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RADIO AND TELEVISION COMMUNICATION
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PREFACE
"From where it happens, you hear it happen"—and see it happen.
Radio and television, extending the field of auditory and visual stimuli,
have reshaped the social and cultural mold. The science of electronics
invests the term, "communication," with global meaning.
The subject of radiobroadcasting and telecasting has many facets.
Several hundred collegiate institutions offer more than a score of diflFerentiated
radio courses. Specialized instruction is offered in announcing,
production, script writing, radio music, station management, advertising,
engineering, and many other phases of the general field. With the advent
of television and the sharply accentuated interest in this new communications
medium, college courses and workshops have begun to multiply.
These courses, depending on the way they are organized and administered,
may serve three purposes : ( 1 ) They can have a professional
and vocational objective. If the curriculum is sufficiently broad, it should
equip the radio aspirant with basic knowledge, skill, and experience
requisite to professional apprenticeship in both commercial and noncommercial
broadcasting. This forthright vocational aim may be
modified or restricted to the professional needs of teachers, ministers,
business and professional men; for the teacher will employ audio-visual
aids in the classroom, the religious director will use a public address
system or the facilities of his church station, and the business leader may
find opportimity to voice his opinions and views by way of the radio
panel or talk. (2) Radio courses can serve the objective of general
education. The electronic extension of eye and ear, and the consequent
Impact of the "talk box" and the picture screen, place radio within the
orbit of social science. Radio is not an institution, but it affects institutions—
influencing political thought, educational concepts, economic
standards, and civic responsibility. The subject area of radio and television
involves historical data, economic facts, political principles, social
and ethical standards, and these phases of the subject should be given
either a separate or associative interpretation. (3) A particular academic
value of radio courses lies in the fact that they provide motivation in
facilitating the speech learning process. Class members may never become
professional announcers, actors, producers, or news reporters, but
PREFACE
the quasi realism of a classroom studio provides a strong stimulus to
speech improvement. In those cases where students have the privilege
of using a licensed station, the motivation is increased. An efiFective
radio talk employs the principles of attention, organization, and clarity;
the radio actor, although working with a new medium, must have sensitivity
and interpretative skill; the announcer, at his best, is a gentleman
conversing; the dramatic narrator requires insight, imagination, and
emotional control; and the director is charged with a responsibility
requiring organizing ability and leadership qualities. In brief, a broadcasting
class serves the objectives inherent in speech education.
The first design of this book is to familiarize the student with the
influence which radio has on the thinking and behavior of society.
Radio and television constitute a dynamic force. An appreciation of this
force requires perspective—a knowledge of its origins and growth, the
philosophy behind its operation and control, its size and potentiality.
A radio or television studio is more than an aggregation of physical
assets, and a radio or television program is more than words, sounds,
music, and pictures flashed miraculously through the air. These are
only material symbols of social and cultural standards. A microphone is
not a piece of metal; it is the man who stands in front of it. The student
of broadcasting and telecasting, therefore, requires more than a laboratory
manual of outlined procedures and operational techniques. He
should study communication not only from the standpoint of a performer,
but from the standpoint of an intelligent member of society because,
as a member of society, he is subject to the influence of communications
media which consume his time, bite into his pocketbook,
affect his standards of appreciation, and threaten him with the dual
stamp of mediocrity and conformity. More students will play listening
roles than acting roles, and they should learn to listen and observe
objectively according to sound standards of judgment. Critical listening
requires familiarity with a wide range of programs, their content, the
audience for which each is designed, the motivating force behind the
program, and group listening habits. With this kind of appproach to the
subject and with a knowledge of basic historical and economic facts and
principles, the student is better prepared to start the improvement of
his own communicative skill by participating in writing and speaking
exercises applicable to the radio talk, the making of announcements, acting,
and panel discussion. Acquaintance with performance skills will
naturally point to the field of supervision, to the direction and production
of programs, and to the ultimate management of complete workshop
or station operations.
Thus it is that a radio and television course, offered within the framework
of general education, may strive for three objectives: (1) to
PREFACE ix
familiarize the student with an influence in modern h"fe which affects the
thinking and behavior of modern society, (2) to disciphne him in critical
and discriminating listening, and (3) to acquaint him with the various
kinds of performance and introduce him to some of the skills employed
by the performer. This latter design is for two classes of people:
those who may have occasional need to use radio in business, professional,
or educational relations, and those who desire to adopt radio as
a career.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the many individuals who gave
generous assistance in the preparation of this book. An attempt to make
a complete enumeration would certainly commit the sin of omission.
Specific mention of direct contributors is made in respective footnotes.
The author expresses especial appreciation to the many publishing companies,
radio networks, advertising agencies, industrial corporations, and
authors who have allowed quotations from their publications. The
Columbia Broadcasting System was particularly generous in giving
advice and its consent to quote from copyrighted material. I am indebted
to the Radio Corporation of America, the National Broadcasting
Company, Altec Lansing Corporation, and Time magazine for illustrative
copy, and to the Mutual Broadcasting System, the American Broadcasting
Company, and the Liberty Network for important information.
Finally, I wish to credit many of my graduate students, particularly Jack
G. Bell, Evelyn Bell, William G. Hume, and Danny Desmond who contributed
research assistance.
Charles F. Lindsley
Los Angeles, Calif.
July, 19