RADIO ACTIVITY

Evening Star, Issue 20585, 10 September 1930, Page 5

RADIO ACTIVITY

PROGRAMMES OF RECORDINGS MR HARRIS'S AMERICAN OBSERVATIONS Mr A. 11. Harris, general manager of the Radio Broadcasting Company, who recently returned to New Zealand after a hurried but very successlul visit to the United States of America and Canada, was in Dunedin last week. While in America Mr Harris carefully investigated all matters pertaining to broadcasting on both the programme and technical sides. Speaking to a representative of the ‘Evening Star,’ Mr Harris said ho had specially interested himself in respect to the procuring of supplies of recorded programmes for broadcast from the New Zealand stations. The limitations as regards the population of this country, together with the nominal license fee paid by listeners, made it financially impossible to consider the matter of importing artists or building up costly professional combinations for broadcast entertainment. On the other hand, if the company could obtain satisfactory electrical recordings of programme matter performed for broadcast in the larger countries, it could give its listeners a diversity of entertainment as great as that in other parts of the world.

- In addition to this aspect, said Mr Harris, and provided satisfactory and acceptable recordings were available as well as efficient reproduction equipment, electrical transcription had much to commend it. In direct studio performance there was a commercial limit to the amount of rehearsing that could be undertaken, as the actual studio performance in broadcasting was more or less restricted to one continuous performance; whereas in the ordinary theatre, the same performance may run into days or weeks at a time. Programmes for electrical recording, on tbo other hand could be rehearsed and improved before production, and were required to be performed only once at their highest ' stage of rendition to make them available to the public in their very best and highest forms. This applied not only to the standard of actual performance, and the engagement ot the world’s best talent, but also to the studio placings and procedure generally. As these were taken care of during the recording, any attention to those factors was quite unnecessary during the actual broadcast performance. It also made possible to obtain material that would not otherwise be available to New Zealand listeners. With regard to this matter, said Mr Harris, the company bad for the past two years been in continual negotiation, through its consultant in America, with many prospective sources of supply for recordings, and within the last six months the prospects of obtaining requirements have been very encouraging. It was therefore with the view to finalising arrangements that bo has visited America. • While in America, Mr Harris’s interest naturally centred in New York, the metropolis of broadcasting in the United States. He visited all studios and was cordially welcomed everywhere. A hearty greeting and a warm reception are typical of American broadcasting stations. When questioned as to his impressions concerning the American stations. Mr Harris said that the New Zealand studios compared very favourably with those overseas, surprisingly so, he said, but, after all, it was not so surprising, as New Zealand, because it bad been late into tbo field, had profited by tbo experience of other countries, with the result that the New Zalanu stations were up to date in every way. “One’s impressions on first entering an American studio are soon revised,” said Mr Harris. “One has stepped into a veritable hive of business. People are hurrying about, here, there, and everywhere, and officials and artists are there in all stages of dress and deshabille—of course it was very hot when I was there. The fastidiously dressed performed alongside the unconventional in the most democratic way imaginable. But after a while one realises that it is all not quite so chaotic as it seems, and that different atmosphere which pervades'tho studios and influences the artists is due to tho different basis—namely, sponsored programmes, on whicli the services are run. One sees, for instance, an orchestra which lias been engaged to give a programme in the interests of some advertising firm. The members will be practising in a studio, waiting their cue to go on the air. When the warning light shows, they commence immediately, play the ten or fifteen minutes for which they have been engaged, and- then stop. Their interest in broadcasting is finished. All that has concerned them has been to fulfil their contract to the satisfaction of the firm sponsoring them, and to tho advertising agency which engaged them. It is this feature that accounts for the difference noticed during the broadcasting of a concert in an American studio compared with a New Zealand studio.

“ Not all the programme organising is done by the American stations,” said Mr Harris, “ this being confined to filling in the intervals between such portions of the service as were sponsored by advertising firms.” Electrical transcripts, bo said, played an important part in the service, and in addition there were any number of commercial phonograph records. Recordings for sponsored programmes were made and sent to the hundreds of stations throughout the States, so it did not follow that one heard tho actual artists wlven one listenoed in—it might bo the human performer or it might bo a recording. Naturally, said Mr Harris, records containing any reference to advertising would not bo acceptable in New Zealand, so that limited tho supply of such recordings available for this country. He had, however, been successful in making arrangements which would enable New Zealand listeners to get an idea of the typo _of programmes broadcast in America. The records to bo broadcast from the YA stations will bo recordings bv artists of wide reputation. After all, all tbc prominent artists of tho world find their way to New York at some time or other, and the recordings to come to New Zealand will not bo restricted to performances by American artists.

In Now York Mr Harris inspected tho terminal station of the American Telegraph and Telephone Company. This company has available four routes for working London, including one for working the mail steamers and also r.n extra one for working Buenos Aires. All are of .different wave lengths - for use at different times of the day. One of the circuits, however, is a long morse, and is found to bo tho most reliable Two-way conversation can bo carried on. and telephone subscribers ring up anywhere in the United States or Canada and converse with a second party in England. The transatlantic talk costs 30dol for three minutes, plus land line toll at either end. Interruption on account of fading, distortion, and such like is checked up and not charged for. The conversation carried on is not intelligible *it’ier than through the company's telephone for tho talking is reversed at the terminal

station at each end before transmission, so that any listener picking up tuc station would experience considerable difficulty in making any sense of what was being spoken. “ Talking with tho operator at Buenos Aires, I found conversation as easy as on a local telephone call, said Mr Harris, “ but notwithstanding the results obtained and the clarity of the transmission, I was given to understand that this method of telephoning is not as satisfactory as a direct line, and the company is at the present time laying an 1,800-milo submarine telephone cable from Newfoundland to England, so that tho company will bo in a position to assure telephone conversation between England and America equal to local connections. It was also intimated that th ecompany has proposals for a short wave commercial telephone service between tho United States and Hawaii, and looks forward to continuing the system through to New Zealand. I understand that m this particular system, a single receiver with automatic control of carrier, is used for reception.”