Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

Salzburg which is proud of the fact that Franz Gruber, the villajre school teacher, composed the mel- ody for his little church choir some hundred years ago. The roofs were covered with deep white snow, and wreaths of chimney smoke fluttered up towards the winter stars. If ever Santa Claus should have felt at home anywhere, it was in Hallein on that Christmas morning. The grandson of Franz Gruber sang the strains of Stille Kacht in the orig- inal version to the accompaniment of his ancestor's own guitar, which incidentally had also been used for the original performance, as the church organ happened to be out of order that night; and afterwards the village children took up the melody with real enthusiasm. Then, to make this a memorable Yuletide program, we sent the radio man round the world to bring the same tune from Buenos Aires, Hawaii and New York, showing what dif- ferent interpretations it had been subjected to at all four corners of the earth. Finally we concluded at Salzburg, w here the Cathedral mi.xed choir took up the entrancing theme with a majestic accompani- ment from the great organ. Many other instances could be referred to in order to show that radio has really opened up new- vistas full of inspiration in the re- ligious field. NBC's, for instance, was the "scoop" in 1933 when we made the bells of the Church of the Holy Nativity in Bethlehem ring around the globe on Christmas Eve. To NBC was likewise due the ini- tiative in happier pre-war days for relaying to American listeners the great choirs of the synagogues of Amsterdam and Warsaw. Even more memorable, perhaps, was the broadcast from the Jewish Ceme- tery and the Ghetto in Prague, spots now defiled which enshrine amidst a great modern city unfor- gettable mementos of the Hebraic past in which tragedy and glory are so frequently blended. That in brief is the story of re- ligion in radio as far as NBC can tell it. I wish I could refer at this point to all that has been done by leaders in the field of religious radio abroad, particularly by the British and the Canadian Broad- casting Corporations, and by the many fellow broadcasters in this country whose contributions could hardly be enumerated within the compass of a brief article. Perhaps my readers will not take it amiss, however, if I add a word about some problems which arise in religious Ijroadcasting. Every deep faith has a certain "e.xclusiveness"—that is, a body of convictions and dogmas which sets it off from other faiths. Sometimes the cleavage is sharp and deep. Yet, there are also beliefs shared in com- mon, or attitudes characteristic of every believer. Naturally, radio must seek to find these last. It can- not debate about religious matters, or bring antagonisms to the fore. To do so would mean getting en- tangled in a conflict which could not possibly be mitigated on the air. Appeal Is Universal Yet it is often felt that this re- striction to a few "ethical" themes and to the exercise of the irenic spirit weakens the expression of religious conviction. Does not radio tend to make all faiths "look the same?" I do not believe this is necessarily true. After all. the church does not live by broadcast- ing alone. It has the whole of the rest of life inside which to deepen its conception of the human and the Divine. Radio is just one of its op- portunities—not by any means its only oi)portunity. Surely it can be utilized to bring home to all men, regardless of differences in belief, those things that make the whole world kin. When we remember that Amer- icans listen to the radio many hours a day, while the average person spends not more than one hour per week attending church, we may well appreciate the immense amount of good that can be accomplished by radio in the field of religion. These are times of stress when we need more than ever the strength and comfort which only a true faith in God can give. On the airlanes of this country the gospel of Light and Charity and the message of Toler- ance and Brotherhood among men is being broadcast to the millions without any shackles being imposed by self-appointed arbitrary rulers. It is the tradition of freedom which helps our people to reap such bene- fits from a medium which originally was conceived as merely technical in its scope. Today we know that Marconi's inspiration was of deep significance. With a large part of the world covered by darkness, physical as well as spiritual, radio has become the chief instrumen- tality in upholding that most fun- damental of all human freedoms— the freedom of worship. DR. MAX JORDAN (RIGHT) AT THE MICROPHONE COVERING FOR NBC'S AMERICAN LI.STENERS THE VATICAN CITY CONCLAVE WHEN PIUS XII WAS ELECTED IN 1938. RADIO AGE 17