Evening star., 1951-08-19
On the Air
On the Air
1t May Be Dangerous to Ask
"A Man if He Missed the Radio
By Harry Macarthur

There seems to be q certain un-
rest in the air which Is not too
surprising since this Is. after all,
August.
Out in Hollywood, Calif,> q
televiSion program was aired for
the last time last week. The last
time. that is, until it gets q new
sponsor. Though they were topped
in the ratings only by Milton Berle
and Hopalong Cassidy, Spade
Cooley and his cowboy crew have
just lost the old sponsor. Did so
much business for him he ran out
of things to sell.
Elsewhere an electronic Luther
Burbank, whose precise where
aboutS are not announced, has
cross-bred the electric clock and
the tape recorder. The result is a.
timepiece designed to be hung in
stores to deliver frequent sales
messages to captive audiences
composed Of people whose only sin
is that they don't know what time
it Is, q common malady these days.
Here in Washington a radio sta
ton Is displaying an unseemly self
consciousness which amounts al
most to o persecution complex and
which certainly Is unusual in the
Ibroadcasting trade. II you happen
to be listening to WWDC at the
right time you will hear the an
nouncer say: your radio was
silent eight seconds. Did you miss
it? This Is proof again Of radios
part in your American way Of
life.
He goes on, explaining in the
persuasive talk Of radio an
nouncers why you are so happy
you own q radio. He never does
explain, Of course, why a silent
radio represents the American
way Of life-it's been just the
opposite for q quarter-century-I
but the thought Is an intriguing
one to toy with.
Out Of Sheer Pity
Radio Come to Buses
WWDC's whole attitude may be
conditioned. to be sure, by some
Of the public reactions to WWDC-
FM. In spirit of good willard
certainly not from any Grass COM
Imercial motives-WWDC-FM was
offered up as living sacrifice on
the altar of Transit Radio. Out
of sheer pity for the poor souls
whose sad lot used to be silence,
or what passes for silence in a
Icity's traffic, radio was placed in
the buses and trolleyS.
The result was a shock to
WWDC-FM. There turned out to
be some ungrateful wretches who
did not welcome this enrichment
Iof their lives. They contend, this
firm and vociferouS. minority. that
they have every right to not listen
to the radio when they wish, in
Icluding when aboard a bus. Some
thing around here brings to mnd
that old joke-"But don't like
Strawberries and cream" Comes
the revolution you'll eat straw
berries and creaml"
Anyhow this battle is still un-
der way, though WWDC-FM is
showing definite signs that it
feels itself on the defensive. At
frequent intervals you can hear,
in the buses and streetcars, an
nouncements to the effect that
this Transit Radio win be a great
boon when the bombs start toI
fall. None of these explains, Of
course, why a small radio heard
by the driver only would not serve
civil defense just as well, or why
we have to listen to the pitchmenI
now to be saved in the time of
emergency.
The truth Is that we may be so
conditioned to radio on wheels
by the time this emergency is on
us that we will not consciously
hear it. Mistaking the warnings
for q pickle sales pitch we don't
want to hear. we'll ride blithely
into the target areas.
1t is to be hoped, too, that the
Transit Radio logic in this mat
ter does not spread. BY this logic
the airline StowardaSS will bayal