Evening star., 1934-03-18
TALENT MONOPOLY.
IN GOTHAM DENIED
Best Minds and Performers
in Radio Are Distant
; From Metropolis. 4
BY MARTIN CODEL.

BY MARTIN CODEL.
A NY thought that New York
~ commands Q monopoly, or
n even q near monopoly, of the
better radio talent of the
country Is soon dispelled by
visiting some Of the other broadcast
ing centers Of these United States
The writer has Just concluded such a
tour. and he has returned convinced
that the American radio public "ain't
heard nothin' yet"
Hardly a major radio station In the
country is without its quota Of local
talent. some Of 1t Of big league posi-
bilities. BY big league in radio Is
meant material worthy of national
network broadcastng. As for the divi-
sional branches Of the big networks
such as their studios in Chicago, Los
Angeles and San Francisco, these are
rapidly coming to the forefront with
acts that frequently excel New York's
at its best.
Many Dislike New York.
In radio, as In show business gen.
orally, the mecca for talent has always
been New York. But the fact remains
that some Of the best minds and per-
formers In radio still remain remote
from that metropolis, turning out q
daily grist for local microphones that
IL bound sooner or later to supply q
certain amount Of network material
Some Of these authors and producers
ana performers, not 50 strange to
relate when one visits them in their
comfortable home towns, actually pre-
fer to remain away from the confusing
Whlrlg1g that Is radio in New York
II these Mahomets can't or won't
come to the mountain, then the noun
tain inevitably must move into Their
bailiwicks. Slowly but surely that ID
exactly what Is beginning to happen
In network radio, it is a relatively easy
thing to move the mountain; a simple
swltchover Of the telephone-lin key
board that links the stations does the
trick. It is almost as easy today tc
pick up a network program in Podunk
II not as convenient, as it Is to KEY
it from the main studios In New
York.
Nature imposes an immutable
limitation upon radio in that there
are only about 16 or IT waking hours
which means listening hours in the
day. There are only three nationwide
networks, although several new ones
are aborning and quite few regional
hook-ups are operating. Then, too
the station members of the national
networks sometimes prefer-indeed
all too often for the peace of mind
OF the network executives-to stage
their higher class local programs In
preference to taking network shows.
Pickups Increasing.
The net result Is that the numbe,
of network performances for the
American audience, as a whole. Is
necessarily limited. The show has tc
be good, very good, to go network, >
though many may disagree that this
Is always so.
A perusal Of any evenings network
program nstings will reveal the in
creasing number Of pick-ups from the
divisional branch studios Of the net.
works and from individual membe,
stations. More and more shows are
being fed into transcontinental hook.
ups from any number OF cities.
RADIOS national hits" today aren't
all OF New York origin, any more thar
New York's colony of radio impre.
sartos and performers are all natives
OF New York-not by any means.
II New York has its Philharmonic
SO, TOO, can Philadelphia, Boston
Rochester, Cincinnati, Minneapolis
Cleveland, Dallas, Washington, Seattle
and st. Louis boast of their fine SYM
phonies, more or less regularly heard
locally and sometimes by the national
audience. There may be only one
Frank Black, and he may prefer Il
live In New York, but the Pacific
Coast has its Raymond Paige and
Meredith Wilson, who have few peers
as producers, arrangers and conduc-
tors.
Los Angeles Role Grows.
One Of network radios biggest cur
rent hits is "One Mans Family" the
dialogue act originating in San Fran
cisco. The network vice president who
brought it out confessed to the writer
that the script rested on his desk for
six months before he would chance il
on the air. Perhaps he feared the
critical ears of his New York col
leagues, who, though they and their
talent almost invariably hailed origi-
nally from the hinterland, still find il
hard to comprehend that the radio
sun does not rise and set in Americas
metropolis.
Los Angeles, Of course, Is in q su.
premely strategical position to origt.
nate an increasing number Of net
work shows, and, indeed, Is beginning
to do 50. The great amount Of resi-
dent as well as visiting talent, out in
Hollywood to "do pictures" readily ex.
plains this. II and when television
comes, Hollywood will probably sur.
pass New York as a radio producine
center, for it seems certain that films
for a long time will be the backbone
for any regular schedule of visual
broadcasting.
Out in "the sticks" as yet undis-
covered, are hundreds if not thousands
of talented youths, all with big ideas
and many with real talent, who will
yet be heard from nationally. As in
almost any other field, the path to
radio glory is slow and tortuous and
sometimes discouraging one. Scout
ing has not yet come to be regarded
as important In big league broadcast
ing for the demand has not yet ex-
ceeded the readily available supply.
Radio hits with only q few excep-
tions are short-Hved for the vast
listening audience is tickle and
changeable and diverse in its taste,
But there are plenty of unborn hits
awaiting the national ear. There is
plenty material out In the field,
broadcasting over local stations OF
reginal networks and thus enjoying
very limited audiences, that will sup
ply radios consuming demands for
many o year.