IS THE LISTENER IMPROVING?

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 64, 13 September 1940, Page 4

IS THE LISTENER IMPROVING?

Sir,-Ordinarily, the first minute that I used to spend after unrolling The Listener was spent on the programme chart (double spread) headed "What Would You Like to Hear?" scanning the classical section through the days of the week. This took one minute. The last three weeks I waded through 14 pages (56 cols.) of programmes to see if there was anything in the week’s broadcast to interest me. This took me over half-an hour each week because you were good enough to omit the time-saving chart. No time was spent on the Commercial Station pro-grammes-as I found years ago that motor-car polish, indigestion and cough cures, etc., do not form an agreeable mixture with Tschaikowsky symphonies, and other works of the old masters. Practically every home has its cookery books, fashion journals, women’s weeklies, scientific magazines, daily, weekly or monthly newspapers, etc. All such contain the same miscellaneous selection of science siftings, cookery notes, and hash-shop recipes, piffle and twaddle — pages of matter altogether irrelevant to a radio programme-as does The Listener, MINUS (caps. or italic, please) N.Z.’s radio programmes. These they may not publish, as such are copyright to The Listener. Yours is the responsibility, Sir, to publish the One and Only radio programme in the Dominion. And surely your readers and radio tax-payers (who give you a job through being so long-suffering and tolerant) are entitled to what they pay for — a -serviceable radio programme, not the heterogeneous mixture of piffle they get at present! I see no improvement in deliberately leaving out the two-page chart, merely to make room for more irrelevant matter,, most of which has been read a dozen times before by a large percentage of readers in the publications previously referred to. "Inquire Within" booklets are published periodically and distributed gratis here; big N.Z. and Alstralian proprietary concerns sponsor similar pamphlets several times a year -all -filled with the same class of matter, which to them is legitimately good; but put such into a radio programme and it becomes piffle immediately. Probably many of these things have temporarily disappeared as a war measure-nevertheless they are free, while The Listener costs threepence. I do not consider the programmes as at present published anywhere near complete-the interludes (orchestral, comedy, etc.), from all stations should be tabulated in full, leaving out all those boshy diaries, and at least 75 per cent. of the other matter, including cookery recipes-after all, our authorities over the air agree that a meal is not a mess, spiced and seasoned up to tempt the foodpecker to eat when he is not hungry; answers to many questions, household hints, etc., should be left to the hundreds of other publications whose legitimate field is to handle such, and which cannot dabble in radio programmes. Your duty to radio tax-payers is to concentrate on the latter, and leave the rest alone. Why shouldn’t the programmes of all subsidiary stations be published in full? Because some listeners, perhaps with low-power sets, live in out-of-the-way localities, why should they be aspiring to listen to the main YA Stations under difficulties, when possibly some sub-station near at hand would come in perfectly? Why not give them the full benefit of a 100 per cent. radio programme-they pay for one -not 10 per cent programme and 90 per cent. twaddle. I am not complaining of the manner in which some of the announcers pronounce words-you are not responsible for their pronunciation, but you are

responsible for the publication of a radio programme, of which the following may truthfully be said: "All the Programmes from all Stations." Can you inform me where I may obtain a weekly copy of the N.Z. radio programmes in advance? They are certainly not published in The Listener, N.Z.’s so-called radio programme. Certainly the old chart would appear superfluous to the followers of serials and set features, to which listeners tune in at the same time every day or week. But worthwhile instrumental and orchestral music, by good artists and musical combinations may come on at any hour during the week, from any station. The music lover has no alternative but to consult the full 56 cols, of programmes to find in advance what he wants. May I suggest that the classical music for the week be tabulated according to day and location, into a single column table-it would not take up much space, and I am sure this move would be greatly appreciated by real music lovers, I make no apology for the length of this letter. There are my sentiments, and in spite of all opposi-

tion, they "stay put." —

FRED L.

GARLAND

(Auckland).