I
CONFIDENTIAL
2
3. Of course no material we can produce on Hong Kong can affect the bias of articles filed by working journalists, and home-based news editors are far more likely to take their word rather than ours. Nevertheless we know from our own experience in the U.K. that if we can get a senior staff member of a newspaper to visit. this country on a sponsored tour, this sometimes pays very good. dividends. Presumably you have been doing the same sort of thing and I wondered if you would consider it of value if we were to ask our Information Officers at one or two posts to put forward the names of influential journalists and editors likely to benefit from a facilitated visit to Hong Kong. In particular I was thinking of South East Asia where the newspapers are almost entirely dependent on News Agency sources and also Western Europe where a favourable article in one of the large circulation German 1llustrated magazines could achieve a great deal. You will also have seen Tokyo's letter 1512/78/67 of 14 September to me, copied to the Political Adviser, about the influence of "Time" and "Newsweek" reporting. writing separately to B.I.S. New York on this, but you might conside: an invitation to one of their senior news editors appropriate.
I am
1. As you will realise these are all very tentative ideas and as I said during our meeting I look forward to receiving from you any practical suggestions you may have once you have settled back into your office again. I should add that the question of finance is one for the Government of Hong Kong. Our Information posts can recommend foreign journalists whom you might invite; and we could probably lend you for a month or so a man from here who eculd write a series of articles for dissenmination world-wide through B.I.8. But I doubt if the Treasury would agree to our paying for such · operations. I did mention this to the Governor who thought he could find the funds for one or two worthwhile projects.
(G.S. Littlejohn Cook)
CONFIDENTIAL
a dow of SE
20
leaving fo
Rould reply
P.S. As I am
Asía, you Joh lech
G
Judy
Stowe