Viscount Hinchinghrookeasked the Minister of Information whether he will give an assurance that in cases where special facilities for the collection of materials are accorded by his Department to news-reels companies, such as the Paramount Film Corporation, steps are taken to ensure that this material is not presented in the form of sequences and comment capable of interpretation in the terms of party political controversy and that the public interest is the sole criterion in granting such facilities?
§ Mr. ThurtleIt is true that much of the newsreel material about the war is obtained through facilities granted by the Government, but newsreels are not, of course, subject to censorship on political grounds. However, I share my Noble Friend's dislike of the intrusion of politics into newsreels, which offer little scope for genuine discussion. In journalism there is always an opportunity to make a reply to polemics, but in newsreels there is not.