho Town Hall to protest against tho postponement of the session. Afterwards there was a. march to Parliament House.

Mr. Wright said the Town Hall, on the occasion named, was crowded, and as many mor-a people as got in .were turned away. Yet tlis Press Association sen! away only a two-inch message. With ■ regard to the march to Parliament House, the message simply stated tli'a this was taken up in -a rather half-heart-ed fashion. The mob that went down was stopped at the Rates, where, after a little bother, Mr. Fisher advised them to go home." That was all that was font, and it v/ns a distinctly unfair report. Mr. Davey: '"It was all'the thins deserved." About a Send-Off. Mr, Wright next.iefcrred to am cocasion in 1909 when the Prime Minister left for England . CMler! :ctre , umstances irith which all were familiar. The Press Association sent out a statement that the Prime Minister had a really pood sendoff. Everybody knew that the Prime Minister had a distinctly bad send-off. Mr. Russell: "AVere- you therer" Mr. Wright: "I was here in Wellington." "" ■ Mr. Colvin: -"Ashamed to say." Mr. Ell: "Daren't own up." Mr. Wright wont ou to say that a long cable message rent out by the Prime Minister from England was. tent all over the country. When I ho case cf Kose v. Macdonald was before Dip' Supreme Court, the head.office of the association sent out what purported to bo a report. Of two affidavits which wore put in, one, the Blair affidavit, was suppressed by the Association. The oth.fi , , -the -Mae'.kmM affidavit, was sent -' ou't "'in full. . When tho Leader of the Opposition spoke at tho Wellington Town Hall in July, 1011, the Pivss Association, report was miserable, unfair nnd garbled, and did not even contain the resolution passed at the end of the meeting, The resolution was a very strong one, affirming tint the Government should l>2 removed from office. This was suppress"d. and the association message simply staled that a. vote of thanks was given to Mr. " Mr. CS H. POLAND (Ohinemuri) said Mr. Wright had no doubt been able to collect a few instances where- the Press Association had bet-n nnaMe to secure n reporter of Opposition proclivities. Xo doubt, if others were equally industrious, it would be easy to cito instances in which supporters of the Government had suffered in a similar fashion. Important Subjects of Inquiry. Mr. G. W. RUSSELL (Avon) said Hie Minister in his answer had stated that if ho were to reply to the question in full, or if a Committee were set up, an enormous quantity of debatable matter would be brought up. In his opinion, every one of-these matters would bo most important subjects of inciuiry. He had been a member of !i "Telegrams Committee" set. up k fifteen years previously. Tint was tho first occasion on which hr> had I.'ecomo aware of Che enormous amount of money which this country had to pay to maintain the PriNss Association fcrvico. If it wore n fuel", as stated in tln>" reply, that the country was already losing a large sum annually on the distribution of press news, njid that further concessions would largely increase the loss upon the telegraph branch of the service, thoj-p things would be a proper subject of inquiry. Why should this large sum of money go into the pockots_ of the newspaper proprietor.-; of Now Zealand? The (•■troni»r.-t nnd wealthiest monopolies in No-v Zealand consisted of huge nuwspnpcr proprietaries which in many cases imulo tremendous profits. Nothing more , important could bo uiidert-nken by I ho House than to ascertain whether it was n fact that the country was losing a largo sum of money in connection with dissemination of news over the cable-- and wiivs. Where there was only one paper in a town cantfoctcd with the Press Association it had as part of that connection to undertake tho dissemination of news throughout tho Dominion, and if the paper had n strong Massey bias it.sent extremely short and inadequate reports of speeches on the Government ade. He was not, going to

say that tho converse was not true when the paper was a supporter of the Government. At Chrittcliiircli nml Duncdin, whore there were two big papers, the duty was taken in turn, mouth about. Tlio association selected reporters on the stall's of the paper, and it depended upon those reporters -whether fair ur biased reports were sent out. That accounted for tho complaints inadn bv Sir'. Dnvey on tho one side, and Mr. Wright on tho other. The association ought to have its own independent reporters throughout New Zealand, and then the public would be able to rely on Rioting unbiased reports. (Hear, hear / Ho thought the inquiry nsked for shotiid be undertaken. Mr. W. T. Jennings (Taumarunui) said tlmt many reports might be altered in the sub-editors' rooms, and the association, might not bn no much to blame after all. lie presented a petition Fome years from 28 country newspaper proprietors complaining of tho high entrance fee. A committee was set up in coir •■quenco, and he was pleased to know that tho foes were now more reasonable. ; "Political Bias." Mr. G. W. Anderson (Molaura). said there had been soiiw (alk "without- tho book." It would bo quite impracticable for the association to send its own reporters to cveTy political meeting in tho Dominion on account of tho expense. In regard to foreign news, the association was doing as well, as it could under the existing contracts. It ought, however, to bo able to givo fair and impartial reports cf all that took place, and, if that were done, there could bo 110 just causo of complaint against tho lu-soaintioii. A number of leading papers unfortunately allowed their political bias to alTcct the correctness of their reports. That was not the casein Otago nnd Southland, but in Wellington and Christchurch. The political bins of the papers led their reporters, consciously or unconsciously, to givo incorrect reports. When they found that a resolution passed by a largo public meeting in (he capital city was sent out in a garbled form, they could not say that was fair. A reporter should be able to report a meeting without any Mr. Ell: You know it's not the reporters. It's the sub-editors. Mr. Anderson, concluding, said the members who complained nbout tho charges of the Puss Association did not know its internal workings. \ Ministerial Remarks. The Hon. T. Mackenzie sakl political news was fairly given in the Otago papers. As to tho mob at the gates of Parliament, he thought a report of ten inchus wns quito enough. I)' such mobs were inoro frequently brought to the gates of Parliament, there would soon be no gates there. Ho witnessed Sir Joseph Ward's send-off from Auckland, /and a moro enthusiastic farewell he never saw. •\ member: What about Wellington? Mr. Mackenzie: Oh, well, of course, Wellington had been worked up. I was told th'nt certain men with strong lungs were paid to kick up a row; but if you want a. loyal send-off, or a warm welcome home, I commend you to Auckland. (Hoar, hear.) They do not tako gloomy views about their city. They stand shoulder to shoulder, and their population mid prosperity arc increasing. (Applause from Ministerial aud Aucklnnd mom. bers.)