Education by Radio (1933)

The Canadian Radio Plan The new Canadian plan of radio broadcasting had its origin in the appointment of the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting which was constituted “to examine into the broadcasting situation in the Dominion of Canada and to make recommendations to the government as to the future administration, management, control, and financing thereof.” 1 The report of this commission known as the Aird Report, since Sir John Aird, president of the Canadian Bank of Commerce, was the commission’s chairman, was made public on September 11, 1929. With the facts in hand and wellcirculated thruout Canada, a special committee of the Canadian House of Commons was appointed on March 2, 1932 “[1] to consider the report of the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting dated the 11th day of September, 1929, and, commonly known as the Aird Report, [2] to advise and recommend a complete technical scheme for radio broadcasting in Canada, so designed as to ensure from Canadian sources as complete and satisfactory a service as the present development of radio science will permit, and [3] to investigate and report upon the most satisfactory agency for carrying out such a scheme, with power to the said committee to send for persons and papers and to examine wit¬ nesses, and to report from time to time to this House.” 2 After careful study the committee brought in a report recom¬ mending the nationalization of Canadian broadcasting, making radio selfsustaining, and vesting the business of broadcasting in an adequately paid commission of three members. This re¬ port was concurred in by the House of Commons on May 11, 1932. Considerable preliminary work fell to the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission following its appointment. However, an example of the scope of the work and the essentials of Canadian radio under the new plan can be gained from the following paragraphs taken from the commission’s Rules and Regulations issued April 1, 1 933 ,3 3. All broadcasting in Canada shall be under the supervision of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission. For the purpose of super¬ vising radio broadcasting, the Dominion of Canada is divided into the following regions: la] The Maritime Provinces. This includes the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. 1 Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting. Report. F. A. Acland, Ottawa, 1929. p5. 2 House of Commons. Special Committee on Radio Broadcasting, No. 17. F. A. Acland, Ottawa, 1932. piii. 3 Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission. Rules and Regulations. The Commis¬ sion, Ottawa, 1933. 19p. [b] Province of Quebec. [c] Province of Ontario. fd] The Western Provinces. This includes the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. [e] Province of British Columbia. 4. The supervision of programs with regard to advertising contents, mechanical reproductions, quality, and all other matters covered by these regulations, shall be carried out by the regional directors of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, in collaboration with the assistant commissioners of each of the provinces within the respective regions. 89. In drawing up daily schedules Canadian broadcasting stations shall not exceed the following percentages for the several classes of program material mentioned: Programs imported from foreign countries — 40 percent. A program of foreign origin which advertises goods manufactured in Canada, and names the address in this country where such goods are produced and distributed, shall be deemed a Canadian program. 90. No broadcasting station may broadcast any speech, printed matter, program, or advertising matter containing abusive or defamatory state¬ ments with regard to individuals or institutions, or statements or sugges¬ tions contrary to the express purpose of any existing legislation; as for example, the Patent Medicine Act or any regulations promulgated thereunder. 91. The commission reserves the right to prohibit the broadcasting of any matter until the continuity or record or transcription or both have been submitted to the commission for examination and have been ap¬ proved by them. 92. Broadcasting stations in Canada shall not mention or suggest prices in connection with any advertising programs or announcements trans¬ mitted by the said stations. 99. Except where special permission has been given by the commission, the amount of advertising matter of all kinds contained in programs broadcast from Canadian stations shall not exceed S percent of the time of any program period, for example — in a quarter hour program, fortyfive seconds only may be given up to advertising matter. 100. No station shall broadcast advertising spot announcements be¬ tween the hours of 7:30pm and 11pm. No advertising spot announcement shall exceed one hundred words. Spot announcements shall not total more than three minutes in any one hour. Death of Pioneer ' | ’he first education director of the British Broadcasting A Corporation, J. C. Stobart, passed away the early,part of May at the close of a career devoted to educational work. His service with the BBC which began in 1925 consisted in the building up of the education department, the launching of school broadcasting, the introduction in the evening program of educational talks suitable for adults, and the supervision of the religious programs. WE believe that radio broadcasting has potential values for education, culture, and entertainment, far in excess of those at present realized. We wish to commend the many programs of merit now being broadcast and to give credit to all those who have worked for program improvement. In view of the dis¬ tinctly unhealthy reactions produced in boys and girls by some of our present radio programs, we urge that individuals and organizations responsible for such programs take immediate steps to make their content conform to generally accepted standards in the field of child development; and further that all parentteacher units use every available means to secure such improvement at the earliest possible moment — Resolution adopted by the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, Seattle, Washington, May 26, 1933. [ 31 ]