ENG-1960 — Page 307

PUBLICATIONS, BROADCASTING AND FILMS

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of Cable and Wireless Limited, who are responsible for the station's technical operations. The Department is directed by the Controller of Broadcasting, aided by an Assistant Controller; the latter post was created in 1960. In charge of each programme service is a Senior Programme Assistant, and there are respectively 10 Chinese and 6 English staff Programme Assistants responsible for the compilation and production of the bulk of the programmes. Both Services have staff announcers. To fill the number of hours of broadcasting, to ensure variety and to make the best use of all available talent, Radio Hong Kong uses a large number of writers, singers, musicians, producers, actors or speakers as contributors.

The effect of this year's significant technical developments can be gauged to some extent by the increase in radio licences. At the close of 1960, there were 120,151 licences, an increase of 25,251 over the 1959 figure. This compared favourably with what was considered to be a remarkable increase of 23,269 in 1959.

The increased hours of the English Service presented a challenge to introduce many programmes which the previous limitations would not permit. By separating the VHF and MW transmissions, it has also been possible to broadcast longer classical works in full on the VHF network, whilst at the same time maintaining more general programmes on the medium wave service. So far, this practice has been limited to one night a week.

The English Service aims at providing a balanced programme of information, education and entertainment not only to the small English and American population in the Colony but also to the very large number of Chinese listeners who turn to the Service as a source of information and Western culture.

Increased broadcasting hours and the recruitment of a specialist Programme Assistant have made possible many more new pro- is grammes. One such programme introduced during the year 'Behind the Headlines' in which foreign correspondents in Hong Kong meet each week to discuss the week's news.

Feature and documentary programmes included an inquiry into the problem of narcotics, a series on the work of various Govern- ment servants, 'The Making of a Poet' (the life of Edmund Blunden) and 'A Dollar a Shilling', an investigation into the book trade in