Radio in the Far West

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 27, 17 January 1930, Page 8

Radio in the Far West

American Methods Severely Criticised

ADIO" and "The Air"? are our names for the broadcast transmissions, and.I should say they are as good as any; although it is said by. some that, in the late presidential election in the U.S.A. Governor Smith, the unsuc-

cessful candidate, lost a number of votes because he spoke of the "Raddio"!-so powerful is the influ-. ence of ether, Here in British Columbia, away up country, we are within reach of a really large number of broadcasting stations both Canadian and American; but our mountain ranges and our lakes run for the most part north and south, so it is the American stations that come in best. Our Canadian stations lie ‘east and west of us. Calgary, in the province of Alberta, comes in fairly..well; Vancouver only sometimes. If, therefore, we want an evenifg’s straightforward radio, we switch on to one of the American stations; and that means Salt Lake

City, Seattle, San Francisco, or Los Angeles. We are a very English "community here’ in the Okanagan Valley, so that if you know,anything at all of Eng-

lish people out of England you will know that we are very. strong‘in our likes and. dislikes, and when we have been listening, say, to. a, whole winter’s programme from these American: stahipewal SS SEY --$-$_$_-____-_--___--> -_-

tions, it will be readily understood that "things are’ said." I think we are very grateful for the really marvellous range of programmes provided for us, and I have never once heard anything from any of the big American stations that could cause a moment’s discomfort or uneasiness to the man who listens-in this side of the border. The programmes are arranged by. the various mercantile corporations, and they are essentially a means of advertisement. The. nature of the broadcast and the amount of adver-~ tising matter will therefore vary, according to the character of the firm or the corporation. . Some of the best things are put on by the banks and by the powerful oil companies; and a very few. words about the bank’s business, or about the advantages of the oil, are all that accompany the symphony concerts which are the speciality of these institutions. But they all have their turn, even down to So-and-So’s pickles, a particular line of underelothing, or the This-and-That washing machine. Quite a small experience of radio will make you wary! You are listening, may be, to the "Venusberg" music from "Tannhauser," beautifully rendered;

the "Pilgrims OUnorus" 18 to L010Ww; but before that. begins the announcer must give you a cute little dissertation on the merits. of X’s soap, taking it for granted that there is no other kind of soap in the world, and that you certainly have never enjoyed a decent "wash" unless yyou have come across this particular brand. ‘This is quite legitimate advertising, no doubt; but you listen to the "Pilgrims’ Chorus," when it does come on, with a vague feeling that you have got a dirty neck. THE kind of English spoken by the American announcers is not of the quality which you hear from 2Lo0. If not exactly infinite in their variety, the voices are greatly diversified, and we all have our favourites. There is the voice with a smile, that is cheering to hear for a few nights, but which palls dreadfully after a time. There is the pained, hurt, and ag--grieved voice, as of a man having to read his own death sentence; and there is a voice-for every stage be-. tween these extremes. Only very rarely do we hear the soft Southern drawl which in itself is perfect music. This past-season we have suffered from a superfiuity of soprano singers. Some are good and worth listening to: others, many others, are neither good nor worth listening to; and it is sad to hear courtly and gallant old gentlemen switching off in disgust and muttering threats and_ slaughterings. against "these squawking females." Indeed, these sopranos are so rife that many of us would prefer a saxophone, | than which no more powerful indictment could be framed. But our greatest grumble is that the announcer will not leave our poor intelligence alone. We are not. allowed to listen to a Chopin’s Nocturne without being told who Chopin was’ (pre-

sumably it is he who is meant & "Show-pang"), and we must be in* formed what a ‘nocturne is: And then, perhaps, we are’told that we-are to hear "Nocturne,’"’ by Chopin-as ‘though he wrote one only!: To: have our intelligence . improved in this way is bad enough; it is worse when our emotions are’ got hold ‘of and straightened: out. For. instance. they are going to play: a +Minuet. of Beethoven’s, but: before we. get to it we are told what our reactions should be: to "this piece," and so stereotyped is this kind of advice that in nine cases: out of ten "a man may’ safely wager that he will hear, at least once, phrases such ‘as ‘"(lelicate cadences." "swinging lilt," "felicitous movement," "swaying rhythm,’ "charm," "romance," "quaint." These grumblings, after all, amount to very little in comparison with the abundance of the musical feast provided by the many stations we. tap here in the NolithWest. The most impressive broadeast "'I ever heard was late on the last night . of the Old Year, when New Year’ mes‘sages were being sent out from the. Edmonton Station to listeners-in away up among the isolated settlers and officials in the. Yukon and North-West Territories, close by the Arctic Circle. Many a heartache must have been lifted that night when those.lonely people heard over the radio the names. of their home-folk who remembered them. The Spirits of the Air fulfil their kindly mission nowadays, not only in: fairy tales but in-real life. ~

‘ 4 MuUcH interesting and enlightening information concerning the conditions and ‘varied standards of Canadian and American broadcasting is afforded by this article, which appeared in "Wireless World." A good deal of unjust and unnecessary criticism has been levelled by New Zealand listeners at the methods adopted by the R.B.C. in supplying broadeast entertainments, and the following account shows that, imperfeet though our system may be, we have much to be thankful for.