Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

Filene. It is conducted by a boara of distinguished trustees with an exceedingly able executive stafF. It has made a specialty of important surveys affecting such matters as the tax problem, the national debt and government credit, the security markets, the budgeting of public health, labor and government, old- age security, the costs of distribu- tion and the like. One has only to run down the list of nimes of the professional experts whom they have been able to employ to discover at once the outstanding character of the group. As a result, their findings have enjoyed from the first the widest recognition as authoritative and non-partisan. Mr. John H. Fahey i.s President of the Fund and Mr. Evans Clark, Execu- tive Director. It is perhaps too much to hope for complete success, but we are at least committed to making the ef- fort to employ the new mass tech- nique in radio in informing public opinion so that if possible we may as a nation avoid those negative and destructive consequences of World War I which came about through the hasty Post-War en- deavors to enter into world commit- ments of which the public had been inadequately informed. Needless to say, we shall not for a moment overlook the primary ob- jective of winning the war, but we intend to do all that lies within us to make certain that this time we shall also win the peace. We are convinced that the chances for so winning the peace will be multiplied many-fold if we begin at once to give our best thought to the vast problems which we shall presently have to solve and to the character- istic features of that future world for which our citizens are now giv- ing their lives and their fortunes. Should we wait for this discus- sion until victory is won and the binding ties of a common cause are partially dissolved in resurgent self-interest, we may well lose again the opportunity to turn the blood and destruction of today into to- morrow's world of enduring peace, new freedom and opportunity. The two series are designed as far as practicable to be analytical and essentially educational in ap- proach. That they may be as con- structive as possible the effort will be made to avoid mere political argumentation and debate. The positive opportunities offered by victory will be stressed rather than the merely unfruitful negatives. Nevertheless, every effort will be made to present as wide a variety of significant points of view as pos- sible. No one specific answer to any after-the-war problem will be urged nor will the prepossessions of any pressure group, political or other- wise, be promoted. Propaganda in any ordinary sense will be entirely taboo. The only propaganda will be that connected with the insistence on the importance of having our people give thoughtful attention to the problems inevitably involved in the Post-War world. Not only shall we be attempting to achieve this result through the spoken word on the air, but we are also resorting to the printed word whereby the substance of the broadcasts may be preserved for readers as well as through the suggestion from time to time of stimulating and helpful bibliographies. In conclusion, let me say that it is our firm purpo.se to make the broadcasts thoroughly practical and to avoid as far as possible merely vague generalizations. There will be opportunity for audience partici- pation, not only through the con- current discussion groups which will be brought together through- out the nation under the auspices of the cooperating organizations, but also through invitations to listeners to send in (juestions in ad- vance with a view to having those which are obviously foremost in people's minds answered in the dis- cussion periods on the air. We be- lieve that these results will be greatly furthered by the coopera- tion of more than fifty nation-wide organizations that are participat- ing in the creation of such listening and discussion groups. Outside the United States, the Canadian Asso- ciation for Adult Education is ar- ranging to make the series the study project of its discussion groups throughout Canada, num- bt'ring nearly 100,000 persons. A million leaflets are being distrib- uted through all these groups and, as indicated above, each week's broadcast addresses are being pub- lished in leaflet form and distrib- uted without charge to all who write for them. As of the date of this writing 120 NBC stations are carrying the se- ries, comprising so far as we are aware the largest radio network ever to broadcast any sustaining educational series. NELSON A. ROCKEFKLLK