The Wilmington morning star., 1945-06-18
News Barriers
By GLENN BABE

Associated PreSS
Although the European war is over, there
s+;u are formidable barriers to news gather
ing and transmission over considerable part
of Europe But the picture is not all black. The
general trend is toward greater freedom.
In news matters, as in politics, most of
Europe falls now into two major zones, that
under Russian domination and that more or
less controlled by the Western Allies. Within
these two greater zones, there are lesser areas
in which the degree of news freedom varies.
Illustrating the trend, Switzerland, Fire
and Spain recently announced the end OF cen
sorship, the first two apparently without res
ervations Liberation from German rule has
meant greater news freedom for most OF West
ern Europe; it remains to be seen what these
Scountries will do about the press as Allied
military control or influence is withdrawn
Supreme headquarters, Allied Expedition
cary Force, has announced discontinuance OF
censorship for the European theater under
Gen. Eisenhower's command except as con-
Germs major troop movements and matters of
such Importance as to require the attention
OF the Supreme Commander.
No similar announcement has come f<en
the Mediterranean theater, where the high
command is mostly British Git is largely
American in the European theater). But
SHAEF spokesman said recently that coordi-
nation of censorship among the European
theaters, the Mediterranean command and the
Russians was being worked out ION a gov
eminent levep'-that is in London Washing
ton and Moscow.
Moscow holds the key to the future OF news
activities in most of eastern and central Eu-
rope Russian ideas concerning press free
dom differ from those of the Western Allies.
Still recovering from the shocks OF nearly
four years OF tremendous struggle, the Rus.
SLAMS have been slow to make postwar read
iustrnents in the territories under their con-
troll Censorship persists in Russia, the &C.
tivities of correspondents are curtailed
throughout the Russian zone.
But those government leveF' discussions
may bear fruit in greater freedom of move
ment and expression for newsmen The Unit
ed States government spurred by the Amerl-
can press, is known to be urging the Russians
to lift the curtain somewhat. Lord Dunglass,
parliamentary secretary to the British For
eign Office, told the House of Commons re-
Gently that he hoped shortly newspaper cor
respondents will be allowed in the area OF
Russian occupation
| This is the situation in the Russian zone:
Correspondents in limited numbers 1.-TWO each
for the big American agencies) are permitted
| in Moscow Occasionally they are taken on
conducted trips from Moscow to other points
in the Soviet Union and Russian dominated
territory; points visited recently included
Bucharest, Warsaw, Berlin. All that such cor
!
sorship.
Considerable portions OF Russian-dominat
| ed territory, however, remain closed to for
eign correspondents Applications for permits
sion to send neWsmen to Bucharest, Sofia and
Budapest made first through the Mediter-
ranean command and more recently through
diplomatic channels, have brought no results
Foreign newsmen enjoy a degree more
| freedom in along the western
| fripO NJ fhn
Press has a staff man at Belgrade, where he
is subject to Yugoslav censorship. Within the
last few days another staff man has taken
post in Prague by arrangement with the
]Czechoslovak government. How free he will
be remains to be seen.
Where Russian control is not exercised di-
rectly, correspondents are likely to encounter
restrictions applied by governments anxious
to please their big Russian neighbor. This
| appears to be the situation in Yugoslavia and
lCzechoslovakia and to some degree in Fin
land.
| At the moment American newsmen enjoy
almost complete freedom to report political
and other news of the western liberated coun-
tries. This is because correspondents, in
France, for example, still have military status
are not subject to French censorship and yet
operate under SHAEF's relaxed regulations.
Correspondents in Italy and Greece operate
under the Allied Mediterranean Command,
which, as noted previously, has not yet an
nounced a termination of censorship COM
parable to the European theater's action.
However, there is no evidence that corre-
spondents have not been able to report the
political situations freely.
Germany is an area and censorship prob
lem apart The only government there for a
long time will be military government The
eastern half falls within the Russian zone.
The western half at present comes under the
Eisenhower rules. However, it remains to be
seen, after SHAEF is dissolved and the Brit
ish and French come into full control in their
respective zones of occupation, how far to-
days relative freedom will survive. For that
matter there is assurance that conditions
will be ideal under American occupation.
Austria apparently will be a smaller
counterpart of the German situation.
In Britain correspondents have complete
) freedom in reporting politics. Modified mill
tary censorship persists for the duration OF
the war against Japan Conditions in the Low
Countries and Scandinavia much like those
in France. Portugal and Turkey retain cen
sorship.