RADIO AND POLITICS

Evening Star, Issue 22144, 26 September 1935, Page 15

RADIO AND POLITICS

LABOUR DENOUNCES THE BAH ATTACK OH NEWSPAPERS [From Our Parliamentary Reporter.] WELLINGTON, September 25. Strong denunciation qf the newspapers was coupled witli advocacy of 'greater freedom for B class radio stations when Labour members discussed the Imprest Bill in the House to-night. The question was raised by Mr Savage (Leader of the Labour Party), who contended that the freedom of the Press was not a fact, as they only allowed the public to know what the Government desired. The alternative was the micx-o-phone, which was muzzled. He invited the Postmaster-General to say something on the subject. Application had been made to the Broadcasting Board for putting on the air a public meeting hold at Auckland for the purpose of discussing freely and openly social conditions in the Dominion. That was a question affecting every person, and if political parties happened to bo affected in the process, they should be able to stand up to it. Mr Savage said he did not minjd criticism in the papers if allowed to express himself in their columns in reply, but that did not obtain. The same applied to the air. There was no logical reason why people who had anything worth while saying should be prevented from saying it fully and freely. It had been said that listeners did not want to hear members of Parliament on the air, but that had not been his experience. He was afraid the B stations were being crushed out. They had filled an important role, had popularised broadcasting, and had made a huge revenue possible, but had not collected any of it. They were in difficulties to-day, and he could not see anybody going to their assistance. All the indications were that the Government wanted them to die. The Government was not making it possible for the B stations to meet the coypright demands. There must always he intelligent control, but that did not moan that the stations should be muzzled. He did not claim to kuow everything about broadcasting, no more than be claimed to know' everything about the banking system. Mr Coates: You have not got one.

Mr Savage: I think I am getting under the skin of the Minister of Finance. If I am, I am getting somewhere.

Mr Langstone; A tough job. Mr Savage said broadcasting was being developed in other countries, and was not being muzzled and starved out of existence. Even with the national stations there was a tendency to put the brake on in respect of publicity. He would allow Ministers of the Crown and Government supporters to use the air as long as others were given the same right. Illustrating what he termed the onesided arrangement of editing, Mr Savage drew attention to the broadcast summary of the Budget. _ He would like to summarise the other side of tho case. He asked the Postmaster-General if he had anything in his mind concerning the B stations which would make it possible for them to meet the illegitimate demands of the owners of the copyrights. Would the Government play any part in negotiations for doing anything to preserve the rights'of the stations which had done so much to serve the people and popularise broadcasting generally ? Mr Yeitch said he could not find himself in agreement with Mr Savage m his almose complete denunciation of the Press. Some newspapers were unworthy of a place in tho Dominion, but there were quite a number that were an honour to the journalistic profession and the Dominion. Ho said ho agreed with Mr Savage that the policy of the Broadcasting Board was an extremely dangerous one, and he expressed the view that there was no need for the drastic and comprehensive control exercised by tho board, which seemed to look upon the people of New Zealand as something in the nature of a mad dog, and to have got hold of it by both ears and be afraid to let go one ear in case the dog should bite. They must see that all the elements of free thought should be able to express themselves over the air. He asked for that in the interests of tho electors rather than in the interests of political parties. The electors should be given an opportunity fairly and justly to decide for themselves the relative merits of the contending parties. That tho Press of New Zealand had a strangle hold on the Government was one of a series of allegations made by Mr Langstone. He suggested that the newspaper proprietors came to an agreement to support the Government’s policy if nothing were put over the air until 12 hours after it appeared in print. Mr Forbes: That is totally incorrect. Mr Armstrong", criticising the Broadcasting Board’s prohibition of political candidates speaking before the microphone, alleged that some members of the board who were leading officials of the Reform Party, had postponed the official endorsement of certain candidates by the National Party to enable them to go on broadcasting. •Mr Hamilton (Postmaster-General) suggested the Leader of the Opposition should explain if he had a better alternative to the national service. He would then have to state right away whether he' favoured commercialising radio, which the Government had taken out of the hands of a private company, placing control under an independent national board.

Mr Howard; Independent of what? The Minister : As independent as tho hon. member is of the Labour Party/ and u long way more. Politics did not come into their appointments, he continued. Mr Howard: Your own organiser is on it. '

The Minister: You would not expect us to put all Labour members on.

Then, he continued, the Leader of tho Opposition talked about the freedom of the air, but his own supporters admitted that there must be some control. They also criticised the newspapers, but it seemed strange that members, regardless of political sides, sometimes made speeches they thought wonderfuL but were not reported as fully as they expected. Tho newspaprs considered news value, just as the Broadcasting Board had to a great extent to consider the listeners’ interest. Tho Leader of the Opposition had suggested that a radio station was prohibited from broadcasting a meeting which might be antagonistic to the Government, but there might be other occasions when broadcasting was refused to some section which used propaganda for its particular interest. The Broadcasting Board had appointed gentlemen to control controversy over the air. or to try to arrange controversial discussions, though it was not easy to arrange these things.

Would the Labour Party give a monopoly to the existing B stations? asked the Minister. There were 29 in New Zealand, while Britain, under a wholly national system, had 12 stations. There were 30 in New Zealand

before the Broadcasting Board started. Some B statoins were doing good work where the coverage of the national stations was not adequate, but he repeated that this question involyed a choice between a national service or the commercialising of radio. Later Mr Hamilton informed the House that he had discussed with the Leader of the Oppqsition the question of utilising the radio sendee for political addresses during the coming election. The leaders, he said, had discussed the matter before last election, but nothing was done, though it was now being discussed again. Ho suggested that the member for Wanganui, who had asked that political parties be given radio opportunities, might put up a scheme, for it might bo very helpful, but it was not so easy as it looked, ft was easy to talk about it. but to suggest an acceptable method was very difficult. Mr Barnard: Is the hon. gentleman desirous of arranging something? Mr Hamilton: Yes. definitely. lam anxious to use broadcasting at the coming election. Referring to the Broadcasting Board’s prohibition of parliamentary candidates, the Minister pointed out that this applied all round. Mr Howard: They read your speeches every night. Mr Veitch: They broadcast the Budget. The Minister: That is news —(laughter)—and Ministerial statements have news value.