The Northern Advocate Daily “NORTHLAND FIRST” WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 1939. Mr. Scrimgeour’s Trip

Northern Advocate, 1 March 1939, Page 6

The Northern Advocate Daily “NORTHLAND FIRST”

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 1939. Mr. Scrimgeour’s Trip

Registered for transmission through the post as a Newspaper ~„ r '

HE public has lately been informed by Mr Savage that Mr (j Serimgeour, Controller of Commercial broadcasting, is to have a lour months’ trip to America in order to study various aspects of radio work there. Since Mr Serimgeour has lor three years been paid £ISOO a year to run New Zealand’s commercial radio services, it might be imagined that be already knew the -job well enough to make such a trip unnecessary. There are many civil servants who have worked lor many years, and have attained executive rank in their departments, who have received neither the pay nor the privileges that have been bestowed on Mr Serimgeour. To such men his journey to •\merica must seem easily earned. When the Railways Department last year took over a large road transport business m one ot New Zealand’s largest centres, the two officials it put in charge were men receiving about £4OO a year or less. Both these were experienced and well-qualified men, ..who had served from their boyhood with the department. The contrast between such officers, doing an important task for the country at rather less than the weekly earnings of a city waterside worker, and the handsome emoluments and expensive trips of Mr Serimgeour, is one that no one who gives the situation any serious thought can overlook. Besides, it is said by those who should know, that the commercial broadcasting service, in spite of its reported annua revenue of £150,000, is not the most efficient organisation m the world Gross revenue, of course, offers no criterion at all ot its value to the country. It is profits that should count. Whether the profit this year will be proportionate to the gross revenue remains to be seen. . . . ~ • , It is certainly a fact that there is a lingering prejudice against the service in many reputable quarters which might bring it a lot of business, because of the circumstances of Mr Serimgeour s appointment. No applications were called for the position. Had the Government wanted American methods employed m developing commercial radio, it might have secured a much more experienced and better-qualified man than Mr Serimgeour by advertising in the American newspapers. . . Advertising men know full well that in obtaining revenue the commercial radio service has largely followed the principle of picking np new clients when it lost old ones, but this process cannot be continued for ever. It is an important principle in advertising to retain a client wherever possible, but the cqmmeieial radio service has lost a surprising number of clients. When the import restrictions were introduced, its cancellations of business represented a loss to the Government of many thousands of pounds. But even without the import restrictions the service has not been able to hold many of its best clients. Some, of course, found that radio advertising did not yield the results anticipated. Others perhaps found the service given was not what they anticipated, or perhaps the element of goodwill was lacking. At any rate, the facts of the situation are that, altnough the commercial radio service has not yet made enough money to allow the licence fee to be reduced, the controller is off on a Hip at the country’s expense. •AAA'' :