Radio today (Sept 1935-Dec 1936)

"RADIO WILL ELECT THE NEXT PRESIDENT" * An observer who is making a tour throughout the nation studying economic and political conditions, makes the following significant report to his principals : "If one does any great amount of talking with 'dirt-farmers' and the public generally, about the political outlook, he will soon find that the influence of the newspapers and their editorials is a very much over-rated factor in the present-day world. "The fact is that radio has run away with the show in influencing the politics of the public — and from the writer's travels he finds it five-toone in effectiveness. And the group he finds still least conscious of this change, is the newspaper publishers themselves. They are still living in the world of yesterday." TELEVISION-CABLE ROW * After the American Telephone and Telegraph Company had been granted authority by the Federal Communications Commission to lay the much-discussed coaxial cable between New York City and Philadelphia, the company asked for a rehearing because the grant stipulated that the cable must be made available to others for experimental purposes in television. A. T. & T. moved to have testimony of commercial uses of the cable ruled out of the affair, but the FCC said thumbs down, and is hearing evidence on that very angle. CARLOADS FOR RADIO * Radio is now big business and has gotten to the point where its raw materials come in thousandcarload lots. During 1935 the entire radio industry is estimated to have consumed a million miles of wire — enough to reach four times to the moon. Some 1,500 carloads of steel were consumed for receiver chassis and parts. And 3,500 carloads of lumber went into cabinets. The radio-set industry collected roundly $307,000,000 from the American public for receivers and tubes — exclusive of set operating costs, servicing repairs, and broadcasting. Thus the set-and-tube business alone supported some 350,000 people, both direct employees and those occupied in the supply of constituents and raw materials. Howard Briggs of Howard Radio, with Burton Browne, of F B & M, Chicago, — old timers. EXCISE TAX SHOWS 1935 RADIO 25% AHEAD * The official government report of Federal excise taxes collected on sales of radio sets for the first eleven months of 1935 indicates that 1935 sales of the radio industry will be about 25 per cent ahead of 1934. During November, the U. S. Revenue Bureau reports, the 5 per cent radio and phonograph excise tax collections were $571,479.61, an increase of 23.5 per cent over the collections of $462,638.47 during November 1934. This does not include excise taxes on automobile radio which are not separately reported but are included among automobile accessories taxable at 2 per cent. The radio excise tax collections for eleven months ending November 1935, totaled $3,706,420.65, an increase of 25.5 per cent over the similar excise tax collections of $2,952,737.48 for the similar eleven months' period of 1934. SERVICE EXPENSE, 46% + Statistics indicate that radio service men operating recognized servicing establishments or stores all over the United States operate at an expense as high as 46 per cent of total income. Recognizing that the salary of the owner, which is a part of this expense, is on the average less than $1,000 a year, the low prevailing service charges and the definitely limited prices which may be charged for replacement parts when sold, these expense figures are extremely high. They are very much higher than the ratio found in profitably operated maintenance sale organizations. Since a man can work only a definite number of hours each day, that is, if he is to live like a human being, the only means of rectifying the situation is to raise service charges. Proper financial planning and operation calls for an expense not greater than about 30 per cent of the total income, assuming at least $1,500 a year salary for the operator. WHAT WAS SPENT FOR RADIO IN 1935 5,700,000 radio sets, with tubes 39,000,000 tube replacements Electricity and batteries to operate 25,500,000 home sets Repairs and servicing, of sets (minus replacementtube sales) Broadcasting time sold Broadcast talent costs 1935 Total $336,000,000 31.000,000 154,000,000 68,000,000 86,000,000 25,000,000 $700,000,000 Compiled by Ilndlo Today January, 1936