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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 1, No. 5 April 6, 1938
The Newspapers
The Newspapers
Students may have noticed that at the beginning of the month one of'our senior professors was interviewed by the local press on his return'from Germany, and he was reported as saying that from his observations,'life in Germany was very similar to what It was elsewhere. He mentioned'that there were certain shortages of food and that manufacturers were'subject to certain restrictions, but on the whole Germany was quite a'desirable place to live in and that Hitler was to be admired for what he'had done for the country, in support of his statements the professor'said that "English newspapers seemed to circulate freely. Ho regularly'read the London 'Daily Telegraph.'"
It is to be feared that there is considerable difference of opinion as to the advantages of living in Germany, and one can but wonder what chance there would be of receiving the "Dally Worker," or even the "Dally Herald" regularly, in other words, the professor received his "Dally Telegraph" every day because it was a Conservative paper.
This brings us to the point that it is necessary to know something of the political viewpoints of the London papers in order to be able to interpret correctly remarks such as the professor made, as well as quotations from those papers in the local press.
Here are the more important ones with a few explanations:—
"The Times."—Controlled by Major Astor and the Walter family; also subject to the control of a "National" trust of which the Lord Chief Justice is chairman. Conservative.
"Daily Telegraph" and "Morning Post."—Lord Camrose (Berry Group), which controls the largest number of publications in Great Britain. Conservative.
"Daily Mail" and "Evening News."—Lord Rothermere. Ultraconservative.
"Daily Express" and "Evening Standard."—Lord Beaver-brook. Conservative, Empire Free Trade and 'Isolationist on Foreign Policy.
"News Chronicle."—The Cadburys and Layton. Liberal with leanings towards a United Front.
"Daily Herald."—The Labour Party and Odhams. Odhams have financial control. Labour.
"Daily Worker."—Communist.
Even armed with this knowledge we cannot be certain of interpreting correctly public opinion in England, as the following quotation from the local' "Evening Post" of the 18th of March shows. This statement emanated from the Post's" London correspondent on the Eden resignation.
"Press opinion, likewise, is not always a true reflection of the mind of the public in England. Sectional interests are usually considered first. Often during disputes of this nature there is a tendency to suggest to the public what it should think rather than discover what It is thinking. English thought, by closer association with European problems, indulges somewhat more deeply in matters of foreign affairs,"and is some what more complex on this subject than in New Zealand."
On top of this we receive our cable news through the United Press Association, which undoubtedly has Conservative leanings, and consequently, in the choice of the news that is sent us, the Conservative viewpoint is more strongly emphasised; and as a result we seldom see the "Daily Herald" quoted, and never the "Daily Worker." This fact has been brought out very strongly lately by the arrival of American papers dealing with the Eden schism. Long before the resignation came American papers were publishing details, and correctly too in the light of subsequent events, of the differences of the British Cabinet. (One can also recall a similar position in connection with Mrs. Simpson.) The moral of the story is, therefore, not to believe all that the papers say, nor professors either.
—Taurus.