RADIO STATION FOR TIMARU

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20783, 19 July 1937, Page 9

RADIO STATION FOR TIMARU

To the Editor of " The Timaru Herald.” Sir,—The Timaru Radio Club regrets that I have misconstrued its letter, arid considers it was straightforward enough for the average listener to understand. I did not misconstrue this letter, and I agree that it was certainly straightforward enough to be taken by discerning readers for what it was worth. And ideas so very impracticable cannot be worth much. In its letter of July 3, Timaru Radio Club, in criticising the probable cost to the Government to maintain a station in Timaru, says that at approximately £2,000 a year listeners would be paying dearly for such a small improvement. It would appear that the club is not to well versed in comparative values as applied to radio. I am reliably informed that the 4YA orchestra receives £5O a week—£2,6oo a year. This is one single item in A station expenditure, and our Timaru Radio Club is so reactionary in its ideas that it considers £2,000 an extravagant yearly estimate for the maintenance of a station in Timaru suitable for South Canterbury coverage.

Actually, listeners would pay no more than they do at present—our payment of licence fees entitles us to expect any improvement that can be effected. It has been truly said that the opponents of the movement for a “local” belong to that little circle of listeners who imagine that if they beat their reactionary tom-toms long and loudly enough they will convert the majority to their way of thinking. It really seems that, left to its own devices long enough, the Timaru Radio Club will, by its arguments, most effectively blow its own case to atoms. For instance, it says: “A local station would not eliminate the troublesome noises one has to contend with.” As most of your radio-minded listeners will be aware, this is a ridiculous statement. The club’s suggestion that the boosting up of existing stations would meet the situation only makes its case more ludicrous. 2YA’s boost to ten times its original did not materially benefit South Canterbury listeners. Presumably the Timaru Radio Club considers itself a live body. Why then, does it turn down a proposition for a “local” when other towns, fully alive to the excellent service rendered by these stations, have been fighting hard for the retention of same? Incidentally, according to latest advice, we now find that the Government’s policy has triumphed in spite of listeners’ wishes, and almost every B station has been obliged to sell to the Government.

Now, let us examine the points on which the Timaru Radio Club feels bound to correct me. It states that the club member referred to in my previous letter as being definitely in favour of a “local” now that he has given up DXing, happens to be the very member who proposed the motion passed by the club against such a station. Quite a commendable “aboutface,” inasmuch that there is no reason why a person, having realised his mistake, should not correct himself at the first opportunity. And the Timaru Radio Club may be well advised to work along the same lines. But the club says, in direct opposition to what its executive informed me, that the member in question is still emphatically against a station for Timaru. Under the circumstances it is difficult to understand just why the club stresses a point it well knows is contrary to fact. It is significant that although the member referred to has not been named during this discussion, the club has singled him out. I challenge the Timaru Radio Club to bring out its man, and should he be prepared to back up the club’s contentions, I will have pleasure in clearing the matter up, thus leaving no room for doubt. One would not expect to read such nonsense as the following above the signature “Timaru Radio Club”: “As to programmes, the church services, band concerts, etc., if available would most likely be appreciated for the first week or so, but after the novelty had worn off, etc., etc.” The club takes exception to my statement that it has failed in effecting a noticeable improvement in local conditions. Well, if the club has done anything constructive in the way of clearing up interference, I have not heard about it, and duly offer my apologies. But seriously, it is obvious that a body which professes to have the interests of South Canterbury listeners at heart should shake itself out of its lethargy and adopt the slogan “A Radio Station for Timaru.” As suggested by the Timaru Radio Club, I do not profess to have any great practical knowledge of radio, but in this respect I am in very good company. I do profess, though, to be able to distinguish a progressive measure from a retrograde one. I am, etc., R. W. ANDERSON. Timaru, July 15, 1937.