THE NEW BOARD

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXV, Issue 124, 11 May 1935, Page 10

THE NEW BOARD

Future Policy Forecast POSSIBLE RATIONALISATION Just exactly what the new Broadcasting Board will do that the previous board did or did not do is a question lingering in the minds of most radio listeners who take an intelligent interest in the progress of New Zealand broadcasting. • According to a southernwriter, we must adopt a calm demeanour and “wait and see.’’

The new organisation reflects the pre-sent-day tendency to place broadcasting on a sound business footing, ho writes. The commercial world is now guiding the destinies of this great blind giant of an art form. It is to be hoped that the guidance will be in the right direction.

There is, of course, an industrial side to broadcasting. It is an industry employing a great number of wage-earn-ers. For instance, the Commonwealth Auditor-General’s report on Australian broadcasting shows that receipts for the year ended June; 1934, were £325,731 13/1. Approximately half of this sum was spent in artists' fees, staff salaries cost about £33,000, publicity cost more than £6OOO.

Now these figures are rather staggering when it is realised that the right to broadcast gramophone records in Australia cost merely £5OOO. This is a verysmall sum indeed when compared with the cost of living artists. It will therefore be seen that a very considerable saving may be made by the substitution of records for the living voice. New Zealand broadcasting is run to a great extent on departmental lines. I personally believe that there will be very little change in policy in the future; there will undoubtedly be attempts made to rationalise the broadcasting industry, and there will be an effort at centralisation. But we must just wait and see!