NEWS BROADCAST

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 January 1939, Page 10

NEWS BROADCAST

STOPPED AT AUCKLAND

[PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

AUCKLAND. January IS

The announcement, that, for official reasons, the international news i.oinmentary, broadcast from Station IZB on three nights each week, by Mr. K. Melvin, had been terminated by the Prime Minister, was made over the air by the sponsor of the programme, Mr. Horace Bull. This statement was confirmed later by Mr. Savage, who. in a telephone conversation with the “Herald,” from Wellington, said that there was always the. danger of harm coining from statements made over the air on international affairs. Mr. Bull told the "Herald” that ihet termination of the programme dated back several months to the time of the Czechoslovakian crisis. After one of Mr. Melvin’s broadcasts, said Mr. Bull, he had received a telephone call from' an anonymous person, who bad threatened to “get. him,’’ if his sponsored session, which, at that time, was dealing substantially with German actions. was continued. Following that,

Mr. Bull said he had been informed] by the station authorities that, three, special sessions of six-nightly spurn..! red programmes would have to be ter-, niinated, and that the remaining three] would bo modified. Mr. Bull suhse-i

quently approached Air. Savage in Wellington. but the modilieation of the programme remained in operation. It; had now been decided to terminate' all such sponsored talks on internal ion-1 al affairs altogether. The Auckland! session was the only one of its kindi in New Zealand, and it had been con-] tinning for two years. Ihe A A stations were not affected.