BROADCASTING

Southland Times, Issue 19102, 21 November 1923, Page 5

BROADCASTING

POLICY OF THE GOVERNMENT. REFERRED TO BY POSTMASTEE GENERAL. (Per United Press Association.) DANNEVIRKE, November 20. At the opening of the Dannevirke Post Office to-day, Hon J. G. Coates said that wireless broadcasting had been carried on in several centres of the Dominion for some time past in a somewhat unsettled way. The entertainment was of a poor class, chiefly owing to the lack of revenue to provide better programmes. The only manner in which broadcasting could be made satisfactory from a financial and popular point of view was to have as a Dominion-wide scheme some organisation under semi-Government control. He suggested the following as the basis of a scheme which would give general satisfaction. (1) Those interested in broadcasting, chiefly dealers of wireless apparatus, to form an association with authority to issue debentures or raise capital in any way they thought fit. (2) The proposed association to be granted a license to broadcast fronh each of the four centres, viz., Auckland, Wellington. Christchurch and Dunedin, (3) The association to be controlled by a board consisting of the Postmaster-General, a representative of the listenere-in, a representative of the radio trade, and certain officials appointed by the PostmasterGeneral. The. broadcasting station would have an equipment equivalent in power to half a kilo and be allowed a band of wave lengths as stipulated in the national agreement for this class of work, hours and items for broadcasting to be controlled by regulation; listenen-in license fee to be increased to £1 or £1 Is, half of this fee to be handed to the association and the other half to th® Post and Telegraph Department. The Government would have access to the accounts of the broadcasting association and the proceeds of the license fees would be divided among the four stations on a population basis, according to the number of listeners-in in the area served. In each station the dealers of radio apparatus he suggested should be licensed at a fee of from £5 to £lO per annum, and no monopoly in the sale of apparatus would be permitted. He suggested a conference of representatives of all interested at an early date to evolve a satisfactory scheme,