Radio_Hong_Kong_1970-1971 — Page 22

in short all that tourists need to know to make their stay much more enjoyable, and leave them with the feeling that they really have learnt something about the Colony in their brief stay. New residents are helped to orientate themselves in their new environment more easily.

TELEVISION SERVICE

57. The idea of establishing a television unit to deal with public affairs was first considered by Government in 1965. Government recognized the rapidly growing importance of television in Hong Kong as a means of informing the public of Government's aims and policies. The events of 1967 strikingly reinforced the extreme importance of both radio and television in sustaining public confidence and morale. Plans to establish television as a section within Radio Hong Kong were subsequently put into effect. By the 1st April, 1970, tenders for the supply of electronic equipment were on the point of being accepted, two Programme Supervisors with television training and experience had been transferred from radio and a member of the senior management of the BBC, Mr. J. B. HAWTHORNE, had been invited on a two-year secondment as Controller.

Planning

58. The Controller arrived in May and his first task was to prepare a detailed assessment of technical and personnel requirements and to propose programme objectives in line with overall policy. Very little modification was necessary to the existing technical proposals for the main studio operation. The Concert Hall (Studio 1) of Broad- casting House is being converted to television, the nucleus of the installation being three monochrome cameras plus facilities for video tape recording and telecine. On the film and dubbing side however, much re-thinking had to be done. Originally it had been hoped that the Information Services Department would supply the film crews and equipment and that it would be possible to combine the dubbing and processing operation of the television film unit and the I.S.D. film unit. This proved not to be technically and operationally feasible. Accord- ingly, television had to plan its own specialized dubbing suite and its own film processing department. The necessary expenditure was approved and the supply of the equipment is now being arranged. Studios 6 and 7 are in the course of being converted to television use, providing a complex for telecine, dubbing and video-recording.

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