Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

BROADCAST!] NIC THE NEWS MAGAZINE THE FIFTH ESTATE MARTIN CODEL, Editor SOL TAISHOFF, Managing Editor F. GAITHER TAYLOR. Advertising Manager of Published Semi Monthly by BROADCASTING PUBLICATIONS, Inc. • National Press Building Washington, D. C. Metropolitan 1022 Executive and Editorial Offices: National Press Building, Washington, D. C. Subscription Price: 83.00 a Year locaCopy Copyright, 1932, by Broadcasting Publications, Inc. Agreement With Canada THE NEW DIVISION of wave lengths with Canada, proposed by the Dominion authorities themselves and accepted by the United States, was a masterful stroke. It is Canada's own business that it should decide in favor of government ownership and operation of its national system, relegating private stations to the local low power categories. But it was distinctly the business of the American government to protect its nationals in the matter of wave length distribution. This appears to be in a fair way toward accomplishment, when Canada begins to reorganize its system, by a shared channel division that takes practically nothing away from the United States and yet gives Canada all it seeks. As a matter of fact, Canada's projected reorganization of radio, while serious indeed to existing Canadian broadcasters, really means that the Canadian government itself is going into commercial broadcasting alongAmerican lines; it is an outright recognition by that British domain that a certain amount of advertising has its place on the air. United States stations on the regional channels that are Canadian shared or that are relinquished by Canada now face no real barriers toward higher powers if their geographical separations are adequate, and more power for some of our regional stations ought to be the next step of the Radio Commission. It must be gratifying also to the Radio Commission's engineers that their geographical separation standards are to be adopted by Canada as its yardsticks for preventing interference. Unless Mexico and Cuba interpose objections, demanding also a portion of the clear channels, the whole Canadian-American wave length problem appears to have been solved to the satisfaction of both countries. Idle Opposition ELZEY ROBERTS' disgusted withdrawal from the anti-radio fight certain newspaper interests have sought to fan into flame, the comparatively flaccid outbursts at the recent American Newspaper Publishers Association's convention against using newspaper features as the basis of radio programs, the failure of the A. N. P. A. to make public a radio report this year or even to consider the idle antiradio propositions of the Ventura Free Press — all these developments ought to be gratifying to the broadcasting fraternity. By Mr. Roberts' own admission (he is publisher of the St. Louis Star) it is idle to oppose radio while so many newspapers are themselves engaged in it or striving to get into the field. At the A. N. P. A. convention, William Randolph Hear"t's King Feature Syndicate offered its features, in continuity or transcription form, to radio; every newspaper in radio has some sort of news feature tieup on the air, and it is fair to assume all will exercise their own individual judgments in this regard hereafter as before. Elisha Hanson's observations, as Washington attorney for the A. N. P. A., inferring that audience interest is declining, were too silly even to bear consideration. The growing audience, increasing fan mail, continued audience response to sponsors' offerings and all sorts of radio surveys belie his views. Incidentally, Mr. Hanson is also counsel for a number of broadcasting stations! Too, the outcry that radio is cutting into newspaper revenues — so often emblazoned across the pages of Editor and Publisher along with other news and comment disparaging radio — seems to be disputed by facts reported in that same organ. On April 30, Editor and Publisher, reporting that dailies are maintaining their share of the advertising dollar, quoted some interesting figures from the annual report of the Bureau of Advertising of the A. N. P. A. Of the $442,500,000 invested in 1931 by national advertisers in newspapers, magazines, outdoor signs and (chain) broadcasting, $205,000,000 went to newspapers, $167,000,000 to magazines, $36,000,000 to broadcasting, $30,000,000 to outdoor media and $4,500,000 to car cards, the report shows. Broken down into the dollar, 46.4 cents were spent in newspapers, compared to 45 cents in 1930 and 47 cents in 1929; 37.7 cents were spent in magazines, compared to 39.6 cents in 1930 and 37 cents in 1929; 8.1 cents were spent in radio compared to 5.3 cents in 1930 and 3.4 cents in 1929; 6.8 cents were spent in outdoor advertising, compared to 8.8 cents in 1930 and 10.8 cents in 1929, and 1 cent was spent on car cards, compared to 1.3 cents in 1930 and 1.8 cents in 1929. The radio figure is for chain broadcasting only, no aggregate figures as to local time sold being available. But the fact that the newspapers are holding their own, and the magazines also, seems to indicate quite clearly that their opposition to radio is not on tenable statistical grounds. Giveaways THE OLD ADAGE— "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts" — has long been applied to press agents by city editors, although even the best of newspaper men falls victim occasionally to a cleverly conceived publicity stunt disguised as a "hot" news story. This same ingeniousness is now being applied to broadcasting, as S. G. Persons, president and general manager of WSFA, Montgomery, Ala., points out in an article appearing in this issue of Broadcasting. And the purpose is obviously the same, viz., free adver The RADIO BOOK SHELF PROBABLY the first comprehensive treatment of the technique of speaking before a microphone is found in "Radio Speech" by Sherman Paxton Lawton, of the department of speech. Bradley Polytechnic Institute (Expression Company, Boston; $5). Based on an exhaustive study of radio speaking over a period of years, the book deals with the principles, method and technique of effective speech over the radio. The volume might well be used as a textbook by teachers of speech for courses in microphone addresses and training of announcers. The author has experimented with every known means of improving the human voice on the air and has carefully noted and analyzed his findings. He has found means of overcoming some of the major obstacles to proper radio speaking. Henry Adams Bellows, vice president of CBS and director of WCCO, has written a brief preface on "Radio and Mass Communication." A BRIEF SURVEY of broadcasting as a medium of advertising in Europe is presented in "Broadcast Advertising in Europe" (Trade Information Bulletin No. 787; 10 cents). It is the second of a series of three studies prepared by Lawrence D. Batson, of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce. Copies may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. This survey was the subject of an article in the Feb. 15 issue of Broadcasting. tising. Under the guise of sustaining programs, agencies and station representatives are graciously offering transcription features to a few "selected" stations on a no-pay-nocharge basis. While on its face this practice might be dismissed as of little consequence, in that most stations would refuse such "kind offers," and the small station which has trouble supplying 12 hours of programs would find them an aid, the danger to broadcasting as a whole lies in the foothold that any acceptance of free advertising gives the radio counterparts of press agents. Another hazard to radio advertising is the habit some stations have of accepting commercial announcements on a commission basis. As Mr. Persons states, "In 99 cases out of 100 . . . the station manager . . . will find that he is not collecting even half of his regular rate." In addition, he is endangering the reputation of his station as customers are usually dissatisfied with products purchased in this fashion, and the station is held to blame as it collects the money. "Just imagine, if you can, any reputable newspaper that would sell space on a chance of making money," Mr. Persons says. "They found out, years and years ago, that this cannot be done." One of the most amazing phases of this free advertising racket, as the writer points out, is that agencies and radio station representatives are furthering such a practice. They should, he adds, rather be on the lookout for contracts which will make money for radio, "for it is only if we prosper that they prosper." Broadcasters, large and small, will do well to adopt the cynicism of a city editor in examining all "kind offers" of free programs and discard them thereafter in a large convenient waste basket. The sooner that broadcasters present a united opposition to free advertising, the sooner the racket will expire. Page 18 BROADCASTING • May 15, 1932