Education by Radio (1932)

Fundamental principles — I wish now to propose some fundamental principles which should govern the administration of radio broadcasting in any country. These are the principles which I set forth before the Special Committee on Radio Broad¬ casting of the House of Commons at Ottawa in April 1932. [ 1 ] The ownership of air channels should remain permanently the property of all the people under complete control of the national govern¬ ment. By the very nature of the situation vested rights in the air should not be given to private parties. [2] The public interest, convenience, and necessity should be the first consideration in fact as well as in theory. The rights of the listener are supreme. [3l In the assignment of radio broadcasting channel units to different countries and to different parts of a country due weight should be given to [a] population, [b] area, and [cl peculiar natural conditions affecting broadcasting and reception. L4l The freedom of the air should be preserved so that all groups and interests within the nation have as fair a chance to be heard thruout the nation at the most favorable times as any other group. The spirit of reform is one of the greatest assets of any nation and is to be encouraged rather than crushed. 151 Particular care should be given to the rights of states, provinces, and localities. The very existence of a state depends on its ability to reach all its citizens with the most effective means of communication which are available. The presence within the state of commercial stations which may be sold at any time to outsiders does not protect this right of the state. It is not necessary to guarantee that the state shall have a particular channel; the situation may be met satisfactorily by providing that the state shall always have a channel. This allows for the adjustments which will be necessary as a result of new inventions and international agree¬ ments. T6] Distinct channels should be provided for each kind of service in order that the listener may at any hour of the broadcasting period have a choice between several kinds of service. Putting all kinds of service on each channel tends toward monopoly. The advertising and popular pro¬ grams tend to monopolize the best hours which leaves no time at those hours for people interested in educational and quality programs. Radio programs of various types should be so stabilized at fixed hours and on fixed channels that listeners will remember the type of program to expect. [7] The educational interest, including universities, colleges, high and elementary schools, should have independent channels under its complete ownership and management. The maximum effectiveness of education by radio requires that it deal with a succession of smaller specific audiences who are prepared and eager to learn definite things, just as the school is subdivided into grades and classes. It cannot and should not be ex¬ pected to reach the same groups as the popular entertainment type of program. [8] If commercial programs are allowed on the air at all they should be safeguarded so that commercial interests shall not be allowed to make false statements on the air or to go over the heads of parents in an effort to form the habits of the children. Civilization cannot progress by abus¬ ing its children. [9] If radio stations are privately owned they should not be allowed to ally themselves with other monopolies which have a powerful interest in the control of free speech. Thus it should not be possible for one monopoly to control both newspaper and radio in a given territory. If private monopoly is a social danger in the material field it is an even greater danger in the field of ideas and public information. The future of education by radio in the United States de¬ pends in large measure upon radio reform based upon such fundamental principles as these. I believe that such reform is inevitable. While there are occasional bright spots in our radio broadcasting, the programs as a whole have grown steadily worse. There is a marked loss of public interest. Many people are ignoring radio entirely. The sale of radio sets has fallen off at the very time the sale of sets in England is increasing. Our people resent radio advertising and often deliberately refuse to buy products featured in radio sales talks. Income from radio advertising is falling off and may at any time prove inadequate to maintain our programs. There is increasing dissatisfaction on the part of members of Congress. One evidence of this dissatisfaction is the CouzensDill resolution which required the Federal Radio Commission to make an investigation of the possibilities of government own¬ ership of radio and of education by radio. As was to be ex¬ pected, the Commission conducted that investigation from the point of view of the commercial interests as distinguished from the point of view of the listener or of education and as a result there is already demand for an independent and impartial in¬ vestigation by the Congress itself. Canada — Our neighbor to the North has already recognized the unsatisfactoriness of the American system which it at first attempted to follow, by working out a plan of its own, involv¬ ing public ownership and operation in which the various prov¬ inces and dominion governments will cooperate. It is unthink¬ able that America will be satisfied with things as they are in the face of the breakdown of commercial broadcasting, the loss of public interest, and the persistent interference with the rights and needs of the states and localities. The question of radio is particularly timely in view of the central theme of this convention — Educating the Whole Child. The new world which is created by radio is a part of the child’s world. It will help to determine his ideals, his attitudes, and his tastes. He will learn much of his language and his speech from radio. His taste for music and entertainment will depend in considerable measure on what comes into the home by radio. Much of the information which is to guide him in the manage¬ ment of his daily life and in his activities as a citizen will come to him thru broadcasting channels. Shall those channels be used to further the interests of private commercial monopolies? Shall they be dominated by big city centers, or shall they be brought close to the American culture? The answer rests with you. The National Committee on Education by Radio can do little except as the people in the various states whose civic and educational interests are at stake are willing to do their part. Education by radio is published 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: Charles T. Corcoran, S. J., director, radio station WEW, St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, The Jesuit Educational Association. Arthur G. Crane, president, the University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, National Association of State Universities. 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. Joy Elmer Morgan, chairman, 1201 Sixteenth Street, Northwest, Washington, D. C., National Education Association. James N. Rule, state superintendent of public instruction, Harrisburg Pennsylvania, National Council of State Superintendents. H. Umberger, Kansas State College of Agriculture, Manhattan, Kansas, Association of Land-Grant Colleges and Universities. Jos. F. Wright, director, radio station WILL, Univ. of Illinois, Urbana, Ill., Association of College and Univ. Broadcasting Stations. 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. rio3]