RADIO REVIEW

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 78, 20 December 1940, Page 41

RADIO REVIEW

Contributed by

N.Z. DX R.A. Inc.

Address all Communications: P.O. Box 437, DUNEDIN.

America Broadcasts to Byrd The 59 members of the U.S. Antarctic Service expedition commanded by Rear-Admiral Richard E. Byrd, will leave Little America for their homes in United States about January 15, 1941, and will arrive back about May. The U.S.S. Bear, private ship of Admiral Byrd that was leased to the Federal Government for one dollar for this expedition, left Philadelphia on October 12, and the M.S. North Star was due to leave Seattle about December 1. Both vessels will arrive at Little America about the first or second week in January and the return trip will begin about February 1. Since the departure of the expedition over a year ago General Electric Co. has arranged and directed a series of bi-weekly radio programmes to Antarctica. These programmes, "shortwaved" through the 100 kilowatt station WGEO on 9.53 me, are also carried on a coast-to-coast "red" network of the National Bréadcasting Company. They are broadcast from 4.30 p.m. every other Saturday, and the next is scheduled for December 21. Programmes will originate in Minneapolis, Seattle, Rochester, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh, and in each case will be sponsored by a prominent newspaper. Rolling Down to Rio Nearly 10,000 letters a month are written by South American listeners to American short-wave » stations, says "The New York Times," which released plans of the National Association of Broadcasters to expand Pan-American radio facilities. The news sessions are the most popular feature of the programmes directed to Latin and South American states. The daily news schedule is 13 hours 19 minutes. The N.A.B. declares that the same policy applies to the international shortwave news as to the domestic service: " News is presented as it happens, is not slanted, withheld or distorted for propaganda purposes, As a result South Americans have learned to place dependence on news broadcast * shortwave stations in the U.S.A." Not so BBC An R.A, member, who, under the title of " Signature Tune," compiles a monthly budget of radio notes, has sent us a copy of the magazine for which he writes. One interesting and unusual incident is recorded as follows: "I noticed that in a talk between a couple of Daventry announcers recently acknowledgment was made of the faux pas made one evening by one of the BBC lady announcers in asking _" What the hell comes next?" This reminded me of an incident which befel A, Curry, 3YA’s announcer who in 1930 was at 4YA when the first two way communication between New York and 4YA was made. As the American announcer could not make out his name the 4YA man in desperation said: " Curry! Curry! It’s. hot stuff-you eat it with rice!" Subsequently the American papers had headlines; "The Hot Stuff Announcer in New Zealand."