BOARD OBJECTS TO BROADCAST OF CRIME SERIALS

Grey River Argus, 17 February 1949, Page 8

BOARD OBJECTS TO BROADCAST OF CRIME SERIALS

WANGANUI, Feb. 16.

Replying to the Wanganui Education Board’s request to prohibit the broadcasting of murder and crime serials, as has been done by the 8.8. C. in England, the Minister in Charge of Broadcasting, Mr F. Jones, in a letter received at the board’s meeting, said that New Zealand Broadcasting rules ensured the Dominion’s broadcasting programmes being among the least offensive and most severely censored in the world. Some plays or serials might, make some impression on children, but every care was taken to ensure that these productions were presented at night when children were supposed to be in bed. The Minister invited the board to compile a list of programmes considered unsuitable for broadcasting from New Zealand stations. When this was done he said he would be pleased to arrange for the board to be represented at a re-audition of offending serials so that objectionable features could be pointed out.

The board decided to distribute copies of the Minister’s letter to the combined school committee association in Wanganui and Palmerston North.