TV fee refusal condemned

Press, 8 June 1979, Page 11

TV fee refusal condemned

PA Wellington The Television Producers and Directors’ Association has condemned the Government’s refusal to increase licence fees as “a deliberate evasion of its responsibilities to the nation.” A statement signed by the association’s president (Mr A. Issac) said that the decision meant that broadcasters would be

forced to show New Zealand less and less of its own affairs. “There will be fewer New Zealanders on the screen — in documentaries, in dramas, in the church, on the farm, on the sports field,” Mr Isaac said. “Already a lack of money means valuable equipment is lying idle. The Government’s decision means this will get

The association also sent a letter to the chairman of the Broadcasting Corporation (Mr lan Cross) asking that a television “special” be made on the financial position ot broadcasting. The Association of New Zealand Advertisers has criticised strongly the decision not to increase licence fees.

The decision was “head-in-the-sand political expendiency,” said the association’s president (Mr Colin Mortensen). It meant that the Government wanted advertisers to provide up to 70 per cent of the revenue for television.

Advertisers could not do this. Expenditure could even be reduced this year if rates rose further, Mr Mortensen said.

A further reduction in advertising could follow as advertisers switched to other media, such as newspapers and cinemas, he said.