COUNTRY INTERESTS.

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 35, 14 March 1930, Page 4

COUNTRY INTERESTS.

THE experiment of giving city listeners some glimpse of country interests was made from 2YA on the evening of Thursday, March 6, ‘by staging a special evening for the delegation of Australian dairymen which has been touring the North Island of the Dominion. That delegation was primarily concerned to investigate the conditions obtaining in the dairy industry of the Dominion, with a view to sizing-up the position regarding future production and the possibility of combined effort being entered into between the producers of the Commonwealth and the Dominion in regard to the marketing of their export produce overseas. This effort is in line with the business tendency of the age, under which cut-throat competition is giving way in popularity to co-operation, where mutual interests are involved. As considerable interest has been taken by New Zealand dairymen in the visit of this delegation, the idea was conceived of affording a special opportunity, through 2YA, of conveying to them the major impressions gathered by the Australians. Accordingly the leader of the visitors, Mr. G. S. Stening, and Mr. J. Rankine, chairman -of the Australian Dairy Council, were grouped round the microphone with Mr. W. Goodfellow, chairman of Amalgamated Dairies, Limited, and various questions submitted to them by the editor of the "New Zealand Dairy Produce Exporter." These questions were designed to draw out views upon the industry-its present attainments and the possibility of betterment in regard to marketing. FROM reports that have been received it would seem that the experiment of a definite conversational interview of this nature was quite successful. Naturally much depended upon the spontaneity of the questions and the responses made, but the personnel of the party proved quite equal to that demand, and an interesting half-hour was the result. Even city listeners, unaccustomed to the intricacies of the dairying world, report that the conversation’ was very effective in conveying information upon dairying with which they were quite

major source of our national income; that 60,000 farm homes wef directly dependent upon her majesty the cow, and in turn city an town interests depended for their prosperity upon the flow of gold from farm fields. That thought was fittingly finalised by Mr, Goodfellow in urging that the time was ripe for city interests, particularly business men, to give definite thought to the problems of the rural dwellers, particularly their marketing problems, with a view to extending co-operation and sympathy as far as possible. Radio, in its obligation to render common service to city and country, can well serve as a medium for extending the bounds of knowledge of both interests. All listeners are equal before the microphone, and in meeting the general demand for diversity of interest the radio service is steadily expanding and broadening the fund of common knowledge. unfamiliar. It was pointed out that dairying now constituted LATER in the evening, for the benefit mainly of Australian listeners, set speeches were given by various experts associated with the party, conveying the impressions gleaned by their visit upon the subje in which they were specially interested. Advice from Australia indicates that this transmission was well received, so that the unique experience was given Australian dairymen of learning at first hand the immediate impressions of visitors to our shores.