Evening star., 1927-04-03
Will the Vogue for Radio Continue?

The much discussed talks and debates ano
are, we discover. merely spoken maya
zine matter; they can be far more enectiVely
studied in magazine itself. where diagrams
and illustrations can be used in conjunction
with them. The number of people who nave
never learned to read or who are too lazy TO
read and yet intellectually active enough to be
interested by serious" topics when they are
vocalized must be very small indeed. DOUBT
II such people really follow what they are hear
ing book is the only adequate vehicle for
modern thought and discussion and for the
conveyance of exact knowledge. Between its
pages there is no censorship and no interrupt
ing by official. Litera scripta manet.
*% 4 n
AS medium for advertisement. again broad
casting suffers from the disadvantage that
every turns off the noise as soon as an ad-
vertisement begins The bawling OF loud SPEAK
ers, as / have heard it in the streets of some
French towns, is so obviously disconcertng to
traffic that 1t is bound to be suppressed by
legislation.
In all these matters broadcasting Is an in
ferior substitute for better systems of trans
mtting news and evoking sound. Upon what
is known technically humorous entertain
ment' will be gently silent. "Radio drama"
in which you cannot see faces nor gestures OF
actors the scene in which they play, is a
new and useful art if only because 1t teaches
us what life must be for the blind. Listening
for cuckoos which may perchance be cuckooing
to lions that may obge by roaring near the
listening microphone, such like noises Of
nature, must be difficult to arrange and unat-
tractive frequent amusement There re-
main only certain possible uses of broadcasting
for the blind, lonely and suffering people. To
those ! will return.
Most of US have been drawn sooner or later
into possession of form of receiving ap-
he interesting
just how many of these sets of apparatus sold
still in In Great Britain, where broad
casting has been centrally organized and where
there is one national licensing system, 1t should
not be difficult presently to determine the aver
age life of a broadcast listener. / am inclined
to suspect that very large proportion Of the
sets sent out since the beginning must already
be broken up or out of order. And that the
life of the ordinary listener is so brief that
there may soon be a grave dearth of listeners.
But that may be because cannot imagine
myself a patient listener, even for day, and
/ am still more at loss to imagine any sort
of person becoming addicted to listening in as
a frequent entertainment. Other people may
be less restless. / quite understand the stage
of inauguration and the eagerness and initial
delight of new toy. And afterward there may
be kind of struggle to keep on with the thing
that began with so much hope and has given
SO much trouble. But sooner or later boredom
and disappointment with these poor torrents OF
insignificant sounds must Are there,
indeed, any indefatigabie listeners who have
stuck to this amusement, say, to the extent
of one night a fortnight since the beginning?
If so, think they are probably very sedentary
persons living in badly lighted houses or other
wise unable to read. who have never realized
the possibilities of the gramophone and the
pianola and who have capacity nor oppor-
tunity for thought or conversation.
The rest Of the available population is, /
should imagine, passing rapidly through the
listener stage from enterprise to disillusion
ment When they have flowed past, then
suggest that the whole broadcasting Industry
will begin to dry up. The British government
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