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Political Advertising All parties took advantage of the special arrangements provided for the advertising of political meetings prior to the last general election. One station alone broadcast as many as fifty political announcements on a single day. Programmes of the Commercial Stations General. —The Programme Officers were continually alert to obtain material suitable for the popular programme appeal of the Commercial stations. While endeavouring to increase the amount of material produced in New Zealand, the Service had to obtain the large proportion of its transcribed features from Australia. Programmes were also included from Great Britain, some of those not available for sponsorship being used in sustaining programmes. The Service continued to be the sole importer of recorded features, and bv this means it was able to control the standard of such features which it accepted for broadcast in New Zealand. Popular Entertainment. —The entertainment offered to the public has been varied and covered a wide range of interest and popular appeal. Studio presentations by local artists were encouraged and engagements arranged within the limits of the time available. Constant efforts were made to obtain the greatest variety in standard recordings, and the libraries were augmented during the year. The visiting American artist Todd Duncan provided a delightful broadcast from the ZB stations, and other sessions were provided by Leo Cherniavsky, violinist, Pnina Salzman, pianist, and there were broadcast from members of travelling theatrical companies. Belays included industrial fairs, flower shows, air pageants, artistic exhibitions, an Anzac Dawn Parade, and the comedy of a visiting circus. Commercial stations featured weekly broadcasts of local bands and the Brass Band Championships were covered. Audience Participation. —Audience participation programmes continued to be popular and many hundreds of participants were involved in the broadcasts. Some of these sessions took the form of straight entertainment, while others enabled listeners to forward questions for a panel of specially selected people to deal with on the air. 'Others again had a sports bias such as were organized during the period preceding the Empire Games. The Inter-Dominion Quiz Contest between teams representing Australia and New Zealand evoked considerable public interest on both sides of the Tasman. Studio Interviews and Talks. —Commercial stations maintained their activity in imparting information to the public and stimulating interest in many topics by means of studio interviews. Stations have been encouraged to associate themselves very -closely with their local communities, and interviews from leaders within their respective spheres have been promoted accordingly. Interviews broadcast included the following : New Zealand sports teams overseas (including the cricket tour of Great Britain and the All Black tour of South Africa) ; Empire Games leaders and participants in Auckland ; visiting American scientists ; Australian Farmers' Party ; the Rover Scouts who attended the Norwav gathering of Scouts ; and world travellers passing through the cities. Other topics included all forms of sport, alpine climbing, nursing overseas, Otago pioneers, photography, beauty aids, model engineering, journalism overseas, life-saving, unusual hobbies, the making of pottery, Australian aboriginal drawings, a librarian's work, and fashion trends. Talks of a vocational interest included " The Sea as a Career." Cooking demonstrations had a place also in this type of programme. In addition to the interviews there were many talks covering a wide range of subjects, such as United Nations, National Savings, anniversaries, theatre memories, parliamentary and historical reminiscences, sport, and domestic subjects. Among the interesting occasions were the reopening of the Dominion Museum and the celebrations of the Maori church at Eangiatea.

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