Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

". . . the mighty drama of television, related in clear colorful strokes.'"-— THE BILLBOARD THE OUTLOOK for TELEVISION By Orrin E. Dunlap, Jr. Radio Editor, N. Y. Times A thoughtful, far-seeing picture of what we may expect from television, where it now stands and where it is going. Here, in clear, simple language are explained the technical and scientific principles on which it rests, and the obstacles which it must overcome. Eight of the country's leading authorities including Bruce Barton, Lee De Forest, S. I. Rothafel, Major-General Harbord, Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, Richard E. Byrd, Dr. George B. Cutten, Bishop Freeman tell you how television will affect the newspapers, advertising, theatres, education, war, religion and politics. $4.00 "A wealth of information for all whose livelihood is concerned with broadcasting." — B o s t o n Transcript RADIO IN ADVERTISING By Orrin E. Dunlap, Jr. Radio Editor, N. Y. Times The radio editor of the N. Y. Times here deals with the present status and possibilities of advertising over the radio. He draws extensively on current practice, discusses in detail programs, continuities and rates. He explains the most recent methods of successful broadcasters, giving their radio merchandising methods, their experiences with these methods, and the results of their research. $5.00 "A highly valuable guide for the client, the prospective client, the advertising salesman. It is stuffed with facts, and its predictions are always based on logic." — N. Y. Times On Exploiting Stations (Continued from page 11) Free Examination Coupon Harper & Brothers, 49 East 33rd Street, New York Gentlemen : Please send me copy of □ The Outlook For Television— $4.00 □ Radio In Advertising — $5.00 □ I agree to remit $ in 10 days or return book(s). □ Check enclosed. □ Send C. O. D. Name Address Business Connection paper or the theater. It is suggested that the radio stations have a promotion manager of equal calibre to that employed by newspapers and theatrical enterprises, so that many of these tie-ups can be initiated by the radio station. The series of programs known as "Today's Best Story," presented by WJR, Detroit, from the editorial rooms of the Detroit Times and from other remote control points, in which the big story of the day was dramatized through interviews with criminals, famous people, boy heroes, etc., was the signal for many other newspapers and stations to adopt the same form of news reporting on the air under the sponsorship of a local newspaper. Re Trade Papers IN LEAVING this subject of publicity activities, too much stress cannot be placed at this point on the advantage of securing publicity in the trade publications of the broadcasting industry. The promotional activities of a radio station are generally well known to the local and regional audience of a station through the loudspeakers of its listeners, and through the publicity derived from the local newspapers. However, all too often this news is kept secret from national advertisers and agencies in New York, Chicago and other cities because the station has hidden its light under a bushel, so far as the trade publications are concerned. Letters tell some of these stories and parts of these stories, but news treatment under magazine headlines with illustrations published in the aforementioned radio broadcasting journals, will do much to carry the story of the aggressiveness of the individual station to the national advertiser. It may be said that the editors of these publications welcome and encourage the receipt of this material from the stations on a regular basis, and that too little attention is given by the station in fulfilling this need. I wish to make a plea for the united support by radio stations of these trade publications, and a more aggressive interest taken in providing such publications with the stories of successful local campaigns. Using Station Itself ENTIRELY aside from paid advertising and publicity originating from the radio stations is a field of activity in radio station promotion which is being better developed almost monthly. That is in the use of the broadcasting vehicle itself in building up a larger audience and greater interest in local and national programs. The first of these is the use by many stations of programs spotted every three or four hours throughout the day known as "dial-setter" programs which attract a large mass of listeners to the radio with the hope of keeping the dial set on that particular station for some time to come. Generally speaking, these are in the nature of a correct-time program early in the morning, some program of a dis tinct feminine touch or appeal in the mid-morning, a program such as the National Farm and Home Hour of rural appeal around noon, a program of entertainment for shut-ins in the afternoon, a children's hour in the late afternoon or early evening, a family continued story hour on a subject of popular appeal such as "Family Life" near the dinner hour, and a frolic type of program in the late evening hours. Most of these dial setters are daily affairs and are known to attract thousands of listeners to the dials at these particular hours day after day. I believe they have been largely accountable for the increased average use of the radio set from two hours in 1928 to more than four hours a day today. Program reviews are in pretty general use today by broadcasting stations. They serve to remind the listener of what is to be broadcast over the station on that evening, or perhaps for the next twentyfour hours. Some stations have program reviews every five or six hours. WBT, Charlotte, presents a daily program from 7:30 to 8 o'clock sketching commercial and sustaining programs available for sale, and interesting tidbits about radio entertainers, together with three 1/4-hour periods each week at 8 p. m. Behind the Scenes THERE has been an increased and increasing use of the idea of taking the listener behind the scenes in the radio station. More than two years ago at WJR, we inaugurated a daily 15-minute program whereby Leo Fitzpatrick, our general manager, appeared each day to answer the questions sent in by the radio audience: "Why was a certain program now off the air?" "What is an electrical transcription?" "How old is Norman White?" "Does Prudence Butterfield have blue or brown eyes?" "Who takes the part of King Fish in Amos 'n' Andy?" Both networks have recently instituted similar programs. Nellie Revell's NBC series on Wednesday nights introduces one or two famous network artists, and Miss Revell tells something of the life and career of the artist. Columbia's "Meet the Artists" series, weekly in the afternoons, is doing an excellent job along the same lines. Aside from any commercial contests which it seems have cluttered up radio schedules of the present day, along with the attendant giveaways, etc., many stations still find that this type of promotion provides an avenue of quick contact and acquaintanceship with the public obtainable in no other way. The Chicago Tribune's "100Hour Club" published the names of all listeners who had listened 100 hours or more to WGN, and this numbered thousands in the course of the years in which it was in operation. While the policy of giving away photographs and booklets, including portraits and descriptive ma terial of artists and other humaninterest facts about stations and their programs has been somewhat discontinued in the past few years, it is a plan frequently revived and one which often causes station office workers much overtime, work and worry getting the thousands of photographs, post cards and booklets into the mail. Many stations have found it profitable to sell this material at a small cost. The fact that many listeners have scrap books or files of photographs of artists and clippings from newspapers about them, testifies to their good use. On Public Service THE GROWING usefulness of broadcasting as a medium of public service has served to make vast numbers of public individuals more radio-conscious. Today, hardly an event occurs where people are gathered in large numbers, that a radio microphone is not on the rostrum, on the sidelines or at some point of vantage. Broadcasting of luncheons, Rotary, Kiwanis, Exchange and Advertising Clubs, and other luncheon clubs' programs, broadcasting of civic and community meetings, together with county and state fairs have been increasing in number. Broadcasting of parades, circuses, street demonstrations, and interviews with people on the street, as we recently attempted in Cleveland many months ago, have all served to make the public more radio-conscious and to put the call letters of the stations engaging in these enterprises on the lips of more and more people. Station WHK of Cleveland, established a wonderful contact with the people of Cleveland through the presentation of a program of its artists on the stage of the Loew's State Theater in Cleveland, and our station accomplished the same thing with a WGAR week at the RKO Palace Theater, where our artists played in person. The regular Saturday night barn dances of WLS, Chicago, are staged by the station at a Chicago theater which is leased by the station and two performances weekly are presented with the entire cast, and admission fee is charged. This has proven to be a profitable venture for the station and its artists, since standing room only is the situation every Saturday night. Other Promotion Schemes KHJ, Los Angeles, presents the "Merrymakers" and invites the listening audience to visit the studios to see this program actually put on the air. This station also does a great deal of broadcasting from the Shrine Auditorium, County Fairs, etc., with a view toward familiarizing their audience with their station. WWNC, Asheville, N. C, presented a "General Motors Automobile Show" in September from a centrally-located building, where a 30-minute daily broadcast was given. KTBS, Shreveport, La., had a broadcasting booth at the Louisiana State Fair, together with interesting displays showing pictures of artists and information about local and network programs. WMCA, New York, has been es Page 26 BROADCASTING • December 15, 1932