BROADCAST STOPPED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 January 1939, Page 7

BROADCAST STOPPED

AUCKLAND COMMENTARY ON WORLD AFFAIRS

ACTION BY PRIME MINISTER.

■ALWAYS DANGER OF HARM."

(By Telegraph—Press Association.)

AUCKLAND, January 19

An announcement that for official reasons the international news commentary broadcast from station IZB three night a week by Mr K. Kelvin had been terminated by the Prime Minister, Mr Savage, was made over the air by the sponsor of the programme, Mr Horace Bull. This statement was confirmed later by Mr Savage, who in a telephone conversation from Wellington said that there was always the danger of harm coming from statements made over the air on international affairs. Mr Bull said the termination of the programme dated back several months to the time of the Czechoslovakian crisis. After one of Mr Melvin’s broadcasts, said Mr Bull, he had received a telephone call from an anonymous person who had threatened to “get him” if his sponsored session, which at that time was dealing substantially with German actions, was continued.

Following that, Mr Bull said, he had been informed by the station authorities that three special sessions of six nightly sponsored programmes would have to be terminated, and that the remaining three would be modified. Mr Bull subsequently approached Mr Savage in Wellington, but the modification of the programme remained in operation. It had now been decided to terminate all such sponsored talks on international affairs altogether. The Auckland session was the only one of its kind in New Zealand and had been continuing for two years. The YA stations were not affected.