Foreign News: Quelle Pagaïe!

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To the offices of Radio France on the Rue Bayard came a bright, brash reporter from the Paris-Matin. "I am Christian Basque," he announced politely. "May I speak with whoever is in charge here?"

Reporter Basque knocked on door after door; always someone else was in charge. "Bande d'imbeciles/" he growled, "Pack of fools!" At length he found himself shunted back where he had started. "Quelle pagaie!—What a mess!" he cried, and left.

A few days later Reporter Basque returned. He strode to Room 205, announced himself loudly as the Information Ministry's new Director of Broadcasts. "Bien, bien!—Fine, fine!" nervous bureaucrats exclaimed. They bustled around, tidied up his desk, and put a sign, "Broadcast Control Office," on his door. Program directors, producers and script writers filed into Room 205 to have their manuscripts bureaucratically edited and rubber-stamped.

After two days Reporter Basque took down his sign, stepped to a microphone and told Radio France's listeners: tomorrow the well-informed Paris-Matin will publish an investigation of the broadcasting system. Be sure to read it.

Then Reporter Basque went back to his newspaper, wrote his story. Paris-Matin put it on the front page.