Radio showmanship (Sept 1940-May 1941)

Record Details:

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TRENDS A rating of program patterns based on a special survey of outstanding, locally-sponsored radio programs throughout the country. Let the TREND of these ratings, month to month, be your guide to better buying. PROGRAM RATINGS, OCTOBER, 1940 Type Rating Last Month Change MUSIC 35% 35% NEWS 18% 18% TALKS & INTERVIEWS 17% 17% QUIZ 9% 10% -1% SPORTS 8% 7% + 1% DRAMA 7% 7% COMEDY 6% 6% GROUPS Men Women Children Music 31% 37% 37% News 22% 17% 5% Talks & Interviews 13% 22% 18% Quiz 9% 10% 8% Drama 6% 5% 19% Sports 14% 3% 5% Comedy 5% 6% 8% HAVE NEWS PROGRAMS REACHED THEIR PEAK? COMBINED TREND MEN'S TREND ONLY 18% 18% AU(,. SEPT. OCT. 22% \i G SEPT. OCT. When Chamberlain flew to Munich more than two years ago to lettle peacefully, once ami for all, the fate of Europe, radio covered the meeting with all the facilities at its com mand. Man] oi the nation's better stations 118 kept a staff on duty all night long to relay the historical proceedings. Since that event, wise buyers of radio time have felt that news was a program pattern with an assured public appeal, and they have sponsored an ever-increasing number of broadcasts that reported or analyzed the parade of human events. Today, World War II is already well into its second year; and, as we go to press, headlines have remained virtually unchanged for more than two months. Can news programs sustain their interest? Have they already reached their peak? Let's look at the TRENDS. In the combined rating for all groups, news for October retained the gain it made in September, but resulted in no further advance. Looking closer at the TRENDS, however, we find news programs with a commercial appeal directed to men only have shown a continuous rise for the three months period. No program whose interest varies so closely with life, itself, can be accurately forecast, but on the basis of Trends alone, we can hardly conclude that news has reached itfj peak. On the contrary, the coming year should find more and better locally-sponsored news shows on the air. Competition has become intense. Where before a news broadcast waa handled by the regular announcer on duty more and more stations are featuring speciaJi news editors and commentators who add ar effective personal touch to the neivs they report. Interesting varieties of the standard new.broadcast have been recorded. Heritt Jew J BLRY, over station KANS, Wichita, Kans. uses two news announcers on their program One reviews the news; the other ties in las minute headlines. Northern Loan Company, over \V 1VN Minneapolis, Minn., recently featured t\v editors in still a different way. One sum maii/ed the latest news r\ciits; the other, a outstanding editorial writer, gave a complfl anal] sis. Well aware of the old adage about "to man] cooks, etc.," most stations confine the broadcasts to certain periods of the da Each broadcast is set far enough apart fro another BO it does not conflict. This results greater effectiveness for the sponsors' ^;il mess. i RADIO SHOWMANSH