The Newspapers and the B.B.C.
The B.B.C. news bulletins undoubtedly get ahead of the newspapers in a good many important items of news, and if it can be established that this is due to deliberate discrimination on the part of Government departments the papers' grievance is a real one. A deputation from the Institute of Journalists, received by Mr. Harold Nicolson on behalf of Mr. Duff Cooper last Monday, complained of preferential treatment given to the B.B.C. It was suggested that the frequent release of important news items just in time for the B.B.C. news was more than a coincidence ; and that discrimination in favour of the B.B.C., which would be unfair at any time, was particularly unjust when the Press is so severely handicapped by paper-restrictions. Mr. Nicolson denied the premises; he did not agree that there was deliberate favouritism, though he promised to put the case before the Minister. Obviously it would be improper to hold back news so that either the B.B.C. or the newspapers could get in first. The fact is that the B.B.C. news bulletins are frequent enough to make it inevitable that they should publish much news before the . papers can ; on the other hand the 9 o'clock news-broadcast whets the appetite for the next day's paper, with its amplifications. The national service rendered by the newspapers is vital ; their present dis- abilities are a drawback to the nation ; no unnecessary handicap should be imposed on them. But in this matter the needs of the public are the first consideration. What the public wants is any news of importance the moment it is available, and it ought to have that ; whether through the spoken or the printed word matters little.
Previous page
