Education by Radio (1933)

EDUCATION BY RADIO VOLUME 3, NUMBER 11. AUGUST 31. 1933 Educational Broadcasting Station Succumbs to Commercial Attack Tracy F. Tyler Secretary and Research Director, National Committee on Education by Radio ANOTHER EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTING STATION, wearied /-X and financially exhausted from repeated attacks by commercial interests, finally discontinued broadcasting on August first. The station, WCAJ, owned by Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, Nebraska, was one of the pioneer radio stations of the country, having begun operation in October 1920. Its director was J. C. Jensen, professor of physics, and wellknown authority in radio-engineering and scientific circles. He was appointed a member of the Federal Radio Com¬ mission by President Hoover but the ap¬ pointment was never acted upon by the Senate. Even spokesmen for our present commercialized radio practise admired his ability and his fighting spirit. For example, Thomas Stevenson, editor of Broadcast Reporter, in speaking of the Hoover appointment said:1 To the everlasting credit of Herbert Hoover, Professor John C. Jensen of Nebraska Wesleyan University has been nominated to the Radio Commission to succeed General Charles McK. Saltzman, who resigned. Altho Jensen probably will not get the job because of the determina¬ tion of the Senate Democrats to prevent the confirmation of all Hoover appointments, it was a good non-political selection. Jensen has that understanding of fundamental engineering problems which is essential to good service. Early history — When the Federal Radio Commission took office in March 1927, WCAJ together with seventeen other stations was assigned to a fre¬ quency of 1080 kilocycles. About May first of that year in the reallocation WCAJ was put on the same frequency with a station at Tulsa, Oklahoma, but with no requirement for time division. The Oklahoma station would not com¬ promise; hence there was heterodyning for two months and then WCAJ was shifted to 590 kilocycles and allotted oneseventh of the time. This plan worked out quite satisfactorily until February 28, 1930 when WOW, the station with which it divided time on the 590 kilocycle frequency, asked for full time. On April 11, the Federal Radio Commission designated the case for hearing. After three months of negotiations in an attempt to solve the difficulty without a hearing WCAJ officials were compeled to come to Washington on September 10, 11, and 12, and spend considerable money to defend the station. It was not until February 7, 1931 that Examiner Elmer W. 1 Broadcast Reporter, February IS, 1933, p3. Pratt handed in his report which recommended the granting of WOW’s application. In view of this adverse decision the educational station was forced to incur the additional expense of filing exceptions to the examiner’s report. Fortunately for Nebraska Wesleyan University, the Federal Radio Commis¬ sion [Commissioner Lafount dissenting] reversed its examiner and on May 22, 1931 handed down a decision denying the application of WOW. However, the attack on the educational institution was not yet over. WOW had still another legal device to use in causing further an¬ noyance to WCAJ and thru its attorneys on June 10 it gave notice of appeal to the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia. Education wins — After considerable delay, WOW’s case came before the Court of Appeals on February 1, 1932. The Court handed down its decision on February 29, upholding the Federal Radio Commission and denying the ap¬ plication of WOW to secure the facilities of educational radio station WCAJ. Plain justice surely would demand that after such a lengthy battle for its life with WOW, interspersed with a long con¬ troversy with the Federal Radio Com¬ mission even to maintain its power of 500 watts, WCAJ should be left alone to continue its educational work. That this work was of high quality is testified to by Charles W. Taylor, state superintendent of public instruction, when he said in an affidavit: 2 I have listened very carefully to programs going out over station WCAJ. I want to com¬ mend you for the fine quality and educational usefulness of these programs ... In a very short time the commercial interests will have crowded the educational interests off the air. This should be considered contrary to the general welfare of the country at large. . . . It is hoped that educators and those interested in education will speedily arouse themselves to the need of protecting educational interests in this matter. . . It seems to me that your evening programs are particularly valuable for the reason that they give you an opportunity to carry educational training and messages to the adult population who are unable either to go to school in the daytime or possibly listen in on the radio. The new attack — Yet on May 8, 1933, WOW again filed application for WCAJ’s facilities and on May 23, the Com¬ mission set the case for hearing. To fight the case would have 2 Taylor, Charles W. Statement on file with National Committee on Education by Radio. JW. Stafford, instructor in electrical engi♦ neering and manager radio station WBAA, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. Cap¬ tain Stafford received the degree of Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1924 and of Electrical Engineer in 1928, both from Purdue. His radio experience began as an amateur in 1908. During the War he was assigned to the Signal Corps, and attached to the U. S. Radio School, College Park, Maryland. He now holds a captain’s commission in the signal reserve corps, and is a member of the Institute of Radio Engineers, of the executive committee of the Indianapolis-Lafayette Section of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, and of the Reserve Officers Association. [41 ]