Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-06
@HE guns of the radio fault
finders have finally shifted
from the parlor sopranos.

finders have finally shifted
| from the parlor sopranos
the announcerS that SWal-
low their Adams apple, owners OF
"blooper" or regenerative sets, the
new wavelength ALLEGATIONS and
what not, and are now being
trained on the commercial pro-
gram.
From time to time in the past
direct advertising by radio has
been denounced by various organ
iZatlonS and some listeners, but
now there appears to be we'll
organized and determined move
ment underway to have Congress
step in, when it again turns at
tention to the nations broadcast
| ing problems, and remove this So
called curse from a great art and
public service.
The Federal Radio Commission,
amid all of it's other troubles, has
given considerable thought to the
increasing tendency of broadcast
ing stations to saturate the air
with advertising. The commits
sion, however, has no power to
censor programs, so it must pro-
coed cautiously in attempting to
write any regulation on this sub
ject.
It is manifest, the commission
recognizes, that broadcaSterS must
resort to some form of advertising
to obtain revenue for the oDer-
alton of their stations. On the
other hand, the commission also
believes, it Is equally manifest that
their advertising must not be Of
a nature such as to destroy or
harm the benefit to which the
public is entitled from the proper
use of the broadcast channels.
Members of the commission call
attention to the fact that in some
localities where direct advertising
has assumed substantial proper
tons the stations apparently have
the support of a majority of lis
tenerS. In the first ALLEGATION
these stations were given limited
facilities. Hearings held at their
request, it was pointed out, result
ed in a mass Of evidence which
seemed to show that the public
favored direct advertising by radio
of certain products, particularly
those for farm consumption.
These people were of the opinion
that there were economic advan-
tages in this method.
X X x
While the most recent attacks
on the commercial program have
come from various sections of the
country, the most vigorous ema-
mated from New York. Perhaps this
is due to the fact that New York is
one of the leading broadcaSting
centers and its large group Of sta
tionS keeps the air filled almost
continuously with firm names and
the products they either sell or
manufacture.
One New York writer, John
Douglas Gordon. gave vent to his
feelings in a half column of one
of the metropolitan dailies. PERTH
nent extracts from his opinion
follow:
History has repeated itself and
we find selfish and malign in
f1uenceS prostituting this great art
to sordid personal gain regardless
of who is affected. The COM
mercial program that could serve
it's double purpose admirably has
in many instances grown braZenly
imprudent and insolent in its poor
drivel of maudlin advertising.
With this it punctuates the
phrases of the orator, with this it
devaStates the gorgeous harmo-
MES of masters of music, and, like
all selfiShnesS, it has grown so bold
that it defeats its own purpose.
$50 far has this gone that even
the printed programs sent to the