The announcement was roundly condemned by the National Union of Journalists. NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear, challenging Tindle to a debate on press freedom, said:
"So much for the right to know, free speech and all those other rights which our forefathers fought to establish and which Sir Ray Tindle seeks to demolish at the stroke of a pen.
"What makes his censorship better than the censorship of those he would seek to condemn? He merely confirms that freedom of the press really only belongs to those who own the press - the rest of us will be allowed to know only what they deem is suitable. Next stop tyranny?"
"All the polls show that public opinion is divided pretty much evenly. Tindle is cutting 50 per cent of the population out of his columns. What would people say if he banned all women correspondents, for instance?"
When I asked Tindle-owned South Hams Newspapers General Manager Jackie Smith whether she thought it was acceptable for the owner of a group of newspapers to attempt to dictate editorial policy on such an important issue, she replied, "Well, it's his train set."
Tindle's decision was announced by means of a front page article in the Totnes Times (also carried in the other South Devon Tindle titles) by editorial manager Gina Coles, who is unapologetic:
"In a brave move, which could easily be seen by some as censoring the news, Sir Ray ordered that once war in Iraq was declared his newspapers would not carry any more anti-war stories."
Adding her support for this 'order', she continues:
"As editorial manager of eight of Sir Ray's titles, I am proud to say I totally agree with his decision."
Later in the same article, she says:
"Once war was declared, anti-war demonstrations were pointless – the argument was lost.
We don't normally run campaigns – we support everybody's point of view. From the time war with Iraq was declared, however, and until a ceasefire is called, we unashamedly say that we are on one side only – that of the troops."
Several members of the Totnes Peace Group, which has organised many anti-war protests since the 2002 invasion of Afghanistan, met with Gina Coles and General Manager Jackie Smith on April 3 to discuss the implications of their boss' message and how it would affect coverage of the opinions of local people opposed to the war.
Gina Coles insisted that Sir Ray's instruction did not constitute censorship, saying that he had sent a further message giving individual editors discretion as to how they applied the policy. She did, however, say that she "completely agreed with him" on the issue and said that she had been contacted by several wives of servicemen, who wanted anti-war protests stopped because "they are not helping". "I am supporting the troops by doing what the wives, mothers and families want me to do, which is not report anything to do with anti-war protests at this moment."
Paul Wesley, veteran peace campaigner and owner of Harlequin Books in Totnes, pointed out that the Totnes Peace Group were unanimous in their support of the troops. "We think the best way to support them is to bring them home", he said.
Gina Coles remained adamant that she would not print anti-war protest while British troops are fighting in Iraq, saying that "anti-war demonstrations are no longer news". She did concede that reporting events to support peace "as opposed to being anti-war" may be acceptable.
P J Chandler
Full text of article in Totnes Times:
SIR Ray Tindle, chairman and editor-in-chief of this newspaper, starts to wage his own war today in support of our troops in the Gulf.
In a brave move, which could easily be seen by some as censoring the news, Sir Ray ordered that once war in Iraq was declared his newspapers would not carry any more anti-war stories.
Sir Ray, owner of more than 100 weekly newspaper titles around the country, is fiercely proud of his former regiment, the Devon and Dorsets, in which he served during World War Two.
His memories of the terrible time he and his fellow soldiers endured have prompted the move to ignore local demonstrations against the decision to go to war against Saddam Hussein.
He is adamant that, from personal experience, he knows what our troops will want to be hearing in news from home.
In a letter to all his management teams he wrote: 'Everyone knows that Tindle family newspapers have no political bias. Our columns are free.
'When British troops come under fire, however, as now seems probable, I ask you to ensure that nothing appears in your newspapers which attacks the decision to conduct the war in which those men and women are involved, nor, of course, anything which attacks the troops themselves.
'I ask it, not just as proprietor of the newspapers, but as someone who served as a British soldier from 1944 to 1947 in the Far East. I know that what our men need most at this time is the feeling of confidence that they are being backed by the "folks back home", and are fighting for them.'
As editorial manager of eight of Sir Ray's titles, I am proud to say I totally agree with his decision.
Anything we can do, regardless of our own personal agenda on the war, to help bolster the confidence of those fighting against the acknowledged dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, must be our priority.
We have reported every anti-war demonstration to date that we have been made aware of.
But, as we now know, the 48-hour deadline issued by George W Bush to Saddam Hussein and his family is over and American troops have started their attack on Iraq. British troops seem certain to be called in soon.
Now all we can do, many thousands of miles away from the action, is to do our best to support those who are fighting.
By that we mean all of the troops, but, of course, we especially mean the friends and family of residents in the South Hams.
Once war was declared, anti-war demonstrations were pointless – the argument was lost.
Our editorial policy, set by Sir Ray, who was knighted for his services to the newspaper industry, has always been to report the local news, but also to report as much of the community news as possible.
Our strength in the newspaper market is that we care equally about flower shows and local personalities as we do about the hard news stories.
We don't normally run campaigns – we support everybody's point of view.
From the time war with Iraq was declared, however, and until a ceasefire is called, we unashamedly say that we are on one side only – that of the troops.
We join with their friends and loved ones who pray for the safe return of each and every one of them.
Copyright Tindle Newspapers Ltd 21 March 03
1 Gina Coles, 'It's too late for debate - Now we must all support our local heroes at war', Ivybridge and South Brent Gazette, 21 March 2003
2 David Miller, Eliminating truth: the development of war propaganda, April 2 2003, www.medialens.org
