THE FAMILY AND SOCIETY
Sir,-Mr. Nixon,.the author of the series of talks under the above title, has met with the same fate as Galileosuppression by the herd for daring to talk to the herd about its habits. The official statement by the Broadcasting Service says that "senior officers" terminated these talks, It is surprising to know that these gentlemen possess an outlook on society and its institutions somewhat akin to that of the savage. He likewise can give all sorts of reasons why the herd feels that it is dangerous (offensive) to step on a man’s shadow, Quotations from the official statement make it appear that [4r, Nixon’s fifth talk (not broadcast) hed all the ingredients of a best-seller. According to "senior officers," it as ‘offensive to many" in "detailed treatment" while "strongly supporting the traditional role of the family in society." This,is the pattern of our most popular newspapers who feature divorce and the murky side of the family in their columns, These papers have large circulation and are supported by the "many"-the people
whom the Broadcasting Service seeks to protect from lecturers like Mr. Nixon! The "senior officers" come out of this with little credit. It is time to call in the office boy.
DONALD
RUTHERFORD
(Auckland).
(Mr. Rutherford’s reference to "an outlook on society and its institutions somewhat akin to that of the savage’’ seems to have been framed and aimed in forgetfulness of a fact which has been made clear and which is recalled in one of the phrases he quotes. There was no objection whatever, at any time, to the line of .argument adopted. The objection was to the mode of expression, in some of the passages, and to that only. In the view of the Broadcasting Service, the expression could have been revised without injury to the argument and its effectiveness; Mr. Nixon declined to revise it. It was his right to decline. It is also the right-and the duty-of the Broadcasting Service to reject a script likely to give unnecessary and avoidable offence through its phrasing, to many listeners in a radio audience which cannot, of course, be ' pre-selected.-Ed.)
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 26, Issue 653, 11 January 1952, Page 5
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356THE FAMILY AND SOCIETY New Zealand Listener, Volume 26, Issue 653, 11 January 1952, Page 5
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