The Press: No More Sponsors

Transradio Press Service prides itself on news it gets from overseas (through France’s Agence Havas, Britain’s Central News Agency, Germany’s Transocean News Service, British Official Wireless, and its own private sources), distributes by air and teletype to some 210 U. S. and Canadian radio stations, 50-odd U. S. newspapers. With British United Press, Transradio offers the only news in Canada which can be sold to commercial sponsors. Canadian Press, Canada’s third news agency, supplies its bulletins to the official Canadian Broadcasting Corp., cannot be sponsored.

Shocked were Transradio and its radio clients one day last month when Transport Minister Clarence Howe arose in Ottawa’s House of Commons (TIME, June 24), announced that Transradio and British United Press must “show their news source is accurate” or lose their licenses on July 1. B. U. P. was quietly reinstated a few days later. Meanwhile, Transradio’s President Herbert Samuel Moore stormed up to Ottawa, angrily claiming there was a plot afoot by “selfish publishing and monopolistic interests … to destroy independent news services throughout the Dominion.” Last week CBC (which sits in judgment on all Canadian broadcasters) reconsidered, agreed to let Transradio Press continue indefinitely. But CBC still frowns on sponsored news, announced that it will work out a new plan for Dominion stations, outlawing commercial newscasts altogether. Under this plan, CBC will gather dispatches from all three agencies, edit and distribute them to Canadian broadcasters.