Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

The NEWS MAGAZINE 0//V/THE FIFTH ESTATE ' OL. 2, NO. 1 WASHINGTON, D. C. S3. 00 PER YEAR — 15c A COPY Pile Industry Looks to 1932 With Optimism Sew Year Expected to See Greatest Test of Broadcasting; \dvances Predicted in Technique, Programs, Business MERLIN H. AYLESWORTH President, NBC UBLIC interest in broadcasting fas shifted from the novelty ap(eal of a few years ago to the proram appeal of today. Occasional tatements to the contrary, more jeople are listening to more prorams for more hours each day ban ever before. Seeking the cause for this accelerating interest in broadcasting, re find several contributing facers. In the main, the older prorams have become almost houseold necessities and are listened to s regularly as the daily papers re read. Also, the newer prorams are utilizing the cumulative ptperience of the past ten years in rogram composition and presentai.on. : But far and above any other conideration, the most important crogress is being made towards fie realization of that great influnce which is inherent to broad)isting. The closer cooperation beiveen schools and broadcasters, nurches and broadcasters, public len and broadcasters, and other asses that go to make up our naonal life, is tending towards the etter administration of programs nd their use to the best advantage f the public at large. I believe lat 1932 will mark the rounding lit of the institution of broadasting as the greatest cultural srvice to our people. H. A. BELLOWS ormer Federal Radio Commissioner; Vice-President, CBS THE BROADCASTING industry during 1932, in my opinion, has its fate largely in its own hands. The value o f broadcasting as an advertising medium has been fully demonrated, but it remains to be seen hether the broadcasters will be Die to hold and further enlarge leir audiences by intelligent pror'am service. If the broadcasters, ■ any considerable number of tern, are so stupid as to fail to ,ok beyond the hope of quick cash 1932: Full Speed Ahead! PROBABLY the most significant idea running through most of the comments that follow, which were requested by the editors of BROADCASTING from leading figures in all branches of the radio art and industry, is the insistence from so many quarters that the broadcasters must look to their laurels in 1932. They must put and maintain their own houses in order. No group of men are more aware of this than the broadcasters themselves, as reflected in their own statements. There is good common sense in these remarks on the outlook for broadcasting as an art and industry in this new year. The editors do not necessarily agree with all of the statements made, but they regard as highly significant their general tenor. For the most part, the broadcasters appear to be hopeful and optimistic; there are perceptible notes, however, of uncertainty and perhaps occasionally some justifiable trepidation. The statements run the gamut from program and advertising technique to technical advances, actual and potential. Each statement submitted is here republished in full. The thorough perusal of them all is commended as a composite text of the broadcasting industry's ideals and hopes and ambitions for 1932. return, they may seriously injure and perhaps destroy their own business. If, on the other hand, they will realize that their main task is building solidly for the future, they will see to it that their stations first of all render an adequate and varied service to the public. If 1932 is a year of thorough housecleaning among the broadcasters, it will be a good year in itself and a long step toward better years ahead. If such a housecleaning does not take place, 1932 may see Congressional action which will permanently cripple a broadcasting service that, with all its admitted defects, is today the most varied, the most extensive, and the freest from artificial restraint in the world. COL. THAD H. BROWN General Counsel, Federal Radio Commission RADIO is now an art and an industry. In the beginning it was just an art. Then, as its tremendous possibilities were realized, it became an important industry in an incredibly short time. Possibly the best known branch of that industry is broadcasting. In its infancy, broadcasting was such a novelty that the public was content with almost any kind of programs. That time has long past. Today a high standard of mechanical and artistic performance is required of all broadcasting stations. Recognizing this, stations are more and more turning their microphones over to those skilled in presenting artistically, music, lectures, drama and even advertising and a n n ouncements. During the past year the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia, in sustaining the Commission's decision ordering off the air a station whose past operation was by it thought unworthy of the trust a station license imports, quoted: "By their fruits ye shall know them." So long as past operation of a station is considered by the licensing authority as a measuring stick for future privileges, radio broadcasting will continue to improve, and the outlook in 1932 is distinctly encouraging. FRANK BULL Manager, KMTR, Hollywood TO MY MIND, one of the 1932 features in the broadcast realm will be a tendency to guarantee absolutely that the sponsor will get what he pays for. I think that the times point towards a greater solidarity in station staffs. There will be fewer changes in personnel. And perhaps, at the same time, though the trend is towards more mechanical announcing, the pendulum will swing backward to the point where the individual announcer will come into his own. Already the chains are realizing this. Independent stations will, too. Perhaps another point can be made in that there will be less ballyhoo for stunt performances. The standard program, with its various ramifications, after all, forms the bulwark of a radio station's wares, and listeners come to depend on their favorite station just as they do their neighborhood grocer or druggist. anuary J, 1932 • BROADCASTING LOUIS G. CALDWELL Former General Counsel, Federal Radio Commission IN THESE troubled days that cast a shadow over the coming year, broadcasters have a n opportunity for service such as is open to the representatives of no other industry. Channels leading into half the homes of America have been placed in their trust. Over these channels, without cost to a listening public depressed by disheartening losses and unemployment, can be delivered a message of cheer and a wealth of information and education to aid us all in finding the path back to happiness and prosperity. The studio and the microphone have replaced the public platform at a time when issues of the deepest significance to our welfare are to be debated. The year 1932 should witness the establishing of broadcasting more firmly than ever as a vital necessity in the daily life of our people. Yet it must not be forgotten that the opportunity is one which can be impaired by a number of evils. Some press from without; such are the dangers to good radio reception proceeding from unscientific allocation proposals and from failure to protect the rights and the future of the broadcasting industry against interference from stations lying on the other side of international boundary lines. Such also are the dangers of unduly rigid Page 5