ENG-1953 — Page 202

THE PRESS, BROADCASTING, FILMS AND GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SERVICES

Broadcasting

Radio Hong Kong provides daily programmes in English and Chinese to serve the entire Colony. In July, for an experi- mental period, broadcasting was separated from the Public Relations Office, though the latter continued to supply the news bulletins. Thus, for the first time, broadcasting assumed the status of an independent department.

The programmes are planned and produced by a small permanent staff, the strength of which remained unchanged during the year. Announcing and presentation duties are carried out by a group of trained part-time personnel and all technical operations are undertaken by engineers of Cable and Wireless Limited, who work in close co-operation with the staff of Radio Hong Kong.

Radio Hong Kong comprises three separate stations which radiate programmes simultaneously. The English language station (ZBW; 2 kw. on 854 kilocycles) includes special daily and week-end broadcasts for the Forces. In addition, weekly programmes in French and Portuguese are broadcast. The Chinese language station (ZEK; 2 kw. on 640 kilocycles) broad- casts mainly in Cantonese, Swatowese and Mandarin. All news bulletins are broadcast in the three principal dialects. Short- wave transmissions radiate from the third station (ZBW3; 24 kw. on 9.52 megacycles) and reception on this frequency is heard all over the world. There were 42,298 wireless licence holders at the end of the year.

There was no change in the pattern of the day's broad- casting. An early morning session on both stations is followed by the lunchtime broadcasts. The main evening transmissions begin at 6 p.m. and last until 11.30 p.m. On Saturdays, the programmes carry on through the afternoon (with special

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