[IRCA] New RNZI Radio Heritage Documentary - 55 Years of Radio Fiji

[Geralyn Hollerman <lynnhollerman@xxxxxxxxx>]

For anyone interested:
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RNZI Airs New Radio Heritage Documentary
55 Years of Radio Fiji July 1 1954-2009
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Join us from June 15 2009 when the Radio Heritage Foundation airs a
new radio heritage documentary on the Radio New Zealand International
[RNZI] Mailbox program.

You can listen via shortwave or audio on demand [for the following
month] with full details of frequencies and times and audio download
at www.rnzi.com.

The program celebrates 55 years since the original Fiji Broadcasting
Commission signed on the air for the first time on July 1 1954.

>From VPD on shortwave and ZJV on mediumwave since 1936, Fiji has
enjoyed one of the most sophisticated radio broadcasting markets in
the Pacific. In World War II an American Armed Forces Radio station
[WVUT] also broadcast from Nadi, home of the main airport in the
islands.

The [then] New Zealand Broadcasting Service was heavily involved with
the establishment of the Fiji Broadcasting Commission. It supplied
almost the entire expatriate staff on secondment from New Zealand
commercial and non-commercial stations, carried out the technical
work across the islands, built the broadcasting house, and provided
good guidance for the new independent public broadcaster.

In fact, on the opening night on July 1 1954, the new FBC chairman
spoke what have turned out to be highly prophetic words:

"This broadcasting service will certainly provide entertainment, but
it will not be the government's idea of what should divert us. It
will offer programs of information and enlightenment, but these
programs will not be the government's conception of what we should
hear."

In the light of recent events in Fiji where the media no longer
enjoys such freedoms, it's interesting to note that such a warning
was being sounded those 55 years ago.

At the time, Fiji was a British Crown Colony, and this was a new
experiment for the colonial authorities. 

The rest of the opening celebrations for the FBC included Fijian
choirs, Indian music clubs, the Fiji Infantry Regiment Band,
pianists, violinists and even the Suva Group Theater.

For a timely look back at the birth of free public broadcasting in
Fiji those 55 years ago, as well as some fabulous Fijian music, visit
www.rnzi.com today and download the audio from the June 15 edition of
Mailbox.

Join David Ricquish of the Radio Heritage Foundation on this journey
back to Suva on the night of July 1 1954, and also hear more excerpts
from the opening speeches, and the song that ended that very first
FBC broadcast.

This new radio heritage documentary on RNZI complements existing
stories about early radio ZJV in Fiji online today at
www.radioheritage.net. A new article on 55 Years of the Fiji
Broadcasting Commission will be online shortly.

____________________________________________________
Radio Heritage Foundation is a registered non-profit organization
connecting popular culture and radio heritage across the Pacific.
Visit the global website www.radioheritage.net to see fresh new
articles, images and audio, and much more about Pacific radio.
____________________________________________________


Lynn.
Lafayette, LA
Check out the IRCA web site at http://www.ircaonline.org


      
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