After the Second World War, all the newspapers in Europe and America have undergone important changes. This is especially true in Europe where the newspapers have undergone a complete change as a result of the war. Former leading German and Italian newspapers were completely liquidated at the end of the war. The new Ones that took their place all started from scratch. This may be regarded as one of the most important changes on the continent after the war.
I. Germany
Before the war, newspaper enterprises in Europe were best developed in Germany. Under the control of Hitler and Goebbels, all the German news publications were used as a tool of propaganda for Nazism and enjoyed wide circulation. On the average every German at that time read five newspapers. At the conclusion of the war in May, 1945, when the Allies occupied Berlin, all the newspapers in West Germany were ordered to close down. In the American, British and French occupied zones no one with any Nazi background was allowed to engage in the newspaper publication business. New licenses for newspaper publishers were issued by the Allied occupation authorities to individuals with democratic leanings. But most of the men that took up the business lacked newspaper experience and printing equipment. In the end, they had to make use of the services of the old hands in the business and asked them to work behind the scenes for the newspapers. After the lifting of the press control in 1950, many old newspapermen came out in the open again.
Hamburg, a city of 800,000, is the biggest of the newspaper publishing centers and the homeland of modern journalism in West Germany. The Bild Zeitung, with a daily circulation of 1,000,000 and Die Welt, with a daily circulation of over 200,000, are the biggest of the West German dailies: Both of them belong to A. Springer. Under the Nazis, Springer was not known to the public. After the war, he teak over the management of the Die Welt from the British and has since become the king of West Germany newspapers.
Another important newspaper center in West Germany is Frankfurt/M, which was also well-known for newspaper publication in the old days. There are still several dailies of importance in this city. The biggest is the Frankfurter Allgemeine, which is known for its judicious views and factual reporting. A short time' ago, the Allgemeine sent one of its correspondents, Adelbert Weinstein, to Taipei. During hi, stay here he interviewed the President. He is the first German journalist who visited and reported on Free China. The Allgemeine is also known for its liberal point of view and its anti-Communist stand. Its daily circulation is around 120,000.
The third important newspaper center in West Germany is Munich, home of Der Sudetendeutsche run by the Christian Democratic Party. There are several other big newspapers in the Rhur district in such cities as Essen, Dusseldorf and Cologne with circulation over 200,000.
Most important news centers in other parts of the world are located either in commercial or industrial towns or in the seat of a government. Not so with West Germany. Bonn, the capital of West Germany, can boast of no big news paper of any kind. Its General Anzeiger has a circulation of only 30,000 to 40,000. It has a very modest plant and equipment. The other two papers, viz., New Presse and Rundschau, are even smaller. This may be explained by the fact that Bonn used to be and still is a college town. The newspapers there cater mostly to the students.
Newspapers in West Germany may be classified according to their nature into the four following categories: 1. Local newspapers: There are some 600 of these, most of which draw their material from the big newspapers, contenting themselves with publishing in addition some local news. Their feature articles and photogravure section are reprinted from boiler mats supplied by some out-of-town big paper. 2. Metropolitan newspapers such as those in Hamburg, Frankurt/M etc. are all run on a big scale and generally follow the development of the American and British papers. 3. Newspapers belonging to political parties: The Rheinische Post of Adenauer's Christian Democratic Party has a daily circulation of only 15,000. The paper run by the Social Democratic Party is equally modest in scale. 4. Independent newspapers: The biggest of these is Die Welt, and the second Frankfurter Allgemeine.
From my observation in Europe, I am of the opinion that West Germany still leads the continent in journalistic development. The German newspapers are characterized by their objective, accurate reporting and abundance of pictures. Sometimes pictures and illustrations occupy half of the space. News coverage is mostly limited to domestic developments. There is very little foreign news coverage. The most influential newspaper in West Germany, especially for the intellectual circles, is the Frankfurter Allgemeine. It exerts an influence on the German public opinion comparable to the London Times in Britain and the New York Times in the United States. The next is the Bild Zeitung, with its good political, economic and foreign news cover age. These two dailies are recognized not only as Germany's best but also as having few peers in Europe.
II. Italy
After the fall of Mussolini, the Italian press changed speedily from being the tool of fascism to be the mouthpiece for democracy. Though most of the Italian dailies are using their old names, they have in reality undergone great changes. There are two centers for newspaper publications in Italy: Milan and Rome.
Milan is the place where Benito Mussolini started his career. Before the war, he founded here Il Popolo d'Italia and left it to be managed by his blather, Arnaldo. After Benito's death, the paper was divided to form two dailies—Il Popolo, organ for the Democratic Christian Party; L'Italia, organ for the Catholic Party.
The biggest Italian daily is one with a prewar name, the Corriere della Sera. It specializes in the coverage of commerce and economic affairs. It has a daily circulation of 450,000. Another daily with a similar large circulation is the Gazzetta della Sport which caters mostly to students and young readers.
The mast important independent newspaper in Rome is Il Messaggero which existed before the war. I paid a visit to its office and fauna that it bore close resemblance to the London Times, with its old atmosphere and all. Each of the editors has a neat, small office, which is quiet and good for writing. The paper has a wide circulation and advertising business.
Il Tempo is a daily established after the war. It has a circulation of 125,000. Its chief editor is Mr. Guglielmo Sarafini whose uncle used to serve as adviser to the Ministry of Finance in the Chinese National Government. Editor Sarafini is very sympathetic to China's cause. He expressed to me his regret over the confusion in the Italian politics and over the fact that many newsmen are leftists. He also expressed to me the hope to secure materials from us so that he might give a fair reporting of, and express his views correctly on, Free China.
Most of the Italian newspapers are free from political affiliations. Papers with political leaning command but limited circulation, except L. Unita, organ of the Communist Party and Avanti, organ of the left Socialist Party.
The Vatican organ, Observatore Romano, has a history of several hundred years. All its editors and correspondents are Catholic priests. The editorial policy is to propagate news of the Catholic Church and announce the Pope's edicts. With a circulation of over 200,000, it reaches every corner of the earth and exerts widespread influence.
III. France
After the liberation of France from the hands of the Nazis, all the newspapers that were under the rule of the Vichy government were regarded by the Free French as property of the traitors. The De Gaulle government formed a press committee for the control of newspapers and periodicals and redistribution of their property rights. A good deal of litigation and confusion followed. It was not until 1945 that the situation began to improve. The most popular daily in Paris is undoubtedly Le Figaro, which was formerly financed by the house of Coty of perfume fame but has now come under the directorship of L. Gabriel-Robinet. It has a circulation of 490,000. While in Paris, I paid a visit to the Figaro office and found that its interior looked very much like that of the Shun Pao, the oldest paper in Shanghai. Le Figaro pays special attention to its literary supplement with a view to supplying the reading material needed by the intellectuals. It takes no firm position in politics and economic affairs which goes admirably well with the free and easy attitude of the French people.
With a circulation of 680,000, Le Parisien Libere advocates freedom and liberty. Though it is not leftist, it takes a critical attitude toward the government of Free China.
Le Monde is most influential among the young French intellectuals. It catches the imagination of the young people by its provocative reporting and criticism of the political and economic situation. For this reason it has a certain amount of influence. This paper takes an unfriendly attitude toward us. It often makes use of the Communist propaganda lies to make untruthful reports about Free China. In this way it acts very much like the To Kung Pao after the war and may be equally regarded as a fellow traveler of the Communists.
With a circulation of 1,110,000, France Soir is like other evening newspapers in that it pays special attention to sensational news and light literature. It is successor to the Paris Soir, a leading popular evening journal in prewar days. There are more than one reason for its rapid development but the most important is the fact that there is no other big evening paper in France to compete with it. The newspaper has very old equipment. It has more than ten rotary presses, which can finish the publication of the paper within an hour if they are all operated at the same time. The paper draws its readers from the middle and lower classes of people.
The French Communist organ, L' Humanite, is a satire upon itself; its printed pages are full of sarcasm and cutting remarks. Its self-imposed tasks are to give publicity to the reconstruction works in Soviet Russia, apologize for the aggressive designs of international Communism and announce the activities of the French Communists. It has a circulation of no less than 170,000. When one reads about reports of the frequent· French government changes and labor strikes, one easily gathers the impression that the French political situation is confused. The fact of the matter is that they are the result of the growing power of the French Communists, who have infiltrated all the political and labor organizations. This is a great cause of concern for the future of France.
Before the war, Havas was a representative French news agency. It has a long history and large organization. After the fall of the Vichy government, it was reorganized to be Agence France Presse. On the surface it is supported by the French newspapers, but it is actually financed by the French government, which subsidizes it to the tune of four hundred million francs a year. Even at this rate, both its office and equipment are old.
Generally speaking, the European dailies impress people with their enjoyment of freedom of the press which is a contrast to the days before the war. This is especially true in Germany and Italy, where before the war the press was used mainly as an instrument for political propaganda. Under Article 5 of the Federal Republic's Basic Law, the West German press enjoys absolute freedom, and press censorship and limitation of any nature are frowned upon. A short time ago, the Bonn government considered the adoption of a press law but had to give up the idea after what amounted to a unanimous objection from the German press. There are many democratic civic bodies in West Germany which agitate for freedom of the press with the object of correcting the abuses of the Nazi days and using the press as an instrument for public reeducation. Another sign of the growth of freedom is found in the fact that the activities of the Bundestag are fully reported in the Des Parlament.
The same tendency of freedom is also found in Italy. But there press freedom is often abused by the Communists. For example, the Italian Communist organ, L. Unita, is making full use of press freedom to put over the Communist political designs.
Most of the European newspapers go in for stories of human interest and use photogravure abundantly. But color printing is not often used by the newspapers. The papers of Scandinavian countries such as Norway, Denmark and Sweden sometimes show greater printing skill than their French and German contemporaries. As most of the papers can ill afford to pay for special correspondents, few carry special cables of any kind. When there is any special correspondence at all, it is usually done by a part-time worker. For this reason most of the papers largely depend upon the services of news agencies. The contents of most European newspapers more or less stress supplements, especially Sunday supplements, which are very popular among the readers.
From the business point of view, the newspapers on the continent have a difficult time, which is not experienced by their English and American contemporaries. Advertising is hard to get and the rates are low. The French papers, for instance, charge only the equivalent of US$2 for a column inch of advertisement. It is difficult for the continent as a whole to get back to the prosperous days before the war. Even in West Germany which leads Europe in newspaper publication, there are at present only 1,230 dailies, with a total circulation of 13,000,000, which is much less than what it was before the war. The present population of West Germany is 52,000,000. So it works out that on the average four persons share one paper. In 1932, when the Nazis came to power, one person could have two and half papers. At the outbreak of the war, he could have five. Therefore, newspaper enterprises are far from having made full recovery and there is good deal of room for improvement.
IV. British Isles
The British dailies have made great improvement after the war. Fleet Street, center of the British news activities, miraculously escaped bombing. The church behind the Reuters head quarters was razed to the ground, but Reuters itself was not affected. The British press had a good foundation before the war and has made significant improvement since. The British dailies have bigger circulation than those in other countries. Following are the circulation figures of the most important English dailies:
Daily Mirror ........................... 4,664,000
Daily Express ......................... 4,114,000
Daily Mail .............................. 2,127,000
Daily Telegraph ...................... 1,041,000
News Chronicle ...................... 1,315,000
Evening News ......................... 1,430,000
Evening Standard .................... 751,000
The most surprising thing is the large circulation of the Sunday papers, figures for which follow:
Sunday Pictorial ....................... 5,446,000
Sunday Express ........................ 3,314,000
Sunday Dispatch ....................... 2,676,000
Such huge circulation figures are not found in other countries. However, the printing machinery and equipment of most of the papers are, due to the lack of new capital, of prewar vintage and practically obsolete. The Goss rotary printing presses they are using are ten years older than the ones in Central Daily News, Taipei. The color printing equipment is even more woefully behind time.
The Daily Mirror, however, has just put up a new plant with 36 new presses. When in full operation, they can print 1,200,240 pages an hour. It takes them four hours to finish all the papers needed by the Mirror for one day. According to Cecil King, publisher of the Mirror, this new plant cost £1,000,000 and has exhausted practically all the financial resources of his paper.
The equipment of the world-famous London Times is even older than its British contemporaries. Most of its presses are over thirty years old. It has a daily circulation of 222,205. The paper is known for its accurate reporting and its conservative views, which endear itself to the British public. However, its reference room is the best-equipped of its kind in the world. Each editor has a clipping service. It uses microfilm to keep all its records and reference materials.
V. United States
It had been eight years since I left the United States in my last visit. This time I found that the American dailies had made remarkable progress in the interval. The total circulation of American newspapers is 55,000,000, an increase of 600,000 since 1954. Meanwhile the number of dailies had decreased by two or three scores. At the present time, there are 1,765 dailies in the States. As a result of amalgamation, competition among the papers is exceptionally keen. The keynote of progress among the American papers is technical improvement. The greatest step forward since the war lies in color printing and phototypesetting.
The Milwaukee Journal pioneered in the field of color printing for newspapers. Its subsidiary, ROP Color Service, has 186 clients among the leading papers, which subscribe to its service of making plates and mats. The Rap (Run-on-the-Press) process makes it possible for the machine to print a multi-color picture at one impression when the paper passes through it. I went to the office of ROP Color Service for a visit and found that the machinery was an ingenious novelty. The staff members impressed me with their spirit and concentration at research. For the purpose of developing multi-color printing, the Milwaukee Journal had made an investment of a million dollars. It is tireless in continuing its research. The service is now using a one-shot camera which can take a color picture by an automatic device to produce four color films in one shot. There are special machines for enlarging and making plates, which can control the percentage of different color density as represented by the lines of screen. This was inconceivable just a few years ago.
Since the invention of the Fotosetter, complicated advertisement copies and graphs and charts may be set by the machine operated by a typesetter. This is a great stride forward since the adoption of Linotype and it may open the way to St Chinese characters in a similar fashion. There is also the Intertype Mixer which can be operated from the editorial office and set types in the composing room.
The biggest issue facing the American journalists is press freedom. Most people would take it for granted that there is no question of press freedom in the United States. Yet this is not so. Since the invention of the nuclear weapons, there have been many classified government documents. Even debates in the Congress may be off the record. Therefore, the American journalists have raised a big furor over the fact that the government has been limiting press freedom. During the 46th National Annual Convention of Sigma Delta Chi held in Chicago last November, a special committee was formed to study the ways and means of making the government ease its limitations on news releases for the press.
At the present time, most of the American and British industries are concentrated in the hands of a few capitalists. In what amounts to a trust control of the newspapers, freedom of the press has been jeopardized and a very serious question now is how to stop the editorial policy from being influenced by a few capitalists.
On the surface, both the American and British journalistic enterprises are prosperous and expanding. In reality, dangerous crises are stalking them. Roy Howard, king of the American press, has once said that the spirit of the journalists was on the decline. For the editors and correspondents have little qualms in accepting presents and invitations from outside people. Newspaper publishers, with an eye on profit and advertisement, will do everything in their power to please their clients in business and industry. This phenomenon has seriously affected American press freedom.
Another danger facing the American publishers is the shortage of newsprint. The price of newsprint has been on the increase and there is a short supply. Lord Beaverbrook, king of the British press, prophesied in his last trip to New York that this (1955) is going to be a year of paper scarcity and that its price will soar to a new height. It is estimated that the United States consumes 6,160,000 tons of paper each year, or 71 lbs. monthly for each individual. The monthly per capita consumption of paper is 18 lbs. in the British Isles and 4½ lbs. in West Germany. Among other things, this shows the surprising large amount of paper consumed by the American and British press. As the pulp resources in the world is limited, the question of newsprint shortage will not be solved unless there is reduction in consumption.