Publisher’s role in FM ‘logical and desirable’

Press, 23 June 1981, Page 2

Publisher’s role in FM ‘logical and desirable’

Both “The Press" and the “Timaru Herald” yesterday expressed keen interest in running an FM radio station.

The involvement of a newspaper publisher in radio was a logical and desirable •extension of resources and expertise, the general manager of the Christchurch Press Company. Mr R. A-. Barker, told the Broadcasting Tribunal at its FM inquiry in Christchurch. Substantial profits made bjf private radio stations in the last 10 years had often gone into other fields, Mr Barker said. The company believed, however, that in communication businesses, money left after investors had been given a reasonable return should be ploughed back into the industry. ‘The dominance of the industry by one or more groups or companies was undesirable, and giving AM operators FM warrants w’puld lead to the broadcasting of the same programme over both frequencies at the same time.

Through its association with Northern Television, Ltd, the company would have access to the experience of that company’s consultants, who had acted for a new FM station in Sydney, Mr. Barker said.

There would be an initial need for two FM stations based in Christchurch, one for the concert programme of the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand, , and a commercial station providing background and community news as well as music and local drama.

The company believed that, it had enough facilities and staff to assist setting up an

FM station. There was ample space for studios in “The Press" building in Cathedral Square, he said. ’ Mr Barker was crossexamined by Mr B. G. Impey, who represented the Independent Broadcasters’ Association, including Radio Avon. Mr Impey asked whether the newspaper members of Northern Television, Ltd, had worked together on their submissions to the tribunal. There were similarities, he said.

Mr Barker said that there had not been collaboration in the preparation of submissions, but he had seen that of other interested parties in Northern Television.

Earlier in the hearing, the tribunal chairman, Mr B. Slane, said that there had suddenly been numerous submissions from newspapers throughout New Zealand. There must have been a meeting somewhere, he said. Mr Impey asked whether Mr Barker was aware that the present controversy in Australia over media control was based on the alleged ownership by newspapers of other forms of media.

Mr Barker said that he was aware of this, but that he did not know whether the same situation would arise in New Zealand.

The managing director of the Timaru Herald Company, Ltd, Mr E. G. Kerr, said in a brief submission to the inquiry that fc the company had no expertise in broadcasting, but that it was capable of providing a good general news service for a radio station. He assured the tribunal that the. company had a

genuine desire to operate an FM station in Timaru. In response to a question by Mr Slane, Mr Kerr said that the company's interest in an FM station had been influenced by Northern Television, but that there were now rapid changes in the media and it was important to place the company's intentions before the tribunal. For Radio Avon, Ltd, the managing director, Mr I. J. Kirkpatrick, said that the tribunal should request applicants for -FM warrants to provide a programme format, and that radio stations should be made to stick to their declared proposal unless given permission to change it. The present lack of control was the reason that 3ZM was now “squeezing” Radio Avon by duplicating its format. However, this was only one reason for the drop in Radio Avon's ratings. Money spent on advertising and promotions affected ratings by about only 3 or 4 per cent, he said.

. Radio Avon objected to the idea of the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand running an FM music station for mass appeal but thought that interim FM services should be both commercial

and non-commercial, Mr Kirkpatrick said. AM and FM should not beseparate, and the two areas* covered best by FM would be “beautiful music” and hard rock, he said. Mr S. D. Brewster, of Radio Rhema, said that there should be no restrictions on the number of FM warrants held by one company or organisation. Noncommercial stations could then provide FM broadcasting in areas where another AM station would threaten the viability of an existing AM station. In addition, these FM stations could cater for minority interests, a function not popular with commercial stations, he said. Mr P. A. G. Howell, a technician at the University of Canterbury physics department. said that all AM stations should be licensed as FM stations so that people would be subjected to only local advertising. FM broadcasting had no greater’ high-fidelity stereo potential than any other system of equivalent band width, so no special constraints should be applied. FM was already an obsolescent technique of broadcasting and should be treated accordingly, he said.