The Manawatu Herald. Tuesday, April 14, 1914. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 1232, 14 April 1914, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Tuesday, April 14, 1914. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

IT is amusing to those concerned to read the wild statements made by disgruntled politicians and socialistic orators in respect to 80 per cent, of the press of this country being bought up by the Massey Party and controlled by capitalists. Our Palmerston morning contemporary, in referring io such allegations, says a lengthy journalistic career has enabled us to know most of those who are conducting newspapers in this country, and we feel confident that the great majority are striving honestly to do their duty to the public, according to their lights. There are few indeed, who would consent to write to dictation, or allow anyone to interfere with their conduct of the fouruals they control. For it

must not be forgotten that the journalist has a reputation to maintain, and he certainly will carry no weight with the public unless he writes from conviction. In this country the press is anonymous, but the editors are well-known, and they alone are, in the great majority of cases, responsible for opinions expressed. All the wild talk about capitalistic control is mere assertion, and has no foundation in fact. As an illustration of the independence ol the New Zealand press we may recall what happened when a certain Ministry got into power. Almost immediately thereafter it decreed that in future Government advertisements should be given only to, those papers that gave it support. This, though a gross abuse of power, did not cause a single journal to waver from its ordinary course, and though it meant the loss of a large amount of revenue, the editors preferred independence to gain.