STATE CONTROL OF BROADCASTING

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLI, Issue 20442, 12 June 1936, Page 8

STATE CONTROL OF BROADCASTING

Entrenched behind an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives the Government has translated its policy of State-control of broadcasting to the pages of the statute-book. There is nothing very remarkable about that achievement, because the weight of numbers prevailed. The biggest and most difficult task still confronts the Government and the Minister who is to be made a virtual dictator of broadcasting, namely, to provide a service that will satisfy a highly critical clientele. Obviously the Government can make arrangements to broadcast political propaganda, but no power reposes in the hands of the Government to enforce its will on the listener. Moreover, the Government will be held responsible for the conduct of the broadcasting services and the quality of the programmes, and since no board or company in any country has yet been able to give complete satisfaction, the Government may yet discover that the advantages of control may be outweighed by the disadvantages of responsibility.