Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

BROADCAST!! NIC THE NEWS MAGAZINE of THE FIFTH ESTATE MARTIN CODEL, Editor SOL TAISHOFF, Managing Editor F. GAITHER TAYLOR, Published Semi Monthly by BROADCASTING PUBLICATIONS, Inc. National Press Building Washington, D. C. Metropolitan 1022 Advertising Manager Executive and Editorial Offices: National Press Building, Washington, D. C. Subscription Price: S3.00 a Year locaCopy Copyright, 1932, by Broadcasting Publications, Inc. An Unholy Alliance INTO THE HANDS of the parents and teachers of the land now goes the propaganda of the Ventura Free Press against Radio by the American Plan. Upon the "altruistic" motives of H. 0. Davis, publisher of that unimportant suburban Los Angeles newspaper, we have already discoursed at some length in previous issues (Dec. 1 and 15). Now the very group that has been so shocked at the propaganda of the "power trust" in the schools, as disclosed by the Federal Trade Commission, undertakes to give currency to one of the most selfish campaigns of propaganda ever leveled against an American institution. Our respect for education and educators is deep. But even under the mystic guise of "education," how can the National Congress of Parents and Teachers lend itself to a campaign of this character? For one thing, the substance of the 61 articles which the parents and teachers are asked to persuade their local editors to publish is open to much question as to fact. For another, the motives of Mr. Davis are only too obvious; far from representing the press of America, he is making a misguided and (until this alliance) lone effort to ally the press against radio for the simple reason that he regards radio as a serious competitor of the newspaper for advertising revenues. Even the California Newspaper Publishers Association, asked to endorse Mr. Davis' campaign, actually repudiated it at its January convention (see story in this issue). There are many in the newspaper realm — men far higher in position and accomplishment than Mr. Davis — who will dispute the claim that radio is threatening the press in any way. There are many in the newspaper field who have had the intelligence to ally with radio, which Mr. Davis himself expects to do (according to his Washington representative) should his campaign fail. The belief of many substantial newspapermen and legislators is that radio, as a medium of intelligence and as a natural adjunct of the press, must be kept as free as the press. With the National Congress of Parents and Teachers we have no quarrel — not even with its resolution declaring that radio facilities "should be owned and operated at public expense and freed from commercial advertising," a view with which we heartily disagree. But that this organization should lend itself to the aims and purposes of such an obviously self-seeking campaign, that it should ally with a propagandist of such dubious standing in his own profession as Mr. Davis, that it should help give currency to such inspired and often unfounded-in-fact literature as Mr. Davis has concocted — that it should join its intelligence and effort to this kind of fighting, is something seriously to be deplored. Page 16 We hold no brief for "trust" or "monopoly" but a close inquiry into the facts of Radio by the American Plan will disclose the truth that Ventura does not want out: its own selfish motives and its distortion of facts to prove a "case." If the National Congress had simply joined the educators in their fight for 15 per cent of the channels, that would have been a fair alliance; we say this in all deference to the educators and in spite of our sincere disagreement with their proposals. But this alliance with the Ventura Free Press can only be described as an unholy one. Convincing Argument AFTER REVIEWING the brief of the respondents in the I. C. C. radio rate regulation case, we are drawn to the conclusion that there can be no regulation of broadcast advertising rates by that agency under the existing law. The arguments presented by A. L. Ashby, NBC vice-president and general attorney, and Frederick H. Wood, counsel, in behalf of NBC and WGBB, Freeport, N. Y., named by the complainant Sta-Shine Products Co., Inc., are convincing and seem indisputable. They prove, to our mind, that Congress could not even have implied that broadcast advertising rates be fixed or regulated by the I. C. C. when it enacted the Transportation Act of 1920. This seems patent, for at that time there was no commercial broadcasting. The theory that broadcasting stations are public utility common carriers is shattered beyond doubt. If stations were required to give of their facilities to all comers, as the complainant demands, then the very purpose of the Radio Act of 1927, which guarantees protection of the interests of the listener, would be destroyed. Several stations, like KFKB, Milford, Kans., and KTNT, Muscatine, la., are recent examples of failure to "pick and choose" proper programs. They were thrown off the air by the Radio Commission because they failed to meet standards of "public interest." There can be no common carrier obligation when the Commission, by direction of Congress, is empowered to eliminate stations because of the lack of merit of programs. Even without these arguments, however, there is one section of the Radio Act which in itself leaves no room for doubt as to the rights of stations to select their programs. It is in Section 18, governing the use of radio by candidates for political office, the last sentence of which reads: "No obligation is hereby imposed upon any licensee to allow the use of its station by any such candidate." Messrs. Ashby and Wood say that this section is in recognition of the right of the broadcaster to select those who may use its facilities, for there could have been no other reason for its enactment. The RADIO BOOK SHELF THE B.B.C. YEAR BOOK for 1932 fully maintains the high standard of interest set up by its predecessors. Considerable space is rightly and expectedly devoted to a description of Broadcasting House, and this includes a short article by Lt.-Col. Val Myer, the architect, in which he indicates a few of the problems encountered and overcome in the design of the building. The chapter headed "The Old Order Changeth" recalls pleasant memories of the early days of broadcasting, when there was a feeling of more intimate personal relationship between the staff at Savoy Hill and the comparatively small body of listeners, which inevitably tends to disappear as the growth on both sides of the microphone increases. The section devoted to license statistics includes a comparison of the different methods adopted in various European cbuntries, and the international section gives a brief summary of the progress of broadcasting abroad, with special reference to the United States and Germany. The principal events broadcast during the past year are dealt with in the Programme section, while the Technical section contains articles on the New High-power Stations, Empire Broadcasting, Designing of Studios, Control of Transmissions, Reception, etc. A useful Appendix gives the personnel of the Advisory Committees, Councils, Musicians, Singers, etc., connected with the various educational and musical branches of the B.B.C, and the Balance Sheet and Revenue Account for 1930. The book is profusely illustrated, and is published at the very modest price of 2 shillings. — From Wireless World of London. PIERRE KEY, musical editor and narrator heard over NBC networks, recently published a Musical "Who's Who," which was more than two years in preparation. The volume is international in character and lists musical celebrities from nearly every country in the world. ALL OF THE radio lectures by leaders in the world of economic sand psychology heard over an NBC network on Saturday evenings, under auspices of the National Advisory Council on Radio in Education, are being published by the University of Chicago Press and present plans are to publish the 30 lectures in each series in book form upon their completion. In addition, two "Listener's Notebooks" have been prepared for those interested in the "Psychology Today" and "Child Development" series heard during October, November and December. Each summarizes the separate addresses and gives supplementary information, pictures, diagrams, questions for discussion by study clubs, hints for study and a list of books and magazine articles to read. Single copies of the notebooks are available either from the National Advisory Council's headquarters, 60 East 42nd St., New York, or from the University of Chicago Press, for 25 cents; 10 copies for $1.50, 50 for $5.00 and 500 for $45.00. The only question before the I. C. C. now is that of its jurisdiction over the broadcast rate structure. It cannot go into the merits of the Sta-Shine complaint, alleging discrimination, exorbitant rates and violation of the Transportation Act, until it decides the jurisdictional question. From where we sit it appears that it will never get into the merits of the com plaint. BROADCASTING • February I, 1932 ■