Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1949-08-26
Press Ignores
Scandal Involving
Editors, Doctors
By NATHAN ROBERTSON

WASHINGTON (LPA) = Our story last
week about the Minnesota Medical Association
trying to bribe the press into a stronger fight
against health insurance by permitting doctors
to take out advertisements was national
scoop and still is-as far as the daily press is
concerned-with one exception. We are not
Dragging about it. We are merely pointing it
out as important evidence of the sad state of
the American press.
Our scoop was not the result of enter
prise-but the result of blind spot in the
press generally The story was available to
daily newspapers-in fact it was offered to
them on a silver platter. Some OF the best
newspapers in America had it. But none OF
them printed It, So far it has appeared In no
newspaper except the labor papers served by
Labor Press Associates and the Minneapolis
Tribune which used the story circulated by
Labor Press Associates on its front page. The
commercial press is giving the story the silent
treatment it accorded earlier this year to other
press scandals.
Any fair minded newspaperman would
agree we are sure, that the story was big
one 1t disclosed how Minnesota editors hinted
to the doctors of that state that they could not
carry the ball for the doctors against the
Presidents health insurance proposal without
remuneration" AS a result the Minnesota
Medical Association voted to drop its long
standing ethical rule against advertising. Most
damaging of the disclosures was that news OF
this action had been passed around to the
papers in a confidential bulletin. from the Min
nesota Medical Association in June, with any
t., 9TH IynrIS
was statewide scandal involving both doc
tors and editors
Newspapermen here who heard about the
story agreed it was a sensational one Robert
S Allen, one of the best gave it big ride In
his radio program over WOR. Some correspon-
dents sent the story to their papers, but so
far ii has not appeared anywhere except In
labor papers and the Minneapolis Tribune.
The result is no surprise to working news
papermen. 1t merely proves again that nothing
is easier than scooping the press on scandal
involving the newspapers, or on any other
news they don't like, such as stories friendly
to labor or critical of big business. know be-
cause I've made my living writing stories OF
that kind for years
For six years I wrote Washington news
for PM and during that time l scored many
beats. But most of them were of this kind
stories that the other newspapers could have
exclusive news in PM only because they were
stories the other papers did not want to carry
PM was filled with news OF this kind
news that the other papers did not want TO
carry, did not regard as news Some OF PMS
stories represented great enterprise and hard
digging But many of them were just as avail
able to other papers as they were to PM Be-
fore PM was ruined by poor management 1t
had made commercial success selling news
of that kind. One year / received a dividend
check representing my share of the papers
profits.
Some of the best stories in PM were stories
of the way other papers distorted the news.
remember one in which Leon Henderson,
then price administrator, made a speech COM
pairing the rise in profits, wages, and farm
income during the war. His figures showed
profits had risen more than any of the others.
But with one eXception--the big newspapers
and the Associated Press all played up the
rise in wages, or farm income, and ignored the
rise in profits
Stories on profits are the hardest to get
into most newspapers. They just not in
terested-or at least not interested in telling
their readers about them. About year and
half ago l wrote rather sensational story
about big corporations inspired by the Nation
nj Association of Manufacturers-were using
newspaper advertisements to fool the public
about the profits they were making. ! tried to
sell II to several liberal newspapers and maga-
zines without success.
One editor told me frankly that couldn't
expect newspapers which were IAN integral.
part of our distribution system to attack that
system" Finally the story was bought by the
Progressive monthly magazine--but most
newspaper readers have not yet seen it.
The failure of the commercial press to
cover the news is the reason why labor papers
are flourishing today More and more they are
concentrating on the big news the newspapers
will not print This failure of the press is also
why the announcement this week of the for
nation of a new cooperative labor news SER
vice to be known as Labor Press Association
is important to all union members 1t assures
them supply of legitimate balanced news
which they cannot get today from their regu-
lar newspapers
Think how the daily press would have
splashed that medical-press scandal If it had
involved a deal between unions and radio
stations instead of doctors and newspapers If
you want both sides of the news read your
labor paper