A bad start for TV in Midlands

The Rhodesia Herald

April 1, 1970

TELEVISION, the lack of which has been one of the main bones of contention in Midlands towns for years, came to the Midlands tonight at 7.35 pm – 20 minutes late.

The pubs were empty, the clubs contained only their most stalwart members and few patronised the cinemas. Most eyes were on television screens.

But the opening ceremony was nearly all that viewers got. For, after expressing the hope that viewers would enjoy Sabres in the Sun, the screen reverted to the test pattern.

One angry screen Que Que viewer, telephoned to say that as far as he was concerned, TV for the Midlands was “a complete flop”. He wondered if the whole thing had been an April Fool’s joke.

“We saw a little of Helliwell – with that unnecessary spot of brainwashing that he tried to put over – and just a little of Smith, and then the whole thing faded.

“All we got was the test signal,” he said. Earlier there was a lot of “snow” with the little that could be seen, although the sound was reasonable.

Clr Steve Smaliman, Mayor of Que Que, said: “I had fairly good reception. But it went off immediately after the opening. Perhaps they rushed too much before they were set up and all ready to go.”

At Redcliff, Shabani, and Umvuma the result was the same. The service was restored at about 9.55pm. The Director-General of RBC, Mr J.C. Neill, who was in Gwelo tonight, was upset.

“Everything was jacked up – all was perfect, when things went wrong. But that is broadcasting,” he said.

The fault was in a breakdown of the telecine equipment which feeds the programmes into the transmitter.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

• When starting on a new venture, it is common that you have some glitches because it’s part of the process to achieving perfection.
• Almost everyone wants to be associated with something new. In the article, even beer drinkers prepared to forgo drinking to witness the first television broadcast in the Midlands province.
• Good things come to those who wait. In some cases, some things that we may desire may take time but they eventually happen.
• In life, we should always leave some room for disappointment. The people in the Midlands province had waited for a long time for TV reception and when the big moment came, it turned out to be a big disappointment due to a breakdown of the equipment.