Avon upsets ‘sister’

Press, 2 August 1977, Page 3

Avon upsets ‘sister’

Radio Otago is disappointed that Radio Avon did not tell its Dunedin “sister” that it planned to start a radio station which would cover part of Radio Otago’s area.

The chairman of Radio Otago, Mr J. E. Farry, said he realised Radio Avon had been under no obligtion to inform its sister station of its inteitions, but Radio Otago was disappointed Avon had decided to try to move into Otago without contacting that province’s own private station beforehand.

Radio Otago derived a good deal of listener support and advertising revenue from Oamaru. the province’s largest town, he said.

Mr Farry said that “the last thing” Radio Otago wanted to do was jeopardise Oamaru’s opportunity of getting its own station after so many years of waiting. “We don’t want to jeopardise Oamaru’s chances because ii is the people of the township who would suffer," h said. “But 1 am disappointed Avon did not

advise us so that we could discuss the matter and perhaps come to a mutual arrangement.” Mr Farry said he would “reserve judgment” on Radio Avon’s plans until the matter had been discussed with Avon. A meeting would soon take place, he said. Radio Otago’s transmission to Oamaru had only recently been improved, he said. Previous attempts by Otago to spread into the town in 1973 had been blocked when the Minister of Broadcasting, Mr Douglas, had scrapped the broadcasting tribunal, and the station had been “left in limbo” without a base in Oamaru. The chairman of Radio Avon, Mr P. L. Mortlock, said last evening that his station had not “seen the need” to tell Radio Otago about its plans for a station based in Timaru, Ashburton and Oamaru.

“There is no way of providing a service into South Canterbury without also serving the area around Oamaru.” Mr Mortlock said. “No service can go into

Waimate without also going into Oamaru — you just can’t split it off at provincial boundaries if the provincial boundary is not a natural boundary too.” Mr Mortlock said that airwaves followed natural boundaries, not provincial lines. The transmitter to serve the Waitaki basin would be sited just south of the Waitaki River. “It will be sited to serve the Canterbury region, and it will equally serve North Otago,” he said. Support for Radio Avon’s plans was last evening expressed by the Mayor of Ashburton (Mr D. O. Digby) at a council meeting. “For a number of years, Ashburton residents have been pressing Radio New Zealand for some improvement in radio reception in our district,” Mr Digby said. “Despite numerous requests and the boosting of the Christchurch transmitting station some years ago, reception in parts of MidCanterbury is not all that is to be desired.”