JNF-The-Working-Class-Struggle-of-Half-a-Century

21 POWER OF THE PRESS
During first half of the 20 th century, the press was active on every occasion
when the destiny of the ordinary people hung in the balance. It is a
peculiar instrument with extensive reach. It is a popular medium for the
spread of information of all sorts, and can present this information, analyze
it and colour it in any way it wishes, so as to produce particular
effects on the public mind. The Press figured prominently as an agency
moulding public opinion in 1922 when the Wood Commission was sent
out from London to see if the colonies of the Caribbean were ripe for
self-government. At no time afterward was the press absent from the
struggle for political, economic and social advancement.
The power of the press was heightened by the spread of education
- even as it was at that time- and the universal quest for knowledge.
As the early visions of change became clearer to the masses and the
eventual decline of the old regime was foreseen by the privileged classes,
the local press went into action, not as a unified force, but as a
complex battle ground on which the champions of conflicting interests
fought with all their might.
Contrast
The point at issue in 1922 was the inquiry of the Wood Commission.
Was our territory ripe for receiving a measure of self-government at that
time? The vested interests said No. The newspaper which expressed the
wishes of this group of people and reflected their fears, came out with a
reprint of a composition which ridiculed the idea of giving liberty to
descendants of Africans. The stroke was a subtle one, but it did the
damage. Organised capital and the ruling class then combined to defeat
the ends of political reform.. Accordingly, the policy and shade of opinion
reflected in the columns of their medium of communication was
tailored to the interests of people who were out to preserve their tradition
position.
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