I Am OFTEN irritated to see how people abroad, even
such hard-headed statesmen as Dr. Aden- auer, continue to regard The Times as influential simply becauSe of its range of official contacts. The Times, admittedly, has long received pre- ferential treatment from the Foreign Office, but this has if anything lessened its influence : cer- tainly the Manchester Guardian is in more esteem as a commentator on world affairs. The closeness of The Times's links with the Establishment, too, has often had unfortunate results—notably in 1938. Apart from the odour of Munich, which still clings, the fact that a paper which was once known as 'the Thunderer' should now be called 'Aunty' is a fair reflection of its diminished in- fluence. In my experience, its opinions are not taken seriously here—even less so since it started its embarrassing 'Top People' advertising cam- paign. And if it is taken more seriously abroad, it is nobody's fault but Mr. Macmillan's; he could without difficulty have ordered that its old privileges should be suspended—an injunction Which would certainly have benefited The Times, too many of whose staff have sunk into a state of cosy lethargy induced by having predigested information fed to them for so long.
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