Report of meetings : August 4, 1949
Report of meetings : August 4, 1949
- page 3-4.
The Rotary Balita no. 627 (August 18, 1949).
Today was "PRESS DAY" for the Rotarians. Editors and publishers of Manila dailies were the guests of honor. The guest-speaker was Rotarian "Peter" Richards who, called upon to speak on news agencies, spoke on the history of the Reuters. Reuters, the speaker said, was founded by Julius Reuter, a German nobleman who, having valuable connections in the important Chancelleries of Europe, took advantage of these connections by establishing what at first was a system of interchange of commercial information from the various capi- tals and financial centers. Peter recounted how Reuters started as a news service and how it used to send out "scoops" with the aid of pigeons and other odd means of communication. Speaking on the problems of news agencies and the press in general, the speaker specifically mentioned suppression and/or news control as their real difficulties. He said that large areas of this globe are smothered under the black cloud of a controlled press which is the great contributing factor in obliterating man's essential freedom. From what one reads in the cables nowadays, the speaker said, there are plenty of threats to the Freedom of the Press precisely in those A newspaper. parts of the world where most of us believe that the battle had been won. man, he said, is constantly locked in a struggle against his own prejudices and personal convictions, but he is always the guiding star of what is known in journalistic circles as "news value" or "news interest" which should guide them in writing their stories and newscast regardless of their own view on the matter. In conclusion, the speaker, perhaps drawing parallel with the ideals of Rotary, described his own organization, Reuters, as a unique experiment in permanent internationalism. Rotarians "Alva" J. Hill and "Doc" Ayesa spoke on classification and fellowship, respectively, as part of the day's program.
The Rotary Balita no. 627 (August 18, 1949).
Today was "PRESS DAY" for the Rotarians. Editors and publishers of Manila dailies were the guests of honor. The guest-speaker was Rotarian "Peter" Richards who, called upon to speak on news agencies, spoke on the history of the Reuters. Reuters, the speaker said, was founded by Julius Reuter, a German nobleman who, having valuable connections in the important Chancelleries of Europe, took advantage of these connections by establishing what at first was a system of interchange of commercial information from the various capi- tals and financial centers. Peter recounted how Reuters started as a news service and how it used to send out "scoops" with the aid of pigeons and other odd means of communication. Speaking on the problems of news agencies and the press in general, the speaker specifically mentioned suppression and/or news control as their real difficulties. He said that large areas of this globe are smothered under the black cloud of a controlled press which is the great contributing factor in obliterating man's essential freedom. From what one reads in the cables nowadays, the speaker said, there are plenty of threats to the Freedom of the Press precisely in those A newspaper. parts of the world where most of us believe that the battle had been won. man, he said, is constantly locked in a struggle against his own prejudices and personal convictions, but he is always the guiding star of what is known in journalistic circles as "news value" or "news interest" which should guide them in writing their stories and newscast regardless of their own view on the matter. In conclusion, the speaker, perhaps drawing parallel with the ideals of Rotary, described his own organization, Reuters, as a unique experiment in permanent internationalism. Rotarians "Alva" J. Hill and "Doc" Ayesa spoke on classification and fellowship, respectively, as part of the day's program.