The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1936. A RADIO PLEBISCITE

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 46, 18 November 1936, Page 10

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1936. A RADIO PLEBISCITE

Radio broadcasting cannot be tested for popularity by box-office standards. The listener in taking out his receiving licence pmcha ~ what in effect is a season ticket for a year s performances. Theatre and concert impresarios would give a good deal to be able to assuie their box-office returns on the same basis In practice how t . these returns are the sole reliable index of the populaiitv of then enterprises. The management of public broadcasting, on the Ot.iei handfhas to find other methods of diagnosis. In cner ‘}’’ or the lack of it, is expressed in direct correspondence ftom hstene rs which is understood to be fairly voluminous, or m letters to the Press. But these are not altogether reliable. In most cases criticism vented through these channels comes from people who have an inborn talent for complaining. All is right with what they like, but eveijthing else is wrong. , , It was no doubt with these considerations in mind that .he management of our broadcasting service conceived the idea of taking a plebiscite of listeners with a view to arriving at a closer approximation of likes and dislikes. Questionnaires to the number of J 7 ,• - were handed to listeners in March last as they came in to renew their licences inviting expressions of opinion on various aspects ol laclio programmes available for reception from local and overseas stations. From the 80,000 replies received, it would appear that on the whole listeners are more satisfied with the present programmes than might he imagined. Overseas artists are preferred to local artists. It would be interesting to know whether this preference is actually based on quality, or whether it is simply the old story of the prophet unhonoured m .its own country. Distance lends enchantment to the view; that with which we have personal and faihiliar acquaintance too often suffers by the intimacy. It is to be hoped that the broadcasting authorities will not be led to undue and unfair neglect of local talent simply because of a vote which possibly was influenced by this psychology. It should be the business of broadcasting to discover local talent and encourage it. In the light of,the evidence collected by the plebiscite, the new Director of Broadcasting, will have to decide how far he can reconcile his own ideas with what the public wants, and how far he may go with safety in attempting to reconcile the public’s ideas with what he wants. He is bound to give some weight to a vote of 50.000 for more entertainment of the “music, mirth and melody” class, and to consider whether, in spite of his aim to raise the public taste,-he should take seriously the wishes of 40,000 listeners who want less “chamber music” and leave the 10,000 who want more of this select fare to yearn in vain. It should be some consolation to him, however, that the popularity of jazz seems to be on the wane. Listeners appear to be well satisfied with the programmes of the four main New Zealand broadcasting stations, which is a compliment to the efficiency and quality of their services. One curious revelation of the voting is that the number of listeners seems to reach its highest point on Mondays, and declines during the remainder of the week. Why that should be is difficult to understand, unless it is that the first day of the week is usually an “off” night as far as civic activities and public concerts are concerned. Friday, low on the scale, is the shopping night in most centres.