PUBLICATIONS, BROADCASTING AND FILMS

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Colonial Secretary on the water crisis, and talks, features, magazine items and announcements connected with the anti-narcotics, cholera inoculation, traffic safety and water economy campaigns. The service provided a series of talks on the Colony's fishing and agricultural life for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, and talks on various aspects of life in Hong Kong for the BBC, NHK of Japan, Sender Freies Berlin and stations in America.

A radio repertory company was formed during the year by the staff drama producer and resulted in a marked increase in quantity and improvement in quality of broadcast plays. The City Hall proved its value to Radio Hong Kong on many occasions; both concert hall and theatre were used for the production of concerts, recitals, poetry programmes, school quiz competitions and variety shows. Most of the international artists visiting Hong Kong gave broadcast performances, either from the City Hall or from the studios, and Hong Kong musicians and singers appeared regularly in studio recitals. As in previous years, the final concerts of the Schools Music Festival were broadcast, and more locally prepared talks and magazines on many aspects of western classical music were broadcast.

Engineering Services. These are operated by Cable and Wireless Ltd and the broadcasting engineer, with a staff of 38, was heavily committed during the year in the design and planning of the new Broadcasting House, in addition to normal operations. The present studio centre has nine studios, with a central control room, record- ing rooms and workshop; three outside broadcast vehicles are equipped with multi-channel amplifier mixers, recording equipment and VHF link transmitters. Overseas relays are provided by the Mount Butler receiving station of Cable and Wireless Ltd. The design of the new Broadcasting House involved considerable research into acoustic and building problems and, in addition to offices, will provide record libraries, engineering control rooms, outside broadcast assembly areas, maintenance workshops, 12 studios, a central recording room, a transmitter link room, a 'dead' room for acoustic tests and ample facilities for artists.

COMMERCIAL RADIO

The most important development by Commercial Radio was the establishment of a third service in June. This service, in

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