Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-13
"Grahan1


inces that the tank melo-
drama Aourished and the more sophis-
ticated plays usually were confined to
the larger cities. John Drew's pleas
antries were all right for the big cities,
but nobody ever thought of sending out
his kind OF a play to the farming
districts.
Not SO with radio. It recognizes no
di' iding line. Here's the formation of
an agricultural network by the Ma
tional Broadcasting Co, to reach 7,000,-
600 farmers. Will they key down"
their programs for farm consumption,
as the transformers used to do? Net
at all The farmers will get the same
kind of eatertainment-snapp modern
music, up-te- ths-ninute humor and, in
short, all the best that radio has to
offer. While they will also put on eco
monte and political talks of special in
terest to the farms, there has been no
reason to discriminate between rural
and urban taste as to what constitutes
good entertainment.
The comic supplement "hick" passed
a long time ago. Most of the gold
bricks are now sold by New Workers TO
other New Workers. National manufae-
turing enterprises have levaled stand
ards in clothes, furniture and interior
decoration until the differences in sp-
pearance and in living appointmei is
between city and country jewellers has
been entirely swept away. Radio now
takes the lead in the final national
graduation exercises in the arts. Amer
lea grows up and the last vestiges of
seetionalism pass.
I have letter from an old-timer in
vaudeville complaining that many of
the stars in the radio world are sneak
ing in under the tent; that they never
served the long, hard apprenticeship on
the stage which should have prefaced
their appearance before the micro
phone; that a lot of "nobodies'' are
getting on the air.
While have much sympathy for my
correspondents point of view, disagree
with him. There are many excellent
stage artists whose work is not suitable
for radio. 1t has been necessary for
the broadcasting industry 20 develop
vast amount of specialized talent, and
incidentally In this process new reputa-
tons have been made which began and
continue entirely in the radio world.
This has been particularly true in the
later years. In its opening stages radio
was compelled to draw upon any source
available for artists. Naturally the the
alter and the concert stage and TIN
Pan Alley" supplied them.
But after the passing of about eight
years we find two new circumstances.
One is increasing public demands Oh
the radio, with better and more diver
sified taste. and the other is the ar
rival of a flock of clever young people
who find the radio the quickest and
best means Of getting on the map,
without spending years in building rep
utations in other fields. Since there is
radio demand for their kind of art
q
be foolish to bar them out because they
are not national Names The colleges
have poured host of gifted musicians
into radio work. AS undergraduates
they have played in college bands or
orehestras and there is a reservoir of
splendid talent among them. The
name" end of it comes quickly enough
after they get on the air. OF course
radio is building new regulations. and
there is no reason why 1t shouldn't.
Some of our correspondents seem to
think that radio broadeasting has done
its job too quickly and too we'll" They
fear that We are approaching the
saturation point, and that soon there
will be no room for improvement
either in quantity or quality Of pro-
grams.
Personally, am not worried.
Quantity is, of course, no problem. We
now shove out all the air will hold and
that's all We can ever do. AS to quail
ity, while the industry is proud of the
steady improvements which have been
made and which are being made in
programs, no one is more ready to
admit than those in the industry that
there is endless room for improvement.
To say that we are nearing a point
Of saturatlon is equivalent TO saying
that architecture or painting may yet
glut the world with to much good stun.
While public taste changes, its level Is
generally upward and there can be no
let-down in meeting the artistic de-
mands of population as vast and alert
and sophisticated rs ours. The educa-
tional field is vast sea into which
radio may venture as far as public de-
mand justifies. There is wide open the
field for sound interpretive comment
on events There always will be re-
quirements for brilliant radio reporting
of great events. And, in my opinion,
the radio drama, of which ] previously
have written, introduces q new art
which will keep the best artists in this
technique busy for years to come. AS
see it, we are just beginning, and the
saturatioh point will be reached about
the time the moon slows down and
sideswipes the earth.
Rroadcasting companies are finding
widespread and increasing interest in
aviation and there Is an increasing
number of aviation talks on the air.
Aviation and radio have come along
naturally together and radio fits In
nicely with aviation in more ways than