RADIO BOARD TO OPERATE.

Radio Record, Volume V, Issue 18, 13 November 1931, Page 4

RADIO BOARD TO OPERATE.

"THE die has been cast, and broadcasting in New Zealand, as from January 1 next, will be under the control of a Radio Board. This Board is to be appointed by the Postmaster-General, and is to consist of three members-a chairman at £650 per annum, and two others at £350 per annum. The whole responsibility for broadcasting devolves upon this Board, with the exception that the Postmaster-General witi be required to present to Parliament an annual report dealing with the operation of the service. "A FEW minor changes have been effected by the Post-master-General, the Hon. A. Hamilton, in the Bill as bequeathed to him by his predecessor. The personnel of the Board has been reduced from 4 to 3, and the salaries increased to the figures mentioned. This is an improvement, as giving greater reward for interest shown. The Board, as we pointed out on a previous occasion, will obviously be a policy Board rather than a managerial Board, for it will be incumbent upon it, in view of the importance of the service, to engage a fully-qualified manager to devote his whole time to the details of the service. The suggestion we made on this point before was that it might be advantageous to secure some of the talent of the B.B.C. for this position. "THE major points that will command the initial attention of the Board are, first of all, the management of the organisation, and the appointment of a suitable manager. In the second place, a determination will need to be reached upon the degree and method of expanding the service. In this field the Board will have the advantage of a definite scheme already prepared by the Radio Broadcasting Company. That-has been published, and whether accepted in its entirety or not, will provide a basis for consideration by the Board. In the third place the Board will need to determine its relationships with "B" class stations. Here again a certain amount of ground work has been done, in that an indication has been given that, where "B" class stations are already established in provincial centres of a standard suitable for incorporation, they may be taken over. In the ‘cities,

_--- i ee ee similarly, existing "B" class stations may be drawn upon, where suit able, to provide alternative services to those provided by the "A" class stations. A fourth major problem is involved in the question of manmade interference. A big field here calls for activity. In practically evety district in the Dominion listeners are subjected to more or less inconvenience and disappointment in reception through leakages from power-lines and radiation from electrical equipment. This is a problem that definitely requires attention, for it is operating against the development of the service to its fullest capacity. Plans were in hand by the Radio Broadcasting Company for the creation of a special department to cope with this problem. It is to be presumed that the Radio Board, once it has time to familiarise itself with the position, will build upon the foundation provided. ° THE Board, once its personnel has been determined by the Minister and confirmed by Cabinet, will require to devote itself closely to its problem. It will be required to take over as from January 1, 1932. The period before it is short. Obviously it will be unable to enter upon office with any predetermined detailed policy. It will require a perigd of, study and planning before reaching major decision. Listeners A. believe, will be prepared to extend that period and wait the Bogs time, rather than push unduly for action at the expense of right decision. [T remains to acknowledge the part played by the Radio Broadcasting Company in establishing broadcasting in the Dominion. That the Company will maintain the service to the end of this year at the highest possible peak of efficiency is assured listeners by Mr Wm. Goodfellow, chairman of directors of the R.B.C. It will also extend every courtesy and consideration to the Postmaster-General in facilitating transfer to the incoming Radio Board. The company’s management has not been able to please all tastes. It may be said now that, whatever else may be doubtful, it is certain that the incoming Board will | not please all listeners. It is, in our opinion, beyond human capacity for any governing authority in radio to please all listeners all the time. It is simply a case of the governing authority\_. doing the best it can, and achieving a relative degree of f success. If the Board, after taking control, with the service established and the path well blazed for it, and in five or six years’ time show relatively as great an advance as that made by the past management since the early days of radio, it will deserve well of the people. We wish the Board well in its efforts to serve the people.