Evening star., 1925-09-08
RADIO ANNOUNCER
HAS NO EASY LIFE
Must Act as Prompter, Pinch
hitter, Censor, Life Guard
and Whatnot.
By CARL III. BUTMAN.

Some jobs arc difficult to hold ann
seem to bring nothing but criticism.
For instance, how would you Ike. TO
have been the announcer at WCAP
who had to stop Secretary Hoover
three times during his last nationally
broadcast speech due to defects in the
wire connections between some of the
stations? Imagine stopping the Gar
of the Ether" himself, telling him
that he has to start his talk over
for the fourth time. The genial Sec
retary. however, only said, Gosh.
Just before the switch was thrown.
Perhaps you heard him. too.
Another announcer discovered that
an artist who had been speaking for
several minutes was not on the air
and had to break the news to him.
Fortunately. what that particularly
ternperamenta1 star said didn't get on
the air.
MANY station managers have had to
stop transmission when SOS calls
come In, but, OF course, The reason
a ship in distreSS-always satisfies the
individual at the microphone. and the
fans usually wait patiently for the
continuation. Interruptions and de
lays AT stations seem almost as preya-
lent some nights as the criticisms of
fans. Frequently when an orchestra
and music racks set up. ar the soloist
hasn't the right music, or the accom-.
panist is missing. the announcers de
serve the sympathy of listeners rather
than their censure.
Must Think Quickly.
On occasions where a delay is in
evitable, II is up TO the announcer.
We all know that the passage of
., Fz,, - "a
waiting. tends to make us wonder
whether our sets have gone bad or
the station aerial has blown down.
Unavoidable delays require quick
thinking on the part of the an
nouncer; il he is versatile and can
play an instrument or sing, he us
ually pulls out of the hole quickly.
Perhaps he has A pinchhitter warm.
ing up. Many stations have mem
bers of their staffs or extras who sell
dom go on the air except In emer-
gencies or when "A regular scheduled
artist is prevented from appearing.
However. sometimes lack OF time is
worse than too much. For instance.
President Coolidge was once TO speak
at a given time. but appeared at the
entrance of the auditorium early.
Announcer Graham McNamee of
WCAP had a prepared talk to de-
liver prior to the broadcasting over
a chain of stations of the Presidents
address. This he had to discard inn
mediately and make a brief extern
poraneous Introduction during the
small minute while the President
walked down the aisle to the platform.
Nevertheless. he got by although he
perspired freely during that hectic
moment.
Acts As CenSor
The announcer often has To act as a
censor, standing by AZ the switch 70
cut the speakers words from the air
If for any reason it should be neces-
sary. AT stag banquets guests occa.
sionally forget that their Informal sto-
ries are going on the air TO a mixed
audience After pulling the switch the
announcer may make a quick state
ment himself and caution the speaker.
but this requires very quick action.
When dance music is being broadcast
from a roof garden or a band concert
from a public park patrons and guests
often try 10 crash the mike" so to
speak, as some fans try TO crash the
gate at ball parks. That Is. they try
to call name or a greeting TO some
friend when they are near or passing
in front of tht mike" II the an.
nouncer isn't watching they get awav
with their private broadcasting. Bibu-
lous guests often feel the call 10
broadcast, desiring to tell something
10 the world. Such requests have been
granted sometimes during interrnis.
stons, when the microphone is dead or
cut out. This always pleases the DO
tential orator. sometimes serving to
amuse the other guests. who are usrI.
ally tipped off that the mike" is cut
out.
Although many delays are alwavs
embarrassing. the announcer usually
Is able to handle the situation. Ere
quentIY when stricken with "air
fright the artists turn a pale green
and wabble on their feet as if sun
struck. The versatile and quick
witted announcer holds the aerial
curtain. filling in or stalling the au-
dience along until the performer re.
covers his equilibrium. Once in
Washington a Congressman usually
cool and deliberate and known as
good eXtemporaneous speaker. was
struck with air fright so severely that
he had to hold on to the niCrophone
stand. He trembled so severely that
he actually ratified the mike max.
ing terrible noise Although he
had prepared notes for his first broad
cast, he couldn't seem to use them.
Dropping them. he dashed out of the
studio in a panic. After smoke for
about five minutes he returned and
gave his talk fairly well The an.
nouncer on this occasion nearly went
insane, fearing the speaker would ac-
tuallv collapse, carrying the micro
phone with him.
Many Are Cool
On the other hand. there are folks
in other walks of life who seldom
speak publicly but never turn a hair
when addressing the cold metal mi
crophone. Many high-ranking officers
of the Army and Navy, none of whom
are trained or experienced speakers,
are as cool and collected as on the
battlefield or bridge of warship
Some amateurs seem to possess as
good an ethereal presence" as many
practiced professionals. Strangely
enough, the self-ConsciouS seem TO
get by or through the mike" better
than the more blase. 1t almost seems
as if the more temerity the less sue
cess on the air.
Filling in the intervals of several
minutes caused by delays and missing
features is the announcer's night.
mare. For example, here is a typical
jam. The first speaker, scheduled for
Is minutes, rushes through in 10 min
utes, leaving minutes open. If the
next artist is ready, all the schedule
may be advanced, provided the others
arrive early. Otherwise, the an
nouncer must stall or admit there is
a delay. and ask the fans to stand by
If the orchestra which plays next has
one selection missing, two minutes
more are added to the time to be made
up. 1t begins to look like a bad night
to the announcer and program man
ager Already Z minutes behind the