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An Army Bureau of Current Affairs film dramatising a discussion with the ex-editor of a newspaper about how to read newspapers intelligently and put the news in its proper perspective.

(Reel 1) The audience at a music hall watch 'Florita' on stage. She slowly strips off her dress and begins an "exotic" feather dance exposing sequinned nipples and brief underwear. Representatives of "Bromchester Council" are outraged and make their feelings known to the press. Numerous - and good - images of newspaper production follow. At the West Milton El Alamein Serviceman's Club the daily papers are perused. The Daily Picture (tabloid) has plenty of coverage but The Courier (broadsheet) allocates four lines to the event. The Daily Gazette's (broadsheet) coverage falls between the two. The servicemen discuss the differing emphasis put on the story by each paper, an editor (John Laurie) in their midst explains the policies of each paper. Behind the scenes at the Daily Picture, a reporter and photographer are sent to interview Florita - they pose her in the kitchen to prove she's a clean living woman and glean local opinion for their report. The concurrent story of the trouble in the Balkans is regarded as relatively unimportant. (Reel 2) The Balkan story is relegated to the back page. At the Daily Gazette they are more interested in the Balkan's conflict, the striptease story is deemed a page three or woman's page story. Eventually the story is run but advertising and late stories lessen its importance. At The Courier, a serious editorial meeting is in session. Zagreb and the Balkans conflict are front page news but Florita only rates four lines. The confusion of news and views is discussed by the servicemen. To illustrate the point that what a story is rumoured to be is not what it eventually becomes, the editor tells in flashback of an event he was assigned to report. L/S of fire. (Reel 3) Fifty children were rumoured dead in a country hall fire, the story became front page news but by the time the paper was printed the children were found so a stop press had to convey this. L/S of setting print, machines and newspapers. Discussion of who reads what eg. women read recipe page etc, men read sports and financial pages. The political slant of a newspaper governs how and what is reported and who reads it. Even so, some people don't notice the news eg a man writes to the newspaper complaining of a spelling mistake in the Balkans story having ignored the horror of the situation. Final shot of contemporary newspapers including the Daily Worker.

35mm