A Newsletter from London

Radio Record, Volume VIII, Issue 25, 28 December 1934, Page 9

A Newsletter from London

(From

Our Special Correspondent

London, Noy, 14, 198+. Famous Broadcaster. HE King, the world’s most famous broadcaster, will speak as the head of an Hmpire-wide family party on Christmas Day. To his Majesty this heart-to-heart talk with his peoples in all lands is the most important event of the year. He likes to be alone ut the microphone. .He retires into a secretary’s room at Sandringham, and there addresses the microphone quietly and affectionately. Members of the Royal Family, in the great hall, hear the message just as millions of the King’s subjects do-by radio, Actually, the exigencies of broaucasting make it necessary for one B.B.C, official to be close at hand. He is Mr, Gerald Cock, the B.B.C. direc: tor of outside broadcasting, personally responsible for the biggest juggling feat of radio in history-this year's Christmas Empire hook-up. Three years ago there was a trace of nervousness in his, Majesty’s manner as he approached the microphone, Now he is perfectly confident. Among broadcasiing experts his voice is acknowledgei to be ideal for the microphone, the deep tone and deliberate manner blending with deép feeling and obvious. sin: cerity to give him that indefinable qua!ity "microphone personality." The B.B.C. originally mooted the idea that the Queen and Princess Blizabetn should also speak into the microphone, but it was eventually decided that it Was best that it should be a talk from the head of the Empire family alone. The King allows nothing to detract from the importance of the occasion, and will not broadcast himself beforehand for some months. Other members of the Royal family follow his example. "Under Big Ben." PERHAPS the best known family in the Empire is that of Mr. Howard Marshall, the genial giant who: gives the Empire talk "Under Big Ben" every week. His sons, Tim, aged seven, and Andy, aged four, are the two main characters in this weekly causerie Mr Marshall tells me that his method is tv approach the microphone and just "burble" about England in- the chang: ing seasons and his home and. family. But in his artless way Mr. Marshall plays on the heart strings of millions of listeners as his huge "fan mail" at Broadeasting ~House shows. Mischievous Tim, by the way, is shortly being packed off to a _ preparatory school at Rottingdean, and is probabiy ultimately destined for Haileybury, his father’s old school, or the Nautical College at Pangbourne, Why the Secrecy ? way is the B.B.C. secretive about its Empire announcers? There are two schools at Broadcasting House---pro and anti-publicity. At the momen, as far as the Empire side is concerned, the antis appear to be slightly:in the ascendant. But the same battle was fought on the home programme side Eventually after many conferences and with much trepidation the B.B.C, revealed in its official publication the names of the five senior announcers.

That was after eleven years of broacicasting. I predict that the history of the Empire service will be somewhs similar. But I can hasten the course of evolution by disclosing one of the dreadful secrets myself. The senicr iimpire announcer is one Captain \W°

Shewen, an ex-ar'my officer. And (cross my heart) the B.B.C. refused to te'l me that!

By the way there is a notion abruad that B.B.C. announcers earn fabulous salaries, They don’t think so. I doubt whether the senior announcer of the home service, Mr. Stuart Hibberd, receives more than £1000 a year, and the others proportionately less as they preceed down the scale. About Finance. FPINANCE is a vexed question t Broadeasting House. The staff dv not think they earn enough salary: the B.B.C. don’t think they get a diz enough percentage of the ten shillings license fee; artists and speakers als think they are underpaid. A fairly well-known London journalist wa» broadcast to Empire listeners told me that he received three guineas for five minutes and six guineas for a quarter-of-an-hour. As a disinterested party, it seems to me that Empire listeners themselves get the best deal out of the B.B.C., for, at present at any rate. ther get something really good for no payment at all. And it is going to get better and better. ~

"Radio Record’s" London Letter The writer of the. notes on this page is a London journalist, Mr. L. Marsland Gander. He is radio correspondent to a big London daily and is in close touch with happenings at the British Broadcasting Corporation. These notes are exclusive to the ‘Radio Record."