AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 2424, 4 May 1922, Page 4

AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS

Some observations regarding the relative merits of Australian and American newspapers were made by Senator Pearce, the Australian delegate td the Washington Conference, in an interview recently. “Taking the average, I would not say that American newspapers are superior to the Australian,” he said. “I believe the presentation of news in the Australian papers is much superior to the American, and in the average Australian daily newspaper we are given a better selection of cable messages .) The news is much better set out in Autralia, and one has to search American journals from one end to the other, otherwise items would be missed. I thoroughly disliked the huge, sensational headlines in the American press. An important point in favour of the Australian newspapers is that as a rule prominence is not given to the repulsive features of eases of murder or other crimes of physical violence. There are, of course, papers, such as the New York Times, which publishes an editorial page worthy of any country, and, in my opinion, it is higher than the average of any similar page in Australian newspapers. But the New York Times is not typical. There is one thing, however, which impi’esses pile about the American journals generally, and that is.the tremendous faith they profess they have in their own country and their own institutions. Although the press makes full use of its functions to criticise on political questions, the newspapers have only one opinion when it- is a matter of American policy as against the polities of other nations.