It all seems incredibly elitist to me

This Radio New Zealand brouhaha carries on with Helen Clark entering the fray

"I'm a great believer in public radio," Helen Clark said in a brief visit to Wellington yesterday.

"I say that as someone who probably got quite a lot of my information from various public radio interview shows where subjects could be tackled in much more depth than they can be when they have to be constantly interrupted by ads."

Well anything is degraded by being "constantly interrupted by ads". Movies often become unwatchable with interruption at the most intense moments with messages about soap powder and sunscreen.

Why should the shows Ms Clark deem worthy be exempt, especially given that ultimately the exemption will be funded by those who might not give a toss for those shows.

Also pontificating is the President of the Society of Authors Tony Simpson

"Radio New Zealand does a whole lot of stuff now that most of the radio stations, not all but most other radio stations don't do. They broadcast New Zealand literature, they do a lot of cultural interviewing and so on."

Mr Simpson says Radio NZ is not only a major employer for those in the arts, it is also one of its greatest promoters. He says any cuts will further limit the opportunities for New Zealanders to hear their own on air.

If New Zealanders want to "hear their own on air" they will fund it without compulsion - it will stand or fall on its own merits. Indeed New Zealand Literature may well be improved by having to stand on its own two feet as most things are.

What makes something stand above the usual fare of ephemeral trash culture cannot be defined, not even by the so called cultural elites, but whatever it is cannot be conjured up by taxpayers dollars.

All that leads to is material created to appeal to whoever controls the purse strings, which usually results in fairly dreary fare.