Mowrer: Press ‘in dark’ on conference of ‘Big Three’
‘Mishandling’ of coverage of Cairo parley held bad omen
By Richard Mowrer
Cairo, Egypt – (Dec. 2, delayed)
Maybe the Big Three conference was a success. Maybe it was a flop.
At any rate, the 77 correspondents who “covered” the conference wouldn’t know. Maybe it’s important that they shouldn’t know.
In any case, if the mishandling of the press coverage of this conference is setting a precedent, then the prospect for honest reporting of the peace conference, among others, is decidedly gloomy.
‘Open secrets’
Although the fact that the conference was to be held and then the fact that it was being held were open secrets, elaborate arrangements were made “for security reasons” to keep reporters away from the conference area. That was all right with the reporters who appreciate security requirements. It was arranged that the liaison between the conference and reporters would be handled by Office of War Information representatives.
That was fine for color material: Mme. Chiang wore jade-colored sunglasses; Prime Minister Churchill wore a blue polka dot tie; other principals did this and that, went hither and yon.
No direct contact
As the days passed and the conference concluded, it became evident that the correspondents would have no direct contact with any of the principals at the conference.
Despite repeated requests and pleadings, reporter saw no one officially, although Hadil Ali, chief guide of the Pyramids, was fortunate enough to get half an hour with Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill, and this correspondent knows a man who has a secretary who has a manicurist friend who, on the second day of the conference, tended the nails of Mme. Chiang.
The conference press mess plunked to new depths when the story, having broken everywhere, on Nov. 30, except in Cairo, correspondents here were held to a much later release date and the ban continued to be enforced on sending anything at all having to do with the conference by wireless.