"NOT ENOUGH CONTROVERSY IN RADIO TALKS"

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 71, 1 November 1940, Page 14

"NOT ENOUGH CONTROVERSY IN RADIO TALKS"

Views Of A Speaker Well Known To Auckland Listeners

OST listeners to 1YA sit back and prepare to enjoy themselves when Julius Hogben comes on the air. Traditionally, lawyers are dry and prosy people, like the statute-books in which they are so continually immersed, but whatever Julius Hogben the barrister and legal expert may be, Julius Hogben at the microphone is both an interesting and an amusing person. And though his own talks are anything but controversial, he holds that, in general, there is not enough controversy on the air. He has been making himself interesting and amusing to a host of listeners for a good many years now and the engaging quality about his talks is the unexpected and interesting information which he manages to unearth. "I like dabbling," he says, "in out of the way corners of history." Dabbling into the early history of New Zealand provided him with material for the series, "Oh, Lor!" and "Old Thames," which were given from 1YA some little time ago and will still be fresh in the minds of many listeners. More dabbling, this time into English history, provided the material for his current ‘series, "There Always Was An England," which is being heard on alternate Wednesday evenings (next broadcast, November i, at 7.15). Long Preparation But though he gets hold of information which most casual investigators tend to miss, he does not get it without labour, and he has found, over the years, that for a talk occupying 15 minutes he has to spend about nine hours in its preparation. Whatever may be his subject, he likes to have about three times as much material as he is likely to require, just to be on the safe side, In the choice of topics he is fairly catholic in his tastes, but, as he put it, "I like to talk on something I know something about." Controversial Subjects While Mr. Hogben does not introduce controversy into his own talks, he considers that, with the object of stimulating thought in the minds of listeners, radio talks should be more controversial than they are at present. "Any subject," he says, "can be made controversial. I could make a controversial issue out of the wearing of black or tan boots." For that reason, he is a protagonist of the radio discussion and the radio debate. Two competent people, speaking pro and con, could, he thinks, adequately summarise any of the major issues of the day in a 15-minute broadcast discussion. More talks of the type being given from the BBC by J. B. Priestley and Vernon Bartlett, M-P., could, he thinks, be given with advantake in New Zealand by New Zealand speakers. ; : he says, "would forward the country’s war effort.

No harm could possibly come from discussing Russia’s foreign policy, which is the subject of the latest Oxford pamphlet on foreign affairs, or discussing Eileen Bigland’s recent book on the same subject. The question of what is to be the basis of peace is another subject which’ should be discussed, and the fact that we want this or that sort of peace does not make us less determined to win the war." Microphone Technique Most of the talks which are heard from New Zealand stations contain a good measure of original thinking, he

believes, but they lack the "punch" which they would have were the speakers as accustomed to a flesh and blood audience as they are to the microphone. For that reason, he thinks that the average singer is better to listen to than the average speaker. The spontaneity of talks would be greatly enhanced if speakers followed more closely the advice given in the NBS booklets and full preparation was also essential. "The best impromptus," he said, "are those which are well prepared."