Evening Star Newspaper, December 8, 1929, Page 79

ISTENERS MORE PARTICULAR NOW Chicago Broadcast Authority Tells How Discrimina- tion Gains. Chicago, or at least some sections of it, is becoming quite concerned over the type. of radio programs now going into | the air. Taking up the burden of the com- ment on his own initiative, McMurdo | Stlver, whose name has been familiar to | radio many years, comments “Tuning in radio programs has gone past the fad, and people will not bother themselves with it now unless they ex- pect-to get what they want.” Musical Opportunities. In further amplification of a sub- ject that is close to him in more ways than one, Mr. Silver says: “When we | do hear a broadeast which may be ! classed with the best concert music. there are no signs of originality or ini- tiative in-the choice of numbers. They give the impression that the radio audi- | ence knows and likes about 10 or 12 of the world’s most famous songs and is ot _concerned about hearing some- thing fine which is not already known note for note. “Radio has a gigantic opportunity in musical education by presenting some of the less known great music. But that opportunity is being passed up daily by program makers. Programs in Minority. “Even the stereotyped classical pro- grams are in great minority. Jass fans who sit up late at night are the listen- ers who take time to. write in that they are pleased. Consequently program makers put such entertainment ‘whenever there is a chance and the real music lovers turn away from their radios. “Of course programs must be ar- ranged to suit all types, but why should favoritism be shown to one class?” = FORT SNELLING HAS BROADCAST STUDIO Army Radio Station Greets Public | ‘With Elaborate Program, Including Band. By the Associated Press. ST, PAUL, Minn, December 7.—An Army broadcasting studio has been opened at Fort Snelling, Minn., under the direction of post officers and radio engineers of KSTP. ‘The 3d Infantry Band, organized in 1784 as a unit of three men, a fife and drum corps, played the inaugural pro- gram. The band now has 28 men. Sergt. Wayne Lovejoy, who directed the first program, will wieid the baton during future broadcasts planned from the new studios over KSTP at 3 p.m. on alternate Sundays. . He is acting In the absence of Warrant Officer Carl Dillon, who is on leave after 30 years of Army service. Fort Snelling is the first post in the country to undertake broadcasting on an extensive scale. Capt. F. M. Dyer, the only commissioned officer who serves regularly as an announcer during the presentation of Army programs, is ¢ of all broadcasting. He is a graduate of the University of Texas and racticed law in Houston for nine years fore entering the service. ‘The main studio is 35 feet long and 24 feet wide, with an announcer’s room mext door. Singers Celebrate Ammiversary. The Seiberling Singers will celebrate their second anniversary on the air with & request program- ‘T y. This is & WEAF coast-to-coast broadcast. Popular Song Review. Songs by many popular writers will be yeviewed in the popular half hour of ‘WEAF stations Tuesday. The Rodemich Orchestra and a male trio will present 15-Minute Announcements Urged. Listeners have renewed their cam- paign for station announcements every 15 minutes. Many stations comply with the rules in that respect, but others do not. PO C. B. S. Has Exclusive Orchestra. Will Osborn and his orchestra have been signed as exclusive CBS artists, Major “Chain” Features TODAY. 2:00—Roxy symphony concert— WRC and N. B. C. net- work. 4:00—National Light Opera Co., “The Sultan of Sulu’— WBZ, WBAL, KSTP, KFAB and WTMJ. 4:00—Cathedral hour—WMAL and C. B. S. network. 5:30—Philco hour; Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, di- rected by Leopold Stokow- ski—WRC and N. B. C. network. 7:00—Heroes of the world— “King Charles XII of Sweden,” dramatic sketch —WRC and N. B. C. net- work. 8:00—Enna_ Jettick melodies; mixed quartet and instru- mental _ensemble — WJZ, WBZ, WBAL, WJR, WLW and others 8:15—Collier's radio hour; dram- atization with musical in- terlude — WJZ, WBZ, KDKA, WLW, WJR and others, 8:30—Choral Orchestra: popu- lar program with Phil Ohman and Victor Arden —WRC and N. B. C. net- work. 9:00—Majestic Theater; George Gershwin—WMAL and C. B. S. network. 9:15—D'Orsay’s Parisian _ ro- mancers; drama, “Mod- esty,” with musical back- ground — WJZ, WHAM, KDKA, ¥ KYW. WHK, WREN and WCKY. Atwater Kent hour; Katherine Meisle, con- tralto, and Toscha Seidel, violinist—WRC and N. B. C. network. 10:45—Sunday at Seth Parker’s; rural sketch—WRC and N. B. C. network. 11:00—Back home hour from Churchill Tabernacle at ‘Buffalo'- WMAL and C. B. S. network. Radio Service Phone Adams 3803 3 {the program structure. HE recent transfer of one of the oldest of regular broad- casting features from the “red” to the “blue” network of the National Broadcasting Co., which removed it from the pro- gram schedule of WRC, served to emphasize the urgent need of re- construction of some of the major chain attractions which have lost their appeal through constant repetition. The opinion is growing in Wash- ington and elsewhere, too, that the 0-called “big time” chain features | are too standardized. This ob- | viously has a tendency toward mo- notony and will eventually, in the | opinion of some radio critics, re- sult in the ultimate breakdown of listener interest. Week after week, month after | month, and in a few instances year after year there come over the networks the same features, provided by the same artists, and often with only little diversity in A radio listener no longer needs to consult the radio programs published i the newspapers to find out what's on the air. He merely looks at the clock instead. If it be 7 o'clock on a certain day of the week he knows the Norway Sardines, for instance, are broadcasting over one of his favorite stations and the Broadway Singers are on an- other. He knows, too, that the Sardines, according to past per- formances, are playing snappy jazz tunes, while the Singers are turning out some overworked tunes. If interest in radio 1s to be maintained to its utmost it seems that certain types of the stand- ardized radio programs must be revamped. How this should be done is a problem for the special- ized radio program makers. One suggestion which appears logical however, is that the program sponsors change the type of their offerings from week to week, shift- ing from jazz to symphonic music, and interspersing, perhaps for the sake of diversity, a dramatic sketeh or a tabloid version of some popular opera. One prominent program sponsor already has adopted such a plan on a modified scale, presenting a musical program one week and a dramatic sketch the next. It ap- pears to be working out satisfac- torily. There are some outstanding radio attractions, of course, the very mature of which preclude shifting from week to week. One of these is the Hank Simmons “Show Boat” melodramas broad- cast by WMAL and other Colum- bia Broadcasting System stations. Another is the humorous “Amos 'n’ Andy” sketches, distributed by WRC and associated National Broadcasting Co. stations. In these two instances the programs are entirely different with each broadcast. Hank Simmons pre- sents a new melodrama each week and the dialogue of “Amos 'n’ Andy” changes each night. Advocates of a readjustment of the sponsored programs have not urged a change in a spirit of criti- eism. It is certainly well known by this time that the radio pro- gram: of - today is far superior to that of a year ago. The program sponsors have vied with one an- other to procure the best talent available, and the broadcasting companies themselves have scoured the operatic and dramatic fields for new ideas and new ma- terial in a concerted effort to bet- ter the programs and make them more appealing to a vast and critical audience with an enter- tainment taste so varied that it is humanly impossible to satisfy them all at the same time. The loud speaker nuisance is another subject which has been brought to the fore in recent | weeks in connection with cam- paigns throughout the country for a reduction in unnecessary noise. ‘Washington, apparently, suffers in this respect along with other cities where apartment house living is the vogue. There is no more reason why a speaker should be turned on to its maximum volume, especially in a small apartment, than there is for other unnecessary disturbance of the peace and quiet of an apartment house or a residential neighborhood. It is inconceivable | that any radio listener would de- liberately turn a loud speaker to full volume for the purpose of | creating a disturbance, for that is exactly what it does. Most radio speakers turned on full blast wiil distort any broadcast program. An educational campaign on the part of radio dealers probably would have more of a beneficial effect to remedy this condition than a special ordinance which has been proposed by some suffer- ers from the loud speaker annoy- ance. o For the first time since the erec- tion of the broadcasting towers and equipment of WJZ, in Novem- ber, 1925, the station will cancel scheduled programs and be silent from 8 to 10 o’clock this morning, while engineers replace the insula- tion units of the antenna to pro- 0/d Companys Lehigh anthracite means Safe, Economical Heat . Tne in the | . OLD l COMPAN‘Y’S' SINGERS every Sunday, 6.30 p.m. WEAF & Assoc. N. B.C. Stations oD COMPANY'S 18th & Col. Rd. Fustest s34 Best Radio Serviee in Town LEH IGl! ANTHRACITE | THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. Behind the Microphone BY THE RADIO EDITOR. vide proper protection against the effects of sleet, snow or ice. Emergency repairs and power failures have forced the station off the air on but few occasions. The last occurred September 8, when lightning struck the antenna during the Radio Guild’s presenta- tion of “Macbeth.” At that time the programs were canceled for the remainder of the evening and resumed the following morning. The art practiced by the radio fan with the soldering iron com- plex is far from becoming lost. Each year seems to produce a new crop of those inclined to tinker or build their own, despite the fact that more factory-made receivers than ever are coming to light. While without question there has been a big decrease in the home assemblers over the earlier years of broadcasting, enough of | the “old timers” still stick ta their screwdrivers and pliers to give in- centive to parts and kits manu- facturers. In addition hundreds each year take the place of those who get tired of their experiment- al bent. These newcomers largely are made up of the youth of the country who have that American desire of making something with their own hands. Many instances are still being cited of the deep interest in radio uilding. There is a New York anker who sets aside several hun- dred dollars a year just to “play around” in his basement labora- tory with his pet hobby, radio. In another section of life, an engi- neer who certainly should have enough of things mechanical and electrical in his daily tasks, is sel- dom satisfied unless he is trying to iron out the kinks in a set he has put together. —_— Sherwood to Tell of Circus Life. Uncle Bob Sherwood, the clown of the air, will tell storles of the circus side show Friday on WJZ and stations. Concert Singer in Recital. Charles Moore Cassel, concert singer, is to give a song recital at WBAL Fri- day. He is a baritone. Langworthy's Real Name. ‘The real name of Yolande Lang- worthy, featured in mumerous CBS pro- grams, is Frances Reid. BIG CENSUS SHOWN FORSAFETY TOWN Radio Feature, Protecting Life and Limb, Registers Unusual Popularity. By the Associated Press. ST. LOUIS, December 7.—Safety Town, with juvenile citizens scattered in 45 States and 6 foreign countries, probably is one of the largest com- munities in all radioland. At any rate its present population of nearly 500,000 is far greater than its founder, Safety Sam and the Careful Twins, ever dreamed it would be. Safety Town's boosters, who range from 3 to 15 years in age, have been recruited through a ten-minute-a-day broadcast from KMOX. They are or- ganized as the Carefui Children’s Club. Out for Members. ‘When they started preaching the ospel of safety about three years ago, afety Sam and the Careful Twins figured they might get 50,000 members for the club if their technique was suc- cessful. The kids surprised them. Every week the roster has grown by the hundreds. Reguests for the club’s membership button, pledge card and song still pour in with every mail. Each night the Careful Twins, known as Handy Andy and Ready Eddy, have some new stunt to bring home the idea of eliminating carelessness and acci- dents. Sometimes they read letters from members telling how they have helped the safety cause. Again they present playlets. “One Safety Thought.” Always the club’s slogan, “One thought for safety is worth a thousand regrets,” is emphasized. Handy Andy and Ready Eddy, who are W. F. Yorger and H. J. Brammeier of the St. Louis Safety Council, know a thousand ways to_put to across. In their membership pledge the chil- dren promise not to take chances, not to steal rides on automobiles or street cars, not to play in streets, always to look carefully before crossing an inter- section, not to fool with firearms, matches or stoves, not to touch dangling wires or -take medicine from a bottle bel, and to stay in shallow hey learn to swim CHRISTMAS GREETING CARDS ORDER EARLY We Are Showing Attractive Designs Livingston, Inc. 722 13th_St. N.W. C., DECEMBER 8§, 1929—PART FOUR. Hundreds of Letters Reproach Roxy for Dropping “Good-Night” Pleasantry Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, December 7.—“Good- night, pleasant dreams. God bless you!" ‘This closing phrase was first uttered at the initial broadcast over which S. L. (Roxy) Rothafel presided seven years ago. The response to these words seemgd to be so far-reaching in its effect that Roxy has since closed every weekly broadcast with this signature. How much it has come to mean to his grow- ing circle of millions of radio listeners was revealed last week when he inad- :'frunuy omitted the closing benedic- jon. Hundreds of letters came in, re- proachful, questioning, resentful, curious, about the omission. The omission was purely inadvertent, due to the mechani- cal exactitude of the radio, which moves on the split second and which marked the close of the hour before Roxy was able to utter his “good-night.” How- ever, there is sufficient evidence now to | convince the impresario that his closing words are as much an integral part of the hour as the program itself. This is the second demonstration from the radio audience, providing a keynote to their demands and preferences. Recently Roxy questioned them over the air as to whether they wished a change in the programs, either in the symphonic concerts broadcast every Sunday or the “Gang” performances broadcast on Monday evenings. This query elicited a tremendous re- sponse from the radio audience. Thou- sands of letters from various parts of the United States and Canada arrived at his office vigorously protesting any suggested change in the programs that he has presented. They came from va- rious types of people and from the hin- terlands and the populous cities. Let- ters have been received from Colorado, Ohio, Missouri, Canada and cities, both large and small, near and at a great dis- tance from New York. COOKING SCHOOL OPENS. First Broadcast Will Deal With Christmas Cookies. The Winter term of Betty Crocker's “Radio Cooking School,” broadcast by WRC, will open Thursday with a les- son on baking Christmas cookies. Holiday cooking also will be featured in Miss Crocker’s Tuesday morning talks preceding ,Christmas, as well as in all of the Thursday cooking school classes before Christmas. “Saturday Knights” on Two Lines. | The Saturday Knights, originated at WLW, also are broadcast by WOR. Receiver's 2,000-Hour Capacity. A life test showed that the average receiver would run 2,000 hours contin- uously without attention. NOTED BARITONE HONORED Reinald Werrenrath Will: Become N. B. C. Vocal Supervisor. " Reinald Werrenrath, noted American baritone, has been named vocal super- visor of the National Broadcasting Co., it was announced yesterday. He will direct special choral groups which will | be heard in radlo presentations and will do for vocal music on the air what 13 Walter Damrosch has done for instrus mental ensembles, it was stated. Arrangements completed between N, B. C. and Werrenrath provide that he be heard on the air only through the company's networks and -that his advice and counsel will be applied to the company's programs as & whole. Werrenrath's activities at N. B. C. will not interfere, however, with his perso- nal appearances in concert. —_— ' Edmonton, Canada, is to spend $1,- 220,330 on public improvements. Hear the Bremer-Tully Radio at TWO STORES Main Store, 827-829 7th & H Sts. N.W. Store No.2 e« o it makes no difference where they are ... you get them all on a Bremer-Tully!? You’ll be amazed at the number of stations you get on your Bremer- Tully. 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