Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-24
SHORTER RADIO
PROGRAMS seen
Main Trend Toward Ora.
matte Sketches and Kin.
ship With Stage.
BY MARTIN CoDEL.


More 15-rinute programs, an In
creastne number of dramatic sketches
ana o closer kinship with stage and
screen are the main trends currently
perceptible T. radio broadcasting as a
whole
That the radio audience likes serial
features in short daily doses has become
more and more evident ever since AL
bert Lasker a year ago took a flyer
with Amos n Andy on the network
daily except Sunday, with what success
every one knows. One-hour programs,
once the rule, are now exceptions on
networks and single stations alike, and
the sponsors of many weekly features
are considering shortening their periods
and buying time for them three or six
days q week.
Offer More Variety.
Even the half-hour programs are
yielding to the quarter hour, with the
result that chains and stations are
Offering their audiences more variety.
And the keen competition for listener
attention to f1rst-rate features running
simultaneously on rival stations is caus-
irIg the radio audience no small amount
OF botheratton tuning from one station
to another, while raising the hopes Of
the promoters of CLOCK tuning who
propose this season to market an auto
matte dialing device to relieve the lis
tener OF that trouble.
Dramatic sketches and dialogue are
crowding for time on the networks, cut
ting down the preponderance of music
that has dominated the air since broad
casting began. The author Of dramatic
scripts Tor the radio, especially those of
the thriller variety Is coming into his
ow~, and 1t will not be surprising to
find authors and publishers selling radio
rights to best sellers soon, Just as they
now dispose Of motion picture rights.
What Will be radios next big hit?
New Feature" Clicks.
It is not given to any one person to
say, but national radios latest big hit
seems to have been scored by "Uncle
Abe and David" who in a very few
weeks have clicked" as only rural
folk stuff" seems to be able to take with
the masses. The Maine pair bid fair to
become the rivals of Amos n Andy as
the most popular feature on the air.
Like Amos n Andy, they have to
broadcast twice each evening to reach
audiences separated by the time zones.
Nor does it hurt them to appear dur
ing the l. minutes Immediately preced-
ing Amos N Andy on the Eastern net
work, just as Phil Cook is aided in
gaining big audience by following
shortly after the blackface pair. 1t is
significant to note that Phil Cook also
takes on rural character to Iyut his
une-n1an radio act across.
The sponsors Of Uncle Abe and David
are making one grave mistake, however
in antagonizing their audiences by con-
Stunning so much time with little
speeches by their executives, who more
6oxy v,cr1,-
phone personalities. Under the Ameri-
can system no one can begrucge the
sponsor his need of commercial results
from radio, but these talks might far
better be incorporated in the an
I1ouncer's introduction and conclusion,
as Is done in the case Of Amos n Andy.
"WhoOps Sisters"
Against the early evening time occu-
pied on the N. B. G. by Uncle Abe and
David for the Eastern audience Colum-
loia is Offering Peter Amos ''Whoops
Sisters" and as q counter attraction
10 Amos n Andy Columbia stages the
Crockett Mountaineers. This strategy
Is of doubtful value to Columbia, &C.
cording to some critics, who also see
Columbia descending from its normal
high quality level in carrying Evange-
line Adams astrological talks. The
idIb6T, however, are ucdEu OVSI OtA4y
about dozen stations.
While many of their broadcasting
colleagues are going into vaudeville to
exploit their radio regulations, Amos
n Andy are now busily engaged in
making their talking motion picture In
Hollywood. Despite the theory fire.
quently advanced In radio ircles that
this picture will either make or break
Amos n Andy, their commercial spon-
sorS have confidence enough in their
continued popularity to have signed the
pair to a new flve-year contract. There
seems to be some foundation for the
theory that Amos n Andy will dispel
the illusion they have created vocally
when they seek to satisfy the visual
sense also by their screen appearance,
scheduled for this Winter.
New features are being added almost
weekly by the networks, and 1t is sig
nificant to note that they are prepon-
derantly of the dialogue variety. Two
features on individual stations that give
much promise of graduating TO one or
the other of the chains soon are Gene
a. d Glenn (Jake and Lena), who have
scored a tremendous hit over WTAM,
Cleveland, and H. L. McMurray
CUncle Remus), who has been winning
countless children over by his adapta-
lions of the Joel Chandler Harris rab-
bit and other animal tales over WQAM,