PAGE TWO THE MICHIGAN DAILY VEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2,1964 NEEDS REVISION: Bagdikian Hits Press Outlook ... r..r: .. . . . . .h . . . . . Y .. . , . . . 1Y ."r r ;r . YrV r . ........... .. . .. . ... . . . .... .. * DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN .. z:; i >: ;i'; 1 >? l) > I ..:: :::: .;. .... K. . ..... . : :: .... ..... .... ;. ....: ..: . ":.:: ......... .,,.... . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . , . . . + . .i ; r : r .: : ::.: w : w J .r : : . . : .K K : ." I By MARK KILLINGSWORTH "The penalties of missing rele- vant signals in life get more im- portant all the time," Ben Bag- dikian, prize-winning journalist and author, said recently, but "the press has been dangerously narrow in the range of ideas that it has presented as acceptable." The ideal of newspapers and newsmen is that they are "above politics," but, Bagdikian declared, this is clearly impossible. Because an accelerating world makes, events harder and harder to report, and because newspapers cannot possibly report all of them, he said, the press must necessarily focus on certain events. The proper focus "requires more sophistication and has more mar- gin for error than any other part of the journalistic process." Pearl Harbor Citing the role of newspapers' in Hawaii prior to the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor, Bagdikian commented that the New York Times' Pacific coverage was "prob- ably as good or better than diplo- matic cables." Washington offi- cials, who read the Times, assum- ed that U.S. officials in Hawaii were doing so also, and based their instructions to them accord- ingly. However, since it took a week for the Times to reach Honolulu, Bagdikian went on, the island's officials relied on Hawaiian news- papers' coverage, which was "un- sophisticated a n d inaccurate." It was this, more than any other single factor, Bagdikian declared, that resulted in the disastrous un- preparedness at Pearl Harbor. Analogy Something analogous often oc- curs due to press coverage of political and economic maiters, he added. "When they deal with abstrac- tions or =something unfamiliar to people and as a head of a godlessl corporation," and thus his news- paper's tone "tends to be that of the commercial community, and thus more conservative than its< readers." Two-Thirds1 He declared that two-thirds oft the country's liberal congressmeni come from districts with news-i papers that are predominantly conservative in outlook. And, since the newspaper is quite frequently a local monopoly, it can do this and yet will not suffer, Bagdikian added, saying that the press "can become detached from prevalent political values and survive." 1 Bagdikian noted, however, that newspapers seem to be undergoingf "long-overdue changes," primarily, because the businessman, who "now sees very clearly that gov- ernment policy is a necessary and valuable influence," has also changed. He noted that 42 per cent of the country's newspapers support- ed President Johnson during the campaign, in contrast to 35 per cent who supported Senator Barry Goldwater. The Daily Official Bulletin is an official publication of The Univer- sity of Michigan, for which The Michigan Daily assumes no editor- ial responsibility. Notices should be sent in TYPEWRITTEN form to Room 3564 Administration Bldg. be- fore 2 p.m. of the day preceding publication, and by 2 p.m. Friday for Saturday and Sunday. General Notices may be published a maxi- mum of two times on Request; IDay Calendar items appear once only. Student organization notices are not c eet d fo bnlic tin sions of the Aesthetic Response of Col-I lege Students to School Architecture,"! Wed., Dec. 2. E. Council Room, Rackham Bidg., at 3:30 p.m. Chairman, Finley Carpenter. Physical-Chemistry Seminar: Phil La Fleur (Dept. of Chem.), "Positronium Chemistry," Thurs., Dec. 3, at 5 p.m. in Room 1200 Chemistry Bldg. Special Lecture Series No. 4-"Some Topics in the Physical Chemistry of Polymers," by Dr. Robet Ullman (Ford dents of fine arts. Any woman, 18- 26, enrolled in college or art school is eligible. Entries must be in by Feb. 1. College Fiction Contest - Talented student writers. Entries accepted no 1later than F b_ 1 I Tfor tinnnr n under 30, interested in young people to help direct activities of "Y." City of Aldrian, Mich.-Jr. Civil Engr. Recent or Dec. grads for Dept. of Pub- lic Works. Remarkable ace e ro""Motor Co. Research Labs.), Wed., Dec. This was remarkable, he saidl, in; 2, at 7:30 p.m., Room 1300 Chemistry vie of themfactat "mstd, of WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2 Bldg. Lecture V: "Structure of Crystal- view of the fact that " f };,: ' }t;;:;:;:;;;;{:%.:::; Y,:; , 'tit .: S: vi_} , 4' tttt;f ::<{, r:: is t: i. :';;};:;?