PRESS, PUBLISHING, BROADCASTING, FILMS AND TOURISM 257
music, from the earliest times up to the present day, was in production at the end of the year.
On the lighter side, several light music series were produced. Some of these were direct broadcasts from night clubs, and other series featured solo singers and pianists in studio productions.
As with the Chinese service, the number of staff producers restricts the number of local documentary programmes which can be produced. There is, however, an abundance of suitable material. Three major programmes were written in 1958: the first was a feature on the rundown of H.M. Dockyard, the second a portrait of a Hong Kong police station at night, and the third an ambitious attempt to unfold the history of broadcasting in Hong Kong on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Radio Hong Kong in June. Many voices well-known in the past were included in this pro- gramme, together with contributions from all over the Common- wealth.
Regular features include magazine programmes such as 'Just A Year Ago', 'Patchwork', 'Motoring Magazine', 'Women Only' and 'This Week'. Many prominent personalities visiting Hong Kong took part in the latter programme, including the Chairman of Cable and Wireless Ltd., Sir Godfrey Ince, the Rt. Hon. Richard Turton, M.P., Sylvia Syms, Noel Purcell, Senator Fulbright, Lady Violet Bonham Carter, Mr. Neil McElroy, John Cunninghan, Lord Selkirk, and Schura Cherkassky.
Broadcast coverage was given to many of the public events in the Colony and several of these, particularly the opening of the new Kai Tak Runway and the 16th Exhibition of Hong Kong Products, were remarkable for the complexity of the broadcast operations.
At Kai Tak, the great distances involved meant that commenta- tors had to be spaced a mile apart, with the producer in the old control tower out of sight of all his commentators and microphones and controlling the entire programme by sound only. At the Products Exhibition, a live sound picture using five remote com- mentary points was broadcast on the evening of the opening day. On New Year's Eve a tour of celebrations involved six outside broadcast locations. Other complex broadcasts were the annual Walkathon and the cross-harbour swimming race, broadcast live by the English service for the first time.