Evening star., 1937-04-25

Lit CIllel ltdSOI 4Ol idOAU AoA
inevitable and continuous hand Of the
military censor in attempted air ac-
tivity on the part of American net
work representatives. Under constant
surveillance, their best efforts could
be no better than general word pic
lures, devoid Of comment, lacking III
coherent description of the wars
progress. With all broadcasting
facilities controlled by one or the other
OF the factions, American analysts
must be quite uninformative if they
speak at ALL while the official" reports
which may be picked up via short
wave carry as much conviction as the
attitude of the listener will permit.
Floyd Gibbons essayed several broad
casts to home networks from EAQ,
powerful international short-Wave sta
ton at Madrid but censor and armed
guards remained in the studio for the
entire period during which he faced
a microphone-and the substance Of
his stacatto verbiage revealed the con-
dition. H. " Kaltenborn spoke from
Hendaye, just across the Spanish
border in France, during the early
stages of the rebellion, and the sound
of gunfire could be distinguished,
probably the most effective touch to
date. Kaltenborn, however, contribut-
ed far more to an understanding OF
the conflict after he had returned
from Europe, presenting comprehen-
slve and ineligible comments, backed
by the first-hand knowledge which Was
of little value during his airings from
abroad
Radios position as dissemlnator
Of news is secure, the facility with
which it can reach the scene of prac-
tically any public event or disaster
and present word pictures places the
reportorial function as one of its
most important. The doubt remains,
however, that the intricate factors
Of war can be coped with in a man
ner to permit worthwhile treatment
of this field of human activity.
COLUMBIA sends its director OF
Talks and Education, Edward R.
MurroW, to London as European rep
resentative of the network, replac-
ing the veteran Cesar Searchinger,
with the change bringing to mind
the important function Of chain en-
,ssaries abroad. Almost every other
day, on each of the major networks,
one or more broadcasts must be ar
ranged from somewhere in Europe,
and hardly person of world repute,
except Stain, has failed to appear
before American microphones.
The important Jobs in American
radio abroad usually fall to news
paper men. Columbia's S Searchinger,
recently resigned to turn to literary
pursuits, was with the London bu-
reaus of the New York Post and
Philadelphia Public Ledger before he
entered broadcasting in 1880. DR..
Max Jordan, central European rep
resentative for N. B. c., stationed in
Basle, Switzerland, was Washington
correspondent for several German
newspapers before he joined the net
work, or 10 years ago. In London,
covering England, France, Holland
and Belgium, N. B. c. has Fred Bate,
an accomplished linguiSt who served
with Owen D. Young's reparations
commission and remained to repre-
sent the chain. In London, as well,
Mutual has John Steele, former cor
respondent there for the Chicago
Tribune.
The American companies were first
TO send their own radio representatives
abroad. About a year ago the Brit
ish Broadcasting Corp. sent Felix
Greene to New York City to handle
pick-ups from Canada and the United
States for Empire audiences. Kurt
Sell, Washington correspondent for
the Official German press agency,
doubles as representative of Reichs-
Rubdfunk Gesellschaft, while the
leading broadcasting concern in Ar
gentina has Fally Markus in New
York
pLANS calling for outlay OF at least
S10,000,000 by the two larger net
works to provide new quarters in
various parts of the country testify
to the fact that the chains have be-
come construction conscious, realize
the need for more studio space A
large slice of the amount will be
utilized in preparing the new head
quarters of Columbia in New York,
present facilities falling far below the
elaborate N. B. C. holdings in Radio
City. Columbia will spend another
$l,000,000 in Hollywood, while its
competitor has announced plans call
ing for s2,000,000 to be spent in six
cities.
The N. B. c. projects include new
combined studios here, now being pre-
pared in the recently built Trans-Lux
Building and scheduled to be occu-
pied July /, with both WRC and
WMAL making their new home there;
new six-story building for studios
and Offices in Philadelphia; a pro-
posed new studio building in Schenec-
tady, and expansion of quarters in
Hollywood, Cleveland and San Fran
cisco.
PRANK FOREST, tenor, and Rosa
Ponselle, soprano, of the Metro
politan Opera Company, will be solo,
Orchestra, directed by Eugene Coos
sens. during the promenade concert
on WMAL at 7. The program fol-
lows:
Prelude 10 Act III. from "Lohen-
Orchestra.
Rosa Ponselle
mtermezzo. from The jewels Of the
Madonna WolfFerrari
Orchestra.
Idfissnt.ton OF he aK.f chsso ss1su,
my Hero"
sympathy"
Rosa Ponselle, Frank Forest and
Orchestra.
~ "Golliwogg's Cake Walk" from
"Children's Corner" -Debussy
~ 'Berenade for the DOLL" from
"Children's Corner" Debussy
Orchestra.
(a) 'Mappari tutt amor" from
Martha" - Flotow
o. Lolita" zzi-Pecci
Frank Forest.
srDAnke MAcabre" Saint -SaenS