Radio and television mirror (Jan-June 1950)

RADIO MIRROR Each Spring, one entire issue of the magazine is devoted to Radio Mirror's yearly polling of reader-listeners to determine which radio — and now, television — -stars and programs you like best, listen to most often. Here, in this issue, are the results of your voting in the annual Radio Mirror Awards. The Radio Mirror Awards are the only system of voting, on a nation-wide scale, by listeners — Awards now being made are a result of ballots printed last Fall in the magazine, filled in by you, returned to Radio MlRROR for tabulating. No prejudices or special criticisms can color the results, as might be possible in a poll of radio editors or critics, for example. You, the listeners, have no axe to grind, no commitments to fulfill, no fear of treading on important toes. All you care about is getting good entertainment when you turn on your radio and television sets. The Radio Mirror Awards balloting gives you an opportunity, each year, to tell the largest national radio magazine — and through it the networks, the producers, the writers, the advertising agencies and others responsible for what you see and hear on radio and TV — how you feel about the programs and the players currently on the air. It is your chance to make your voice heard, to make your opinions felt, in this big business of radio and television — where, perhaps, one voice might be lost, but many raised together, can carry impressively far! You will find, as you look through the following pages at the results of your voting, that many old favorites are still in the top-ranking spots; that other long-time winners are missing this year; that there are many newcomers, especially in the field of television. There are many new categories, too, never before included in Radio Mirror Awards ballots, because those programs and stars could not be seen and heard, as short a time ago as last year, by the maj ority of you. Television has made amazingly impressive strides during this past listening season and those strides are reflected in a larger number of television categories in the Awards, a larger number of voters for television shows and personalities. How do your preferences in radio and television entertainment compare with those of the majority of reader-listeners as reflected in the Award-winning players and programs listed on the following pages? Now you can see how your tastes are like to, or different from, those of the general listening and viewing public, see what shows and performers you're most likely to find on the air for a good while to come. Throughout this month, you will hear and see Radio Mirror editors making the Awards presentations in person on many of the programs you voted your favorites. Be sure to watch the winning programs for these appearances— after all it is really you, and not the editors, who should be making the presentations, for it is you who have made them possible. The voting in this Radio Mirror Awards balloting was by far the largest since the poll was instituted. The editors like to believe that' this always-increasing upward trend in the voting indicates that reader-listeners are taking, each year, a more active interest in making known their listening likes and dislikes — which indicates, in turn, the probability of better entertainment for you each year. Thank you for your comments, for your continued interest in these, your Radio Mirror Awards. —THE EDITORS 29