Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-05-17
President Frank NOyes :
Explains the Functions
OF The Associated Press

| Ii is probable that in the foreign
! news field the extraordinary genius Of
Melville r. Stone, the general mana
! ger of the Associated Press. has been
most strikingly exhibited. Just prior
| TO the Russo-Japanese war Mr.. Stone
secured from the tsar of Russia the
! abolition of the censorship. and news
paper men still remember the frank
ness with which the Russian govern
| ment gave out the news of Russia
reverses in that conflict.
Orders expediting the messages OF
the Associated Press were issued at
his instance by the German, French,
Italian and Russian governments, and
as a result 1t has come to be common
for European capitals to get the first
news OF continental events through
Associated Press reports cabled back
from New York.
One beneficial result coming from
this more direct relationship is to be
found in the minimizing of the i'll
effect OF the occasional outbreak of
some utterly inconsequential German,
French, English or Japanese yellow"
sporadically abusing the United States
and its people.
While the Associated Press is gen.
orally held in good esteem, l. would
not be understood as indicating that
it has been exempt from criticism
and attack.
II in a campaign all the candidates,
or their managers or press agents did
not accuse the Associated Press of
the grOssest partisanship as against
the particular candidacy in which
they were interested, those bearing
the responsibilities of the service
would feel convinced that something
was radically wrong and would look
with suspicion on the report them
selves.
This is but human nature. Dur
ing the last campaign for the presi-
dency nominations every candidate
either in person or by proxy express
ed his convictions that the Associ-
ated Press was favorable to some
body else.
This is absolutely not to be per-
mitted in the Associated Press No
bias of any sort can be allowed. Our
function is to. supply our members
with news, not views; with news as
it happens-not as we may want it to
happen. Intensely as its management
may sympathize with any movement,
no propaganda in its behalf can be
tolerated Very jealousy indeed
does the membership guard against
their agency going outside its allot-
ted duties. and argus-eyed is the
censorship of every handler of our
copy"
1t is not, naturally, to be claimed
that no mistakes are made. They
are made and will be made But in
the very nature of the business, with
the heart so worn upon the sleeve,
detection very swiftly follows, and
the mistakes are few and far be-
tween.
Tbe desire. to enlist the. Associated
Press in propaganda or advocacy is
usually to be found at the bottom of
of its service. Added to
this often is misinformation assto the
real facts and, sometimes, though
happily rarely, actual malice.
The service from Russia, for ex-
ample, has been harshly criticised by
some who thought that the province
of the Associated Press was to under
take crusade against the Russian
government because of its anti
Semitic attitude. Our theory of our
obligations is that we should report
the facts as they occur, without fear
or favor, but that it is no part of our
duty to draw indictments save as the
facts alone are damning.
The case of the KOREANS charged /
with plot to assassinate Governor
General Terauchi has recently been
much discussed.
These Koreans were almost all con-
verted Christians and the American
in Korea were naturally
intensely interested in the matter.
1t was freely alleged that the Asso-
ciated Press, unduly Influenced by the
Japanese government, had suppressed
the fact that these Koreans had made
duplicating American
as accessories to the
plot, and had subsequently retracted
these confessions, asserting that they
had been eXtorted by atrocious tor
uI0 lliiiCleu Dy the Japanese ponce,
the intimation being also that the mis-
sionaries We're in peril by reason of
the repudia ted confessions.
Based on this some of the mission
airy authorities here became much per-
turbed. and indeed one of the great |
New York papers printed news and
articles criticizing the Asso- |
ciated Press for the suppression of the
matter
As . matter of fact an inspection of ]
The news service received by the Asso-
ciated Press and distributed to its
members showed that it carried the |
'ull facts; the confessions, the impli- |
cations of the missionaries. the allie |
cations of torture. the fact that the
allegation of torture was believed by |
he missionaries, and also the fact that |
he Japanese denied the torture stories |
md attached no credence whatever to |
he prisoners statements duplicating |
he missionaries.
On learning the real situation the
lew York newspaper in question |
lromutly printed an annie amanda |