The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-09-03

WARNING lSSI1Fn
| BY KENT COOPER

NEW YORK,-Ry-Kent &c.,
writing in the September iss uUpeF,
Free World" warns apain ,ss0s OF
promise in this critical nhs s TOM.
the movement to achieve s''se OF
wide freedom of the press. "OFld
With a full picture Of u,..
have in the way Of a newsn . We
press" wrote Cooper, executive paps 81
rector OF the Associated p,.. w.
we should, without apology ba
that our kind of press free ,ops
may be guaranteed to the neo rT.iI
OF all nations. 'p'eS
1 do not start with the H..
that such a hope may be imnrs" ra
cal in this troubled world, tbat l ~.
want less than that, or that tb;s y; *
the time to talk of compromisa -
$50 when others use s,,oh
phrases as free flow of news sna
free access to news, I accsn.
these as some of the things tbs ~
go with press freedom. They ara
the details of the larger grant -,
the right to print. "
Referring specifically to tho
newspaper press, we have Seem
through the years, an Unusual
growth with a widening SCOPE If
responsibility, in this and CERTAIN
other lands where the press has
been freest from government re.
str-ction or control and from politj.
cal or private subsidy.
1T is significant that where tho
newspaper press has achieved this
full stature of independence, the
principles of full and unbiased re.
porting, of presenting facts both
pleasant and unpleasant, favorable
and unfavorable, has made great.
est progress"
Cooper said that in some quar-.
tiers lit has become popular 10 view
with alarm the fact that a news.
paper publishing venture requires
considerable financial capital
What is important in free 50.
ciety is the kind of press that owes
its continuing existence to the pat.
ronage of its readers, who thus
make it free and independent.
Whether a newspaper is owned by
an individual, by group, by its
employees, comparatively, or how.
ever, is unimportant, so long as
it is free. In a free society, there
is nothing to prevent any Of these
forms Of ownership"
Cooper said it was "a most hope.
full augury that in the Soviet
Union, where the definition Of
press freedom is divergent from
ours, the subject is being written
about and discussed" He added
it had been. predicted in Russ a
that improvement could be made
in mutual communication be.
tween the Soviet and the Amer.
can or any other press"
Cooper went on to say he was
aware that an occasional voice
has been raised to warn that this
great American objective for
worldwide press freedom is part
of some sort of imperialiStic
scheme" He asserted nothing
could be further from the facts
because achievement of real
press freedom over the world
would assure that the press Of no
nation should be forced to receive
all or any substantial part Of its
world news through New York, Or
London, or Moscow, or Berlin, OF
any other place.
THE fear that there might be
any such Interior motive in this
objective probably stems from IN
ability to throw off the old and
dangerous conception of news as
something to be used as an instru'
ment of national policy"
Cooper explained that what was
needed was reciprocal exchange Oh
news among all peoples, saying
American newspapers should not
and do not, desire to take news
out of country without return
of news to that country. MOI
should the newspapers OF any
country do So"