Evening star., 1924-12-14
BETTER PROGRAMS
HELD ESSENTIAL
Radio Stations Declared Too
Prone to "HoId Air" Re-
gardIess of Poor Features.
BY CARL III. BUTMAN.


Better and shorter broadcast pro-
grams is likely to be the slogan of
the radio public for 1925. Unless
broadcasting stations undertake to
weed out amateurish and mediocre
features and eliminate propaganda
and publicity, their diminishing audi
ences may drop off to a minimum of
a few hundred souls a station.
The average radio set owner hates
TO complain publicly, SO the writer
is disposed to take up the cause of
the people, who. after all, are the real
hackers of the radio industry. An in
vestment, of almost a million dollars
a day In radio apparatus entities the
people of radio land to voice. The
only reason for broadcasttng is to
create good will and a demand for
receiving sets. Furthermore, radio
broadcasting has been deemed a
public utility.
AS spokesman for the people,
therefore, the writer files the follow
Ing brief:
A year or two ago popular stations
received hundreds of letters and tele-
grams of appreciation day, but to-
day some station managers admit they
feel ela'ed il they get ten or a dozen
communications. Only new and ex-
ceptionaI features elicit anything like
the hearty responses of the days OF
yore-searcely year ago.
Find Long Programs TiresOmc.
Either one of two things is happen
Ing: The listener-in is becoming ter
ribly blasc or the programs are de-
teriorating. However, it is more
probable that the real answer Is
both Nearly every fan who has
been listening in for year has
overcome the first enthusiasm of
holding anything he can pick up.
While there are few "DX hounds
left, most of US prefer to get spe-
cial feature scheduled for certain
time or hunt until we find something
exceptionally good. Several of my
friends find it more difficult TO select
good entertaining programs. One of
my counselorS says he has to search
farther afield each time he listens in.
Another says he often quits in dis
gust after trying 10 or Is stations
for some good music or features be-
fore he retires for the night.
This does not apply to all the 53S
stations, but it does apply TO the ma
jority, and even to many of the class
lS stations A few of the old-timers
seem able to retain their popularity.
This is partly due to their long
established regulations or because
they put on unique features and re-
tain excellent performers. Good or
chestras, quartetS and stars VINO pos
sess personality continue to hold the
fans and the dials are not shifted
But when a station tries to put on
continuous show for four or five
hours every night, its particular cir
Gle of auditors begins to drop OH.
Some such stations in an effort to
hold the air run in regular pluggers
whose selections are not appropriate
or have become a bore. Such pro-
grams smack of amateur theatricals
or the old chaser acts put in variety
programs TO clear the house. We
walk out on old and trite vaudeville
acts and we tune out poor radio pro-
grams.
Vaudeville shows Short.
The vaudeville houses know that
they cannot get enough stars or good
acts TO hold their audiences five or
six hours, SO they cut their programs
to two and Il half or three hours.
Broadcasters might do well to pat
tern after the theatrical professionals
who have been in the game long
time and know what is what IN en-
tertainmeut programs. Theatrical
producers would go bankrupt if they
followed radio broadcast methods.
The cutting of the evening pro-
grams to two or three hours on one
or two nights Il week would make
additional friends for. broadcast
transmitters. 1t would enable hun
dreds and perhaps thousands OF local
fans to visit among the more distant
stations, many OF which are .impossi-
BILE to select when powerful local Is
on in the air. In some cities when
the locals Quit early the delight of
the listeners with less selectfve sets
IS supreme.
1t is not believed that. crystal-set
owners listen in continually every
night, and it is felt few often would
complain if programs were curtailed.
If programs are not improved fans
ask why they cannot be curtailed
or split with an intermission of about
an hour at least twice a week. When
three or four stations are forced
20 use the same wave length, as is
likely to be the case soon, due to the
number of stations contemplated,
this would aid in decreasing inter-
ference at least part of the time. In
nearly every locality a breathing
spell" would be appreciated, since
many listeners get 'fed-up" on local
stuff.
A number of fans claim that pow
erful stations are broadcasting purely
local matter of no interest except
within a radius of about a hundred