Getting news back to the home media--newspaper or radio network--was particularly
problematic during World War II. What communications means there were in the Pacific war zone were controlled by the military and the needs of the reporters and correspondents in the area weren't the highest priority of those in charge. By July 8th, more details were available about the previous days of fighting on Saipan. There was a failed attempt by some of the Japanese to break out of the encircling ring of American forces and the Honolulu Star Bulletin, clearly more aware of the geography of the island, tapped the Associated Press for an early look at the devastation of Saipan.
Garapan, Saipan, July 1944
Stateside newspaper editors and their counterparts at the radio networks and the magazines, many of which had correspondents in the Pacific, must have thought they had died and gone to heaven, given the surfeit of news available to them. And it was a Saturday, traditionally a slow day. The only problem they faced was fitting in all the war news at their disposal. Developments flowing in on this particular day did at least give some balance between the fighting in Europe and in the Pacific.
