ANNUAL REPORT OF THE NATIONAL BROADCASTING SERVICE FOR THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDED 31st MARCH, 1945

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1945 Session I, F-03

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1945 NEW ZEALAND

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE NATIONAL BROADCASTING SERVICE FOR THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDED 31st MARCH, 1945

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly pursuant to the provisions of the Broadcasting Act, 1936

REPORT

I have the honour to submit the annual report on the operations of the National Broadcasting Service for the year ended 31st March, 1945, in accordance with the provisions of section 18 (1) of the Broadcasting Act, 1936. Increased demands continued to be made on the facilities of the Service in furthering the war effort. Listeners were supplied with regular and frequent broadcasts of news commentaries and talks relating to the war, recorded messages from servicemen overseas, and special talks, feature programmes, and announcements in connection with all national war effort campaigns. Consequently, the time available for normal programmes of music and entertainment was still curtailed, but the standard was maintained by the use of the best local performers and the best recorded material from overseas. The programme policies of the National and Commercial stations have been continued, and the pooling of resources has advanced a stage further by the amalgamation of the production, transcription, and accounting systems, as far as possible under the present accommodation conditions. The various sections of the. Service in Wellington are accommodated in seven buildings spread throughout the city, which accentuates the difficulties of administration. Further, none of these premises have been constructed primarily for broadcasting and in consequence have many acoustical limitations. No radical change has been made in the allocation of time to the various types of programmes. At the request of the electric-power authorities, the Service limited the hours of broadcasting to help in the conservation of power at the peak hours. Silent periods were observed as follows Daily, except Saturdays and Sundays— Period 5.15 p.m. to 5,45 p.m. : From Ist April, 1944, to 31st March, 1945. Period 8.15 a.m. to 8.45 a.m. : From Ist May, 1944, to 30th September, 1944. Period 11.00 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. : From 22nd May, 1944, to 30th September, 1944. Period 11.30 a.m. to 12.00 noon : From 22nd May, 1944, to 31st March, 1945. While the power saved at the transmitters is not considerable, the aggregate economy through the turning-off of receiving-sets is substantial. Broadcasting and the War. —Increased use was made of the facilities of all stations to further the war effort. Campaigns included publicity for the Victory Loan, food-production, rehabilitation, salvage drives, electricity conservation, and stabilization. Broadcasts from certain enemy stations were monitored and the information received forwarded to the appropriate authorities. Station IZM, which was handed over to the American Army authorities to operate as an American Expeditionary Force station giving special programmes for the Allied Forces stationed in the Auckland District, was handed back to the Service to operate when the American Forces left New Zealand. From Radio Noumea officers of this Service broadcast a " Kiwi Hour " each day for the New Zealand Forces in New Caledonia. When the New Zealand Forces left New Caledonia, equipment which had been installed at Radio Noumea for our purposes was donated to the French authorities by the New Zealand Government as a mark of appreciation for the unfailing assistance rendered to the New Zealand Forces.

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News and Commentaries.—By the courtesy of the-British Broadcasting Corporation, news broadcasts from London have been rebroadcast daily over the main National and Commercial stations, together with commentaries and war talks. Additional rebroadcasts of overseas news were made when news-flashes of importance were received. Broadcasts of the N.B.S. Newsreel and .news by courtesy of the daily newspapers, as well as sports results, market reports, &c., and a weekly summary of overseas news in Maori, by certain North Island stations were continued. By arrangement with the United States Office of War Information, the feature, " What American Commentators Say " was rebroadcast five nights a week from Station KWIX, San Francisco, by the main network. The opening of the second front in Europe was marked by frequent news bulletins, and a rebroadcast by His Majesty the King on the landing in France. The news was also conveyed to the Maori people by a special broadcast in Maori. The news of such incidents as the fall of Borne, of Marseilles, of Paris, of Brussels, and the capitulation of Roumania was flashed immediately to listeners. The main network broadcast the progress and final results of the Presidential election in the United States of America. Australian news, cabled daily by the Australian Broadcasting Commission, was incorporated in the 9 p.m. N.B.S. Newsreel, and in return New Zealand news was cabled to Australia each day by the Director of Publicity for broadcasting there. During the year the main stations commenced rebroadcasting the 8.8.C.'s feature, " Radio Newsreel," as a regular item of each evening's programme. Talks.—On three occasions rebroadcasts were made of addresses by His Majesty the King. Speeches by the Archbishop of Canterbury ; the Right Hon. Winston Churchill; the late President Roosevelt; Mr. Curtin, Prime Minister of Australia; and other leaders of the Allied Nations were rebroadcast; and Mr. Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada, was heard addressing the British House of Commons. War reviews rebroadcast from the 8.8.C. included those by Mr. Wickham Steed, General Sir Walter Kirk, Major Oliver Stewart, and Mr. Patrick Lacey. Amonst rebroadcasts from the 8.8.C. were many by New-Zealanders serving in the Forces overseas. Where possible, relatives in New Zealand were advised in advance of the time of these broadcasts. An overseas broadcast of interest was that by the Hon. Walter Nash from America, speaking on the International Labour Organization. In New Zealand, His Excellency the Governor-General, Sir Cyril Newall, and Her Excellency, Lady Newall, were broadcast during the year. There were broadcasts on subjects of national importance by the Right Hon. P. Fraser, the Hon. Walter Nash, and other members of the Government, and by Mr. S. G. Holland, Leader of the Opposition. Overseas visitors who broadcast while in New Zealand included Admiral of the Fleet Lord Keyes; Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser; the Hon. F. M. Forde, Acting Prime Minister of Australia ; Dr. H. V. Evatt, Australian Minister of External Affairs ; Lord Reith, a former Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation; Sir Ernest Fisk; and members of the Parliamentary and Farming Delegations from the United Kingdom. There has been a curtailment of local talks owing to war conditions, but broadcasting has been used extensively for special appeals and explanatory talks bearing on the war. Evening features such as book and gardening talks, and Winter Course sessions were continued. On Sunday evenings talks on matters of special national interest were broadcast. Overseas Rebroadcasts.—A listening watch was kept on overseas stations, and daily talks, commentaries, and programmes were rebroadcast or recorded for future use. Among other rebroadcasts from London were the ringing of bells in Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the fall of Rome; a tribute by Lieutenant-Colonel Fred Waite to the late Brigadier James Hargest; the special programme, " Churchill's Seventieth Birthday " ; addresses by Mr. Curtin, Prime Minister of Australia, and Mr. Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada; Mr. Winston Churchill's speech at the Lord Mayor's Luncheon, London ; and the ceremony when Mr. Fraser, Prime Minister of New Zealand, and Mr. Curtin, were given the Freedom of the City of London. Broadcasting and the Forces.—By means of the Broadcasting Units in the Middle East and the Pacific, and the generous co-operation of other broadcasting authorities, personal greetings and talks by New-Zealanders serving overseas were broadcast each week. Over 5,700 personal messages to relatives and friends were included in the programme " With the Boys Overseas." Of these messages, 3,750 were from the Middle East and Italy, 1,357 from the Pacific, and 599 from Great Britain, Canada, and the United States of America. In addition, many members of the Forces overseas recorded discussions, personal experiences, and commentaries. Sixty-three of these were broadcast; 33 came from the Middle East and Italy, '23 from the Pacific, and 7 from London. An outstanding presentation was " New Zealand Tanks in Action," a recording made inside a tank during a battle. The Broadcasting Unit in the Pacific returned during the year, and the London and New York broadcasts ceased towards the end of the year. Forty-eight special entertainment programmes for New Zealand personnel serving in the Pacific have been written, recorded, and sent overseas. Of these, a programme, " News of the Week from Home," of about twenty minutes' length, was originally sent to New Caledonia and Fiji. The programme to New Caledonia was discontinued after November, but the programme was still sent to Fiji until February, 1945. Thirty-two of these programmes were sent to New Caledonia and 48 to Fiji. Starting in February, a new half-hour programme was substituted. This programme, " New Zealand Calling," consists of news and musical items recorded in the four main centres. Separate copies are sent to Fiji, Guadalcanal, and Espiritu Santo, and are broadcast over the United States Expeditionary Force's mosquito network from Guadalcanal and Espiritu Santo.

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In. New Zealand the Service is co-operating with the Army Education and Welfare Service in providing music and entertainment for the Forces. Camps throughout the country are being supplied with musical performances (orchestral and vocal), variety concerts, and gramophone recitals organized by the Service, and assistance is being given to camps in the development of their own talent. Thanks are due to many artists and members of the staff, who have given their services so generously. In addition, 30 programmes written by local authors, including the late W. Graeme-Holder, were recorded for the Army Education and Welfare Service. During the year the broadcasting of signalling instruction was discontinued at the request of the Air Department owing to the comparatively small number of trainees now requiring this service. Music. —The past year's published programmes show that a wide and varied selection of good music was available to listeners. In addition to the regular presentation of recorded music by worldfamous artists and composers, 2,767 broadcasts were made by New Zealand artists of broadcasting standard, and there were 560 recitals by local musical societies, choirs, and bands. Works by New Zealand composers were also featured, and Douglas Lilburn was heard conducting the N.B.S. Orchestra in his own compositions. Organ recitals, presented monthly on Sunday afternoons and sponsored by the Wellington City Council and the National Broadcasting Service, were relayed by Station 2YA from the Wellington Town Hall. A number of school choirs were broadcast. There were 78 broadcasts of complete operas from recordings. Plays and Feature Programmes. —In addition to serial and feature programmes, approximately 125 major dramatic productions were broadcast, including works by the following authors : Shakespeare, G. B. Shaw, John Galsworthy, Rabindranath Tagore, John Masefield, Arnold Bennett, St. John Ervine, A. A. Milne, H. R. Jeans, John Steinbeck, and J. J. Farjeon, as well as the New Zealand writers, W. Graeme-Holder, Grace Janisch, John Gundry, J. Wilson Hogg, and F. W. Kenyon. Of the 270 scripts submitted for broadcasting, 208 were dramatic scripts, 61 were short stories, and 1 was a novel; 70 were accepted, 29 of these being by New Zealand authors. Special programmes were written and produced by the Service, including programmes for the Victory Loan and the National Patriotic telephone appeal, a Christmas good-will message in French to the children of New Caledonia, and the dramatic serials, " Susie in Storyland " and " In the Days of the Black Prince," the last two being broadcast weekly in the Broadcasts to Schools session. Among serials produced by the Service were " Anthony Sherwood Laughed," by Francis Durbridge; " Fumbumbo —The Last of the Dragons," by the New-Zealander, the late W. GraemeHolder ; and " It Walks by Night," by Max Afford. Light Music, Variety, and Bands.—Variety programmes from the best overseas recordings and by local artists and combinations were broadcast. Community sings were broadcast, as also wore special sessions of dance music by New Zealand players from studios and cabarets. Various bands, including that of the R.N.Z.A.F., were broadcast, and variety concerts arranged by the Service for the Forces were relayed from military camps. Relays of pipe-band music were arranged during the year. . Outside Broadcasts.—Relays of events of national interest included the opening of the Returned Services Association's new premises by His Excellency the Governor-General, ceremonies at Auckland and Wellington in connection with American Memorial Day, speeches by the Hon. D. G. Sullivan and Admiral Halsey at a Government luncheon to the latter, the State luncheon and the Civic reception accorded to Mr. Forde (Deputy Prime Minister of Australia) and Dr. Evatt (Minister of External Affairs); and the State luncheon for Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser. Parliamentary Broadcasts. —The proceedings of the House of Representatives were broadcast regularly, with necessary observance of wartime restrictions. The national observance of a minute's silent prayer at 9 p.m. during the chiming of Big Ben was recognized by members of the House standing while the chimes were broadcast in the chamber. The speech by the Minister of Finance when presenting the Budget was broadcast over the main stations, while during the Victory Loan Campaign, in addition to the usual parliamentary broadcasts, all stations were linked for periods of a quarter of an hour to broadcast speeches by Members of Parliament in support of the loan. Religious Broadcasts. —Broadcasts of Church services each Sunday morning and evening, devotional services each week-day morning, a brief wartime prayer service on Wednesday evenings, and the observance of a silent-prayer period during the chiming of Big Ben at 9 o'clock each evening were continued. Intercessory services held on days of prayer, specially requested by His Majesty the King, were relayed. A. military field mass conducted by American Army and Naval chaplains was broadcast, while the broadcasting of Church services in Maori was inaugurated. A rebroadcast from England was made of the Chief Rabbi's New Year message to world Jewry. Dorothy Sayers' series of religious plays, " The Man Born to be King," was presented from the main National stations. This was a particularly successful feature, and repeat broadcasts are being arranged. The helpful co-operation of the Central Religious Advisory Committee and the local Church committees is greatly appreciated by the Service. Broadcasts for Schools. —The general policy for these programmes is decided by a committee representative of the National Broadcasting Service, the Education Department, and the New Zealand Educational Institute. The broadcasts are organized on a national basis. In 1944 there were four half-hour sessions each week for primary schools, and this was increased to five sessions at the commencement of the 1945 broadcasts. These sessions comprised music appreciation and singing, rhythm for juniors, literature and history through literature (dramatized), and talks on news, social studies, nature-study, and sciencc. A total of 1,243 schools (about 88,000 pupils) listened to these broadcasts.

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In addition to the usual music booklet, a further booklet was issued covering the broadcasts on history, geography, nature-study, science, rhythm, music appreciation, and literature. Owing to the paper shortage, these booklets were available to teachers only. The same series of French programmes was broadcast as for the previous year. A new series was prepared for 1945 and a booklet issued—one copy to each two pupils. Ihe officer in charge of schools broadcasts visited a number of schools during the year to observe the reception of programmes and the use made of them by teachers and pupils. Two half-hour sessions weekly arranged by teachers of the Education Department's Correspondence School, were broadcast. Women s Sessions. In the sessions for women presented each morning, talks prepared by the Association for Country Education, Otago University, and the " Home Front Talks " provided listeners with a wide range of information on household subjects, including problems created by the war. Talks on health were broadcast regularly in collaboration with the Health Department. Works of great composers, musicians, singers, and actors were presented daily from the National stations in the session For My Lady. Sporting Broadcasts.—Sporting broadcasts were continued 011 a restricted scale. Club and representative Rugby matches broadcast numbered 134. Cricket matches, racing and trotting meetings and other sporting fixtures, including Rugby League matches in Auckland, the New Zealand Swimming Championships, Amateur Athletic Championships, and surveys of the Dominion Bowling Championships were covered. r A survey of the chief week-end sporting events was broadcast from Station 2YA and the short-wave station /LT7. Particulars were also supplied to the Air Force and Army for signalling to their respective personnel. A commentary 011 the running of the 1944 Melbourne Cup was rebroadcast, by courtesy of the Australian Broadcasting Commission, through the main National and Commercial stations. The Commercial stations concentrated on providing complete coverage of results by means of sports flashes. Special Services and Co-operation with other Government Departments.—For security reasons, weather reports and birthday greetings for children were not broadcast. Appeals relative to missing persons and announcements regarding missing cars and motor-cycles were broadcast at the request of the Police Department. Extensive use was made of broadcasting in furtherance of the war effort, including Victory Loans, national savings, and the campaigns for comforts instituted by the National Patriotic Kund Board, and co-ordinated publicity was undertaken by means of talks, special programmes and announcements. Daily broadcasts were provided for the Economic Information Service wherein ceiling prices were given every morning, and weekly Consumer Time " talks, in which the consumers' wartime problems were discussed. A campaign publicizing the rehabilitation of returned servicemen was commenced by all stations 111 collaboration with the Rehabilitation Department. Progress and final results for the local-body elections were broadcast from the main National and Commercial stations, and these stations covered also the Awarua By-election. The Victory Loan Iheme Song Competition was sponsored, and over two hundred entries were received. Recordings. During the year recordings were still curtailed owing to a lack of material and equipment. The recordings made were mainly connected with war news and commentaries, programmes and events of national importance. Some of these will be of great historic and programme value in the future. As soon as the adequate material is available, the Service's activities in this field will be increased considerably. 6W ea^anf l Listener. The New Zealand Listener has had another successful year in spite of stalf and newsprint limitations, for, although no attempt was made to boost the circulation, there has been an appreciable increase in the number of subscribers and an increase in advertising revenue. Listener still remains one of the most widely circulated and closely read journals in the Dominion. I ransport difficulties during the year placed an additional strain 011 the publishing section, and these were overcome satisfactorily. The journal continued to form a valuable link between licenseholders and the Service, and featured supplementary information which lias contributed to the success of the broadcast programmes. Relations with Overseas Organizations.—The 8.8.C. again accorded the Service much valuable assistance, for which grateful acknowledgment is recorded. Permission to rebroadcast the Empire stations was again granted, and many excellent programmes were forwarded by the Corporation. The 8.8.C. feature, The Brains Trust," was an immediate success. Songs recorded by the Broadcasting Unit in the Pacific were used by the 8.8.C. in the feature, " Travellers' Tales," broadcast in the home and overseas programmes. The 8.8.C. also incorporated in its programmes several dispatches forwarded by the commentator with the Broadcasting Unit in Italy. Material by New Zealand short-story writers was forwarded for broadcasting in the 8.8.C. home service, and the Service supplied a contribution to the .8.J3.C. Christmas programme. Thanks are due to the Australian Broadcasting Commission for extending valuable facilities to the Service, and the American Office of War Information for forwarding recordings of symphonic programmes, talks, plays, light entertainment, and dance music. The programmes have been presented from the various stations, and the symphonic programmes were especially successful. During the year the programmes of the Special Service Division of the American War Department were withdrawn by the American lorces authorities, since the purpose for which these programmes were made available 110 longer existed—namely, the entertainment of American Forces in New Zealand.

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By arrangement with the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the results of the referendum for extension of the Federal Government's powers were rebroadcast. Thanks are also due to other broadcasting Services, particularly for facilities afforded NewZealanders with the Forces overseas to broadcast messages to New Zealand, which have been recorded and rebroadcast. Short-wave Broadcasts.—The Service broadcast each evening over Station 2YA and the Post and Telegraph Department's short-wave station, ZLT 7, a ten-minute digest of New Zealand news supplied by the Director of Publicity. Development of Neiv Zealand Talent.—ln keeping with the established policy of encouraging New Zealand talent, broadcasting engagements were given to such local artists, societies, and musical combinations as had attained a reasonable standard of performance. There were 2,767 broadcasts by local artists and 560 recitals by local musical societies, choirs, and bands, as mentioned previously in the report. During the year the secondary and primary schools' music festivals were broadcast at certain centres, while school choirs broadcast performances in other towns. Among broadcasts of New Zealand compositions were a children's operetta, "The Sleeping Beauty," written and composed by the Rev. G. E. Dallard, and the first composition to win the Philip Neill Memorial Prize, " Prelude and Fugue in G Minor," by Douglas Lilburn. Mr. Lilburn also conducted the N.B.S. Orchestra in his " Sinfonia for Strings." In the talks and dramatic activities many hundreds of engagements were given to local actors and speakers, either for recording or direct broadcasts. The Service continued to purchase scripts of talks, plays, and features by local writers. Commonwealth Broadcasting Conference. —At the invitation of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the Director of Broadcasting and the Chief Engineer attended the Commonwealth Broadcasting Conference, which held its first meeting on 15th February and closed on 9th March, 194.5, in London. The Conference was called in order that the national broadcasting organizations of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and India should be able to review their co-operation during the war years and to consult with each other on how best their co-operation, which has been of such benefit to the Commonwealth and the world, could be continued and developed in times of peace. Parallel with the meetings of the main Conference a technical sub-committee sat to cover the same field on the engineering and scientific sides. The Conference came to unanimous agreement that, in all the main fields covered, co-operation should be continued and developed to the fullest possible extent. The national broadcasting organizations represented appreciated the importance of exchanging broadcast news, programmes, and services within the Commonwealth. In the sphere of Commonwealth news the Conference took the widest possible measures to ensure that there will be a genuine flow of news and information by means of broadcasting throughout the Commonwealth. The Conference recommended the pooling of resources and inter-availability of material to this end without in any way supplanting the work of the regular news agencies and news sources. In this field the Conference appreciated that there were many ways in which it could use its own medium of broadcasting to ensure to listeners throughout the world, the widest, most responsible, and most accurate information on Commonwealth affairs. The Conference believed that not only greater understanding, but better listening, should ensue in times of peace from the exchange of programmes between its constituent members. Such programmes will clearly have to make their way on their merits, but it was the conviction of the Conference that each national broadcasting organization within the Commonwealth had a valuable contribution to make to the others. It was hoped, by exchange of programmes, by co-operation in the broadcasting of great national events within the Commonwealth, and by the pooling of resources and the exchange of facilities and information, to provide listeners within the Commonwealth with the widest range of studio and actuality programmes which broadcasting could give. The future of rebroadcasting of each other's programmes and the use of transcription services was carefully studied, and problems of post-war transmission were also discussed. Believing that nothing but good could come from the widening of individual horizons and the greatest possible variety of experience, both to the individuals concerned and to their organizations, the Conference made plans for the secondment of picked members of staff between one broadcasting organization within the Commonwealth and another. It was felt that such a process must have a valuable cumulative effect of widening knowledge of the Commonwealth and bringing to broadcasting a greater authority when dealing with its problems. The Conference also dealt with the problems of standards of fairness and international courtesy in broadcasting. It was felt that by establishing and maintaining true standards of objectivity the Commonwealth broadcasting organizations could positively promote a greater measure of international understanding and good will. The technical sub-committee performed valuable work in studying problems of improving coverage and transmission, particularly on short wave-lengths; sound recording and reproduction; the collection, dissemination, and practical use of ionosphere data, studio acoustics, frequency-modulated transmission, and other matters. It was hoped that listeners would benefit on the technical side also from the work begun by the Conference and the continuation which has been planned for the exchange of information and data. It was also hoped in certain fields to bring about a degree of standardization which will be of general benefit.

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In addition to the business sessions of both the main committee and the technical sub-committee, there were a great many other sessions dealing with production techniques, educational broadcasting, agricultural broadcasting, controversial broadcasting, religious broadcasting, listener research, and other matters. These sessions were among the most valuable. This was the first occasion on which the executive heads and leading technicians of the national broadcasting organizations of the Commonwealth had met, and the Conference wished to make it clear that it in no way overrode the functions or authority of the national broadcasting organizations represented. It was the unanimous view of the Conference that the meetings had been of such outstanding importance and value to the future of broadcasting that the Conference should reassemble periodically. The next meeting will be held possibly in 1947, at a place to be arranged. Financial Report.—The Revenue Account for the year ended the 31st March and the Balance-sheet as at that date for the national stations appear in parliamentary paper 8.-l [Pt. IV]. Revenue for the year included license fees, £435,813 ; receipts from sales of and advertising in New Zealand Listener, £39,625 ; and interest, £21,695. A further £170,000 was invested during the year to provide for future development and to overtake arrears of construction and equipment which have been held up owing to war conditions, making a total of £1,570,000 now invested for this purpose. Commercial Activities General.—ln the year under review the Commercial stations have continued the accepted policy of broadcasting advertising matter interspersed in diversified programmes consisting mainly of light entertainment, news, information, and war publicity. In preceding sections of this report the activities of Commercial stations in such matters as news broadcasts, feature production, special services, war publicity, &c., have, in order to avoid repetition, been covered along with the activities of stations of the National Division in the same fields. The following comments are added on matters solely affecting the Commercial stations :— Advertising.—Once again the revenue from broadcast advertising shows an increase and maintains the upward trend which has been experienced since the inception of Commercial broadcasting. Many advertisers who have been using this avenue of advertising for a number of years continue to sponsor programmes which have a large following among listeners, while many new advertisers are using radio for the first time during war years. The Commercial Division has assisted in all the publicity campaigns associated with the war effort, and a number of advertising contracts have been declined so that the necessary time could be made available. Despite this, the revenue figures have continued to increase. The thanks of the Service are due to the advertisers, who have given their whole-hearted cooperation in facilitating the broadcasting of war publicity. For this purpose they have gladly cancelled their programmes or made time available when the occasion has demanded such action. Programmes.—The programmes during the year were varied and interesting as well as entertaining, and due care has been taken to achieve a reasonable balance between advertising and entertainment. In addition to the most favourable use of local talent and personalities and of the best type of recorded feature usually associated with. Commercial broadcast programmes, the Commercial stations also broadcast many programmes from the 8.8.C. and the United States Office of War Information. Every endeavour is being made to ensure that programmes accepted for broadcasting from the Commercial stations are of the most suitable type available. Due regard has been paid to the need for ensuring that features which, while generally accepted radio fare for adult audiences, might reasonably be regarded as unsuitable for hearing by young children are not broadcast until late in the evening. In pursuance of its desire to keep up the standard of features to be associated with advertising programmes, all features are now approved and purchased by the Service before being offered to advertisers for sponsoring. Recordings and Development of New Zealand Talent. —Many programmes written by New-Zealanders have been produced in the studios of the Commercial Division. Some of the current features are wholly the work of New-Zealanders, who have written the scripts and handled the acting and producing. Shortage of equipment prevents this section from expanding, but it is hoped that such expansion will be possible after the war. Financial Report.—Time sales for the year reached a new peak, sales amounting to over £271,000, representing an increase of more than £16,000 over the previous year's operations. In addition, local and national community organizations of the non-profitmaking type received free courtesy advertisements to the value of £7,000, while the National Patriotic appeals and various Government Departments, particularly those connected with the furtherance of the war effort, received substantial reductions in rates of an aggregate benefit of £9,600. Engineering Section During the year the programmes of the National Broadcasting Service were radiated by twentythree stations located throughout the Dominion from Auckland to Invercargill. This number included five stations of the Commercial Division, two small stations operated under contract, and two private stations which were subsidized. All these stations with the exception of the latter four were staffed and maintained by the Engineering Branch of this Service.

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The operational details of these stations were as follows :—

The present war conditions have made it impossible to obtain major technical equipment, and it has not been possible to proceed with the normal development programme required to give improved service to listeners remote from a transmitting-station. The limited supplies of minor technical equipment, such as spare parts, continue to be just sufficient to enable the existing stations to be maintained. However, work is progressing in the improvement of recording facilities at the various stations. A considerable proportion of skilled staff has been released for service with the Armed Forces, and accordingly it has been necessary to require an appreciable amount of overtime to be worked. Short-ivave Receiving Service.—Tbe reception of overseas short-wave broadcasting-stations, both 8.8.C. and others, has become a very important phase of the work of this Service. For this purpose a new site has been obtained at Makara in co-operation with the Post and Telegraph Department. This supersedes the temporary site near Paremata. A building has been provided at the Makara site to house the receiving equipment required, and various aerial systems have been erected suitable for reception of signals from the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, and other countries. Much improved reception of overseas stations is now obtained, and listeners have benefited by increased clarity of the daily rebroadcasts of news, commentaries, and talks from abroad. In addition to providing facilities for rebroadcasting, regular monitoring of certain stations is carried out for intelligence purposes, under the direction of War Cabinet. The National Broadcasting Service is represented on the Radio Propagation Committee, which is working in collaboration with similar organizations in other parts of the world, on research into the problems of reliable long-distance transmission of radio waves. During the year nine new houses have been constructed at outlying stations for the accommodation of married officers and their families. Short-wave Transmitting Service.—Two 7| kW. short-wave transmitters originally ordered by another Department for war purposes have been made available recently to this Department. Arrangements are in hand for the installation of these transmitters and the provision of the necessary aerial arrays at Titahi Bay. Owing to their relatively low power these stations will not provide coverage in distant countries, but will give a reasonable service to the New Zealand dependencies and Armed Services in the Pacific. Hours of Transmission. —The aggregate transmission time of all the stations, both National and Commercial, amounted during the year to 79,775 hours. Of the scheduled transmission time, only 65 hours were lost. This figure includes 35| hours due to mains power failures beyond the control of this Department and 29 hours due to failures of technical equipment. This very low figure reflects the high standard of technical maintenance carried out by the depleted technical staff of this Department, particularly in view of the effect of the adverse war conditions on the supply of maintenance material. Receiving Licenses.—During the year, 379,242 receiving licenses were issued, an increase for the year of 3,789. James Shelley, Director of Broadcasting. Approximate Cost of Paper.—Preparation, not given ; printing (590 copies), £13 10s.

By Authority: E. V. Paul, Government Printer, Wellington, —l94s. Price 6d.~\

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o, .• Cl , . Transmitter Aerial ™ Station. Studio Location. Energy Frequency. kW. Kilocycles/sec. 1YA .. .. Auckland. .. .. .. 10-00 650 1ZB* .. .. „ .. .. .. 1-00 1,070 1ZM .. .. „ .. .. .. 0-75 1,250 1YX .. .. „ .. .. 0-15 880 2ZJf .. Gisborne .. .. .. 0-10 980 2ZMJ .. .. „ .. .. .. 0-015 1,180 2YH .. .. Napier .. .. .. 5-00 750 2YBf .. .. New Plymouth .. .. 0-03 810 2ZA* .. .. Palmerston North .. .. 0-25 1,400 2YA .. .. Wellington.. .. .. 60-00 570 2YC .. .. „ .. .. .. 5-00 840 2ZB* .. .. „ .. .. .. 1-00 1,130 2 YD .. .. „ .. .. .. 0-50 990 2YN .. .. Nelson .. .. .. 0-03 920 3ZR .. .. Greymouth .. .. 0-10 940 3YA .. .. Christchurch .. .. 10-00 720 3ZB* .. .. „ .. .. I -00 1,430 3YL .. .. ,, .. .. 0-30 1,200 4YA .. .. Dunedin .. .. .. 10-00 790 4ZB* .. .. Dunedin .. .. .. 1-00 1,310 4YO .. .. „ .. .. .. 0-15 1,140 4ZD:f .. .. „ .. .. .. 0-20 1,110 4YZ .. .. Invercargill .. .. 5-00 | 680 * Transmitting Commercial Division programmes. f Operated under contract for National Broadcasting Service. t Private stations subsidized by National Broadcasting Service.