U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1961)

ELECTION QUESTIONS are answered by Eleanor Roosevelt, guest on KMOX St. Louis Af Your Service program, aired four hours daily. Standing is Robert Hyland, gen. mgr.; at left is Jack Buck, announcer. Four-hour block is part of seven-hour talk schedule. 21 Editorializing on radio is gradually becoming a staple of programming content. With the growing emphasis on news and community awareness, many stations are finding that the (diimial is an effective means o£ building leadership and recognition. In a more basic light, the editorial is a way of showing that the radio station is a "thinking organism" of communication. I he radio editorial takes many forms. It is as brief as one minute or as long as 25 minutes. It deals with support lot a fund drive, a local civic problem, a national or international political issue or even the support of candidates running for office. The radio editorial is broadcast once a day, several times a day, once a week, once a month or sometimes only when a station feels that a special issue is raised that demands such treatment. According to a survey of its members by the National Association of Broadcasters, about 60 percent of the radio stations editorialize either occasionally or regularly. The extent of editorializing seems to vary with the size of the station. For example, the NAB survey shows that 71 percent of the small stations editorialize, 59.6 percent of the medium stations do and 48.5 percent of the large stations editorialize. Similarly, there is a great deal of difference among stations regarding the extent of editorializing. Among the small stations responding to the NAB survey, 56.4 percent editorialize occasionally and 14.6 percent regularly; for medium stations, it is 48.1 percent occasionally and 1 1.5 percent regularly, and for large Stations that take on-air stands find they have direct effect on community thinking and action, proving there is such a thing as . . . EDITORIALIZING U. S. RADIO • February 1961