FROM BBC TRAINING SCHOOL

New Zealand Listener, Volume 1, Issue 25, 15 December 1939, Page 48

FROM BBC TRAINING SCHOOL

Rion Voigt Joins 2ZB S you can see from the photograph in this column, Rion Voigt is a young man, but he has’ had more experience in broadcasting than seems possible in his short life. Most of his broadcasting was done in Australia, where he was on the staff of Station 2KY Sydney for seven years. He conducted the Children’s Session during that time, and in the last year or two he took the place of his father (who, incidentally, was station director of 2KY, and is now wrestling commentator for the BBC) as wrestling commentator; and this is the session he is still particularly interested in. In 1938 Rion followed his father to England and joined the BBC Staff Training School for, three months. This was the most valuable experience in his broadcasting career up to that time. This training school is run exclusively for the BBC’s own staff, and although Rion did not actually announce at the BBC, he had a script accepted

which proved a great success. He called this feature "I Want To Be An Actor." It was an unqualified success, and is considered one of the most popular programmes presented this year by the BBC. "I Want To Be An Actor" ran for three months, was stopped for the summer, and was then brought on again for the winter season. Newspaper comment was wide-spread and congratulatoryRion has cuttings from a score of London papers-including the Express, Daily Mail, Mirror, and News Review, all giving their views on the success of the season. The only broadcast Rion made in London was a television one, which he found a very interesting experience, quite similar to being "shot" for a film. On the subject of sports commentators, mainly on wrestling and racing, Rion brought up an interesting point. He said that the BBC is surprisingly lacking in. commentators. The reason for this is probably because they broadcast perhaps only twice or three times a year, race meetings being few and far between. There are only three or four important meetings a year.

In the BBC Training School, Austra-" lian wrestling and racing commentaries are used as examples. In Australia and also New Zealand, wrestling and racing commentators have plenty of practice, sometimes broadcasting three or four times a week. Rion Voigt has recently joined the announcing staff of 2ZB, Wellington.