The Press FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1934. The Empire Broadcast

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21341, 7 December 1934, Page 12

The Press FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1934. The Empire Broadcast

Many New Zealanders will be amused, some will be vexed, by the announcement of the part their broadcasting system is to take in the Empire Christmas programme of the British Broadcasting Corporation. They will agree, whichever their attitude, that a mistake has been made. One of the New Zealand contributions is so far undisclosed; but, after the Wellington carillon has joined in the chiming of the Empire's bells, the " something "more or less characteristic of that "part of the Empire whence it "originates" will be, for this Dominion, " a talk on whaling in Tory " Channel." It is obvious that whoever made this choice has been bent upon oddity and surprise; for it will impress many New Zealanders almost equally with the rest of th-j Empire's listeners as a strange fact that whaling is still carried on here. The main difference will be that the New Zealanders will know that there are not many whales and not many whalers, while the others will begin to raise, in imagination, mountains of blubber and pyramids of barrels, and wonder why such wealth has been hidden behind lamb and butter and the All Blacks. On the other hand, if the broadcaster tells the plain, full, statistical truth, he can only arouse a different wonder—why so insignificant and un typical a story should have been thought proper matter for the occasion. The Australians have |judged belter, with their description of the traffic on Sydney's harbour bridge and talks by a cattle drover and a wheat farmer. On the New Zealand principle, a manufacturer of macaroni should have been given a prior place. It probably is too late to withdraw this unhappy proposal. If so, there is little to hope for but that the second contribution will be more wisely chosen, though it is easier now to be apprehensive than hopeful. But it has been made clearer than ever that the Broadcasting Board will have to spend some of its money and buy the imagination and intelligence for want of which it is floundering so dismally.