UNITED PRESS

Hokitika Guardian, 24 February 1933, Page 3

UNITED PRESS

SHAREHOLDERS OF ASSOCIATION

ANNUAL MEETING AT ROTORUA

(Per Press Association — copyright)

ROTORUA, February 241' “Your association has developed an efficient organisation for the collection and distribution of international and domestic news that affords its members a service equal to any in the Empire,” said Sir Cecil Leys, chairman of the Board of Directors of the United Press Association, in his address to the annual meeting of shareholders to-day. It was gratifying to he able to record that 1932, while it was a year of general business depression saw no falling off in the higtl standards which they had come to expect from the association. The amount of cable received during the year was 1,070,000 words, a record, there being increases in both the international and Australian services. Subjects of outstanding importance 'and interest were the war debt payments and discussions ; the Irish dispute over the land annuities: Britain’s introduction of a tariff; session of the League! of Nations and Lausanne Conference; the Ottawa Conference; the Olympiad; the Lindbergh baby .sensation; the American Presidential campaign and election; the Sino-Japanese hostilities ; the developments in India which Gandhi and the Congress leaders figured; and Atlantic and other flights.

In the Australian 1 service events of outstanding importance dealt with included the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the dismissal of the Lang Govel'iiinenti by the State Governor, the varying course of Commonwealth and State politics, and the tour of the New, Zealand All Blacks and the English Cricket team. Many highly interesting political situations arose during the year, and the increase occurred in. spite of determined efforts to stop it. t The New Zealand service had been efficiently conducted, and newspapers had relied on the Association more than in the past to supply them with adequate reports of local happenings. They had to thank the Telegraph Department for some mitigation of the restrictions placed on the use of wires at Pfless Bates. A reduction had been made in Sunday evening hours, but on representations from the association the department altered the opening tinie, making it from 6.31) to 7.30 p.m. a concession that was appreciated by the morning press. Referring to the relations between broadcasting and the newspaper press, Sir Cecil said’that the world position in the mattter of the rights in news was ;of vital importance' to the association and equally to individual newspapers. A judgment of the Supreme Court of the United States had precluded the use by any broadcasting station of the contents of any newspaper without express permission in writing. The Canadian Court, however, had decided that any commercial radio station in Canada could make use of the news once it was on the street rnd. could, broadcast it at will. The legality o? the decision was submitted to eminent counsel in London, and the conclusion reached was that while in English'! law there was no copyright in news as such, there was copyright in the particular forms of language or modes of expression by which information or news was conveyed' Counsel concluded that reading tUo news to the public through a broadcasting microphone constituted an infringement of copyright in that it was a performance in public without the ’consent of the oivner. The British Broadcasting Corporation reOogbised property |in news, and purchased Reuter’s Service at a cost of £2,000 per annum, as well as subscribing to other press agencies. In Australia the matter of news broadcasting was definitely regulated in the rules governing wireless telegraphy. In New Zealand all messages received by the Association from outside the Dominion were adequately protected from pirating for eighteen hours from the time of first publication. It was practically certain that property existed in news, and that the internal telegrams of the Association could not be legally broadcast or disseminated by any other publicity agency. The question of policy was of equal importance to that of right. Broadcasting was a public utility that would steadily expand. The 8.8. C. had shown a spirit of co-operation with British newspapers that was admirable. A striking evidence of this was to be found in the decision arrived at in December that a, member of the Board of Governors should retire and a representative of the newspaper interest take his place. In Canada, where the position had been chaotic, a former Toronto newspaper editor had been appointed as the head of the new controlling body. The development of broadcasting in New Zealand would inevitably advance and- Jffie interests of the newspapers and the broadcasting service would he best safeguarded by the constitution of the hoard providing for the inclusion of a newspaper man selected by the Press Association. A policy could be developed that would permit a reasonable broadcast of news without injury to the daily newspaper.