RADIO BROADCASTS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 January 1941, Page 7

RADIO BROADCASTS

PRECAU'I lONS AGAINST ESPIONAGE CONTROL OF ADVERTISING MATTER. PERSONAL AIE SSA G E S STOPPED.

ißy Telegraph--Press Association.’ WELLINGTON. This Day i Precautions taken to prevent the , National Commercial Broadcasting (service being used to convey informa- .' lion to the enemy were explained yes--1 lerday by the deputy-controller of the r service. Mr B Shiel He said he was ,; ct nvmced that these precautions made an illicit use of the service impossible I No casual advertisements were broadcast till the form in which thev • .were written was altered. . "You can’t come in, say that you -1 are Jones, a tail r present an adver- ,' tisemcn: ami have n put on the air as ? I it stands." said ?vlr Shiel. The adJ vertisement would bo rewritten b\ our :; stall and submitted to you; if you i did not approve of :t in that form it

,j would be declined," •J Mr Shiel was asked how long this - procedure had been in operation. He replied: "in varying stages, at var\in« . limes." Permanent contract advertising wa; : not rewritten. , j '1 he copy for big national rnlver- ! . Users is prepared six months in ad-' vance and can’t contain any jnforma-! . tior. of value to the enemy”' said Mr I ■. Shiel. , The broadcast of personal messages j . >uch as birthday greetings, had beep, i stopped. "How long ago"" Mr Shiel was ask-j cd. He replied: A month to six i weeks ago." Announcements about missing cars! were accepted only from the police. J This had been so for at least four! years. Mr Shiel said he thought it extreme-! ly unlikely that the titles of records or! their serial numbers could be made: ja means of conveying information to! j the enemy. Scripts of all broadcast, i matter, he said, were prepared in ad-1 vance and censored. Once passed they I I could not be departed from. Micro-1 ! phones were always guarded. I

PROFESSOR SHELLEY'S VIEW. The Director of Broadcasting Pro-i fessor J. Shelley, was also asked for; details of censorship and precautions taken to prevent lhe leakage of news through the national service. "All these questions," he said, "were the subject of careful consideration and investigation well before the war and stringent precautions are taken to prevent the leakage of any information. The bona tides of all members of thei staff are thoroughly examined. "I feel convinced that there is no possibility of illicit news being disseminated through the national service." Professor Shelley declined to give details of the measures taken , Professor Shelley said he believed; that the most likely way in which in-i formation was sent out of New Zea-! land was by seamen on neutral ships.'