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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 28, No. 10. 1965.

Stupidity!

Stupidity!

The methods by which those stories are handled should be overhauled. The initiative of individual papers should not be restricted but protected. During the Cuban crisis the Levin Chronicle telephoned Mr. Khrushchev and wrote a special story. As well as incurring a large toll bill the Chronicle was fined by NZPA. It is perhaps indicative of the lack of Press interest in gaining special news stories that the rules have never been modified.

Why does the Press Association impose restrictions on cable and radio stories from overseas? One reason is that the metropolitan papers, which can afford extra expensive services, are prevented from scoring over the smaller local papers. The larger papers could well destroy the small local dailies if they made a determined effort to make the small papers uneconomic propositions.

The table below shows the circulation figures for the daily news papers in the Wellington statistical district:

Local [unclear: Ilies]

Town Newspaper Circulation
Wanganui Wanganui [unclear: Ch] 11,013 (audited)
Wanganui [unclear: he] 9,386 (audited)
Palmerston North Manawatu [unclear: E Standard] 20,740 (audited)
Masterton Wairarapa [unclear: T Age] 7,503 (audited)
Levin The Chronicle 3,790 (audited)
Wellington The Dominion 94,000 (estimated)
The Evening 98,000 (estimated)

It seems clear from this table that the smaller papers in this area, such as the Levin Chronicle could be pushed out. It would be a great loss for the local communities, for in a country such [unclear: a] ours we cannot afford to lose the local paper.

New Zealand has so many small self-contained geographical unit with their various unique need that it is very questionable [unclear: whe ther] large monopolistic paper would serve these small areas [unclear: a] well as the local paper does. Small papers, it is true, cannot provide as good a general news coverage as the bigger papers, but they [unclear: de] give a more comprehensive cover age to local news than would larger papers.

In country districts this is important. Is not NZPA the only satisfactory answer to the problem of providing both general and local news to those who wish to read both?

Advertisers that run nations campaigns would not mind paying extra for greater penetration but the Levin advertiser would not be so happy. He now pays 8/- [unclear: pe olumn] page 7 inch for classified and [unclear: sual] display advertising and [unclear: ould] have to pay over £1 for [unclear: e] same advertisement just [unclear: ecause] Wellingtonians might [unclear: arn] that he had lost his poodle. [unclear: imilarly] many Wellington adversers would gain no extra profits [unclear: st] because a few Levin readers and boosted the circulation figures.

The local paper does serve a purpose: some might describe it [unclear: s] limited. others as essential. [unclear: ZPA] protects the smaller enterprises on the one hand, and on the [unclear: ther] limits competitive reportage.

Dean E. W. Barrett, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University. New York, describes the New Zealand press as at times appearing "to lack thoroughness, penetration and the initiative to look beneath surface announcements," He may well be correct, but this sort of Press is preferable to one such as the Australian or American where there is extreme competition.

An example of the lack of discretion which may result from much competition is provided by a Chicago paper which, during the [unclear: Cuban] crisis, obtained and published information vital to national security.