No new private radio stations to be authorised

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33141, 3 February 1973, Page 3

No new private radio stations to be authorised

(Neui Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, February 2. No new private radio stations will be authorised by the Government. But those in existence will be allowed to continue, pro vided they measure up to the standards the Government will set for its new national television and radio corporations.

Announcing this today, the Minister of Broadcasting (Mr Douglas) said it was no secret that Labour was opposed to the setting up of private broadcasting stations. Legislation would be needed to set up the new broadcasting structure, and this would not permit the issue of new warrants.

The private stations in; being, however, would be allowed to continue. The standards they would have to meet would be announced tn the White Paper on broadi casting which would be I issued within a few months. Mr Douglas said that the White Paper would also examine the matter of applications for special licences for non-commercial broadcasting by social and cultural organisations. Asked about the position of the companies which had warrants subject to appeal, Mr Douglas said that there would be no interference with them. If the companies survived appeals, they would be in the same position as other warrant holders. Two companies affected are Radio Avon, in Christchurch, and Wellington-Hutt Broadcasting, “CONCERN FELT” The N.Z.B.C. board is making arrangements for an early meeting at which the Minister can explain implications of his new broadcasting policy, according to the chairman of the N.Z.B.C. (Major-General W. S. McKinnon). General McKinnon said' that even now the only in- 1 formation the corporation had about the proposed' restructuring was that con-j tained in the Minister’s press! statement. Mr Douglas had given this | directly to the board, but had not been ready at this stage to answer questions about his proposals. General McKinnon said that after this meeting he would be in a position to make a statement on the pro-[ posed changes as the! N.Z.B.C. saw them. In the meantime, it would; be wrong to conceal the con- j cern felt by N.Z.B.C. staff at j the prospects of having an organisation which they had: created, and of which they' were justly proud, divided in the manner proposed by theGovernment. It was also felt within the; N.Z.B.C. that there was a; grave risk that the strength; and independence which the 1 corporation had been able to’ maintain in the past would! be weakened by the proposed■ fragmentation.

FURTHER COMPLAINT The Public Service Association has written to the Min-' ister complaining about lack of consultation before the Government’s decision to; divide .the N.Z.B.C A copy of a long letter to Mr Doug'as, released by the association’s secretary (Mr D. P. Long) said that advance advice of the policy state-; ment was in no way an adequate substitute for consultation and consideration of representations from staff and staff representatives, - which the association thought j essential. “Much more is now exnected bv way of consultation in this day of take-overs

and mergers,” the letter said. “It is accepted that there I should be consultation and 'opportunity to hear and consider staff views before staff are confronted with the public announcement of the collapse, dismemberment, or disappearance of the organisation by which they are employed.” The executive of the Radio and Television Journalists’ Society will meet Mr Douglas on February 9 to clarify aspects of the "Government’s new proposals. The society wanted to ascertain more details about the precise nature of the proposed news service than so far announced, the executive said. Until it had more facts, it was not in a position to state its attitude to the new structure. “EXCELLENCE” The two new television corporations would compete against each other for excellence. not for audiences, Mr Douglas said earlier today. Speaking at a press con-1 ference, Mr Douglas said that; safeguards would be devised: to ensure that the two cor-j porations did not compete for: audiences at the expense of; excellence. The exact method by whichi the corporations would be discouraged from so competing would be a prime topic for the committee of about four which would be set up soon to work on the splitting of the N.Z.B.C. into four separate components. “This is a most important: ;aspect. 1 will make a state-1 jment next week,” Mr Doug-; I las said. : Asked what would happen; [if the two corporations did mot meet the standards laid: (down, Mr Douglas said that: as public corporations they would be bound to pursue public interests. He believed that as public corporations they would see that their programmes were of the highest standard. The tasks of the committee would be to prepare the; White Paper laying down the: goals of the new broadcast-; ing system, and setting down, administrative procedures for' establishing the new corpora-! itions. : Giving further details of

how the two television corporations. the separate radio corporation, and the central unnamed body would work, Mr Douglas said that each corporation would have its own director-general and staff. Below the director-general would be a minimum number of people in management and a maximum number in production duties. One television network would be centred on Wellington, with Dunedin having some production and creative rights. The second network would have its headquarters at Auckland, with Christchurch having responsibility for some programmes. The radio network would have a headquarters, probably at Wellington, but its programmes would largely be originated from other stations throughout New Zealand. The location of the radio headquarters was not a major consideration. I Mr Douglas said that as well as the introduction of icompetition, the introduction I of regionalism to broadcastling was a main aspect of his I plans. “We were very con-i cerned to see that all television, as well as the National Film Unit, was not based in Wellington,” he said. “There is some regional production at the moment, but we want to see far more! initiative taken by the, regions.” CHRISTCHURCH DRAMA SCHOOL Mr Douglas said he had been told that one of the main \reasons for the closing of the, 'Christchurch drama school' | was that 30 full-time and 20; part-time actors had left tfie i city in the last three years i because work had not been I available. Labour’s eventual goal for New Zealand television was a local content of 50 per cent! — but this was a goal, not a i demand, at this time. The television corporations,; Mr Douglas said, would not; be allowed to bid against (each other for overseas pro-j grammes. They would inform I the central New Zealand; 'organisation of their require-' iments, and this organisation! 'would buy the programmes I from overseas sources at the’

cheapest available price. Where the two corporations wanted the same programme. , methods would have to be used to decide which obtained which programmes. “There are several alternatives available, but we have not yet decided on one,” said Mr Douglas. “One possibility is that the two corporations could bid against each other to the central authority.” NEWS SERVICES Amplifying his plans for broadcasting news services, Mr Douglas said that the centra) authority would be responsible only for gathering the news. It would make the news available to all three working corporations, which would have their own news editors to decide what was used and what was not. Newscasts could be at the same time on both television channels, or there could be overlaps. This would be something the committee could study when writing out the White Paper, standards. ( and the like. Mr Douglas said he assumed the central body would make news items available to the three corporations more or less at the same time.