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kind, and partly because a 'mellow' tone is popular.
50.
To
It is disastrous if an unsuitable set is installed in a school. avoid this, arrangements can be made to test receivers which are in the market, and issue a list of those approved. The B.B.C. follow this practice, and it has also been followed in Malaya. In any case schools should be warned not to purchase equipment without a test in the classroom where the set will be used, and not to purchase any set which does not reproduce speech really clearly. test on music is not sufficient, neither is a test in the dealer's shop or private house.
A
51. There is a tendency to have the volume too high in a classroom; volume should be only slightly above that of normal speech. This often needs to be demonstrated practically. Arrangements must be made to ensure that equipment is adequately maintained, and that for battery sets batteries are regularly changed.
A PRACTICABLE SCHOOLS BROADCASTING SERVICE FOR HONG KONG.
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52. In order to meet the requirements mentioned above, and to start a full school service, it would be necessary to appoint a very considerable staff com- bining educational and radio experience, and also to spend considerable sums of money on scripts and casts. It is unlikely that the Colony could allocate at present, either sufficient funds or sufficient staff for this work. But quality must not be sacrificed for the sake of economy. It would be better to have no service at all than a poor one. I suggest that the two desiderata of high quality and relatively low cost can best be achieved as follows:
Staff.
(i)
A very small but first-class staff should be appointed to start the service on the right lines. I stress the necessity of the staff being of the very highest quality that the Colony can afford, especially in the early stages of the service.
(ii) i service should be started consisting of not more than half a dozen broadcasts a week for the Vernacular Schools, and a similar number for the Anglo-Chinese; these broadcasts being so far as possible those which are most urgently needed, are the easiest to handle satisfactorily while the staff are new to school broadcasting, and not expensive to produce.
(iii) All broadcasts which might be repeated in following years should
be recorded. After the first year, a half or more of the broadcasts should be recordings, or 'live' repeats with only minor modifications.
(iv) The possibility should be explored of obtaining recordings or
scripts of certain schools broadcasts from Malaya and Britain.
Each of these points is dealt with more fully below.
53. The minimum staff for opening a service in Hong Kong in the manner suggested below would be:
1 School Broadcasting Organiser who should be seconded from the
Education Department. A man is necessary, who in addition to his knowledge of Anglo-Chinese and Vernacular Schools has a certain flair for radio work, and in particular can write imaginative material easily as well as effectively. He might be a Principal, an Inspector or a Senior Master.