Education by Radio (1937)

VOL. 7 JANUARY 1937 No. 1 EDUCATION BY RADIO is published monthly by THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION BY RADIO S. Howard Evans, secretary One Madison Avenue, New York, N. Y. Committee Members and Organizations They Represent Arthur G. Crane, chairman, president. University of VVyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, National Association of State Universities. James E. Cummings, department of education, Na¬ tional Catholic Welfare Conference, 1312 Massa¬ chusetts Avenue, Washington, D. C., National Catholic Educational Association. J. 0. Keller, assistant to the president, in charge of extension, Pennsylvania State College, State College, Pennsylvania, National University Extension Asso¬ ciation. Harold B. McCarty, program director, state broad¬ casting station WHA, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, National Association of Edu¬ cational Broadcasters. Charles A. Robinson, S. J., St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, The Jesuit Educational Asso¬ ciation. Agnes Samuelson, state superintendent of public in¬ struction, Des Moines, Iowa, National Council of State Superintendents. Willis A. Sutton, superintendent of schools, Atlanta, Georgia, National Education Association. H. J. Umberger, vicechairman, Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science, Manhattan, Kansas, Association of Land-Grant Colleges and U niversities. George F. Zook, president, American Council on Edu¬ cation, 744 Jackson Place, Washington, D. C., American Council on Education. MEMBER EDUCATIONAL PRESS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA My prediction is that the major future developments in broadcasting lie with local broadcasting service rather than in the field of national broadcasting service. National broad¬ casting thru chains of stations is well advanced toward saturation. . . Obviously national pro¬ gram service either by telephone, wire, or by transcription will turn to national sources for educational programs. . . On the other hand, sta¬ tions with predominantly local service objectives will turn to local educational and other civic agencies for public service programs. . . . Here is the opportunity for educational institutions! If the present American plan of radio is main¬ tained by the Federal Communications Commis¬ sion then there will be ample opportunity for schools to use these local outlets. Then the prob¬ lem becomes one of whether educational institu¬ tions can build programs able to compete with national programs for listener interest. — William Dow Boutwell, director. Educational Radio Project, U. S. Office of Education. • Greater safeguards for the freedom of the air are desirable. No abuses have developed which would justify an effort at this time to take control of the broadcasting business out of the hands of the broadcasting companies and station licensees, but arrangements should be devised by means of which the radio listeners of the country may be better protected against un¬ wise use of the power of editorial supervision by the managers of the great chains and the pro¬ prietors of local stations. — Arthur N. Hol¬ combe, Harvard University. that the fruitfulness of such a conference could be enhanced by apply¬ ing the recognized forum procedure and allowing the immediate and direct questioning of speakers. This point of view could scarcely be accommodated within the limitations under which the recent conference was planned. Its primary design was to secure for the program maximum prestige thru outstanding personalities in the fields both of scholarship and of practical experience in broadcasting and its uses. It is an accepted custom that distinguished speakers such as these are accorded wide latitude in the matter of speech preparation. It was unavoidable, therefore, that a sharply contrasting program built around current radio issues which might have been discussed with timely advantage should have to wait its turn at some later date. None of the comments so far made are particularly applicable to the second area of the conference’s interest, namely, the special sec¬ tions dealing with specific problems. In this area there was more sureness of touch and more definite accomplishment. Indeed, the general impression gained from attending a number of the section meetings was that these gave a true reflection of the extent to which a mastery of radio had been achieved by the educators. They fol¬ lowed very closely the pattern of the Institute for Education by Radio conducted annually at the Ohio State University. If there are such things as stages of development in the mastery of a subject, the educators, judging from the frequency with which they used the word, were in the stage of “technics.” “Technic” seemed to be on the lips of everyone. It made its appearance under one guise or another in most of the sessions. It seemed to reflect a fixed conviction on the part of a large majority of conferees that the important thing in educational broadcasting at present is the development of special skills which have a practical application to the specific business of broadcasting. In the first of the conference sections listed on the program, namely, “Broadcasting as a Community Enterprise,” the discussion centered around technics by which the broadcasting station could make itself more a part of its community. A representative of a local commercial radio station in Peoria, Illinois, outlined what is perhaps the outstanding example of successful technic for this pur¬ pose. In Peoria several years ago the local station found itself with a very small listening audience and with little acceptance as a community institution. Its managers decided to make the station a champion of certain local reforms, being careful both to avoid questions of political controversy around which prejudices had become established and to select problems having a rather obvious solution. They began to editorialize on the air. In a surprisingly short time they had made their station a vital force in their com¬ munity and had won a growing public support which, incidentally, meant an audience highly salable to advertisers. ' Another device of the same station was to have its news commen¬ tator break into any program which might be on the air whenever he received news of particular interest to the listeners. The result has been that people leave their radio sets tuned to that particular station lest they miss some especially interesting item of local news. Since no other station is in a position to supply the same kind of in¬ formation, the local station in Peoria has a definite advantage over its most severe competitors, the chain broadcasting stations. By applying these technics this particular station has convinced its listeners that it is operating in their public interest. It no longer has to court the favor of public officials or to beg for the support of educators and other leaders whose names will make a “front” for [2]