RADIO CAVALCADE.

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 346, 29 January 1937, Page 5

RADIO CAVALCADE.

Biographies Will Shortly Be Broadcasted. Wellington, To-day. A radio cavalcade of great men is envisioned in a scheme outlined by Professor James Shelley, Director of Broadcasting, in an interview in Wellington yesterday. II is intention is to introduce New Zealand radio listeners weekly, by word portraits, to outstanding figures in history.

Biography was a branch of literature which was advancing more and more rapidly in favour, said sor Shelley. Even the best-selling novels now had a biographical basis. The reason was the human interest contained in them. They were stories of success and failure, experiences common to everyone. That human interest could be captured for broadcasting by bringing listeners into intimate, almost personal contact, with the lives of the world’s greatest meu. He thought Sunday afternoon, when listeners were generally in contemplative mood, would be the best period for a 15 minutes’ sojourn with the great. There was a wide range of subjects to choose from—men of science, literature, music, and art; the men of history and the men of today. The only limitation would be human interest. There would be no lack of anniversaries if it was desired to couple a talk on some celebrity with the date of his birth or death. The actual form of the broadcast would depend on the subject. The fame of a musician, for example, would be illustrated by musical entertainment. Again, it would often be possible to co-opt a local enthusiast, who could give the benefit of his knowledge and admiration of a particular personage. Many difficulties would arise in the compilation and delivery of the talks. One would be the lack of a library at the studio. But the difficulties could be overcome.