Radio age (Jan-Dec 1926)

26 RADIO AGE for June, 1926 The Magazine of the Hour The All-American Pioneers, a quartette of jazz musicians featured over the AilAmerican Radio Corporation station WENR, Chicago good many radio stations as I see it, is that they start out with no definite idea of what they are going to do. WENR started out with the idea that it was going to entertain people and that's what it has done and is still doing, The station was a year old April 7 this year. It was founded by E. N. Rauland, president of the All-American Radio Corporation, Chicago, and sang its first song in the studio which was fitted up in the corporation's office building at 4201 Belmont avenue. Mr. Rauland said he established WENR because, being in the radio manufacturing business, he felt it was his duty to contribute something toward the entertainment of the radio listening world. "That may sound odd," says Mr. Rauland, "but it's the truth just the same. I honestly thought it was my duty to put up a station." When Mr. Rauland founded his station it was with one idea in mind. That was — entertainment. "When a man has worked all day and goes home tired and worn out and takes his shoes off and turns the radio on, I think he wants to be amused," says Mr. Rauland. "I don't think he wants to be preached to or talked at or given something that's going to tax his brain in finding out what it's all about. As a matter of fact, I think the American public in general wants to be amused. Classic Dinner Music U TOURING the 6 to 8 period -L' in the evening we broadcast our classical program. Classical music fits in with dinner somehow. After that, though, on our 8 to 10 and our 'Midnight Frolics' programs, we give 'em popular music, popular songs and popular ballads. I've found out from experience that that's what they want." To make sure that the majority of the people wanted popular music Mr. Rauland, with the assistance of Frank Westphal, station director and announcer, arranged a series of experimental bills. They tried interpolating some classical music along with the popular. Try and do it ! According to Mr. Westphal, the howl of protest that went up from listeners could be heard in China without a loud speaker. So WENR went back to the popular programs. The first thing that attracted me to WENR was its orchestra called the All-American Pioneers. As I believe I said in a previous article in this magazine, the All American Pioneers' Orchestra is a litle four-piece affair that, from the listening end of a radio set, sounds like a whole symphony. In fact, a group of eight radio experts once listened in on WENR's orchestra and debated on the number of pieces it contained. They judged all the way from eight to fifteen and only stopped there because they figured a studio couldn't accommodate a large orchestra. Right Instrumentation INCIDENTALLY, Mr. Westphal tells me this apparent trick of making a four-piece orchestra sound like a whole symphony is merely the result of determining the right combination of instruments and the right method of broadcasting which, he says, he learned from recording for phonographs. Mr. Westphal, I might add, is leader of the All-American Pioneers. For almost a year WENR stayed in its first studio out in the All-American Radio Corporation building. It kept putting on snappy programs with its lively little orchestra and it kept broadcasting other radio entertainment that made listening a pleasure. WENR never made any great plays to the grand stand. It never hauled celebrities out to the studio to broadcast just because they were celebrities. If they could entertain and still be celebrities, all right. Otherwise, why put them on the air? Because WENR never attempted any spectacular splurges, but just went along on the line that it was there to amuse, people were a little slow in recognizing the station. They'd tune in to ABC because ABC was touting some glittering movie star or a world-renowned tennis player. After a while radio listeners learned that all movie stars and tennis players are not radio entertainers and they began casting about for amusement. In due time they'd arrive at WENR and, once having arrived, they were bound to stick. WENR's mail began to pile up. Its listening public began to grow. Almost before the radio