Evening star., 1925-01-29
CENSOR|NG RADIO
IN PUBLIC INTEREST
Station Director Must Bear
in Mind Young Children
Are Listening.
BY LANES III. COLLINS.

| When a publisher prints an authors
| hook or an editor accepts his article
! for magazine or newspaper, what
| the author has to say is backed by
/ the character of the publisheR or
the periodical. On that account, pub, :.
| fishers and editors are careful about
| the company they keep-and it is
| exactly the same with the broadcast
! Ing station.
| The extremist advocate or free
speech points to Hyde Park. in Lon
! don, wher the most radical opinions
| may be uttered freely. Even anarchy
treason and blasphemy are tolerated"
/ says the opponent of censorship, be
cause the Britisher knows that dam
gerous opinions become harmless
! when they find safety valve.
quite So" admit the directors of
| the big broadcastins stations. But
YOU don't take your family to
Hyde Park and let them hear such
rant. The Hyde Park crank cannot
enter your home and voice his opin-
ions. The broadcasting station isn't
safety valve for anybody 1t has
probably the most extensive audi
ence in the world, not simply in num-
bers, but in range of ages.
Young Children Listen.
Children too young to read listen
in on the radio every days. and young
people whose minds are being formed.
The manager OF a ,broadcasting sta
ton is virtually the head OF "A great
family, and must guard its members
against evil influences that are bar
red from the home when they try
to enter through other channels"
Viewing his responsibility in that
way, the station director has the un-
welcome task of deciding what is fl
to go out into the ether and what
shall be suppressed.
Despite his powers, the broadcast
ing director has thus far been toll
Grant
The station director seldom finds it
necessary to interrupt a speaker in
actual delivery. because his power Of
censorship is exercised beforehand. 1t
is customary at the big eastern sta
tions to ask speakers for written
script OF their talks and 10 require
that they read this script into the
microphone instead OF speaking eN-
tempore.
Effort TO Insure Accuracy.
Censorship is exercised not only in
striking out statements that seem to
be offensive. but technical talks are
also submitted to eXperts-that is,
the script of a speaker giving advice
about investments night be submit
ted to responsible persons in the i'm
vestment banking business. who
would pass upon the soundness of
the speakers counsel and his person
al standing in the investment field.
However, this supervision makes
more for accuracy and responsibility
than for the censoring of improper
material. The station director is try
ing TO get quality in his program
rather than TO keep questionable views
off the air.
There is another side to station
censorship indicating that, if radio
is to have a censor, the station di-
rector doesn't banker for the job
In fact. he is already lodging it by
seeking program events that censor
themselves.
year or two ago the radio pro-
gram was made up almost entirely
of studio numbers. Today the trend
delivered in auditoriums, banquets
ported from field and ringside, i'm
and the like. In broadcaSting these
events the director automatically
steps out from under. He is no long
er a publisher, passing upon the Mt
ness of what others say, but simply
reporter letting his audience hear
what is said and fastening responsi-
bility on those who say ii.
And he finds the radio audience
with him overwhelmingly.
Copyright, 1925, Popular Radio. Inc)