Slant?

The emphasis all the way is on the sensational. There is much more discussion in the better papers than in New Zealand, though the letters are relatively few; there are, of course, many more papers and thus a greater number of channels for expression. But in the news, the achievements of America are stressed—"Lindbergh the first to fly the Atlantic" said one paper. And, of course, it is taken for granted in the papers read by most, that American know-how was solely responsible for the atomic bomb. An instance was a story in "This Week" read by 7,000,000 at least, called "Only in America," which told how a European war bride in America feared for her husband's life because she knew that he had voted for the party which had not won in an election. He, of course, laughs at this. This, the story pointed out proudly, could happen "only in America." So could this kind of story. And while the papers print this, they neglect unpleasant facts in their own society. When the National Commission investigating Negro segregation in Washington published its startling report, the popular papers gave it little notice, and it passed out of hearing smartly. This sort of sliding over unpleasant facts is made easier by the distraction which fills most of their Press.