Planning Radio Programmes

Radio Record, Volume XII, Issue 30, 6 January 1939, Page 39

Planning Radio Programmes

OW many people have ever visualised the job of selecting or devising radio programmes for everybody in the world. It is difficult enough to produce a programme that will be pleasing to any one group of people, say those in one schoolroom or in any one audience that might gather because they are interested in one particular subject, Of course, in these cases, everyone in the room would understand and speak one language and, by and large, would be living about the same kind of life, in the same country and in the same city. If the programme were liked by 4 large majority of people in either of these two rooms one would say that the programme was a success, but even then there would be some who would like it much less than others, and some who would probably dislike it. , Contrast this with attempting to devise programmes for peoples in several different countries whose environment and points of view are widely different and whose cus: tt. -s

toms as well as the languages which they speak are different from each other. Some might say that the solution is simple, that music is an international language, but what kind of music is inter-national-symphonie, grand opera, folksongs, jazz or dance music?’ The answer is that there is no one type of music that everyone, every place wants to hear, at least wants to hear all of the time. Someone else may say that radio should edu-

cate people, and the natural ques- | tion then is "What is education?" Education to some who do not have the information, of course, would be boring to others who do. Another suggestion is that programmes should be cultural. What that means to one who actually tries to devise a programme is almost anyone’s guess. Those are just some of the . problems confronting the short-

wave broadcaster. What is the solution? Since there is no one type of programme that meets all the requirements, the solution is a variety of programmes planned for and directed to specific countries at times when they can be best received and enjoyed.