Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, TUESDAY, SEPT. 22, 1936. BROADCASTING' POLICY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19126, 22 September 1936, Page 4

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, TUESDAY, SEPT. 22, 1936. BROADCASTING' POLICY.

■ .Although the Government’s Broadcasting Act was passed some month. l ago and a Director of Broadcasting has since been appointed, it would appear from the statements that arc made from time to time that, a do finite policy has yet to he formulated, It may be too early to look for results from the changed administration, but it is not unreasonable that listeners should expect at least a broad outline of policy. Under the system of board control it was felt that earnest en-deavours-wore being made to give the maximum possible coverage from the national stations' and that constant attempts were being made to improve and vary the programmes. For many people, the board may not have progressed rapidly enough, blit there was so.me ’consolation in the knowledge that, it had a definite objective and that it was steadily advancing towards it. Can the same tiling be said for Government control? To many listeners it must seem that the Government ’s- vision is distorted by its desire to use radio as a means of political propaganda, for the experience of the past few months has shown that everything else has boon subordinated to Parliamentary broad-

casts in which the public interest is far leas than the Government realises. The four main national stations which were erected by the board to give

listeners better service have been appropriated to the service of the Government, and whereas people had looked forward to being able to make a choice between two or more programmes they have been confronted with the alternatives of listening to drab ami dreary political debates or else turning the radio off altogether. A glimmer of hope was seen in the announcement that the new and powerful station at Titalii Bay would relievo the YA stations- —and listeners of the tedium of Parliamentary discussions, but rtlie Prime Minister’s latest statement suggests that even when Titalii Bay comes on the air the other stations n;ay continue to bo

used by the. Government. The prospeel is anything but a pleasing one

The Government, .seems to have become so obsessed with taking control

of broadcasting and with foisting its politics on a. defenceless public, that it has overlooked the only consideration that really matters- —the interests of the listeners who pay for the service. The broadcasting system is maintained by Recuse lees which rank among the highest in the world and listeners are, at least, entitled to expect that the revenue should be expended for theii'Dbenelit and not to the advantage either of the Government of the day or the State as a whole. It may be true that some people actually enjoy listening to Parliamentary debates for a whole evening, but that is no reason why all listeners should be compelled to suffer. It has wisely been said that “one man’s meat is another man’s poison,” and to many nothing could he more poisonous than the invasion of the home by the political diet that has now become the dominating feature of the radio menu. The choice of all programmes should he governed, not by the desires of the Government, but by Hie wishes of the listeners, and the object of the authorities should lie to give listeners as wide a choice as possible. Any system which diverts funds to purposes othei than those for which they wore intended cannot be justified. This raises the point of the Government’s proposed short-wave station. Is it seriously intended to use listeners’ foes for broadcasting Governmenl propaganda to the rest of the woihl to tell other nations 1 , in their out languages and at considerable cost how New Zealand is setting an example to democracy? Ihe I’rinu Minister’s comment certainly suggests that this is the case, and that the unfortunate listener who pays the price is to receive no consideration but is expected calmly to .submit to whatever form of political dictatorship is decreed for him. it- must again he stressed that the broadcasting service is paid for by the listener and should function for his benefit and not that of anyone else—either the Government of this country or the unenlightened peoples of the rest of the world.

]f the Government wants to advertise either itself or the Dominion over the air, why should it not use tiie commercial stations which it is establishing? It is doubtful whether the public believes in commercial broadcasting at all, but since the Government has apparently made certain pledges to some B stations it is not likely that it will he diverted from its plans. Here again, however, trie listeners have a vital interest, for if it i.s intended to use their funds for purchasing, equipping, and maintaining commercial stations they are entitled to make the strongest possible protest. Every penny that is spent on these-stations means so much loss to ho expended for the benefit of those who listen to the national stations. Nor does the position- end there. Advertising over the radio is tolerated by listeners only when it is impossible ’to obtain good programmes without the taint of commercialism. This means that the better [he type of entertainment provided by the national stations the poorer the prospects of the commercial ones, ami creates a real danger that the Government, in an endeavour to gain advertising revenue, will depreciate the programmes and reduce the competitive power of the national stations to which the .listeners’ lees should he exclusively devoted. Certainly the listeners have nothing to gain from the commercial stations, and they may have very much to lose. This aspect of radio policy, coupled with that of political broadcasts, is seriously threatening the rights which should be vested solely im the listen era, and for this reason it is time that the Government reconsidered its attitude and gave a little thought tc the interests of those who pay for the service.