B CLASS RADIO STATIONS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 199, 26 August 1935, Page 6

B CLASS RADIO STATIONS

“ r yH£ board controls the B class stations, and there appears no reason why it should not officially recognise them, and thus obviate the gramophone record ban.” remarked Rev. C. C. .Scrimgeour. of the Friendly Road Radio Station, on returning from Sydney on Saturday. No doubt, as Mr. Scrimgeour points out, the position regarding the broadcasting of records by B class stations is very serious, but for the Government to take the B stations under its wing as suggested would only mean the thin edge of the wedge for further concessions, all of which must, in the long run, prove costly to listeners. The B stations have shown that in the majority of cases they cannot be maintained on a self-supporting basis except with the assistance of sponsored programmes, but the Government has rightly set its face against, the injection of advertising into radio programmes. Official recognition to the B class stations cannot be achieved without cost, and once the B stations arc carried by the Government, listeners cannot expect the same standard from the A class stations which would otherwise obtain, unless licence fees are raised. It must also be remembered that those who enter an overcrowded economic area cannot expect Government assistance if unable to carry on. It is no more reasonable to expect Government assistance for the maintenance of all B class stations than it would be for the State to maintain an over-supply of butchers’ shops in the community.