RADIO B STATIONS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21763, 31 March 1934, Page 12

RADIO B STATIONS

SPONSORED PROGRAMMES BAN EFFECTIVE TO-MORROW NONE CLOSING IN AUCKLAND Although sponsored radio programmes will not be permitted after to-day, the present hours of broadcasting will he maintained by the four Auckland B class stations, only two of which are affected by the new policy. Station IZB, conducted by the Friendly Road organisation, relies purely upon the support of members, and suffers no hardship under the amended regulations! At present this station is on the air for about 25 hours a week hut application has been made to the Post-master-General, the Hon. A. Hamilton, for an extension of about seven hours a week, to provide evening broadcasts on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, instead of on Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays as as at present. The other station not affected by the ban on sponsored programmes is IZJ, controlled by Johns, Limited, with a weekly schedule of six hours. It will continue as in the past. Station IZM. owned by Mr. W. W. Rodgers, of Manurewa, will remain on the air with the support of the IZM Association. This station broadcasts for 46 hours a week, but it is intended to rearrango the hours. It is hoped to remain on the air with dance mtißic until midnight on Saturdays. An application for an extension of hours made to the Post and Telegraph Department by Radio, Limited, proprietors of station IZS, has been declined, but if a licence is granted under the present terms of 33 hours a week, as is likely, the station will continue as formerly. The request for longer hours included increased time on Saturday nights and broadcasts on Saturday afternoons and on Sundays. The position of B stations after today was defined in a letter received at Thursday's meeting of the council of the Chamber of Commerce from the acting-Postmaster-General, the Hon. J. Bitchener. "It is not proposed to alter in any way the conditions under which B stations are now operating, except that after March 31, sponsored programmes will not be permitted," stated the letter. "Many B stations have not been using sponsored programmes and I understand the majority intend to carry on without such programmes." In an earlier statement regarding radio policy in the Dominion, the Post-master-General, the Hon. A. Hamilton, said: —"Parliament has decided upon the retention of broadcasting as a national utility service. It is therefore desired to keep it free from the errors into which some countries have drifted. It is intended that it shall be used for information, educational and entertainment purposes. Every effort will be made to avoid using it as an advertising medium or as a means of propaganda for the benefit,of any section. It is considered wiser to obtain the necessary revenue from listeners' fees rather than advertising. In broadcasting we are following a safe guide in pursuing a similar policy to that of the British Broadcasting Corporation. This is looked upon as the best system in the world."

BAN UPON BROADCASTS CONTROVERSIAL MATTER THE POLICY OF THE BOARD [BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION'] CHRISTCHURCH, Friday The Prime Minister to-day stated his attitude to controversial and advertising broadcasts. He would not comment. specifically on the Krishnamurti or the Shaw epilogue prohibitions.. "Up to the present," said Mr. Forbes, "the Government has tried to keep broadcasting in New Zealand as clear as possible of controversial matter, as being distasteful to listeners. The Broadcasting Board desires to keep broadcasting here 011 as popular lines as possible. A chief object is to keep it free of advertising matter, which is certainly not one of the entertaining features of broadcasting in other countries. It seems rather a misuse of broadcasting to hear intermittently through the programme that it is being heard through the courtesy of somebody's or other's soap or pills. I feel the public of New Zealand as at whole will endorse the endeavours to keep that sort of thing off the air here. I don't know anything about Krishnamurti or his ideas."

GREATER FREEDOM URGED RESOLUTION BY LISTENERS [BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION'] WELLINGTON. Thursday Resolutions requesting the Government to hand over control of broadcasting to an elected board, to allow broadcasting of political speeches or addresses on controversial subjects, and to reduce the radio licence fee to 15s a year, were passed at a meoting of radio listeners last evening.

The meoting was convened with the object of protesting against the Government's radio policy and its relation to B stations. The deputy-mayor, Mr. J. K. Archer, presided.