Evening star., 1936-08-23

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participate. An example is the inti-s
mate unraveling of personal and fam
lly miseries in the Good Will Court"
which on September 20 will go on
Nation wide N. B. Cred network in
the spot formerly occupied by Maj.
Bowes' amateur hour, which on Sep
tember II shifts over to Thursday
nights on c. B. S. Although started
D couple of years ago in New York,
the Good Will Court remained
local Gotham feature until a few
months ago, when it was given East
Coast circulation on group of smaller
stations.
nELICATE handling and careful
selection are needed to keep this
program, delving as it does into some
times drab and always intimate per-
sonal affairs, from getting out of con-
troll, but the originators have been
Lowing nice judgment in their con-
6act of the feature. The gripping in
terest of private troubles as they are
unfolded from the heart before the
microphone, by those who belong to
the troubles is an admitted audience
getter, and it is helped by the sage
counsel offered by public officials who
act as judges and interpret the law.
With this program gaining mo-
mentum, others along the same line
are sure to follow, despite the Difficult
ty of obtaining program material and
presenting it in appealing manner.
New York offers an ideal setting for
any program based on personal trou-
bles because of its millions of resi-
dents and the certainty offered those
who appear in the series that they
will remain anonymous.
Another recent type of program that
Is growing in mushroom manner is
the community sing. Already two
network features are being well re-
ceived and local stations are organiz-
ing community sings of their own.
This type of air offering has seldom
peen attempted because it was felt
that not even the best of the choir
masters could arouse unseen millions
from their daRnportS and easy chairs
to join with a far-away studio audi
ence in chanting the old favorites.
Both types of programs give the
public chance to take part. The
same psychology was behind those
who started the man-in-the-street
broadcasts. Few stations do not have
q program of this sort nowadays, and
the fact that they stay on program
schedules is proof that the public still
likes them, for those who prepare the
daily Ioud-speaker offerings try to
keep their ears close to public pref
erence.
"A FOURTH type Of broadcast in
- which the public performs is the
amateur program, which seems to be
displaying perpetual motion charac-
teristics. A pioneer in this form of
air entertainment is Maj. Bowes. After
the major and his amateurs were pro-
NOTED from WIN, New York local, to
D nationwide network, the amateur
craze got under way in earnest. Pes
simists predicted that the supply of
talent would run out in hurry but
somehow amateur programs are still
scheduled over the nation by the dozen
every day, and the supply of non-pro-
fessional talent suitable for micro
phone appearance seemingly is mex
haustible.
Still another type of program that
holds its audience is the hill-billy per-
formance. Originally talent was drawn
from the sticks and the howdown
and yippy-yip artists. Then the larger
stations and networks began to cater
to the public liking for mountain folk
lore and cowboy cantatas. and first
rank artists began to don feather
pants and stetsons as they were con-
signed to hill-billy programs.
T ONG ago these folksy programs
were commanding big audiences
on some stations. Two of the pioneer
performances are the National Barn
Dance" of WIS, Chicago, now on the
NBC-Blue network Saturday nights,
and the Grand Ole Opry" of WSM,
Nashville.
But even in the old-time numbers
the public wants bit of variety now
and then and the search for talent