WORLD-WIDE PUBLICITY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 117, 2 March 1950, Page 4

WORLD-WIDE PUBLICITY

ASHBURTON ON THE AIR BROADCAST FROM NEW YORK THIS MORNING Ashburton has always sought publicity in New Zealand, but to--day it received world-wide recognition in no uncertain manner. For five minutes, just before 9 o’clock this morning, many thousands of radio listeners around the world were told about Ashburton and its newspaper, “The Guardian.”

During the past five month/ a member of the “Guardian” staff has been listening daily to a" half-hour request programme broadcast simultaneously from four New York shortwave stations. A fortnight ago he decided it was time he made a request, and in an eight-page letter gave a few items of interest about Ashburton, its location, its size, its people and its importance as a farming district. All these points were broadcast in full this morning, and as the programme has thousands of listeners in all parts of the world, it is possible that Ashburton has not received so much outside publicity for some considerable time. The “Guardian” has occasionally published items of general interest picked up from this station and up-to-date news pars concerning the film world (as published in our “Cinema News” column), frequently originate from this source. A few sample clippings from the “Guardian”’ sent to the New York studio received . mention this morning l and the announcer seemed delighted that we had considered them worth publishing. During the morning’s programme, other English-speaking listeners were called in such widely separate countries as Somaliland, Germany, England, Ireland, Panama, Labrador and Hanmer, New Zealand. The four stations' are part of the “United States Armed Forces Radio Services” network and broadcast on the 16, 19, 25 and 31 metre bands. Reception is usually excellent, but has deteriorated during the past few days, due mainly to the temporary activity of sun-spots which have upset radio, communications around the world. The request programme, entitled “Requestfully Yours,” is broadcast practically every morning from 8.30 to 9 a.m., New Zealand time.