The Ideal Programme

Radio Record, Volume II, Issue 20, 30 November 1928, Page 7

The Ideal Programme

S eenentnaheneenmmmenel 4Q0G’s Search For It eae Area py view of the great diversity of opinion existing among listeners, the management of 4QG, Brisbane, offered a prize of £5 to the listener who could furnish an ideal programme for one evening, ie, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. It was hoped that by doing

this, the station would be able to find out exactly what was wanted, at the same time giving scope for the expression of new ideas. Views of the Competitors. A LARGE number of listeners went out of the way to compile programmes, and forward them to 4QG. The judging of the efforts submitted was a rather difficult task, and it was finally decided to ask three capable persons to scan carefully all the efforts, and to express their views regarding them independently. None of these people discussed the efforts with each other;.each expressed his own opinion, irrespective of what the others thought. The entries were disappointing, for beyond showing who were the popular artists, they contributed nothing. Some bad evidently devoted a great deal of time and thought to the matter, while others had written an ideal programme from their own point of view, and completely forgotten others. In this respect one lady, who took particular pains to assure 4QG that she held a university degree, handed in a programme composed entirely eof gramophone records. This type of programme might suit her personally, put she quite overlooked the fact that she is not the only person who listens, and she, therefore, did not realise that what might please her immensely

tng weet ee ~~ ia al would not be at al} eetiata iy shy, the lady who lives paid The Xdeal Programme, GOME of the "tdegi" progreiiimes were merely a cdllection of eae: ments, certainty varlety, but withoat a semblance of unity that makes so much for a perfect programme. "Hyery programme broadcast from 4QG, or any other station," comments the station director, "pleases some of the listeners and displeases others. Almost every day some caller or some writer to 4QG states that some particular item or programme which has been broadcast, was the best ever given, and other writers or callers in-. variably class the same item as the worst. Both critics are right. The man who says a certain item or programme is beautiful is quite right. It is beautiful. It is beautiful because it appeals to his tastes or fancies or emotions and, therefore, pleases him. The man who says it is painful is alse right. It is painful. It is painful to him because it does not appeal to his frame of mind. Both men forget, however, that what js pleasing %¢ them is distasteful to the other tek low, and vice versa." Difficulty in Providing Programmes, HAVING explained that everything is being done to group programmes in such a way that all types of listeners are. catered for and that the printing of programmes ahead gives the listener a chance to sélect his programmes (in this respect adopting the New Zealand system) he continues: "One of the greatest troubles of broadeasting to-day lies in the faet that very few people know how to listen in. If 2 man owns @ gramophone, he does not for one moment play it from eight to half-past each | morning, from eleven to twelve, from one to two, from three to half-past four, and from six to half-past ten or eleven, every morning, afternoon, and night of his life. Were he to do 80 he would soon be very sick of gramépnhones. Similarly, if a man owns @

gramophone and buys @ record which he does not like, he does not solemnly sit and listen to it in spite of the fact that he does not like it. Also if a gtamophone company makes records which do not suit the particular taste of a gramophone owner, that owner does not write an anonymous letter to a newspaper and sign it ‘Disgusted,’ and say that the gramophone company is a badly rin institution simply because it makes a certain type of record he does not care for. Not at all! He simply does not play the record he does not like, and plays the records he does like. "So it is with a broadcasting Sstation. No listener can reasonably expect to get all he wants all the time. The other fellow must be catered for. If a distasteful item comes along a snap of the fingers cuts it out. It must always be remembered, however, that an item is not distasteful merely because one. individual listener thinks it distasteful. One man may not like boxing, but that does not for a moment constitute any fragment of a reason why 4QG should not. broadcast from the stadium. There may be many listeners who do like it, and they all have to be catered for. Similarly, some listeners may not like classical music, but many others do. A. station exists not to please elther section, but to try and cater for alk"