WIRELESS BAN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 243, 27 July 1935, Page 6

WIRELESS BAN

THE AUCKLAND B STATIONS.

(Special, to the “ Guardian.”) AUCKLAND, July 26

i No change was reported to-day in the position of B class broadcasting stations, following tbe demands made by the gramophone record interests Concerning the broadcasting of recorded items. It was suggested, however, that the situation, might have arisen from a legal decision in England. In the meantime, Stations IZB and IZM will continue their sessions, and IZJ will remain off the air in conformity with the previous decision.

| “It would appear to me,” said Mr V. R. Johns, director of Johns, Ltd., owners of Station IZJ, “that the statement from Wellington that the position apparently is a sequel to preliminary warnings issued by the gramophone record makers in Australia a year ago, is made by soneone not in close touch with' the position, and who had not bothered to make himself fully conversant with facts as known to-day. “We are inclined to believe that the copyright interests in Australia are not party to this action, but that some father obscure legal point lias been l-aised in England, and has resulted in a decision in favour of the gramophone interests. If this is the case, and it involved an appeal action in English courts to settle it, it is idle to suggest that anyone in New Zealand could have been acquainted with the circumstances which gramophone interests say we know have existed for the last three years. “We have not to our knowledge broken any Government regulation or infringed the rights of any other interests during the operation of IZJ. Since the information to hand indicates that the gramophone interests may have rights hitherto unrecognised in New Zealand,' we have decided to close down until the position is clarified.” The executive of the Friendly Road organisation which controls Station IZB considered the position to-day, and subsequently the secretary, Mr H. Bell, said: “If the demand in the London copyright circular can he legally substantiated, then the position may be serious for B stations in the Domiiir ion. How r ever, the circular is in general terms, and without due investigation it is impossible to state its influence on the present position of broadcasting records. In. regard to our own station, we are in the fortunate position that the majority of our transmissions include studio items and devotional sessions. Recorded items occupy such a relatively small proportion of time that if due enforcement of the suggested charge of 10s a record side was made, we could possibly still carry on with programmes for the limited time of 25 hours a week, which we are on the air.”

POSITION IN NELSON.

NELSON, July 26.

A meeting of 2ZR< Radio Club was held last evening to consider the demand made by the National Federation of the Phonographic Industry for the payment of 10s compensation for every record side for each copyright record broadcast by the club without authority. It was decided to carry on in the meantime with other than banned records, and to communicate with other B class stations, which are in a similar position, with a view to united action. Under the present terms of its license to broadcast, the club would forfeit its license if the station was closed down temporarily, and it was therefore decided to request the Post-master-General to protect the club’s license, if it was temporarily forced off the air, until other arrangements could be made.

It is understood that a public meeting will he held next week with a view to renewing the request to the Broadcasting Board for a subsidy.