Joseph's attitude to newspaper ownership

“Perhaps the greatest danger of our national life arises from the power of selfish and unscrupulous wealth which influences public opinion largely through the press (e.g. the Opium and Drink traffic, and the South African War). If the funds permitted, and the Directors of the Social Services Trust were equal to the task, it would be quite in accordance with my wish that they should control, by purchase or otherwise, a newspaper or newspapers, conducting them not with a primary view to profit but with the object of influencing public thought in right channels.” Joseph Rowntree, The Founder’s Memorandum, 1904, on the potential remit of the Social Services Trust.

Image: From originals held at the Borthwick Institute for Archives.