language and of Western culture, as well as to the European expatriate population.
47. During the year under review the programmes broadcast in the English Service continued to span a very wide range in the fields of music and the spoken word. Serious music and locally produced features were well represented in the schedules and there are several periods each week devoted to 'pop' music and jazz.
48. The considerable interest shown in programmes of an educational nature resulted in a special period being set aside each day for this purpose whilst a great many talks on a variety of subjects attempted to satisfy the growing thirst for knowledge in Hong Kong.
STAFF
49. For a considerable period of this year the English Service was operating below full strength. This shortage was off-set by the re-distribu- tion of responsibilities within the service and by the employment of non-staff contributors on programme compilation and presentation. The English Programme Organizer, Mr. T. A. BIRCH, spent six months of leave attending television production training courses with the Austra- lian Broadcasting Commission and the British Broadcasting Corporation, and studying television services in Australia, New Zealand, America, Britain and several European countries.
50. Programme work in the English Service is divided up on the following basis:
Features.
Outside Broadcasts and Sport.
Drama.
Serious Music.
Light Music.
Magazines and Talks.
51. The absence of two members of the staff on leave resulted in some of these categories being shared amongst the remainder of the producers. It is the practice that whilst a magazine programme or talks series, for instance, is allocated to an outside contributor for production purposes there is always a staff producer with overall responsibility for the broadcasts.
52. The number of full time announcers remained the same throughout the year i.e. 5. However, resignations of two of the staff members involved the training of replacements. When required additional newsreaders are
10
Page 20Page 21