Radio_Hong_Kong_1966-1968 — Page 12

plans in a form which is easily understood and accepted by the majority of the population who may not be well versed in the activities of the various Government agencies. Particularly during the latter part of the period under review Radio Hong Kong conceived and broadcast many types of information programmes and set up a special Public Affairs Unit. Many more Government officers willingly took part in discussion programmes and allowed themselves to be interviewed about their work than had been customary in previous years. It has now become accepted policy that Government's activities should be given much fuller publicity and Radio Hong Kong's Public Affairs Unit now ranks high in the list of priorities. An indication of the types of broadcasting involved can be found in the Appendices.

NEWS AND NEWS MAGAZINES

29. Broadcasts of news bulletins, both local and overseas, are probably the most important part of a broadcasting organization's output. In Hong Kong bulletins of World and local news are prepared in the Radio News Room of Information Services Department and distributed by teleprinter or by hand to the broadcasting stations themselves. A great number of news bulletins broadcast by Radio Hong Kong are relayed by the other sound broadcasting stations (Rediffusion (H.K.) Ltd., and Commercial Radio Ltd.) or else read by their own announcers. Details of the broadcast times of the department's news bulletins can be found in Appendices 'C' and 'D'. There are frequent broadcasts of weather reports throughout the day giving both local area forecasts and general situation reports for shipping. Standard times of these broadcasts are also given in detail in the Royal Observatory's publication 'Hong Kong Weather Services for Shipping'.

30. Important adjuncts to the formal news bulletins are the daily news magazine programmes broadcast in both services. The Chinese versions are called "Topical Events' and the English programmes 'Topics'. They were broadcast only once daily in 1966 but the events of 1967 indicated that increased coverage should be given to local affairs and both services now carry two editions daily. Although the listening public now gets far better coverage of local matters in these news magazine programmes the increased output has not unnaturally thrown consider- able strain on available staff, contributors and finance.

31. News bulletins from overseas are relayed regularly from the British Broadcasting Corporation. There are daily bulletins in English,

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