RADIO

Taranaki Daily News, 19 June 1931, Page 11

RADIO

SHOCK FOR LISTENERS INTENTION OF MINISTER. BROADCAST OF ADVERTISING.

(By

“B.C.L.”)

It came as a' great shock to many listeners to hear the Postmaster-Gen-eral’s remarks' at the opening of the Wellington radio exhibition. He stated that permission had been given for certain B stations to put on sponsored programmes, in the hope that it would assist them in “defraying expenses.” He also spoke of there being further stations in nearly every town working under similar. conditions. For a responsible Minister to ‘make sqch a statement is to sa/y the. lepst, extraordinary. It . has always been' ‘an .avowed principle of broadcasting nl' Naw Zealand to keep every form" of advertising off the'air. The suggested ..scheme is intolerable, as it only means 'the thin edge of the wedge. In a. short while we will be treated to all manner of advertising, a thing which no listener who pays a license fee will tolerate for a minute.

It appears that' the Minister has in mind the provision of a subsidiary service at no cost to the broadcast authorities, whoever they afc likely to be in the future It would be wise for the Minister to revise his views as to what he thinks listeners will put up he imagines they will put up with ad- ■ vertising. . ; Nothing has been heard yet as to what constitutes the scheme to be sub- ■ mitted to Parliament next session. At ■ least the listener who has to provide the funds is entitled to know what is. proposed, in-order to state, as he has every i right to do, his opinion, and as to whether it will bo' accessible; ’ The 1 present “star chamber” methods of the Minister have long. ago alienated rightthinking. listener's from any sympathy with the Minister. "It is high time the radio,-societies in various parts of the Dominion made themselves heal’d on the question. It is questionable.if...the Government . takes control if the listener will have as much, Say as he.has at -present in what is' broadcast.. At present in each centre various local committees meet the Radio Broadcasting ■ Company’s repre- - sehtaiives’and assist'and advise them on matters affecting programme matter. If a commission is appointed by the Government we will get not what we want but what is considered good for us. If we don’t like it we will be told io do the other thing. / SERVICES OF aYB. r The?end of this month will be the end of the North Taranaki Radio Society’s year, and at the general meeting to be held. Soon’ it behoves every interested listener to be present and lend his or her support. 2YB,- the society’s broadcast station, has in the past maintained a standard and service, worthy of an A class station, and it is only possible to maintain that standard and the station itself if listeners support the society. Apart' from the society’s officers, who have carried out such a tremendous amount of work during the past year, listeners owe a very great debt of gratitude to the large number of artists who have appeared, often at great inconvenience, at the station. It shows in no small measure the wonderful spirit among tne people of North Taranaki and augurs well for the future if listeners will Only show at the general meeting that the efforts of those concerned are appreciated.

It must be remembered that without the support of listeners and the community as a whole, 2YB cannot carry on; That the station is of inestimable value to the community was well illustrated I on Sunday last when by means of broadI cast appeals a rescue party was quickly organised when two climbers got into difficulties on Paritutu. ■ Had - it not been for 2YB it would have been many hours before sufficient experienced men to assist could have been mustered. During the year also a great number- of appeals have been broadcast with gratifying results to those concerned. A number of listeners report having heard KFI on a test transmission after 10 p.m., New Zealand time, during the week. This time would be between 3 and 4 o’clock in the morning in California. This station is operating on a power of 50 k.w. and is usually heard well in New Zealand. 1

TASTES OF LISTENERS. AN INGENIOUS INVENTION. An invention that indicates exactly what .10,000 wireless listeners think ,of each item in their daily programme is being secretly tested at Brighton, England, on behalf of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Great importance is attached to the experiments. It is hoped they will, solve the B.B.G'.’s biggest problem—finding out what the public wants, . Mr., S. Youles, the proprietor of Brighton’s largest wireless relay service station, is the inventor of the “gauge of public opinion.” Moro than 1200 families —numbering about 10,000 persons—subscribe to Mr. Youle’s service, and, for a small weekly fee, have programmes relayed to their home from his huge receiving set. Mr. Youles explained that a pressure meter attached to his relay apparatus indicates the exact percentage. of subscribers who have switched on the

power to listen to the programmes. “When a programme is very popular and everyone switches on,” he said, “the meter indicates that there is a heavy load. By looking at the pointers on the dials cf the meter we can tell whenever a subscriber switches otf or on. The reaction to the programme of every single subscriber is indicated on the

dials. Sometimes, the meter falls from near the maximum almost to minimum in a few seconds. Then we know that the programme is unpopular. “I have already submitted rough figures and percentages to the 8.8. C., and I have had an official request to draw up detailed charts showing the exact percentage of listeners for each item. I am spreading the tests over a week, and by the end of that time my charts ought to provide a thoroughly reliable guide to public taste.” ■ In giving.some examples of the working of the pressure meter, Mr. Youlcs said:— “On Sundays the lunch-time broadcast of gramophone records from RadjoParis is always very popular. The pointers show that nearly all our subscribers are listening-in. Then, when we switch back to Daventry National and relay a church cantata the load falls to 25 per cent, of what it has been. The pointers fall back a little as each subscriber switches off. Recently we had a popular vaudeville . programme from Daventry National. Then there was a talk on psychology. . Listeners lost interest, and 60 per cent, switched off.” Mr. Youles stated that vaudeville was' easily the most popular item in the broadcast programmes. “It always shows the heaviest pressure on the-meter,” he said. “When wc get classical-, poetry and philosophy, and things like that, our pointers fall back and subscribers

( switch off one by one. Of course, the j great advantage of these charts will be . that subscribers will contribute to them unconsciously. They will not stop to , consider their opinions; they will just . register their reaction to the different l items by switching on or off.” ) ’ ■ ‘ AUSTRALIAN NOTES. L ' ' ' - . .• ’ • Several notable broadcasts were conducted by the Australian Broadcasting , Company during the week commencing , May 17. Rear-Admiral E. R. G. R. Evans, , who has relinquished the command of , tho Australian Squadron, gave a farewell address from 2FC on May 17. He . was accompanied to the studio by , Mischa Levitzki, the famous pianist, who recently allowed one of his recitals to be broadcast in its entirety from Melbourne and relayed to other States. Rear-Admiral Evans and Mischa Levitzki were .invited to. inscribe their names on the 3FC microphone which will remain permanently in the studio. On May 18 the arrival of . the Dutch' air liner Abel Tasman, which carried the first Dutch air mail to Australia., was broadcast from Mascot by 2>BL. On the same date a schoolboy, lan Falshie, broadcast from the House of Representatives, Canberra,’-through 2FC, a message. of goodwill to an English schoolboy in the British House of Commons. The address was rebroadcast to the Congress’' for the Prevention of War in Washing-" ton. On May 20 Wagner’s opera, “The Valkyrie,” which was relayed by SSW, Chelmsford, England, from 2LOj London, was rebroadcast by 2FO and 2BL. The broadcast was of unusual clarity, there being a complete absence of fading. In the past two years the Australian Broadcasting Co. has made marked

, progress in the production of radio plays. • Tliis has not been, confined to drama alone, but popular musical comedies.have also found their way bn the air and have been presented with a full .chorus and cast, and with the some attention to detail that is given to a stage musical comedy. The radio play opens an entirely new technique for the artist to acquire, and a large amount of rehearsal is necessary for the adaptation of legitimate stage productions. One of the -most difficult parts of the producer’s work is the creating of atmosphere. On the stage this is done with scenery and lighting, and in the talking picture it is done with the camera and location, but in the radio studio the atmosphere is confined to effects, and the actor has

to create by restrained emotion and , dialogue the atmosphere of the play. TO-DAY’S PROGRAMMES NEW ZEALAND STATIONS. 1 YA, Auckland. Afternoon session.—3 pan., selected recordings; 3.15, literary selection; 5, children’s session, conducted by Nod and Aunt Jean; 0, dinner music session; 7, news and market reports. Evening session.—B pan., chimes; overture, Regal Cinema Orchestra; soprano, Miss Patricia McLeod; English concertina, Mr. Robert McKnight; march, orchestral octet, conducted by Mr. Harold Baxter; tenor, Mr. J. B. Mac Lean; violin, Gustav Link; waltz, Orchestral Octet; humour, Stanley Holloway; Czardas, Orchestral Octet; 9.1, evening weather

forecast and announcements; Polydor Brass Baud; soprano, Miss Patricia McLeod; English concertina, Air. Robert MeKnight; suite, Orchestral Octet; humour, Mies Rhona Speed; Balalaika Orchestra, Gorskaja; tenor, Mr. J. B. Mac Lean; intermezzo, the Orchestral Octet; 10, God Save the King. 2YA, Wellington. Morning session.—lo a.m., selected recordings; 11.12, leeturette, “Fashions'”; 11.37, leeturette, “Beauty Culture in all its Phases”; 12 noon, lunch hour music. Afternoon session.—2 p.m., selected recordings; 5, children’s session, conducted by Uncle Jim and Story Book Lady;

, 6, dinner.music session; 7, news session, s market reports and sports results; 7.40, ■ leeturette, Mr. Dan McKenzie, “The Laws of Rugby.” • Evening session.—S p.m., chimes; proi graiiime subject-to interruption to permit of a relay of a sound film feature from the Majestic Theatre; overture, 2YA Urehestrina; vocal quartets, Waiata Quartet; guitar duo, Berthold and Bent; soprano, Miss Nora Gray, with orchestral accompaniment; vocal duet, i Misses Lalla Vondersloot and Mollie Fen- ] ton; selection, 2YA Urehestrina; vocal i I quartet, Waiata Quartet: contralto, .Mrs. f [P. Ramsay with orchestra and chorus; ’ medley, 2YA Urehestrina; 9, weather re-j 1

j port and station notices; vocal duet, Misses Nora Gray and Lalla Vondersloot; guitar duo, Berthold and Bent; vocal quartet, zWaiata Quartet; waltz, 2YA Orchestrina; 9.30, dance programme; 11, God Save the King. 3 YA, Christchurch. Afternoon session.—3 p.m., gramophone recital; 5, children’s hour; 6, dinner music; 7, news session. Evening session.—-8 p.m., chimes; overture, Court Symphony Orchestra; vocal excerpts from Comic Opera, “Dorothy”; chorus, Melodious Quartet; soprano, Miss Frances Hamerton and vocal trio; piano, Miss Aileen Warren; tenor, Mr. Russell Sumner; vocal, Melodious Quartet; selections, Christchurch Broadcasting Trio; humour, in story and song, Mr. Eddie Hegan; accordion, Bastien and Bal Musette Orchestra; bass, Mr. T. D. Williams; chorus and tenor solo, Melodious Quartet with Mr, Russell Sumner; banjolin, Mr. Stan Birch; 9.1. weather forecast and station notices; inarch, Cavalry Band: humour, Horace Kenney; tenor. Mr. Russell Sumner; instrumental, Christchurch Broadcasting Trio; bass, Mr. T. D. Williams; humour in song and story; piano, Miss Aileen Warren; novelty, Grinzing Schranimel Trio; march, Cavalry Band; 10, God Save the King. 4YA, Dunedin. Afternoon session.—3 p.m., selected recordings; 5, children’s hour, conducted by Aunt Sheila; 0, dinner music session; 7; news session.

Evening session.—B p.m., chimes; overture, New Symphony Orchestra; vocal quartet, The Harmonists; contralto, Miss M. S. Green; selection, Instrumental Sextet; humour, Mr. J. B. McConnell; accordion, Rene Leroux and Bal Musette Orchestra; quartet, The Harmonists; baritone, Mr. C. S. Hawes; selections, The Sextet; humorous chorusep, The Harmonists; 9, weather report and station notices; male choir, Ural Cossacks; popular hits, The Sextet; soprano, Miss Mae Matheson; organ, Leo Stin; humour, Mr. J. B. McConnell; cornet and trombone, Jack Mackintosh and Jesse Stamp; quartet, The Harmonists;' piano, Mrs. C. Drake; humorous chorus, Tlie Harmonists; popular selection, The Sextet; 10.'2, God. Save the King.