Radio broadcast .. (1922-30)

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MILWAUKEE 278 Greenfield Avenue WISCONSIN -tr Examined and approved by RADIO BROADCAST An Announcer's Autobiography YOU'RE ON THE AIR: By Graham McNamee. Published by Harper and Brothers, New York. 210 pages, 40 illustrations. Price $7.75. SUCCEED (in broadcasting)," says I Graham McNa-nee in his book, You're On "^ The Air, recently published by Harper and Brothers, "one must not only possess some artistic skill but also that indispensable quality called personality." It is jjst that quality that has made McNamee himself s'icceed to such an extent that he has become the "most popular radio announcer" of many listeners-in. And it is that same quality that will make You're On The Air a popular book with the same lis- teners-in, for, regardless of whether or not it was written by McNamee or by Robert Gordon Anderson, whose name appears on the title page as collaborator, it is an expression of Mc- Namee's personality. If Anderson did the writing, he deserves credit for having done a good piece of reporting. If you know this genial announcer, nothing more need be said about personality; if you don't, tune-in your set on WEAF some evening and lis- ten for "Good evening ladies and gentlemen of the radio audience." That's McNamee. He may be broadcasting a concert, a fight or a political meeting. There is no limit to his ac- tivities and he seems to do everything well (though we may parenthetically remark that personally we prefer his sporting stuff to all the rest). After you have listened to him an- nouncing for an evening or two, read his book and get "the inside story of how he does it," as the tabloids would say. You're On The Air is written in the first person and starts off with a little of the author's history. It seems that McNamee started out on a musical career, the training for which began early in his life. But he says that in these days he was more interested in the world of sport than in the world of music, and he took an active part in sports. "That experience later proved cf help," he says, "for not only did it build up rry body, but it has enabled me to report mere intelligently the big outdoor sport events." \\ hen he was eighteen he came to New York to pursue his musical career, which he did most successfully. It was while here that he drifted into radio work quite by chance, having wandered into WEAR'S studio simply out of curiosity to see what a studio was like. When he wandered out it was with his first job as announcer in his pocket. Sprinkled in with the tale of his personal ex- periences, McNamee has given many interest- ing bits of information. He explains how pro- grams are arranged; what happens when an artist is late or doesn't get to the studio at all; how much is charged for time on the air; and what happens when there is trouble on the line. He also tells countless anecdotes about well- known artists who have preformed before the microphone. Everyone, the great as well as the small, is nervous the first time he broadcasts. The book is entertaining'y written, Our one objection to it is that is a little too personal ; there are too many anecdotes involving the announcer, too many questions from letters to the studio, too many illustrations reproduc- ing autographed photographs sent to McNamee by the artists that have broadcasted from WEAF: and too little of the cold, hard facts behind broadcasting. But it is McNamee announcing and if you like him you will enjoy You're On The Air. Incidentally it's the first good book on broadcasting to be published.