Radio showmanship (Sept 1940-May 1941)

EDITORIAL AVE you ever met a business hermit He's the fellow who runs his business on the assumption that it's located on a deserted island. He shuts out other people's ideas as if they were bill collectors. He's self-sufficient; he's built such an impregnable wall around his store, even his customers don't know how to get in. Today, thanks to radio, business hermits are fast becoming extinct. To buy radio, it's imperative you know exactly what other radio advertisers are doing. The programs preceding and following your show, the competitive programs on other stations are as important as the script itself. It's a lot easier to attract listeners when the other station is broadcasting a scientific treatise on endocrine glands instead of Jack Benny or Baby Snooks. To buy radio, you must even have more than a layman's conception of political and economic events in the wrorld about you. Radio, today, is so much a part of life itself, that the popularity of each individual radio program varies directly with the times. Comedy, for example, becomes exceedingly more valuable in periods of high international tension. Furthermore, certain radio program ideas tie up best with certain business fields. It's wise, then, to know how other businessmen in your own field are using radio so you can profit from their experience. Anyone can buy radio time, but only a businessman with a complete perspective of the entire range of radio's possibilities can buy selling power. All this doesn't mean that the entire responsibility of selecting and managing a profitable radio show rests solely on the businessman's shoulders. You must hive confidence in your advertising agency and your radio station staff. The) are equipped to handle the actual work for you with great efficiency. However, the more you know about radio, tlie more \"n can get i, nt <>! it! RADIO SHOWMANSHIP