"B" RADIO STATIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 50, 28 February 1935, Page 11

"B" RADIO STATIONS.

MR. SCRIMGEOUR'S CLAIM. BROADCAST BILL ATTACKED. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) WELLINGTON', this day. A strong defence of "B" broadcasting stations and a criticism of tho Broadcasting Amendment Bill now before Parliament were voiced by the Rev. C. G. Scrimgcour, of the Friendly Road station, Aucklano, when speaking at the Wellington Town Hall last evening. "Wherever there is a 'B' station it lias 80 per cent of the listeners," lie claimed.

"I have not been able to obtain the sanction of the present Broadcasting Board or the Government for the erection of a station sufficiently powerful to serve southern centres," said Mr. Scrimgeour. "I have been to Wellington 1G times in the last six months, but liavo been unable to obtain any satisfaction or any reason for the refusal."

The proposed legislation, Mr. Scrimgeour declared, would mean the death of every "B" class station in New Zealand. The new board would have the power to intervene in the direction of sucli stations as the Friendly Road, even though they wore supported entirely by voluntary contributions. The new board, he said, should be an elected body, enabling those who paid license fees to have some say in the conduct of an important service. As it was, there would just be four more marionettes on the strings pulled by the Governin ent.

Listeners, he concluded, did not like tho stereotyped programmes offered by the national stations.