NO JAM

New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 327, 28 September 1945, Page 5

NO JAM

Sir-When I read Mr. Fairburn’s article I am afraid I was not in sympathy with the gist of his remarks. It was on the point of my pen to retort .that Mr. Fairburn ought to know that there is no jam for anybody connected

with journalism in New Zealand. I could not sée that the free lance journalists had any squeal coming in view of the fact that the prizes for regular journalists are lean indeed. Now I read the letters of "Saturation Point" and M. Moody. I can only say that I hope the first correspondent is not serious when he suggests it may be possible for’ a free Jarice journalist to turn out three articles a week and have them accepted. As to M. Moody, I must say that his is a negative attitude. The free lance journalist has as much right to exploit public depravity in writing "vapoury nothings" as has, say, a man of very humble rank to aspire to political fame and get away with it. Well, I have given much thought to the subject dealt with by Mr. Fairburn and your correspondents. I think they all miss the main point, and that is, that the good name of journalism has been sullied by money- ~grubbing practices, notably the prospects in the advertising field. Newspaper production is a commercial undertaking. Newspapers are not brought into being to serve the public good, but to pay profits to the directors and shareholders. While this condition remains human talent in the literary sense will have to beg for @ crust. It’s a sheer waste of tim’ asking anybody to pass the jam.’ Jam is a delicacy which the working journalist does not see, except when he lays hold of the mercantile gazette and-well work it out for yourself, sir.

H.A.

DIT

( Mangatainoka),