Evening star., 1931-12-27

W,
1891 was a year Of bountiful re-
L turns to broadcasters, continued
development and expansion on
the scientific side, and hard times for
the manufacturers, who were caught
with the whole industrial world in
the throes Of depression.
Manufacturers report sharply re-
duced turnover, due not so much to
the sale OF fewer sets as to the extraor.
dinary trend toward midgets and other
lower-priced models Of receiving equip
ment
Even In broadcasting there was an
uneasy note as the year ended because
OF the growing seriousness OF the row
over methods OF presenting advertising.
The battle against so-called "blah," the
overwhelming of programs with adver-
tising talk on behalf of commercial
sponsors, has reached grave proportions
and may be regarded as one Of the
bigger problems to be solved by the
broadcaSters.
Nevertheless, radio responded during
the year to public demand for different
never before had been offered the pub
lie were presented. Programs rather
generally were shortened and there was
more OF the spoken word in dialogue
and drama, and more of the education
al and cultural offered the audience.
World Hook Ups Common.
Radio donned its seven league boots
IN earnest with hook k-ups to distant
lands almost an everyday occurrence
Pope Plus XI addressed the world via
short-wave relays in dedicating the new
Papal station at Rome. Important con-
ferences and events the world over
were broadcast to the American and
other people. Men In public life, the
reigning heads of the Old World as
well as the presidents of the new,
stepped before the microphone to give
accounts OF their stewardship or to
discuss topics of international signifi-
canoe. Practically every public utter
ance made during the year by Presi-
dent Hoover was carried to the people
via radio.
Celebrities whose names long have
been emblazoned along Broadway's
Roaring Forties yielded to the spell of
the microphone and many have become
regular radio performers. Even the
Metropolitan Opera of New York is
about to go on the air after holding
out against radio for years.
The two national networks Nation
al Broadcasting Co. and Columbia
BroadcaSting System-continued their
neck-and-neck competition for listener
favor and both benefited financially
They probably will show combined
income for the year Of about s35 900 900
realized from the sale of time, as
against $27 100000 in 1890 The latter
figure was an increase of AZ per cent
over 1929 and 80 per cent over 1928
About one-half of the Independently
owned stations also are making money
More Homes Equipped.
A nose count" of radio receivers
made by the Census Bureau in April
1880, as part of the decennial popula-
tion census, computed finally last No
vember, revealed that 12,07s,345 homes
had radio sets when the population
census was taken. Since that date,
nearly two years ago. the industry esti-
mates that some 100000 more re-
ceivers have been sold Thus it is now
estimated that more than half the
homes in the land are radio-equipped
enabling some 65,ooo,oo0 people to join
the radio audience"
Television, destined to be radios next
epochal contribution to mankind, made
notable progress during 1881, but re-
mains in its swaddling clothes. Cap
turing the public's fancy, talk about
visual radio was at high pitch. and
there resulted veritable landruSh fol
televiSion wave lengths. While expert
menters apply themselves in the lab
oratory. however. an army of unscrup-
ulouS television spectators has cropped
up and in many instances is fleeing
unSuSpecting people by selling them
stock in bogus television companies
Fully cognizant of the development
taking place in television. the Federal
Radio Commission has refused to lift
the experimental barrier at this stage
Nearly 80 experimental stations are on
the air with visual pictures. however,
and as many more are seeking author
ity to take to the air. A dozen are
offering talking movies of the air,
synchronizing sight with sound in the
short wave lengths.
High Frequencies Used.
Most significant in television was the
development of the ultra high fire.
quencies, in the range beyond 10000
kilocycles, heretofore regarded as ut
terly useless for visual experimentation.
These frequencies have the character
istics of light beams, and .-lthough
much more research remains to be
done, it seems that they ultimately may
be employed in purely local television
transmission. Line of sight" trans
mission, the engineers call it, which
means that televis:on stations Of the
future may be located atop the tallest
structures of communities so that the
signals may be unobstructed.
Both of the networks have entered
into television experimentation, to r,
prepared to offer service once the
visual art arrives" Columbia trans
mits experimental pictures on nightly
schedule In New York, while N. B. C..
now is installing apparatus atop the
Empire State Building, the worlds
tallest structure. to use these ultra
high or "line of sight" frequencies.
Heeding the cry against over-com-
mercialism in radio, broadcasters have
embarked upon a voluntary campaign
of elimination of flaws in their pro-
grams. They have been warned by
radio leaders in Congress that unless
they put their own house In order
Congress will take hand, and itself
regulate advertising over the air.
Broadcasters have been criticized
from all sides for overriding the COM
mercial end, and there have been de-
mands from certain groups that the
British system of governmentally con-
trolled broadcasting be resorted to
as the only means of correcting this
condition.
Mexican Stations Feared.
Broadcasting IS being harassed
from another side, and one concerning
which the public is not very familiar
Stations cropping up in Mexico are
broadcasting on wave lengths assigned
to American and Canadian stations,
causing serious interference. A dozen
new stations are under construction
and when they take the air, unless
some provision is made, broadcasters
admit that chaos will result on the
wave lengths. Canada. too, is clamor-
ing for more wave lengths. having only
six exclusive and IL shared of one SO
channels available, with the United
States utilizing all of the others
Mexico was not considered at all In
the split-up of broadcasting channels
A new deal Of some kind on the di-
great ca1,tion in acceptinp anv adyer-