Press Telegrams

Feilding Star, Volume VIII, Issue 50, 7 October 1886, Page 2

Press Telegrams

Several of the Press Association agents in the Colony have very eccentric notions as to what constitutes news, or items worth publishing. For instance, the agent in Auckland vrired that an alligator had not been seen in the Wailcato, and lie concluded with the nheering 1 intelligence, " the report is disbelieved." Not to be out-done, the agent at Dunedin informed us that a man or woman was not seen to dive into the waves at Long Beach. We would remind Press Association agents that we want facts not probabilities. That is to say, we want alligators not allegations (this is old, but still it is useful on this occasion). We want body not "lees" in drowning cases. The agent at Wellington was expansive over the marks on the supposed murderer Caffrey's body, and it will be a joy for ever for us to know the famous " strawberry mark on his arm " was not discovered. Another agent — at Woodville — sent a lengthy telegram to say it was raining over there. We had tons of water falling here when we received it, and a very creditable thunderstorm went on nearly all day, but we didn't send expensive telegrams all over the country about it. We let the storm speak for itself, as it was able to do. We don't like being too officious. One thing we do observe — when the agent is a proprietor of a paper, his messages are crisp and to tho point, but when " one of our staff" has the pen "he spreads himself." He has'nt got to pay for the luxury.