Evening star., 1932-01-31
Behind the MicrOphOne

improvement over the control"
group. If the London experiment
gives sufficiently valuable results,
a further investigation covering
the whole country may be ar
ranged.
A feature of British educators
work in connection with broad
casts to schools has been the ex-
tensive use of the new German
recording apparatus, known as
the "Blatterphone." With this
device an entire Commute talk
can be preserved on a magnetized
steel tape and reproduced when
desired. This invention has been
used by speakers and by members
of the B. B. c. staff for recordings
for later additions.
"a very special technique" re-
ports the B. B. c., lis required
for broadcast lessons to schools
and by means of the Blatter-
phone speakers are able to hear
and correct their own defects far
more easily than hitherto. Fur
thermore, a speaker is able to
visit a school while his talk is
being broadcast and watch the
effect of his broadcast person.
atty on the listening class, the
children being unaware that the
speaker is actually in the room
with them and not in the studio.
Such visits have repeatedly been
made during the past year and
as a result the technique Of
speakers has been very consider
ably improved"
The B. B. c. imposes no pro-
hibitionS, such as do the Ameri-
can networks, upon the broad
casting of recorded programs,
whether from the "Blatterphone"
steel tape or from ordinary
phonograph records. When rec
ordS are broadcast, due credit is
also given their manufacturers,
which has often been construed
as a form of commercialism along
American sponsorship lines. The
B. B. c. also makes it practice to
record speeches by notables on the
"Blatterphone" so that they can
be repeated at will, and is thus
building up a great library Of
recorded broadcaStS.
| X u 4
THE tremendous popular inter
L est in public affairs that pre-
walls at this time, when the po-
litical parties are sparring for
position for the forthcoming ma
tional elections, is reflected by
the exceptionally large networks
subscribing to the several current
events broadcasts from Washing
ton. With william Hard of N. B. c.
and Frederic William Vile of c. B.
S. gone to Geneva to "cover" the
Disarmament Conference, various
Washington correspondents are
going on the air in their stead
to review current developments.
Most striking, however, has
been tn popular acceptance of
the National Radio Forum, which
recently switched from G. B. S. to
N. B. C. and is being heard under
the auspices of The Washington
Star for a half hour every Monday
night. 1t brings national notables
before the miCrophone and more
than SO N. B. c. stations are carry
ing the program.
Ordinarily, programs of this
character, which may be accepted
or rejected by network station
members at their own discretion,
are regarded as successes If they
have 20 to 80 stations.
y X X
president HOOVER heads the
L most elaborate single series
of programs ever planned for
radio, being arranged by the Ma
tional Broadcasting Co. in cele-
bration of the 200th birthday an
niversary of George Washington.
There will be % celebrations
put on the air between February
% and Thanksgiving day-the Of
fetal period of commemoration
as decreed by the George Wash
ington Bicentennial Commission.
From the halls of Congress, the
Capitol grounds and every i'm
portant shrine revered in Wash
ington's memory, the celebrations
will be broadcast.