FREEDOM OF THE AIR

New Zealand Listener, Volume 11, Issue 286, 15 December 1944, Page 7

FREEDOM OF THE AIR

Sir-Your correspondent W. K. Mcliroy asks why agnostics, rationalists, and presumably atheists are not heard on the radio. May I point out that what @ man does not believe or know is not of the least importance to himself or anyone else. If a man has anything true or useful to say, he may have a right to be heard, and for all I know, the talks on science, books and other subjects which we hear on the air may be given by agnostics and others. But the radio does not include in its functions the opportunity for scoffing at other people. The churches tell us what they believe, but they waste no time on the air in attacking each other; apart from differences in the form of service they all seem to be saying much the same thing. | Only what a man believes or knows is of

| any value.-

J.

F.

(Christchurch),

Sir,-Many of your readers will feel grateful to W. K. Mcllroy for his trenchant remarks on this topic. It is generally accepted that the majority of our population are not church members, therefore it is not unreasonable to ask that one station each Sunday should broadcast a service or lecture which would be of interest to those who are not in sympathy with orthodox doctrines. A broadcast period on these lines from 3XY Melbourne, which commenced recently, has had a most remarkable and sympathetic response from the listening public of Australia. G. B. Shaw ‘says that in regard to these matters, New Zealand is well behind the times. Our authorities should see to it that we are not debarred from discussion of controversial thought on the air. Let us hope that our future Sunday radio profTammes may contain something of interest for those who may be Rational-

}ists, Mumanists or Unitarians.-

A. T.

SMITH

(Whangarei),

Sir--In your issue of November 24 you published a letter of mine on freedom of the air and gave no indication ‘that you had omitted a passage. I wrote: "What of the other political parties, what of the minor religious sects, what of the agnostics and the rationalists? Have they not a right to be heard?" By leaving out the references to other political parties and to the minor religious sects you left my letter open to being regarded as a plea for the agnostics or the rationalists,

W. K.

McILROY

(Palmerston)_

(The line was dropped inadvertently Our correspondent will see why if he looks at his original typescript.-Ed. )