Evening star., 1936-08-02

Just what broadcasting offers a
some doubt. An announcer might
get $40 or he might get 5000 a week.
A bit of inquiry shows that the former
figure is more nearly accurate in
most cases. Radio pay has been like
Hollywood salaries-somewhat eXag-
gerated most of the time.
Recently Uncle Sam got curious
about radio from an employment
standpoint. After taking a census
covering all but three Of the Nations
commercial stations, the Census
Bureau announced that radios pay
roll totaled s26,911 1892 in 1885. This
includes both individual stations and
networks, with $5,420,279 OF the
amount being paid out to network
employees.
The SCI broadcast stations employed
1850 persons in building up their
S2l.491,113 pay roll for the year, per
cent of the amount going to part
time employees. The five networks
which reported for their personnel
hired 2,001 persons.
DESPITE all the glamour that sur
~ rounds artists who perform be-
fore the microphone, their salaries
often aren't anything to tell the
neighbors about. The Census Bureau
classes both announcers and artists as
talent and they compose about 40
per cent of the total station pay rolls
Nearly half of them were on a part
time basis, being hired only when
needed for particular programs.
Although the performers and the
announcers are the persons who
stand out in the public mind, they
get only three -eighths Of the total
radio pay roll. yet numerically they
make up nearly half the total en-
ployes. Technicians are the second
largest group.
The average announcer, according
to Uncle Sans data, gets $29 week
if he is employed full time, $40 if he
is a part-time performer. Artists, on
the other hand. do much better, since
they average SAL week for full-tlme
work, SIS for part-time work. In all,
there are 1895 announcers and they
earn S46,41 in all during an average
week. The 4,169 artists earn $114,27O
for an average week.
OF course artists and announcers
make more money when they are en-
ployed specially by sponsors. The
Census Bureau figures cover only
amounts paid out by stations and do
not include network announcers and
artists or those hired by sponsors.
d EVELATION of radio salaries
~ proves a bit bubble-bursting to
youngsters who dream about spell
binding Nationwide audiences, but
they are average salaries and take in
the topnotchers with their yacht-buy-
ing incomes all the way down to the
beginners whose weekly stipend barely
takes care of cakes and coffee. The
averages, it must be admitted, are
pretty low.
Like other professions, however,
radio offers ample inducement to
those who can command attention.
Broadcasters are eager to find new
voices and new talent and they hold
thousands of additions every week
in an effort to find microphone per-
sonalities who will find favor with
audiences.
The engineers and control room
men were found by the census ex-
perts to average from s35 a week.
which Is more than the average,
either for announcers or performers,
but the technician's job Is usually
more permanent.
THE statistical story of an industry
- f1guratively built out of thin air,
yet attaining the enormous turnover
of nearly s1O0ooo,o0o in its fifteenth
year of existence, is told in one of
the most revealing business census