RADIO BROADCASTS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17952, 2 December 1932, Page 9

RADIO BROADCASTS

B CLASS STATIONS COMMITTEE ’ S RECOMMENPA- • TION UNRESTRICTED' ADVERTISING (Per Prose Association.) WELLINGTON, this day. The Public Petitions Committee, reporting to the House to-day on a petition from B class broadcasting stations, recommended that the alternative prayer of the petition should be reierred to the Government for favorable consideration. ' , ~ The petitioners asked that they should be given » share of the revenue from license fees, or, alternatively, that an unlimstekl number of .sponsored programmes should be allowed. Mr. M. J. Savage (Lab., Auckland W.) expressed gratification at the committee’s report. He said he would have been prepared to support the petitioners request lor a share of the revenue from license fees, but the committee had not recommended that. He thanked the committee, however, for recommending that an unlimited number of sponsored programmes should be allowed. The Hon. A. Hamilton: They are

allowed now. Mr, Savage: No, they are not. He pointed out that stations were allowed that the programme was being tjbr&dcast by “John Jones,” which meant little, but if they were allowed to state that the programme was being broadcast by “John Jones, boot manufacturer, of Auckland,” it would mean everything. It would indicate who was responsible for the programme and would lay the foundation for decent programmes being provided. He submitted that if the petitioners’ request for an unlimited number of sponsored programmes was referred to listeners, there would he no doubt as. to what the verdict would be. YA STATIONS’ POSITIOX

Mr. Hamilton: Would you allow the

YA stations the same privilege? Mr. Savage; Certainly. Mr. Savage suggested that this privi- ’ lege, if allowed YA stations, might result in an improvement of broadcasts. There had been. an improvement, but there was still .ample room for more improvement. • Mr, A. J. Stallworthy (Coal., Eden) also expressed gratification at the committee’s report. Mr E. J. Howard (Lab., Christchurch S.) t *aid he did not agree that YA Stations slculd he allowed to advertise, because listeners were paying license fees for entertainment, and not for advertising. Mr. A. Harris (Coal., Waitemata) said he considered that B class stations should receive a share of the license fees, because they helped thp Y stations by filling in a portion of the day which was not covered by the latter.

PMr. Walter Nash (Labor, Hutt) supported. the committee’s recommendation, but said Kg' hoped unlimited advertising would not Ih> allowed to the extend that it would tend to color tlio new# broadcasted. Mr Nash added that he was satisfied that the license fcos collected wero larger in sum than lis&ejr would be if there were no B class ! stations. Mr. W. J. Broadfoot (Coal, WaiI ton*)) said that it was very lino to I see private enterprise backed by the I Labor Party. Ho supported the report.

EX-MINISTER'S PROMISE Mr. W. E. Pair)- (Labor, Auckland C.) said private enterprise worked for profit. Tho petitioners were working for nothing, and their burning desire was to give sendee to the people. The Rt. Hqh. G. W. Forbes: They want something for it. Mr. Parry said B class stations were willing to co-operate with tho Broadcasting Board, and there eould bo no objections to their establishing an alternative seryico. He suggested that the announcement relating to the sponsor of a programme should be limited to 15 seconds. This should: be a safeguard against blatancy. Mr. D. G. Sullivan (Labor, Avon) said Mr. Donald, when PostmasterGeneral, had promised that provision would be made for B class stations to get sufficient revenue to enable them to carry on their work. He asked the Government to fulfil this promise. Mr. Hamilton referred to the report of the Coverage Commission, and said the board had carried out the recommendation that a good service should be provided throughout New Zealand. In doing this, the board had subsidised some B station? to enable them to supply a service in places where YA stations could not be picked up. Continuing, he said the alternative prayer of the petition that approved B stations should be allowed to supply an unlimited number of sponsored programmes had been granted for some (•'months. A Mr. F. Jones (Lab., Dunpdin S.) : But they are restricted.

report adopted Mr. Hamilton said there was a limit to the nature of the information as to the sponsorship, hut there was no limit to the number of sponsored programmes permitted, and the latter was what tho petitioners had requested. It was necessary that the hoard should lay down condition* a* to tho type of sponsorship announcement, and he contended that there were any number of companies prepared to broadcast under existing conditions for sponsored programmes. The present value of sponsored programmes was very extensive. No one appreciated, the value of B stations more than the Government, and it had been endeavoring to assist them. He pointed out that if the request that stations should be allowed to announce that a programme was provided by "John Smith, bootmaker, Lambton quay, Wellington,” were granted there would soon be a demand for even greater concession. Mr. Savage: That will be the time to stop them. The Minister said he considered that an announcement of a programme by “John Smith, Lambton quay, Wellington,” was sufficient. The promise that B stations would be assisted had been fulfilled. Ho repeated that there were any number of companies which would consider tmka sufficient return for their service. The report was adopted*

An interesting engineering exhibit is to be delivered in Gisborne this evening, in the shape of a Crosslcy "6” Diesel-engined bus-chassis. Tho exhibit is making a tour of New Zealand, and will bo in the hands of Messrs. Niven and Company while in Gisborne.