Radio age (Jan-Dec 1925)

RADIO AGE for March, 1925 What the Broadcasters are Doing 31 Wkat tke roadc asters are Doing Graduation Held Over Radio at WCCO GRADUATION air — that is t exercises over the air — that is the latest feature from the Gold Medal Station, MinneapolisSaint Paul, WCCO. Wednesday, January 21st, at 2:00 p. m. the graduates of the first Gold Medal Radio Cooking School received their diplomas, listened to the Baccalaureate address by Betty Crocker, who directed the school, and heard the valedictorian and salutatorian. The first Gold Medal Radio Cooking School opened on November 4th. Classes were held every Tuesday morning over the air, when Betty Crocker, Home Economics Specialist of the Station, instructed. Approximately 2,000 women from fourteen states registered for the course, which was completed December 23d. In order to graduate and receive a diploma, it was necessary that certain recipes which had been given in the classes be worked out and reports made on them. Although the school ended at a busy time just before the holidays, 250 women from five Northwest states qualified for graduation. It was impossible for all of them to come to Minneapolis to receive their diplomas during the graduation exercises at the Gold Medal Station, so an effort was made, Miss Betty Crocker stated, to have at least one representative from each state there. The graduation exercises were similar to those conducted by the average schools, with special music arranged by WCCO artists. That these exercises aroused a large amount of interest among the women who participated in the course is evidenced by the letters received, it was said. One Wisconsin woman wrote in that she and several of her neighbors had taken the course and met in her home on January 21 to listen in on the graduation exercises, and said she had a new dress made for the occasion. The oldest student in the class was an 82-year old Minneapolis woman. She wrote to Betty Crocker that she was particularly interested in completing the work and graduating, as she had never before graduated from anything in her life. She completed all of the work assigned and received her diploma. Two blind women were also among the students. They stated that the course had been of particular value to them because they could not read magazines and get the suggestions of which other women make use. Movie Star Meets Doom Before "Mike" J.WARREN KERRIGAN, widely known motion picture star, has faced thousands of movie cameras without flinching, but he admittedly met his Waterloo lately when he faced the microphone of Station WGN, located on the Drake Hotel, Chicago. Mr. Kerrigan was schedulea ..o appear on one of WGN's afternoon programs and to tell of his experiences while engaged in filming "The Covered Wagcn," of which he is the star. Before he was able lO get launched into the topic of his talk, he moved his arm and unintentionally shut off the microphone. He talked for fully five minutes before it was discovered that his words were not travelling farther than the confines of the velvet-lined studio. Mr. Kerrigan was told to start all over again — which he did. "But," he explains, "from then on I was all upset I stuttered, gasped and said things never meant to be said. Finally I told Quin Ryan to shut off the juice. The microphone had licked me." (The photo of Mr. Kerrigan above is copyright by the Drake Studio.) Kiutus Tecumseh, a full-biooded Indian, prides himself as the "radio representative of the Red Men," and in their cause he is travelling among the big radio stations, singing famous Indian melodies and telling i their romantic history. He is now appearing from WEAF, New York. During 1924 \ REVIEW of the year's operation -^* of WGY, the Eastern station of the General Electric Company at Schenectady, N. Y., shows that the station was on the air 1,630 hours during 1924, an average of about four and one half hours per day. WGY is not on the air Wednesday evenings except on very rare occasions, under special permit from the radio supervisor, and Monday evenings the station leaves the air promptly at 9 o'clock, at which time WHAZ of Troy, N. Y., is licensed to hold forth. In 1923 the total of operating hours was 1,106. The increase of operating hours for WGY from 1923 to 1924 is due to the expanding activities of the station and also to the broadcasting of the national conventions of the Republican and Democratic parties, as well as several campaign speeches by the presidential candidates. Efficiency is High -ne efficiency of the station, during the period it was on the air, was 99.99. This record speaks well for the watchfulness and expertness of the radio engineers who are responsible for the operation of the station. These men who are never heard by the radio audience are responsible for the quality of the transmitter signals and on their alertness depends the continuity of the program. During 1924 there were seven suspensions of broadcast service from WGY due to apparatus trouble and five of these breaks in program came during daylight transmission. The total time lost was thirty-six minutes. On one occasion, lightning struck the antenna and induction burned out meters and condensers. Service was suspended fifteen seconds, the time required to bring spare parts into commission. Tiny Station Shows 'Em Dreams of the undergraduate members of a little class in radio at Knox College at Galesburg, Illinois, of establishing a Class "A" broadcasting station were fulfilled during February as a result of their own efforts when WFBZ, the Siwash station, took the air for the first time and broadcast a Knox-Monmouth basket ball game to nearby States with an outfit costing but $175, which made a good showing within a radius where there were many stations costing from S10.000 to 860,000 sending forth their programs.