Evening star., 1934-05-07
CONTROL Of RADIO
TO BUILD CULTURE
URGED At PARLEY
TWo-Day Meeting Opens to
Chart Course of Educa-
tionaI Broadcasting.
| H0OK.UP OF COLLEGES
PROPOSED BY SPEAKER
British Methods Commended by
DR.. Jerome Davis of Yale
Divinity School.

Extensive public use Of the radio
under adequate public control as a
means of restoring national culture
through adult education was advo-
Gated today by speakers at the OPEN
ing of a two-day conference called t.
chart a future course Of educational
brOadcasting. y
Creation of National Educational
Radio Commission, appointed by the
President and supported by Federal
tax on the amount of time devoted to
advertising on the radio, was one OF
several alternative remedies suggested
by Dr.. Jerome Davis of the Yale Uni
Versity Divinity School. So long as
public interests" on the air are in
terpreted as commercial interests, he
declared. there can be no hope for the
average college broadcasting station.
About 100 leaders in education, gov
ernment and civic affairs are attend
ing the conference, which was called
by the National Committee on Edu-
cation by radio to consider the gen.
eral subjects of "the use of radio as
cultural agency in a Democracy"
DR.. George F. Zook, United States
commissioner of education, presided
at the opening sessions in the audi
torium Of the Interior Department
Building
College professors may sign as
brain trusters,' but the part of the
radio educator has not been their star
role. according to another speaker,
James A. Meyer, State director of
university extension. Massachusetts,
Department of Education.
"On their doorstep may be laid
much of the blame for the failure of
educating broadcasting to hold its
own with commercial radio enter
tainment in this country" he said.
Like DR.. Davis, he claimed educa-
ton by radio should be the objective
of national planning, and not the in
cldental by-products of private enter
prise. "A great stride forward" he
said, would be to place more re-
SponSibility for such educational
broadcasts upon Librarians, newspaper
men, magazine editors public officials
and professional artists of the stage
and concert hall"
Dr.. Davis believes the British sys-
TEN of radio control is preferable to
that of the United States If it is
possible to change our present system
as radically as the British set-up
would involve, he suggested alterna-
tives. He said it would be possible for
the Federal Government to set up a
fund to duplicate money advanced by
individual States. so that each State
might have a State-owned station
with leased wires to every college in
its territory Commercial or other sta
tions, he said, could then tap in to
provide wider distribution.
"A less radical alternative would be
to have the Federal Government tax
the amount Of time devoted to adver-
tiSing on the radio" he said. Each
advertiser might be permitted to state
the name of his company and use four
additional words to mention his prod
uct without charge" he explained.
Any additional advertising time from
80 seconds to ! minute, he suggested,
should be taxed at the rate of 25 per
cent of the total paid by the adver-
tiser to the broadcaSting company for
periods in excess of this suggested
evaluated scale.
Other speakers at the opening ses-
sion included Dean Thomas E. Benner,
College of Education, University of
Illinois: Harold B. McCarty, Di-
rector w. H. A., Wisconsin State
Station, Madison, and Joy Elmer
Morgan. Chairman Of the National
Committee on Education by Radio and
editor of the Journal of the National
Education Association.
Mr.. Morgan and members Of the
committee entertained the delegates
at luncheon in the Cosmos Club.
Sessions will be continued this
afternoon at which Hector Charles
worth, Chairman of the Canadian
Radio Broadcasting Commission, will
be one of the principal speakers. DR..
George F. Bowerman, librarian of the
Washington Public Library, also is
scheduled to speak Tonight's Ses-
sion will be devoted to round table
discussions of various phases of radio
education.