Radio Digest (Jan-Oct 1926)

RADIO D I G E S T— Illustrated February 20, 1926 DEMANDS STATIONS LABEL ADVERTISING WOULD AVOID FOISTING OF PUBLICITY ON PUBLIC WILSON WETHERBEE IS VETERAN OF KYW Rep. Emmanuel Celler Asks for Same Regulations of Ether as Those Governing Newspapers WASHINGTON". — "This is BLAA, broadcasting station of the Giant Peanut company. Newark, X. J. You will now have the pleasure of listening to the Walk-Up-One-Flight Clothing; company's orchestra. Their first number will be, 'You Don't Wear Them Out If You Don't Sit Down.' Should any of our Radio fans desire to communicate with the WalkUp-One-Flight Clothing company's orchestra they can do so by communicating with Station BLAA. "This is SPOOF station, Chicago, 111. You have just listened to Mr. B. Fuddled, of the Lone Star Ham company, in his interesting talk on 'Tid-bits and Why Delicious Lone Star Ham Should Be on Every Table.' "Those of you who relish a good cigar will be delighted to hear that our next number will be a song, 'Rings of Smoke,' to be rendered by Mr. Jack A. Xapes, general sales manager of the Amalgamated Cigar Stores company. We ask our Radio fans to remember the Amalgamated Cigar Stores company because it will have one of its employes perform for us every Monday night.' Congressman Indicts Advertising "You have just heard Mr. Jack A. Xapes. SPOOF now signs off for the night after announcing that at 3:45 tomorrow afternoon every housewife will welcome Mrs. Laura Xew of the Durable Pancake company, who will give helpful lessons on 'How to Make Flapdoodles Out of Sawdust.' " The above is merely a reproduction of what Representative Emmanuel Celler of Xew York has caused recently to be published in the Congressional Record. Representative Celler's tirade is most interesting. He does not believe in advertising broadcasts as they are done today, and he frankly says so. Newspapers Must Label Ads "It is illegal for newspapers or magazines to publish advertising without letting their readers know that the matter is paid for and is advertising-. The reason for this was to avoid the foisting of disguised advertising matter 'as reading notices' or news. The law was adopted to avoid this public imposition and deception. "Broadcasting of paid-for or indirect advertising without a statement that the matter has been paid lor, is no less deceptive and an imposition. Those of you who are familiar with Radio activties or are listeners often have recognized this scheme of deceptive advertising-. "The Radio bill introduced by Mr. White, the gentleman from Maine, and which is now being considered by the • •ommittee on the merchant marine and fisheries, in section 5 very rightfully provides as follows: White Bill Protects Listeners "'All matters broadcast by any Radio station for which service, money or any other valuable consideration is directly or indirectly paid or promised to or charged or accepted by, the station so broadcasting shall be announced as 'advertising' at the time the same is so broadcast: Provided, that when the advertisement or publicity sought consists solely of the announcement of the name, business, and address of the person, firm, company, or corporation paying for the feature broadcast, it shall be sufficient to announce that such feature broadcast is "paid for or furnished by" such person, firm, company or corporation.' " Station Changes Here is Florida with another broadcaster, the new municipal station of Peuila, WCOA. On a wave length of 222 meters, the first program from this studio went out over the ether Cor the first time Wednesday evening, February '.',. The announcer is John B. Frerikel. The thud of boxing gloves, the scraping of skates on the ice during hockey matches and other familiar sounds from Madison Square Garden preceded by the call WMSG, will be heard the first part of this week. A low wave length of 212.6 meters prevents any interference with Xew York stations already on the air. The following stations were deleted last month: WGBK, Johnstown, Pa.; VTOCH, Hanover, N. H. ; KFGH, Stanford University, Calif.; KFOJ, Moberly, Mo.; WTAC, Johnstown, Pa.; YVJBX, Sycamore, ill.; WIBC, St. Petersburg, Fla. CHICAGO . — Saturday, February 20, marks the completion of four years of Radio service of Wilson Wetherbee, director of Westinghouse Station KYW. Having come to the station when KYW was barely four months old, he has witnessed its growth practically from its cradle days. Born in Elkhart, Ind., in 1900, educated in its schools and later taking studies pursuant to a literary career, Mr. Wetherbee soon after found himself on the staff of the Elkhart Daily Review. The world was t r e at ing "Scoop" Wetherbee fairly well. The South Bend Tribune felt the need of the services of an enterprising young man, so to South Bend he went. From the South Bend Tribune "Scoop" went to the South Bend Times, shortly after which he went back to school to study at the University of Chicago. However, campus rules did not agree entirely and the call of the press brought him to the editorial staff of the Chicago Daily Xews. He remained there just about a year when the wild idea of Wilson Wetherbee WAMPAS BEAUTY IS GIRL ON OUR COVER FAY WRAY — sounds almost like "Fairy," doesn't it? That's the name of the exquisite maiden on the Radio Digest cover this week. And, of course, she just naturally lives in Hollywood, Calif., with the rest of the 1926 crop of WAMPAS beauties who made their grand debut at the frolic in the new Al Malikah shrine temple in Los Angeles on February i. There were thirteen of these Mttle "Wampsies" and from a picture in our last week's issue it seems Miss Fay is the only one who didn't have the heart to snip the wandering tendrils from her crown of glory. All the Wampas stars were presented to Radio listeners over KXX, during a special Radio reception. NEWS BRIEFS FROM THE BROADCASTERS PARTY NIGHT ONCE EACH MONTH FOR WRVA FANS Famous Violinist at KGO — Learn Charleston at WMBB — Canadian Broadcasters Meet at Toronto "Radio" brought him to KYW to take the position of assistant director. On May 1, 1922, "Scoop" was appointed director of the station which position he still holds. Imagine Chicago's pioneer station four years ago. A personnel of only three or four members; one studio; the technique of Radio fairly unknown and little thought of. If artists did not appear, they just pushed a convenient phonograph up to the "mike." Those were only a few of the griefs of Radio life four years ago. The director had to not only conduct the activities of the station, but he had to seek talent, answer kicks, do the announcing, look happy and when no one was looking, sweep the floor. CONTENTS Radio Digest, Illustrated, Volume XVI. Number 7, published Chicago, Illinois, February 20, 1926. Published weekly by Radio Digesi Publishing Co. (Incorporated!, 310 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois. Subscription rates yearly. Five Dollars: Foreign Postage One Dollar additional; single copies Ten Cents. Entered as second class matter at the post office at Chicago, Illinois, under the Act of March 3, 187D. All the Live News of Radio 1 to 11 Uncle Sam Aids Rural Radio with Farm Broadcasts 4 Let's Go, WJAG Throws a Party 5 KMA Lives Up to Slog-an, "Keeps Millions Advised" 6 WKAQ, "The Voice of Porto Rico" 7 Women's Pag-e; Index to Women's Programs 11 An Evening at Home with the Listener In; a chart in Eastern Time, showing* when to listen in for stations 12 Advance Programs for the Week 13 to 21 Editorials, Indi-Gest and Condensed by Dielectric 22 A. B. C. Pundamer.tals for Everybody, Chapter VH — Radio Frequency Amplification, by Milo Gurney 23 How to Stop Blooping and Man-Made Static, Part II — Slow and Why Circuits Bloop, by the Technical Staff 25 Two Tube, Short Wave, 15-130 Meter Receiver, Part H — Drilling and Assembing, by John G. Ryan. 27 Reader's View 29 Directory of Radiophone Broadcasting Stations, Part III (Revised) 31 Looking Ahead Mystery, Murder, Undying Love — the special Radio mystery stor} bjr a world i famous author, Robert J. Casey, begins with the next issue. §500 awaits the ! winning solutions. Don't miss the important announcements and the beginning chapter of this thriller. February Twentieth Is a Big Day in the Regions of the Arctic Circle. Old Sol peeps over the horizon for the first time after an absence of 135 days. The Canadian "Mounties" and other human beings celebrate. Superpower stations of the United States broadcast special programs. Story and pictures here nextweek. Dizzy Izzy, Musing Over a Bowl of Loco Weed Soup and a dish of purple berries from the wild asparagus, decided that the one thing Station WO AW, Omaha, needed Was a "Blah Club." Whereupon he called together certain members of the staff and a directorate was selected. You should hear Izzy tell about it in the next issue. The Campaign Against Blooping, having fixed the blame, rubbed it in and shown how nearly all sets bloop, will next week tell of better operation of sets for more DX and less squealing. Come on, do more thinking about your own blooping and less tirading about the other fellow's ! Those Interested in Short Waves, and who are building the two tube 15-130 meter set, will find its construction carried into the wiring next week. Operation of the King 5-Tube Tuned R.F. Set is now being studied by the technical staff and an article on it will appear next in the Operating and Trouble Shooting series. Newsstands Don't Always Have One Left WHEN YOU WANT Radio Digest YOU WANT IT! BE SURE OF YOUR WEEKLY COPY BY SUBSCRIBING NOW SEND IN THE BLANK TODAY Publisher Radio Digest, 510 N. Dearborn St.. Chicago, Illinois. Please find enclosed eheek M. 0. fir Five Dollars (Six, Foreign) for One Year's Subscription to Radio Digest, Illustrated. Name _.._„„ Address City The first Thursday of each month will be party night at WRVA, Richmond. For three hoursthis southern broadcaster will give a program of dance music, so that fans can plan parties ahead of time for this night. The music will be furnished by the Richmond Hotel Winter Garden orchestra, under the direction of Billy Boyle, and will begin at 9:30 p. m., Eastern time. * * One of the greatest violinists, Mishel Piastro, concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony orchestra, -will give a recital over KGO, Oakland, Tuesday night, February 23. Altogether he will play ten numbers. His accompanist will be Lev Shorr, brilliant Russian pianist. Instructions in the "Charleston" by Prof. Thomas Sheehy are going out over the ether every Wednesday evening from WMBB, Chicago. * * The first meeting of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters was held last month in Toronto. Jacques X. Cartier, director of CKAC, La Presse, Montreal, was elected president of the organization. * * A new series of classical concerts will be given weekly at KYW called the Federal Master artists program. These programs will be broadcast from the Commonwealth-Edison studio every Friday night at 9 p. m. Central time. Margery Maxwell, soprano member of the Chicago Civic Opera company, was one of the artists participating in the first musicale. * * Children's stories, told with an orchestral accompaniment, have been introduced to the Radio audience of the Capital by Daniel Chwalow, conductor of the Hotel Hamilton orchestra, through Station WRC, of Washington. The stories are told by Madge Tucker and are given suitable musical background by orchestral arrangement of folk songs. O. H. Becker, the senior announcer at WGR. Buffalo, has resigned and Kenneth Fickett, who has become well known during the last two years to "WGR fans, is now senior announcer. George C. Hardy is now associated with Mr. Fickett as assistant announcer. Bulwtr Lyttons powerful drama, 'Richelieu," will be broadcast by the KGO players Thursday night, February 25. Wilda Wilson Church will direct si^:een players in the technique of the audio drama defore the microphones. Thousands of old-time songs have been received from all parts of the country by the Crosley Burnt Corkers, an organization of minstrels which broadcasts Tuesday evenings through the WLW station. Many of these songs are used in the hornprogram. A junior Radio club is the latest feature at WBAL, Baltimore. Hazel Knox, who has charge of the children's programs broadcast every Monday and Thursday, will direct the activities. * * Rev. John Edwin Price of the First Universalist church will give a series of ethical studies of the modern drama every Thursday afternoon at 2 p. m. Central time, through WLW, Cincinnati. * * Captain Daddy Long Legs will be in command Friday of the WGP Ship o' Dreams with a wealth of instructive songs and stories for the kiddies. The children of the American Revolution will be passengers to help celebrate Washington's Birthday. At 8 p. m. Eastern time, the Hon. William H. Smathers of Atlantic City will give a patriotic address. * * A departure from the usual dinner concert program introduced by Daniel Chwalow, conductor of the Hotel Hamilton orchestra, is the presentation of movements of the world's greatest symphonies during the dinner hour. The playing recently of Haydn's "Surprise Symphony" as a part of a dinner program brought a greater number of applause cards and letters than any dinner concert program ever broadcast from the capital. * * Parents and teachers will be interested in the lecture, "Poetry in Relation to Childhood," to be given Friday by Mrs. Austin S. Basten, publicity chairman of the Connecticut Congress of Parents and Teachers. This talk is one of a series of educational lectures.