Evening star., 1934-05-06

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would like to take over their rad
1t is an unusual situation for radio,
which heretofore has suffered more
or less consistent Summer letdowns.
These were due to the fact that spon-
sors were convinced their audiences
diminished during the hot months
because of vacations and the usual
seasonal lures away from the home.
This year the tremendous, sale of
auto radios, running at the rate of
more than 100000 month and add
ed to the 100000 auto sets sold last
year. is contributing to change their
attitude.
Few Stars Leave Air.
A few stellar microphine perform
ers, to be sure, have left or are
leaving the air. Will Rogers and Ed
die Cantor are examples. But their
decision from their own points of
view may be discreet, on the theory
that they do not want to overstay
their welcome and can return after
their Hollywood work fresh with new
ideas and new material. Nor have
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instead. they have substituted these
stars with others on the same periods.
Even those radio stars who go to
Hollywood are holding their radio
time in a great many cases. The
reason that Burns and Allen and
Bing Crosby and Ben Bernie can
continue from the West Coast is that
the telephone line links that connect
chain broadcasting stations can be
switched over at an instant's notice
from one coast to the other. Indeed,
Hollywood is more and more coming
into its own as an originating point
for major network programs.
Radios consuming pace, swallow
ing up as it does so many artists and
programs, accordingly appears to be
in a fair way to continuing this Sum-
mer. Whittier it will lead, no one can
foretell The radio impresarios, and
especially the sponsors, appear to be
the least bit concerned for they have
already started sending their scouts"
out among the station studios, and
even abroad, in quests for new tai
ent Their discoveries ought to lend
much toward an even more variega-
ted program schedule this Fall and
Winter.
Invited to Studios.
One of the interesting movements
in radio during the last few weeks
has been the attempt of the broad
casters particularly one network, to
get into closer intimacy with its aud
ience. The N. B. G. in New York has
been dealing out questionnaires to the
several thousand people who visit its
studios daily to watch radio pres
entations, asking them to pass their
opinions on radio programs severally
and individually.
you've often wished" the ques-
tionaires state, that you could tell
the people who make radio programs
what's the matter with them. And
we've often wished you would tell us.
An occasional letter doesn't help
much-but if lot of you would give
us your answers to specific questions,
then we'd come nearer to knowing
what the public wants" Then the
blanks ask about program preferences,
whether certain morning programs
are desired, what types of programs
are most acceptable to parents,
whether the signer has an all-wave
or auto radio, whether he intends lis
tening during the Summer vacation,
etc
The real purpose is to come nearer
10 satisfying the public's wants, thus
satisfying the objections of many
people to certain of the broadcasts
now being offered. It is peculiar to
radio that, unlike a periodical, it can
not add pages to accommodate addi-
tional sponsors. Therefore it must
make the most of the II or 18 wax
Ing hours of the day that are avail
able. With time at premium, the
feeling is that the broadcasters can
and will pick and choose their pres
entations more carefully than in the
high pressure sales era of the past
Prosperity within the broadcasting in
dustry, which appears well on the way
to realization, thus may mean more
carefully selected and better program
offerings.
A SQUAD of perambulating wave
"A wobble" checkers - instruments
which are accurate to two parts
In ,0O0-soon will begin patroll-
ing their ethereal beats for Uncle
Sam to monitor the technical opera
tion of all broadcasting stations.
Designed to reverse the order of
present monitoring operations main
tanned by the Government as a means
of minimizing interference between
stations, these new instruments will
be mounted in radio patrol cars,
which cruise about the country for
the Federal Radio Commission as the
raoio police At present the COM
mission checks the extent of wave
wobble" of stations. and resultant in
reference, by having its permanent
monitoring stations measure" them
at predetermined intervals. In order
to "clear the air" for s,Ich tests all