Evening star., 1933-08-20
RADIO \. R. A. CODE
MAYBE DEPARTURE
Combining News, TheatricaIs
and Engineering Makes
Industry Unique.

YITH the N. r. A. Blue Eagle
in full possession Of the
wv radio waves. carrying to the
Nation the appeal to Join up
In the recovery campaign,
the men behind the guns in broad.
casting are engrossed in the task OF
drafting q code of fair competition to
govern themselves.
UNIQUE as q industry because 1t Is
q hybrid Of the theatrical, newspaper
and engineering professions, broadcast
ing's code Of fair competition probably
viii be a radical departure from the
ordinary run Of codes filed with
n. R. A. Another confusing factor
grows out of the licensing Of radio
stations by Congress through the Fed
eral Radio Commission. Consequently,
there must be no conflict Of authority
as between N. r. A. and the commits
sion.
Through the National Association
Of Broadcasters, the industry Is draft
ing q tentative code. The objective IS
to get the code In the hands Of N. r.
A. within q fortnight and to have the
cepted promptly as substitutes for the
Presidents blanket agreement, which
most stations already have signed.
Then the matter Of rewriting other
provisions of the code will be under
taken through regular N. r. A. chan
nels.
Labor Wage Provisions.
Artists, it seems apparent. will not
fall within the labor and wage pro-
visions Of the code. Clerical forces
will. The debatable questions arise
about the status of station engineers
fhA {e
SION requires that full-time stations
operate minimum Of IL hours q
day, and since most stations are on
the air II or 18 hours, 1t Is felt that
operators may be classified as pro-
fessional men whose specialized field
Of activity makes it essential for them
to work longer than the hours pre-
ocribed for workers In other industries.
The announcer presents q compar-
able problem. Broadcasters feel that
he should be classified along with the
newspaper reporter and be exempted
from both the wage and labor provis-
ions. This matter, of course, remains
to be settled by N. r. A. after the
code is completed, but it Is apparent
that radio will have to increase its
engineering and announcerial staffs
to conform with N. r. A.
Quesdonnaire Sent Out
As q nucleus for its code, the trade
association sent to all stations q de-
tailed QUESTIONABLE. Returns from some
200 stations indicate that the Presi-
dents unemployment agreement does
not work any undue hardship on the
industry as a whole. It also indicates
that a 48-hour week will be satisfac-
tory to virtually all stations, and that
few deviations from the blanket code
will be necessary in that regard.
Broadcasters are watching the codes
Of related industries with nearly as
great an interest as their own. Hold
ing their principal attention is the code
of the music publishers, already sub
mitted. Radio stations have been in
1ncessent controversy with the music
copyright owners over the payment of
royalties for the right to perform music
over the air It Is likely that this
matter will be brought into at least
one of the several music code hearings.
The music code filed by the Music
Publishers Protective Association, rep
resenting leading publishers Of popu-
lar music, proposes an absolute ban on
song plugging" over the air and by
other entertainment media. It would
brand as unfair competition any act
by publisher designed to curry favor
with a performer to have him plug"
a particular composition on the radio.
Such activity now is commonly pur-
sued at the leading radio studios and
has been condemned also by broad
casters.