The Passing of the Old Year

Radio Record, Volume II, Issue 26, 11 January 1929, Unnumbered Page

The Passing of the Old Year

NOTHER year has slipped away, another milestone in the swift passage of tine has bee passed. We stand on a threshold; what lies beyond can be revealed only by degress. The future is looked forward to with added certainty-certainty that in 1929 broadcasting cerned be even more than now part of our very existence. The experiences of the past year can have only one significance-they have become history and as history are infallible guides to the future.

TIE moving finger writes; and, having writ, moves on: nor all your piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all your tears wash out a word of it." The year 1928, with all its brilliant successes and its \ dismal failings, has gone. It has left behind it perhaps regrets, perhaps joys; but the new year will provide scope for the atonement of failings and the furtherance of successes. Such was the impression received from one of the special Church Services broadcast Sunday, 30th. There was an unusual tone about these special services, something that stirred man’s very bing into new resolutions and urged him on to greater determination. To the hearts of many these messages. receivable only through the ‘medium of radio, will remain cherished. And so the special New Year broadcasts commenced. ! Views of New Year’s Eve. NEw YEAR’S EVE had been awaited by ~zA : . thousands of programmes had been arranged, and everything held in readiness for the great event. And listeners were ot disappointed. From the four centres a different type of programme had been arranged, and each went off with a swing. From 3YA the noisy, breezy atmosphere from the gay scenes in ,the Cathedral Square formed quite a feature of the evening’s broadeasting. New Year’s Eve is always a time of great revelry for those who are fortunate enough to be able to congregate in sufficiently large numbers to earry out mass celebrations. For those

remotely situated, 3YA and 1.1.4 conveyed some of the joyous atmosphere. At-1YA things were really noisy and the crowd was evidently a very happy one. The scene was well carried to those who were more unfortunately situated. ‘ The description, to which was added the humorous touches, particularly where the crowd were lifting up the rear portions of the motor-cars, was remarkably vivid. One could, by radio, see the scenes being swiftly enacted in these two remotelysituated cities. A Different Note. n tuning in to 420 metres, one enec’ ntered a different scene. Gone were the rollicking crowds with their wild capers. Here a different note-a prayer for help to face the forthcoming year, a hymn to inspire fresh hope, a message to convey greater security. ‘Before passing to the Midnight Watch Service from St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, a fine studio concert had been presented. The orchestra, rendering old and appropriate music, was, as usual, well to the fore. With the support of capable artists, a very enjoyable concert preceded the solemn service. An Attempted Relay. HORTLY after 9 pm. an attempt was made to relay REN, Moscow, Russia. This station. operating on short wave, was at the time broadcasting music, and for the first few moments some of the Russian music was audible to even the owners of the modest crystal set. But the elements were against such a rebroadcast,.and further music was drowned out. This at-

tempt on the part of Mr. McCarthy (Mack, of Mack’s Radio) recalls the many fine rebroadcasts that have been put over the air. Mack has certainly earned the appreciation of all who have not the facilities to listenin to these shortwavers themselves, and even some of these have been only too pleased to turn to 2YA for the re-broad-cast rather than to their own receivers. 2YA is certainly very fortunate to have the willing co-operation of so capable a radio engineer. AND so the new year dawned, and the chimes of the city clocks interrupted the programmes from the stations, and ‘continued their long chime amid the stilly silence until 1928 had gone! Australia Greets 1929. For the happenings in Australia we turn to "Switch," whose enthusiasm kept him abroad until the Australian midnight had been passed. HE writer turned out of bed shortly before 2 a.m. to hear the celebrations broadcast by the Australian stations. 2FC had a studio concert then coming to a close, and on the stroke of midnight (Australian time) the performers and staff joined in singing "Auld Lang Syne’ and other choruses. Then 2i'C switched over to the Sydney University carillon, which rang out for quarter of an hour. 2BL. Sydney, commenced the New Year with a Watch Night Service, and it came through fairly well. Studio artists were performing at 4QG, Brisbane, and a dance orchestra and vocal numbers could be heard from 8LO, Melbourne, which, however, was very weak. (Continued on next page.)

Passing of the Old Year

(Continued from front page.)

Listeners’ Congratulations. "THE Christmas and New Year season has brought shoals of appreciative messages to the broadcasting stations. Listeners have written in to thank the Broadcasting Company for the service it has given throughout the year, and those to whom the season’s greetings have been extended have included uncles and aunts, announcers, programme organisers, performers, the mechanical staff-in fact, everyone who has had a share in presenting the broadcast entertainments. These tributes have been conveyed in many forms-some by means of cards, some by presents (mainly to the uncles and aunts), some people have written at considerable length and others have thought that brevity best expressed their sentiments. Such a one wrote this: "I wish to thank the Broadcasting Company for many hours of delightful entertainment." __ Newspaper radio editors have taken opportunity of tendering their felicitations and have not been tardy with their congratulations. Such a is "Aerial" of the Christchurch ? who thus refers to broadcasttne affairs generally :- SHE past year has seen further gratifying progress both in the quality of the programmes broadcast by the YA stations and in the opportunities seized by the N.Z.B.C. to put interesting relays of important sporting and other events on the air. The eompany has neglected no function of any interest that would appeal to listeners and has shown considerable enterprise in rebroadcasting (when conditions permitted) several foreign short-wave stations. "On the whole, the evening concert sessions showed a commendable improvement on the preceding year and, from that fact and other indications of the company’s initiative, the prospects of still further improvement are very encouraging. ‘ Racing Broadcasts. "yt is' a matter of considerable regret to many listeners that the past year has been marred by the antagonistic attitude to broadcasting taken up ‘by the racing authorities. They have been foolish in the extreme

in placing a ban on the broadcasting of relayed descriptions of the races. These, when they were made, proved perhaps as popular a feature of broadcasting as any other activity of the YA stations and did more than any other agent to break down considerably the really large body of popular opinion that horse racing is a pastime beloved by the depraved and patronised by folk the less said about whom the better. "In ‘Aerial’s’ own experience more than one group of listeners (who, before racing by radio was introduced, would have considered they were going straight to the devil if they had gone to the races) were amongst the most indignant when the company was refused the familities for relaying race descriptions. Relays. *THERD are folk in New Zealand, as was the case in every other country when wireless first captured the public, who are frightened that a relayed broadcast of their performances, or what not, will have the result of keeping people away from the theatre, hall, course, etc., thus causing financial loss. That these relays in other countries have had exactly the opposite result-where, that is, the performance was worth while-has been proved over and over again. The New Year. ‘¢4X7HAT of the New Year? Listeners ‘generally, from what "Aerial" has been able to gather, are looking forward to further programme improvements, and more extensive rebroadcasts of overseas stations than for an extension of hours by the YA stations, except that there appears to be a growing desire that these stations should cut out their silent. nights. "It may be taken as a truism that ‘the older the listener, the more attention he devotes to his local station’; and by ‘older’ is meant length of experience as a listener, not age in years. The demand to-day-as a year ago-is for ‘brighter’ programmes. The majority of listeners want music of the light, popular order-not grand opera, nor classical stuff-and what they want they are entitled to receive, for, after -all, he who pays should call the tune."