Evening star., 1960-04-08

EO-OpcIdLlNC , OUJH dIlIludl ICpO
He said this activity "resI
mands by newspapers and br
in-depth, more analysis Of sig
nificance in events and trends
and wider portrayal in human
interest or 'people-to-people'
terms"
The report, for the year 1859.
was mailed to AP members in
advance of the AP annual
meeting to be held April IS in
New York.
Mr.. Starzel said that each
year seems to outdo the pre-
vious in the complexities of
reliably reporting the world
news and that 1859 repeatedly
imposed upon your organiza-
ton multiple tests of efficiency,
ingenuity and competence"
staff Praised
"The Associated Press staff
acquitted itself magniflcently
throughout the IL months" he
said. The inevitable failures
and disappointments were few
indeed; the outstanding per-
formances were numerously
gratifying.
1T was a year during which
there was a heavy premium
with rewarding returns-on
conspicuously sound organiz-
ing for the coverage of top
stories such as President Eisen-.
hower's Asian -European-Afr
can tour. Khrushchev's visit
to the United States. and the
prolonged multi-faceted steel
strike"
Mr.. Starzel said staff team
work and brilliant individual
craftsmanship scored repeated
triumphs under some of the
most extraordinary working
pressures ever experienced"
He reported that task
force" assignments we're used
TO a greater extent than ever
before and that they con-
tributed effectively to the out
put.
Censorship Noted
THE staff showed great re-
sourcefulness in coping with
extraordinary handicaps of
censorship hazards. inaccessi-
bility of some areas to Ameri-
can reporters. and revolution
ary conditions" he said.
Yet the report maintained
traditional standards for pene-
trating reporting, thorough de-
pendability and keeping in
sharp focus such complex
events as the Russian moon
shot, civil war in Laos. the
flight of the Dalai Lama, and
the year-long upheavals of the
Castro revolution in Cuba"
Mr.. Starzel said there was
fast coverage of spot develop
ments in the steel strike and a
continuing assessment of the
strikes economic and political
effects, plus an exhaustive series
analysis of issues and results.
"As a step toward expanding
political coverage, looking to-
ward the 1860 elections, the
Associated Press gave members
pre-presidential campaign COW
erage of unusual interest and
depth" he said.
Business News Singled Out
He described the stories as
based on the broad Develop
ing picture-the popular reac-
ton, the candidates campaign
ing methods and their profess
sional backing. The stories
were sharp. incisive and 'chatty'
and went far beyond the spot
coverage of what the candidate
said"
Mr.. Starzel reported that
public interest in the securities
markets reached a postwar
peak. He said the creative and
technical resources of the AS
sociated Press fully met the
challenge of supplying men,
bers with the kind of business
news coverage necessary to tell
the story fully"
Mr.. Starzel said bold new
Ideas were implemented in the
Associated Press's delivery or
transmission system.
Spectacular new techniques
In high-speed wire service are
achieving important operating
gains for newspaper members"
he said.
"a new financial service
heads this advance. integrating
four high-speed Teletypesetter
circuits in simultaneous opera
ton"
Wirephoto Gains Noted
Noting that 1859 marked the
25th birthday of wirephoto, Mr..
Starzel said that "a record of
537 members served directly on
the Wirephoto network was
established"
"Ninety-one others subscribed
to other types of Wirephoto
service" he said.
He reported that l,778 pubh-
cations were represented in As
ships representing radio and