Evening star., 1945-06-11
Editors Urge Farley
To Promote World
Exchange Of News
By the Associated Press.

LAeilUuyV VI NVWS
By the Associated Press.
The American Society of News
paper Editors threw its support to-
day behind the idea of an interna-
tional conference to promote the
free exchange of news among all
nations.
The society's Board of Directors
adopted resolution favoring such
a meeting in Australia when con-
ditions permit. The board acted on
the recommendation of a globe
girdling committee which said 1t
discovered during 40,0oO-mile tour
a real desire of editors of most ma
tions "for more freedom of the
press than most nations have here
tofore enjoyed or permitted"
The committees travels, sponsored
by the ASNE to test and discuss
postwar freedom of the press and
of communications, resulted in many
pledges of cooperation from gov
ernment leaders. Some of these
pledges were described by commit
tee members, however, as Zip serv-
ice."
Three on Tour.
A 50,000-word report on their
findings was approved and made
public last night by the ASNE di-
rectors. Those who made the world
tour are Committee Chairman Will
bur Forrest, assistant editor of the
New York Herald Tribune and
ASNE first vice president; Ralph
McGill, editor of the Atlanta Con-
stitution, and Dean Carl w. Acker-
man of the Columbia University
school of journalism.
Prime objective of the mission
cluded in forthcoming peace treaties
governmental pledges not to censor
news at the source, not to use the
press as an instrument of national
policy and to permit free flow of
news in and out of each country.
Reporting they did not find much
news freedom under wartime condi-
tions, the committee said it was evil
dent that many governments were
controlling the press politically un-
der the guise of war security"
Stettinius Commended.
In addition to approving the
groups recommendation of support
for the world press freedom confer
ence, proposed by Australian editors,
the ASNE directors also adopted
resolutions:
/. Looking with apprehension on
any merger of transmission facilities
which would eliminate competition
(The Navy two months ago proposed
that all international communca-
tions facilities be combined or oper-
ated joinly after the war;
2. Commencing Secretary OF State
Stettinius for his help on freedom
of the press, notably at the San
Francisco Conference.
The touring newsmen spent some
time in Moscow and found the Rus
slams, an Asne summary of their
report said, both extremely curl
Gus and challenging of the United
States conceptions of free press.
"At the same time, the American
ENJOYS got from the vice commits
sar of foreign affairs, L. A. Lazovsky,
an expression of willingness to
seek common ground, in the mat
ter of freer- exchange of news and
more fair and adequate mutual writ
Ing and reporting"
The Americans met top Soviet
newsmen at two banquets and In
visits to the two largest daily news
paper plants in Moscow. One Of the
dinners was given at the American
Embassy by Ambassador Averell
Hartman who. the report said, de-
scribed this country's emergence
from its own provincial and isola-
zionist newspaper era and urged
both nations editors not to take
in print too seriously"
Mr.. Lazovsky replied, the report
said, that "the chief thing the
Soviet peoples and papers couldn't
understand was the constant crlti-
cism of an ally by some of the
American press"
Question Attitude.
And at the same dinner, the
editors of Pravda and Izvestia de
clared in almost identical speeches
their system was the most repre-
sentative Of the wishes of the people
and was a free press because 1t
represented only the people.
They insisted American papers
did not always represent the wishes
Of the people, using the Roosevelt
elections and opposition to many
Roosevelt policies which had been
by the people as ex-
-,
"Their own articles, they said,
we're tested for truth and accuracy
and always represented the will OF
the people" ,
The report asserted some Ameri-
can officials said one Of the prob
lens in Russia had been correspon-
dents who came in with chip on
their shoulders and went about
hunting up items which could be
found to justify their dislikes. They
dealt in irritations instead of pre-
senting a balanced picture OF
Russia
nj