Minneapolis spokesman., 1963-10-31
Government Competition
In News Fields

In recent months the extremists have been DUR
suing the line that the US. government Is going
into the news business in competition with the daily
press AP, and UPL
This line takes its basis the rather obvious
fact that government departments and agencies
have heavy duty and responsibility in providing
and disseminating information They serve the news
papers, magazines and broadcasters with handouts
bulletins personal assistance and in other ways,
They also provide information services 10 business
industry and other segments Of the public In addi-
ton to this, the U.s. Information Agency has done
remarkable job in making information about our
government and our country available to the rest
of the world If you believe in the value of nforma-
tton, you have to approve of all this.
You can imagine the hullabaloo that would re-
suit if it were suddenly shut off-what the press
and radio would say If government information
handouts and other government assistance in the
news-gatherang function, stopped Nevertheless
the extremist line Is that all this is government in
rlIsfon into private business, and government COM
petition with the agencies This line even finds
It's way into respectable newspapers notably in
recent column by the Minneapolis Tribune's Richard
Wilson: Nor Is it novel idea that the government
ought to sponsor some kind of domestic news
service The most recent suggestion was that the
Federal Communications its licensing authority
TV stations the ground that the established agen-
cies geared to the production of the written
word, not the spoken word"
The basis for this statement is an address by
Federal Communication Commissioner Lee Lowing
er before the Association for Education in Journal
ism last August, in which he suggested that the
broadcasters should set up their reporting serv-
ice independent of both the networks and the press
services.
He pointed out that "television has not yet be-
gun to develop its potential techniques to present
news in interesting and Informative manner 1t
will not do until it has established its own inde-
pendent news service 1T is high time that this effort
be initiated . How far the FEC can go in stimuli
ang and encouraging such enterprise and initiative
1 am not prepared to say just 1t is obvious that
the power to grant withhold and renew broadcast
ing licenses and the mandate to take such actions In
the public interest enables the Commission to exert
a powerful influence If not actually to require
action. :"
Thus a suggestion that the Commission can and
might, require the broadcasters to rise to their
opportunities and meet their responsibilities be-
comes in Wilson's characterstically twisted vision
the idea that the government ought to sponsor
some kind of a domestic news service"
All of which is an instructive lesson in how re-
liable Wilson Is as a reporter
Some Mpls. TRIBUNE readers read with aston
ishment Wilson's recent description of DR.. Martin
Luther King as head of CORE! Even most high
school editors and reporters in the nation know that
DR.. King is president of the Southern Leadership
Conference.
Martin Luther King is one of the most impor-
tant Americans of this era. Yet, Wilson highly
touted newspaper reporter and syndicated columnst
has not taken the time to identify correctly the
organization which King leads.