What Will One Hundred Thousand Licenses Mean?

Radio Record, Volume IV, Issue 48, 12 June 1931, Page 5

What Will One Hundred Thousand Licenses Mean?

By

John

Ball

io view of the remarkable growth of patronage that has taken place undgr the existing regime there is. nothing surer tharl that within the very near future the number of licerised radio receiving sets in New Zealand will total 100,000. To assume that an average of five persons, young and old, will listen day in and day out to each of these receivers would be an extremely conservative estimate. At least 500,000 people, young and old, in constant touch with the magic of the microphone! And what magic! What wondrous magic! Out into the remotest parts of these beautiful isles it pours its rich abundance of music and mirth, wisdom and wit, flowing with impartiality into the homes of rich and poor, wheresoever their homes may be. Inspiring? Yes, truly. For here is the greatest potential influence for %ood or ill yet devised by human ingenuity. Science acknowledges the almost illimitable power of mental suggestion. Usually when we speak of this we have wo ae JF ate elliw"_CiwtCw#WCNCnnNRN

a a ES pUWer Of da suggestion made by one individual to another, as for instance, the suggestion of a doctor to his patient. But what of the power of broadcast suggestion, with its extraordinarily intimate contact with the minds of unseen thousands? Whether it be exercised through the medium of the spoken word, or through the influence of music, through direct exhortation or through melodious inspiration, the power of broadcast suggestion must inevitably be immense. It cannot fail to affect the aesthetic standards and artistic tastes of the people. Jt cannot be neutral. It must be either beneficent or pernicious, helpful or harm-

Tul, desirable or detestable. And so to those entrusted with its administration the broadcasting service is a tremendous refponsibility. No other service has in so short a time come to mean so much to a great and Dominion-wide community of patrons. It is not too much to say that the broadcasting service of New Zealand is to-day universally recognised in its wider aspects, and by reason of its in- . calculable potentialities, as being © of vital concern to the public at large. Happily, the foundations . of this great service have been (well and truly laid. )y Profiting by the experience of other countries, the Government responsible for drafting what may be called New ZeaJand’s broadcasting Constitution, determined, as a basic principle,

that the service should be true to name, that it should be essentially a broadcasting service, for the dissemination of entertainment, information and instruction, and that to this end it should be wherever possible the ally of, but never a competitor with, pre-existing services; that it should be, for example, a broadcasting service, not an advertising agency, and that the interests of the licensed listeners should be the primary and dominating consideration of whoever might be responsible for the administration of the service. , As one whose very great privilege it has been to be associated somewhat ,intimately with the pioneering enterprise of New Zealand’s broadcasting service, I do not hesitate to express my personal conviction that any departure from this basic principle would fatally impéril the ultimate development of an efficient nation-wide service such as I know has been from the outset the ideal of the directors and general manager of the Radio Broadcasting Company. ¢ That the service that has been built up under ‘this prudent policy has proved acceptable to all

classes of the community is evidenced by the everincreasing patronage which has made possible the visualisation as an assured consummation of a roll of one hundred thousand licensed listeners. GEN the preservation of the conditions which now so thoroughly safeguard the interests of the listening public, it is not difficult to visualise the service which progressive development will have made available to one hundred thousand licensed. listeners, and their families and friends.

The efficient chain of relay stations long since planned by the company will assure to every part of the Dominion the completely satisfactory reception of the broadcast programmes and the consequently unsullied -enj oyment of perfect radio. Everywhere, in cities, towns, hamlets and far-flung country homes, this boon will be available, bringing solace to the suffering, comfort to the sorrowing, welcome company to the lonely, and the joy. of uplifting entertainment, information and instruction to old and young. Think of it! As you sit by your cosy firesides enjoying the music that comes to you otit of the uncharted void, ponder the marvel of itl