Education by Radio (1932)

Radio Lawsuits— Anoth er American Monopoly AR. Burrows, secretary-general, « International Broadcasting Un¬ ion, reports: There have been no lawsuits, either of a national or international order, in Europe over the allotment or use of radio channels. Should disputes arise between two countries and these disputes not be settled amicably [as has been the case hitherto], the preliminary efforts at settlement would be an affair of the postal and telegraphic administrations concerned. Should this fail, then the matter would be one for an arbitration committee such as is fore¬ seen in article twenty of the Washington Con¬ vention. . . . I think it can honestly be stated that the existence, for nearly seven years, of this Union where the directors of European broadcasting organizations meet as friends and realize the responsibilities which exist one towards the other, has enabled an early and friendly settle¬ ment of wavelengths problems likely to be of a really serious character. Even now, when the European wavelength situation has been taken up officially by the administrations, our Union, acting as an expert advisory body, is repeat¬ edly arranging minor adjustments which avoid international troubles. In the United States, on the contrary, 1096 cases were set for hearing before the Federal Radio Commission between September 1930 and June 1931; 430 were answered and docketed; 666 with¬ drew; 343 were heard — -258 by ex¬ aminers, 28 by the Commission, and 57 were still to be reported; 212 were decided by the Commission. Thir¬ teen appeals from decisions of the Com¬ mission were pending in the courts at the beginning of the period. Twenty-five new cases were appealed by broadcasters during the period and in one case the Commission appealed from a decision by a court. The securing of evidence in some cases costs more than $5000. Then there are lawyers’ fees and other expenses. Esti¬ mating the cost of each case heard at $2000, the broadcasters paid $686,000 for defending their rights or attacking the rights of others. The expenditures of the Commission for the fiscal year were $444,179.94. It is adding insult to injury to compel So i believe that, after all, this question of radio channels is merely a part of a much larger issue of which you and I will hear much more in the next ten years than we have heard in the past ten years. And that question is the ques¬ tion whether we, as an Amer¬ ican people, can rely upon any monopoly to maintain its kindly attitude and its fair treatment of us, and whether or not we should supinely set ourselves in a position of tak¬ ing only the crumbs from the table, or set aside radio chan¬ nels as we set aside, thru the Northwest Territory, a cer¬ tain section of land, forming the basis of the success of the schools in all that territory. — Benjamin H. Darrow, direc¬ tor, Ohio School of the Air, before the National Advisory Council on Radio in Educa¬ tion in New York, May 21, 1931. the American radio audience to pay this legal bill in order that broadcasters may continue to fill the air with advertising — the bill for which is also charged to the public. The manufacturer pays the ad¬ vertising agency to prepare its broad¬ casts, and pays the broadcasting com¬ pany for time. Mr. and Mrs. John Smith reimburse the manufacturer whose ad¬ vertising bill has been figured into the cost of the product. The absence of lawsuits in Europe is due not only to the good work of the International Broadcasting Union but also to the fact that broadcasting there is administered for the public benefit and not for the benefit of advertisers and broadcasters who wish to exploit the public. Advertising by radio is negligible. — Armstrong Perry. RCA TO OBTAIN CONTROL of RKO’s capital — By completing arrange¬ ments to advance ten million dollars to the Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corporation to meet payment of its maturing deben¬ ture bonds, majority control of RKO’s capital will pass to the Radio Corpora¬ tion of America, it was revealed today. Other stockholders of RKO, it was stated, failed to exercise their rights under a refinancing plan announced sev¬ eral weeks ago. As a result, they were penalized 75 percent of their stock equity, under the plan. By advancing the necessary money, Radio Corporation will increase its interest in RKO from 9 percent to 66 percent of RKO’s capital stock. The $127,000,000 Radio-Keith com¬ pany is one of the largest four motion picture and entertainment companies in this country. To meet financing needs, the company on December 12, 1931 offered $11,600,000 of its debenture bonds and 1,740,000 shares of new com¬ mon stock to its stockholders. Only $1,500,000 of the debentures, it was stated, were absorbed by stockholders other than Radio Corporation, which consented to absorb the balance of ap¬ proximately ten million dollars. — From an Associated Press news report of Jan¬ uary fourteen, as published in the Chris¬ tian Science Monitor of that date. Education by Radio is published weekly by the National Committee on Education by Radio at 1201 Sixteenth Street, Northwest, Washington, D. C. The members of this Committee and the national groups with which they are associated are as follows: Arthur G. Crane, president, the University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, National Association of State Universities. R. C. Higgy, director, radio station WEAO of Ohio State Univ., Columbus, O., Association of College and Univ. Broadcasting Stations. J. O. Keller, head of engineering extension, Pennsylvania State College, State College, Pa., National University Extension Association. Charles N. Lischka, 1312 Massachusetts Avenue, Washington, D. C., National Catholic Educational Association. John Henry MacCracken, vicechairman, 744 Jackson Place, Washington, D. C., American Council on Education. James N. Rule, state superintendent of public instructioh, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, National Council of State Superintendents. Thurber M. Smith, S. J., St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, The Jesuit Educational Association. H. Umberger, Kansas State College of Agriculture, Manhattan, Kansas, Association of Land-Grant Colleges and Universities. Joy Elmer Morgan, chairman, 1201 Sixteenth Street Northwest, Washington, D. C., National Education Association. Everyone who receives a copy of this bulletin is invited to send in suggestions and comments. Save the bulletins for reference or pass them on to your local library or to a friend. Education by radio is a pioneering movement. These bulletins are, therefore, valuable. Earlier numbers will be supplied free on request while the supply lasts. Radio is an extension of the home. Let’s keep it clean and free. [19]