The Wanganui Chronicle. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1946. THE CONTROL OF BROADCISTING.

Wanganui Chronicle, 4 October 1946, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1946. THE CONTROL OF BROADCISTING.

“TCHE Director of Broadcasting (Mr. J. Shelley) neither directs nor manages the service; this is done by the Minister.” Thus asserts Mr. A. I-'. O’Donoghuc, of Auckland, in a booklet entitled “The Rise and Fall of Radio Broadcasting in New Zealand.” If this assertion be true then it absolves the Direetor of responsibility for the condition of broadcasting in New Zealand to-day.

Mr. Shelley's avowed policy when he became the Director was to promote cultural endeavour throughout. New Zealand. He aimed at developing New Zealand expressive art in all its forms and as an enthusiast for education, particularly adult education, aimed to enrich life, much was expected to follow his appointment. In the main the results have not been up to the expectations of his greatest admirers. The Shelley touch seemed to be lacking in the organisation but why this was so was not. to be determined without evidence. Mr. O’Donoghue claims that Professor Shelley’s appointment in the first place was the result of his Rationalist opinions:— “When the Government took control of broadcasting Mr. Savage sought an officer who was politically sound and a Rationalist. He approached Mr. Henry Hayward, president of the Rationalist Association and Sunday Freedom League, offering him the position, but Mr. Hayward ifeelined. The position was then offered to and accepted by Professor Shelley, vice-president of the Rationalist Association, at a salary of £l5OO rising to £2OOO. Professor Shelley soon realised he was not Direetor of Broadcasting at all: ho is merely an animated pawn on a political chessboard to be moved and pushed at the beck and call of the Government; lie is limited in every direction: his mighty future plans are oil the shelf; his advice is not sought, and when given is not acceptable.’’ Dealing with successive Ministers of Broadeasting, Mr. O’Donoghue writes: “He has always been of the backward, uneducated type, and never capable of .judging values nor assessing the remunerative equivalent of the goods delivered by a great artist

“The Director of Broadcasting' cannot engage a high-grade overseas artist without the consent of a Minister who is not capable of judging the quality of work but merely asks: ‘What is the fee?’ and. if he considers the price too high, there is no engagement. Once more art is measured by the ton.” Mr. O'Donoghue writes of the “indignity and humiliation” of artists whose fees, with tax deducted, often amount to only 18s 4d for one performance. Yet he alleges the Government over-ruled Mr. Shelley’s decision and granted part-time orchestral players two weeks’ annual leave on full pay when they were already entitled to two weeks from th«ir regular employers—“a sorry example of squandering listeners’ money for political purposes.” The first question asked is: “Are these statements of Mr. O’Donoghue true?” As he was associated with broadcasting for seventeen years from the formation of the Radio Broadcasting Company in ’925 and covering the period of the administration by the Broadcasting Board from 1932-35, followed by complete State control of the service from 1935 onward he should have had ample opportunities to see how the service has fared. The underpayment of New Zealand artists seems to have been a deliberate policy, the barring of political opponents from the radio, even when commercial rates were to be paid, has been admitted, and the poor quality of some of the individuals who have access to the radio for “performances” does not square with the policy which Professor Shelley could be expected to implement were he free to do so. The inference then is that Ministerial interference or dictation is hampering developments as alleged by Air. O’Donoghue. Nor should this be surprising seeing that Ministerial interference is the deliberate policy of the Government. It was actually written into the. Statute of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.