Education by Radio (1933)

EDUCATION BY RADIO VOLUME 3. NUMBER 9, JULY 20. 1933 The Case Against Chain Ownership1 Tracy F. Tyler Secretary and Research Director, National Committee on Education by Radio The issue to be decided here today is whether the Federal Radio Commission shall approve the transfer of the lease of station WMAL from the M. A. Leese Radio Corporation to the National Broadcasting Company. It is not a question of whether programs of the socalled blue network shall be available to the citizens of Washington and vicinity. I want to state in the beginning that in intervening in this case the National Committee on Education by Radio holds no brief against programs of the Na¬ tional Broadcasting Company, its offi¬ cials, or those of station WMAL. The Committee’s interest is not confined to this particular case which is purely local, but is concerned with the general prin¬ ciples involved. The National Committee on Education by Radio contends that it is contrary to the public interest, convenience, and necessity for the Federal Radio Com¬ mission to approve the transfer of this lease from the M. A. Leese Radio Cor¬ poration to the National Broadcasting Company for the following reasons: [1] The best oj these blue network programs can be brot into Washington in a better way without the necessity oj transferring the lease to the National Broadcasting Company. There are two ways by which a city may receive programs from a network. The first is thru the plan proposed in the present case: namely, by the leasing of a station by the network itself. The sec¬ ond is thru the affiliation of a station with the network. It is this latter method which should be adopted in the present instance if the broadcast of blue network programs is essential to the citizens of Washington and vicinity. I am inclined to agree with the attitude of the editor of the Washington Daily News when he made the following comment in the January 16, 1933 issue: . . . the move marks another step in the monopolizing of the air by networks. NBC insisted on a straight five-year lease, giving complete control of WMAL to a national company. NBC might have given the same programs to WMAL under a type of contract it uses in other cities which would leave the management in local hands. [2] The programs oj a station owned or operated by a chain 1 company will reflect the social standards oj the city in which the headquarters oj the chain is located, rather than those of the local community. 1 Statement before the Federal Radio Commission, Washington, D. C., February 15, 1 933. This is one of the most important bases of objection to chain ownership or stations. Whether the headquarters of the com¬ pany owning the station happens to be New York, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, San Francisco, or any other city, the pro¬ gram standards, especially in the enter¬ tainment field, will be determined in that particular city and passed on to every community in the country. As a conse¬ quence, social standards of New York and Chicago, rather than of each local community, will be reflected in the radio programs. A remark recently attributed to a Southern Congressman might be pertinent to this point, when he stated that he had observed that the citizens of many southern communities were already “becoming like a bunch of damn Yan¬ kees.” The social standards of a com¬ munity should be allowed to develop out of the life of the community itself. Not only do the standards vary in sections of the country but in the states and even in the various cities, towns, and com¬ munities within a state. This is not to be taken as a criticism against all chain programs but merely to call attention to the fact that the final decision as to the broadcast of the program should rest with the station owners in the particular city rather than with persons located in New York. [3] It will create a greater amount of unemployment, and will greatly reduce the needs for, and the development of local talent. The usual practise is for a chain owned or operated station to use as many hours as possible which originate at the key station. This is an economical procedure since it reduces the costs for talent and at the same time makes it possible to sell a greater number of stations to an advertiser. But it does re¬ duce the opportunity for participation on the part of many talented individuals. This decreased demand for talent will affect not only unpaid individuals or groups participating on behalf of community organizations or institutions, but also paid talent — especially orchestra members and other musicians essential to the conduct of a local station. [4] It will decrease the opportunity for educational institu¬ tions and community organizations to prepare and present radio programs of peculiarly local interest. It is difficult to arrange many educational programs originat¬ ing in the locality of a chain controled station. In a city such as Washington there are numerous colleges, universities, schools, Garland Powell, since 1929 director of state and university radio station WRUF, Gainesville, Florida. Major Powell studied law at the University of Maryland, was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1916, and as commander of the 22nd V . S. Aerial Squadron went thru five defenses on the Western Front in 1918. Prior to entering the radio field he was, for four years, national director of Americanism for the American Legion. [33]