A study of the potentials of radio as an instrument of social education for Bombay (India)

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A study of the potentials of radio as an instrument of social education for Bombay (India)

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A STUDY OP THE POTENTIALS OP RADIO AS AN INSTRUMENT OF SOCIAL EDUCATION FOR BOMBAY (INDIA)

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Radio University of Southern California

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts

by Anasuya M* Nadkarni August 1950

UMI Number: EP65345

All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion.

Dissertation Pubi sh*ng

UMI EP65345 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code

ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346

/V/3 7

'S’/

7Vm thesis, w ritten by

...... A NA SUYA „M.___NAO KARKI... under the guidance of h.&r... F a c u lty Com m ittee, and approved by a l l its members, has been presented to and accepted by the C o uncil on G raduate S tudy and Research in p a r tia l f u l f i l l ­ ment o f the requirements f o r the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS ____________________

Date

0 ^ 4 : ...............

Faculty (scnnyiittee

Chairman

TABLE OP CONTENTS CHAPTER I.

PAGE THE PROBLEM. *.......................... ....1 Importance of the problem.•••••••••.... ....5 Statement of the problem.••••••••••••••••••10 Sources of data.

......... •••••••••.....11

Scope of the problem

••••••••••••••••*•12

Organization of the study.•••••••••••••••••13 II.

ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OP RADIO...... ♦•...15 The United States•••••••......... •••••••••16 The rise of national networks.•••••••••••17 The teacher recognizes a new tool.•••••••17 Radio penetrates the classroom*••••••••••20 Advisory committees organize to promote radio education.•••••••••..... •••••••.21 Radio councils formed to serve regional interests..............................23 Great Britain*

.... •••••25

Programs for home listeners••.•••••••••••26 The home service•••••••••••••••••••••••••27 The light program. ...••••.... ••••...... ,28 The third program.

..... *29

School broadcasting*••••••••••.... ••••••29 Children* s hour* ••••*......... ••••••••••31

iii CHAPTER

PAGE India*

III.

.... ...»............ .......32

RADIO AS AN INSTRUMENT OF DEMOCRACY........38 Influence of radio in American democracy...39 The role of radio in Indian democracy.••••.42

IV.

RURAL SERVICE PROGRAMS.................... 48 Agricultural programs in the United States.48 Rural broadcasts in India.

.............. 56

Programs for the villages by All-India radio.. ..... ........ ••••••••••••......58 Suggestions for improvement of programs....59 V.

INDUSTRIAL WORKERS PROGRAMS........

61

Industrial programs in the United States....62 Industrial programs in India.♦..•.......♦..♦68 Programs for industrial areas by All-India Radio. Bombay......

68

Suggestions for improvement of programs...... 69 VI. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTHS.71 Educational programs in the United States....72 Examples of educational programs.......... 75 School programs.

................ ••••• .75

Non-school programs. School radio workshop.

.........

79

••••••••.•••••••82

Programs for colleges and universities.....82

iv CHAPTER

PAGE Educational programs in India. ••......... 84 Programs for schools in All-India radio , Bombay. ..... •••••••••••.•••••85 Programs for universities in All-India radio, Bombay. ..... ••••••..... ••• *86 Children’s programs in All-India radio, Bombay....... •••••••••..... 87 Suggestions for improvement of programs ....

•••••88

VII. ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS........... •••••••90 Adult education in the United States. •••• *91 The problem of adult education In India...96 Suggestions for improvement of programs...97 VIII,

WOMEN’S PROGRAMS

..........

.....99

Women’s programs In the United States.•••.99 Canadian women's programs••••••••••••••••105 Women’s programs in India...••••••••••••.106 Women’s programs in All-India radio, Bombay* •••••••• 107 Suggestions for improvement of programs..107 IX. SPORT AND ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS......... Ill Radio as a means of recreation in the United States.•••••••••••....

.112

Sport and entertainment programs in India with suggestions for improvement. .122

V

CHAPTER

X.

PAGE

CULTURAL PROGRAMS .... .................... 125 Cultural programs in the UnitedStates.....127 Cultural programs in India with sugges­ tions for i m p r o v e m e n t

XI.

140

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS............145 Special findings of this study............ 147 Recommendations........

.151

Conclusion........

.159

BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................... APPENDIX

161 168

vi TABLE

PAGE

I.

The Number of Listeners in India ..••••••«.••*169

II.

A Statement of Rural Broadcasts at All-India Radio Stations, May, 1950..... ......170

III.

A Statement of Industrial Programs at AllIndia Radio Stations, May, 1950.............171

IV.

A Statement of Educational Broadcasts at All-India Radio Stations, May, 1950 ....... 172

V.

A Statement of Children’s Programs at AllIndia Radio Stations, May, 1950.............175

VI.

A Statement of Women’s Programs at All-India Radio Stations, May, 1950. ..... .174

CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Human society today is in a greater confusion and turmoil than when its first annals came to be recorded some twenty-five centuries ago.

\
^1923* If continuance is a criterion of success, these broad­ casts were a failure*

It was left to Oakland, California,

to be the first city to organize broadcasts with sufficient order and quality to insure continuance*

In 1924 this

city's broadcasts included English, geography, literature, history, arithmetic, and penmanship*

In 1926 Cleveland

began its magnificent tradition of broadcasting to class­ rooms which has continued, widely aelaimed, to the present day. At the present, programs intended for use in the classroom are broadcast by city school systems in many cities:

Akron and Cleveland, Ohio; Alameda, Los Angeles,

and San Francisco, California; Buffalo, New York City, and Rochester, New York; Chicago; Detroit; Indianapolis; Philadelphia; and Kansas City, Kansas.

21

Advisory Committees Organized to Promote Radio Education.

The first organized effort at radio education

was developed under the chairmanship of Ray Lyman Wilbur, then Secretary of the Department of the Interior on June 6, c 1929* Their report made in December, 1929, contains valuable information on educational broadcasting at home and abroad.

The committee, having served its purpose,

disbanded. In October, 1930, U.S. Commissioner of Education, William J. Cooper, appointed the National Committee on Education by Radio.

The purpose of this committee is to

secure to the people of the United States the use of radio for educational purposes by protecting the rights of edu­ cational broadcasting, by promoting and coordinating ex­ periments in the use of radio in sehool and adult education, maintaining a Service Bureau to assist educational stations in securing licenses and in other technical procedures, by exchange of information through a weekly bulletin, f,!dueatlon by Radio11, by encouragement of research in education by radio, and by serving as a clearing-house for research. The year 1930 saw the formation of another agency organized to promote higher standards of broadcasting, the 5

Ben H. Darrow, Radio, the Assistant Teacher (R. 6. Adams and Company, Columbus, Ohio, 1932), p. 53.

National Advisory Council for Radio in Education*

The

Council engaged in research, issued an informational series of books and pamphlets to aid broadcasters, and presented a series of educational programs over NBC which set the pattern for many of our finest broadcasts. By 1930, the United States Office of Education had become active in radio education and has since cooperated effectively with both commercial and educational groups. This office has issued valuable material.

It has kept

the educational interests of the nation informed about developments in broadcasting; it has attempted to correlate their efforts; it has offered advice on programs; and it has supplied typical scripts and recordings for educational and service groups.

The office has also cooperated in the

production of many splendid radio series. Closely associated with the United States Office of Education is the Federal Radio Education Committee.

Forty

representatives of the broadcasting industry, institutions of higher learning, associations of educators, educational radio stations, civic, labor, and religious groups, and government agencies comprise the personnel of this com­ mittee.

It was created in 1935 by the Federal Gommuni cat ions

Commission to eliminate controversy and misunderstandings between groups of educators and between industry and edu­ cators, to promote actual cooperative arrangements between educators and broadcasters on national, regional, and

23

local bases, and to unify their aim and methods*

Of

particular value to the classroom teacher are its monthly publications, the FREQ Service Bulletin sind Radio Programs for Student Listening* The FREC sponsored the "Evaluation of School Broad­ casts", started in 1937 and terminated in 1943.

This re­

search program, undertaken by a staff of experts, was con­ ducted at Ohio State University.

The group analyzed the

role and importance of radio to schools and examined the social and psychological effect of radio listening upon children. Radio Councils Formed to Serve Regional Interests. The Rocky Mountain Radio Council is a regional venture which was begun in January, 1938.

It operates In Colorado

and Wyoming with twenty-nine educational and service groups, including colleges, parent-teacher associations, farm organizations, women1s clubs, and social service agencies. Of the nineteen stations which participate, nine are local and five of these have a complete daytime monopoly of the air. The purposes and advantages of this regional Council include the production of programs which will satisfy the

24

interests and needs of local organizations in order to augment regional curricula.

It assists institutions and

agencies to select broadcast material and talent# to pre­ pare programs for presentation, to organize supplementary classroom materials, and to supply recording equipment for transcriptions.

During the period from August 1, 194© to

July 31, 1941, over nineteen hundred broadcasts were given fey the nineteen stations.

In the first year of its series,

as a result of the work of the Council, there was an in­ crease of 368 per cent in the number of broadcasts by educational organizations. Various local organizations, school systems, states and municipalities are giving splendid local service to their own schools and teachers.

Examples are the Chicago

Radio Council, the Detroit Board of Education, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Baltimore, Rochester, San Francisco, Philadelphia, New York City, and the States of California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Oregon and others. Thus radio has been a part of American life, in little more than a quarter century, and it has become an lndespensable tool of their civilization, a gigantic in­ dustry with countless ramifications, and a powerful medium of communication, entertainment, and education.

25

Great Britain#

The British Broadcasting Company

was formed in 1922 as a privately owned limited liability company, to be controlled by the government only in case of emergency.

The capital for it came from the manufac-

turers of receiving sets*

In 1926, the company was reor­

ganized as the British Broadcasting Corporation, and the stockholders of the former company were paid the par value of their stocks by the government.

BBC is a public-service

corporation, responsible to the Postmaster General, but practically autonomous. The BBC operates under exclusive Royal Charter to be renewed by Parliament at the end of ten years.

It has

no competition from rival networks or stations in England. In peace time it Is subsidized by license fees from listen­ ers. The BBC is administered by seven governors who are appointed by the Postmaster General for a term of five years.

The Postmaster General has power to forbid the

broadcasting of any items if so requested by a department of the government.

Otherwise, there is no control by the

government over its programs and policies.

It has a mono­

poly on all broadcasting In Britain, and allows no commer­ cials on the air. The BBC aims to give the listeners the best kind of

26

programming, with an emphasis on cultural standards, educational values, and good taste*

In this connection,

it seems relevant to review the three chief BBC services: Programs for the Home listener*

The number of services

is governed primarily by the number of wave lengths available. For nearly twenty years, 1927-1946, the BBC offered a choice between two alternative programs called National and Regional before the war and Home Service and Forces programs during the war*

The coverage was gradually improved until both

programs were available in nearly every part of the United Kingdom.

Since the war, the coverage of the Home Service

which was regionalized in July 1945, and of the Light Program introduced at the same time on a national basis, has further grown to ninety seven percent.

g

In September, 1946, the

BBC offered for the first time a third service to the home T*

listener, the present coverage which is fifty percent. - In its programs for home listeners the BBC seeks to inform, educate, and entertain the-community, to help to create an intelligent democracy and to enrich the quality of public enjoyment*

Its duty is to cater to all calsses,

including minorities, and, in addition,_ to perform major works in musical and dramatic repertory at regular inter­ vals.

®The BBC Year Book (London W I: The BBC Broadcasting House, 1950), p* 137. *^Loc. cit.

27

The Home Service*

In cooperation with its regional

variants, this program is designed to appeal to all classes*

It presents culture at a level at which the

ordinary listener can appreciate it. of the nation at all points.

It reflects the life

Its fixed points, round which

the program items are grouped, are the six news bulletins of the day, and, when Parliament is in session, the nightly report of Its proceedings*

During school terns, the Home

Service also carries school broadcasts, both in the morning and In the afternoon, which have an appreciative adult alidience as well*

Outside broadcasts take the listener

to the scene of national occasions and the great sporting features*

World affairs are reflected in a number of

regular series, and controversial topics discussed with great freedom in such programs as "Friday Forum” and "The Grltics"#

History, law, and scientific progress are often

presented by using the technique of the feature program. The "Service” aspect of the Home Service is carried Into the field of agriculture, social legislation, and medicine by means of straight forward talks and discussions*

Sym­

phony concerts, including the "Proms”, are broadcast every week; variety programs, including the evergreen "Music Hall" attract large audiences.

Perhaps the moat significant con­

tribution to the raising of the general standards of taste

28

in entertainment mad© by the Home Service, however, is the continuing and increasing popularity of the broadcast play, including the serial versions of classics. The Light Program.

This service, which flanks the

Horn© Service on the one side, is devoted to entertainment in the widest sense.

It maintains the standards of integ­

rity and taste which the BBC has set for itself over the whole range of its output, but is tailored to meet the needs of those who turn to broadcasting chiefly for relaxation and amusement*

Variety, light music, dance music, and sports

are the foundation of its highly successful appeal, but they serve as a support for more serious things.

The Light Pro­

gram aims at interesting its listeners in the world around them, not only through its news bulletins and news reel, but through the nWoman’s Hour” now a staple feature in the lives of millions of housewives, such frank and outspoken documentaries as *Focusw, book reviews, short stories, concerts of light classical music and operatic selections* As in the Home Service, the audience for drama is in­ creasing, and since the Light Program began four years ago, the amount of variety In its schedules has been reduced by ten percent, while the number of its listeners has gone steadily up.®

®BBC Year Book* op* cit.» p* 139*

29

The Third Program*

The Third Program, flanking the

Home Service on the other side, is designed for the listener who is prepared, as part of his enjoyment, to contribute an intellectual effort to what he hears#

It is still the

one service in the world which aims to include, whether in music, drama, poetry, talks, or any other type of program, only items which have artistic value or serious purpose, without regard to length or difficulty#

It continues to

attract wide-spread interest abroad, not only in radio organizations but among the educated public, and there are considerable numbers in western Burope who strive to hear it, though it is not intended to reach them#

At home, its

total of listeners is still reduced by inadequate coverage, but the BBC, believing that only within the framework of these alternative programs can its ideal of public services in broadcasting be realized, has both short-term and long­ term plans for making the Third Program a fully national service for those minorities who, in turn, represent a not inconsiderable section of the community# School Broadc asting♦

This highly specialized form

of broadcasting, in which the BBC was a pioneer, has now been in existence for over twenty years, and the number of schools making use of the service Increases year by year, 9 so that at the present time, 19,000 schools are on the

9Ibid. p. 148.

so

list to receive the full program schedule .and teacher’s leaflets which are issued to registered listening schools* The Programs, which go out both morning and afternoon during the school terms, are in a position of equal im­ portance with the rest of BBC’s output* School broadcasts are designed to be an aid to teaching, not a substitute for it, and as they are normally heard under supervision, a study of the audience is more feasible than with other forms of broadcasting*

The broad­

casts are prepared by the School Broadcasting Department, staffed mainly by professional teachers with special quali­ fications and with knowledge of microphone technique ac­ quired in the BBC*

Advice on the educational policy of

the broadcasts is given to the school broadcasting Council of the United Kingdom, an independent body of fifty members drawn from the major professional and educational associa­ tions, local Education Authorities, and the Ministry of Education*

The Council specifies the aims and scope of the

various series, and ascertains their effectiveness in the school* 3-0 There are separate Councils for Scotland and Wales*

Twenty-six series, and a daily news commentary, are

broadcast throughout the United Kingdom; Scotland has six series of its own; Wales, five; and England, two*

■^The BBC Hand Book (London W I: casting House, 1939), pp* 88-89*

In all,

The BBC Broad­

31

forty-seven programs are broadcast each week, In which the main forms of broadcasting technique are employed.

Pam­

phlets, fully illustrated are issued for the use of the pupils each term.11 Children1s Hour.

Prom the beginning, the BBC has

had a children’s hour, but its nature and scope have de­ veloped greatly In recent years.

The aim now Is to present

in the fifty-five minute period at five o ’clock each day 12 a microcosm of BBC output in all fields. Remembering that its young listeners have, for the majority, been at school all day and have homework ahead, “Children’s Hour” does not set out primarily to educate, but rather to en­ tertain with music, talks, drama, variety shows, compe­ titions , running commentaries, and ’Quizzes’.

Religious

services of a short and simple kind have their place, and the cooperation of children in^ such cases as the preser­ vation of natural beauty and road safety is enlisted. ”Children’s Hour”, like the school broadcasts, has many adult listeners.

Regional interest in the local children’s

hour is strong, and the nOverseas Children’s Hour” on Sundays brings letters from Europe as well as from the Commonwealth•

-^•Loe. cit. 12Ibid., p. 141

32

India*

All-India Radio,

which is the largest

broadcasting organization in Asio today and the fourth largest in the world, is an example of the state-owned and operated system*

Broadcasting in India owes its be­

ginning to private enterprise.

In 1927 a company known

as the Indian Broadcasting Company Ltd. was formed to start and develop the broadcasting in this country.

This

company inaugurated the Bombaby station on the 23rd of July, 1927.

Prior to this company’s existence, a number

of amateurs and associations had been permitted to broad­ cast on very low-powered transmitters in various parts of this country.

Till the year 1926 nobody seriously thought

of regular broadcasting service; but in the beginning of 1927 the idea of regular service materialised because of an agreement that was drawn up between the Government of India and the newly formed Indian Broadcasting Company Ltd., under which the latter was granted a license by the former, for the construction of two stations at Bombay and Calcutta. The 23rd of July, 1927, saw the inauguration of the Bombay station and the Calcutta station was opened on the 26th of August, 1927*

Both of these stations have a low power

of 1*5 K. W* and an effective receiving range of about 30 miles. 13 Information Cables. Government of India Information Services.

33

The number of listeners then was a little below one thousand, but by the end of the year 1927 the figure rose to about 3600, and the end of the year 1928 saw a total of 6000 licenses issued to listeners. 'Later on the Company could not pay the expenses that far out-weighed the revenues which came from listeners1 license fees; and, therefore, under the advice of the Board of Directors, the company went into liquidation with effect from the first of March, 1930#

Prom the first of April,

1930, the service was placed under the direct control of the Government of India In the Department of Industries and Labour under the designation of "The Indian State Broadcasting Service®.

But after an experience of running

this service for about six months, the Government decided in October, 1931, to close down the service.

This decision

created an unprecedented sensation all over India, and once more pressure was brought upon the government by the public, the press, and legislature, urging for the continuance of the service.

In response to this the Government decided

to run the service for an interim period during which the Government expected that some private enterprise would come forward to take over the service.

But such private enter­

prise was not to be found, and It was finally decided in

May, 1932, to continue the service under State Management* The present official designation of this broadcasting ser­ vice is ALL INDIA RADIO.

This change in designation had

been effected from the 8th of June 1936. India1s geography, her culture, her history, and attainments make her place in the comity of nations quite enviable, and It is no wonder if India felt the necessity for introducing radio broadcasts for the entire world. The low powered broadcasting stations were deemed in­ adequate for this purpose, and a high power transmitter of 100 K. W. was installed at Delhi during the war years. Apart from this welcome addition, the Government of India has announced an Eight Year Plan for the development of broadcasting in India. In deciding the new stations to be opened In the Eight Year Plan the following considerations have been kept in views14 (a)

Demand of the linguistic areas hitherto tinprovided with a service and the importance of the language from the literary point of view and from the size of the population speaking the language.

(b)

Demands of the various provinces.

(e)

Potentiality of the Broadcasting Centre to bring in increased revenue*

14r . K. Phatak, Radio for the Millions (The Popular Book Depot, Lamington Road, Bombay, 1948), pp. 211-212*

(d)

Availability of program talent at the centre or within easy reach o f the centre*

{©)

Important role of the centre as an educational and cultural centre*

(f) Density of urban and rural population within the service area of the broadcasting centre* (g)

Density of villages and hamlets within the service area of the centre which will determine its usefulness as a rural centre*

Ihe main features of the Eight Year Plan are as follows: (1)

Construction of studio buildings at Madras and Calcutta as well as provision of additional office accommodation and studio facilities at the existing broadcasting centers*

(2)

Installation of eight high-power medium wave transmitters for urban programs; two each at Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Delhi*

(S)

Installation of three 20 KW medium wave trans­ mitters for rural programs; one each at Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Delhi*

(4)

installation of two high-power and one 20 KW medium wave transmitters at Allahabad*

(5)

Installation of eight 20 KW medium wave trans­ mitters; one each at Karachi, Nagpur, Bezwada, Ahemedabad, Cuttuck, Dharwar, Gauhati and Calicut*

T h e

Eight Year Plan has been duly approved by the

Standing Advisory Committee attached to the Information and Broadcasting Department of the Government of India* All-India Radio broadcasts in thirty-one languages, seventeen of these for home service, including English.

16

15Ibld«. p. 212. 16

Information Cables* Government of India Information Services, loc* cit*

36

More than a hundred news bulletins are given every day# It is playing an important part in hastening the process of democratizing education, and is contributing to the development and standardization of the popular language.

17

Recently, Sardar Patel, Minister for Information and Broadcasting, stated at a press conference: Commercial advertising will not be permitted over the radio# There Is no project for television# Private companies will not be allowed to set up broadcasting stations. The Government does not intend to turn the All-India Radio Into a public corporation as has been done in the case of BBC.#..*A new plan has been drawn up on an All-India basis without reference to any future constitutional changes. 18 It Is surprising that India, which is progressively marching towards the goal of a democratic republic, should have chosen complete state control over this most power­ ful medium of communication#

Perhaps the answer lies in

the objective formulated by the national Planning Committee of India set up in 1938 of which Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, now the Prime Minister, was the chairman.

That Committeefs

recommendation in the field of radio broadcasting service

^ Indian Studies (Fifth Series; Delhi: Publications, June, 1946), p. 29. 18Information Cables, loc. cit.

United

37

was as follows: (a) A fuller and a more intensive use of broad­ casting be made for — (i) dissemination of news as useful informations, (ii) adult education, (iiiJ_ propaganda by the state and (iv) entertainment. Time will show if India1s choice of state ownership and control of radio broadcasting was for better or for worse.

With the ambitious schemes of Rural and Urban

Services of broadcasting in hand, India is expected to have the largest listening public in the world.

^Communications (K.T. Shah, editor, National Planning Committee Series, Report of Sub-Committee; Bombay: Vora and Company, Publishers, Ltd., 1948), pp. 90-91*

CHAPTER III RADIO AS AN INSTRUMENT OP DEMOCRACY Surely one of the striking things about this century, at least in all those countries which are not communis tic or dominated by communistic Influence, is that we are em­ barking upon one of the most startling experiments mankind has ever made

the experiment of popular democracy*

That experiment is quite simply to base government not on a single group, not on those who have the best talents and the best education, but upon everybody*

Mass democracy Is

trying to draw everyone Into the process of government. In the past, government always depended upon those who had .the education, the time, the leisure, to study the situa­ tion, to be informed, to have a fairly balanced Judgment, and to have a rather wider vision than was possible to gain by those who In the past earned their daily bread by the sweat of their brow*

Education In the past was

restricted to the governing group.

Education was one of

their instruments In public service and In achieving a genuine government* That era of government by the chosen few is now fast disappearing making place for a broadbased mass democracy wherein every one having the will and the quali­ fication to do so has an equal right to participate.

Mass

democracy is now trying to draw everyone Into the process

39

of government•

There is a growing recognition in the

modern world that a stable, peaceful and prosperous modern society is impossible unless the right to parti­ cipate in the organization of government and the oppor­ tunities to acquire that precious right are thrown open to all citizens irrespective of any other consideration* The world is thankful to the American Revolution and the truly democratic government that came in its wake for the phenomenal progress that mass democracy has made during recent years and particularly after the last war* The leadership of this experiment of mass democracy naturally goes to the United States.

That is one of the

reasons, incidentally, why American has become the mother of scientific advancement*

The phenomenal progress made

by the United States in radio technique and its mass appli­ cation to truly democratic ends are reassuring signs that this great country understands the responsibilities in­ herent in that leadership. Influence of Radio in -American Democracy*

American

radio1s part in wartime has increased listeners’ appre­ ciation of Its democratic character.

They recognize that

radio can serve as a weapon of war with words for bullets. Certainly, the major role that radio has played In World War II only vaguely foreshadows the immensity of Its po­ tential service In postwar society.

According to Dorothy

40

Lewis, it is not inconceivable that in the future American radio will use its machinery to demonstrate how the United States is solving its social and economic problems within the framework of this Constitution, to extend the benefits of democracy to all its people.3" Radio, as a molder of public opinion and a builder of goodwill, has a unique advantage over other media of communication. all simultaneously.

It reaches

It is quicker than any other medium,

if coverage on a large geographical is needed. 2 The entire nation is aware of the effective use made of this medium by late President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In

his radio speech the day after the banks were closed in 1933, President Roosevelt instilled a widespread confidence that could not have been so quickly achieved by written proclamation.

Luring his first year In office he addressed

38,000 words to approximately sixty million listeners.** Thus It may be seen that inasmuch as the radio reaches large audiences of the literate and illiterate, it may be an effective Instrument of mass education or of propaganda to the millions. Never before in the history of the United States have the people been so informed on national affairs as today.

^Dorothy Lewis, Radio and Public Serv1ce (The National Association of Broadcasters, Washington D.C., 1944), p. 10. % e x F. Harlow and Marvin M. Black, Practical Public Relations (Rex F. Harlow, editor, The Amerlean t ouncll Series of Public Relations Books; New Yorks Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1947), p. 298. ^William Albig, Public Opinion (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1939), p .354.

41

This is due, to a great extent, to radio, as evidenced by the fact that government officials and government agencies are using radio today more than ever before* In this respect, Paul P. Peter has this to say, The social importance of radio has grown with the development of the industry. The advent of radio has brought to the -American listener social forces not available to him previous to that time* He has been brought into a better acquaintance with the problems of government, the workings of its various branches, and the issues involved in the election of its representatives. It is significant to note that with the increase in the number of radio sets in the United States that there has been a 100 per cent increase in the number of ballots cast in national elections. It Is not contended that radio is completely responsible for the Increase In the number of citizens who exercise their franchise but certainly radio’s influence has been great in bringing direct to the public the candidates and their supporters’ discussion of the issues involved.4 The following figures show the increase during the national elections from the year 1920 to 1940s Year

Candidates

Radios in Use

Ballots

1920

Harding - Cox

400,000

26,705,346

1924

Coolidge - Davis

3,000,000

29,922,261

1928

Hoover - Smith

8,500,000

36,879,440

1932

Roosevelt - Hoover

18,000,000

39,816,522

1936

Roosevelt - Landon

33,000,000

45,646,817

1940

Roosevelt - Willkie

44,000,000

50,000,000

Paul P. Peter, wThe American Listener in 1940”, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science* January, 1941. 5I M d .. p. 47.

42

As an illustration of radio’s service to democracy, it is Interesting to note here the "Voice of Democracy” contest sponsored by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce, The National Association of Broadcasters, The Radio Manufacturers Asssociatlon, endorsed by the United States Office of Education, and The Federal Security Agency*

The "Voice of Democracy" contest for high school

students asked that young men and women of America write and voice five-minute broadcasts on the subject, ”1 Speak for Democracy”• on their work.

No other limit but that of time was placed The purpose was to encourage young people

to think about the democratic form of government, and to express its philosophy well in spoken words; the contest was Intended also to further the use of radio broadcasting for such expression, freely and in the public interest* The results showed that more than 1,000,000 students in 48 states, Alaska, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia spoke freely of their beliefs, in the school and town phases of the contest*^ The Role of Radio in Indian Democracy.

Radio today

has a greater meaning and a wider significance to India and similar undeveloped countries, than even to America where it is making the most rapid progress*

Up to August,

0

An NAB Member Service Reprint, I. Speak for Democracy: 1949-50, a final report on the contest.

43

1947, India was not Tree to make her choice In anything, let alone think of mass democracy.

IShatever advance radio

broadcasting could register before that in this country was more due to the exigencies of the situation than to anything like a desire to use its undoubted influence for promoting mass democracy through a plan of social education.

Suddenly there came a revolutionary change on

the 15th of August, 1947, when India became free, after having lost her freedom for well-nigh 175 years.

She de­

clared herself a Sovereign Democratic Republic on the 26th of January, 1950, when her fully democratic constitution came Into immediate operation. In launching this memorable constitution, India has made a bid for a gigantic experiment in popular democracy, unparalleled in the long history of the world.

With a

population of about 370 millions according to the forecast of the new census which will be completed next year, India has a stupendous task to perform to measure up to the re­ quirements of a democratic government.

It must further

be remembered that as much as eighty per cent of India* s population does not yet know how to read or write.

That

makes the problem of mass approach for anything a colossal task which might baffle the ingenuity and resourcefulness of any country in the world.

44

The record of civilization is a sort of noble con­ spiracy.

No child actually wants to be educated.

There

is a resistance to the whole process of education which everyone who has a recollection of his childhood days knows very well.

The extraordinary dilemma of mankind is that

things which are the most valuable and give the best re­ sults are those which eost the most effort.

It is clear

that India needs education if she is going to have citizens who can govern themselves.

It is also clear that she will

not get it by any easy way.

There is not any surefire way

of getting people to be interested in the broader issues. There is no short cut to that raising of standards, which is the essence of civilization* The challenge in mass education is precisely the challenge presented to radio.

What has happened is that

just at the time when the mass experiment of democracy be­ gan, mankind was presented with the means of reaching that mass electorate in a way never possible before*

The process

before had to be carried on painfully through the small group in the school, the tiny group in the university.

This was

the kind of education, for example, which produced in China a mandarin class, a tiny clique, on the one hand, and a vast illiterate peasantry on the other; and which produced in India a Brahmin class, and equally tiny coterie of in-

45

tellectuals, on the one hand, and a vast ignorant popu­ lation on the other.

Wow the process has become suddenly

revolutionized by the fact that the very finest education can be taken into every home.

One can make available the

talks, the criticisms, the music, in brief, the standard of culture which used to be the preserve of the select group. It is in that light that India must think of mass media, if she is at all serious about doing a Job of democratic government.

One cannot base government In the

long run on Illiterate morons.

Nor can it endure if the

majority of the people can be taken in from one day to the next by the type of material, for example, that was handed out by Nazi propaganda.

This utterly illogical, utterly

debased and barbaric propaganda went out to masses of people. soJ

And it was effective, tragically and disastrously

There has been nothing the democracies can show in

the last 20 years that has been comparable in its appalling effectiveness.

It is no use talking about how good it is

to be in a democracy.

We must ponder the survival of the I

democratic government.

We have seen what a moronic stan­

dard of intelligence can do in world history, and we should not forget how much Goebbel1s control of radio was one of

46

the means of perpetuating the moronic standards in Germany. Now here is the problem: do not like to learn.

we in India know that people

And yet, the mass education which

we need has to go right on through the whole period of people's lives.

In the ease of India's masses, basic

education has to begin at the adult level.

It becomes ob­

vious that a great deal of this education has to be done by the people themselves. broadcasting lies:

This is where the essence of the

-The delicate feat of achieving a balance

between persuading people to learn by sugaring the pill ~ and giving them only sugar.

In this connection, Barbara

Ward, Member, Board of Governors, British Broadcasting Gorporation, London, England says, It is no good, as any commercial broadcaster will tell you, to have Beethoven quartets every evening if everybody is switching off. It is no good producing educational programs if nobody is going to listen. The balance has to be kept between entertainment — enough sugar to get people to listen — and education — some­ thing to help make those people better citizens of a democracy.7 The great power of radio to reach and influence people must therefore, be harnessed, In democratic society, to the fundamental task of educating people.

We must not

be content with programs fashioned to the taste of a small audience of intellectuals.

Democracy is based upon the

7Eduoation on the Air, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 17th Yearbook, 1947, p. 12.

47

belief in the essential worth and dignity of the indivi­ dual and upon confidence in his ability to distinguish truth from falsehood and to choose between right and wrong. We do not place our political, social, and economic fate in the hands of a group of specialists.

To do so would

be to deny the most basic tenet of democracy —

faith in

the ability of the majority of all adults to choose a wise course for public action when exposed to all significant facts and shadings of opinion.

The great challenge to

radio as an instrument of social education is that of de­ vising ways to capture the attention of masses of the people with unbiased information so that they be able citizens of their country and the world -- and further to stimulate their interest in significant problems so that they will seek detailed information from other sources. Just as the nucleus is the small, hard core of the atom, so too is education the small, purposeful center of radio as a significant medium of mass communication.

The

task of setting forth specific objectives for educational radio is of such complexity and magnitude as to be approa­ ched with temerity.

The opportunity of today might eva­

porate tomorrow, so goals must be established subject to constant re-evaluation and change.

The current scene

compels emphasis as never before upon tolerance and under­ standing of people and of the problems of world accord.

RURAL SERVICE PROGRAMS The problem of modern democracy today is to get the average citizen, popularly known as the common man, to do his job well.

Responsible c itizenship is the very

basis of popular democracy.

In almost all the countries

of the world, a very large majority of the population is of those, who live on the land, or in other words, farmers, or agriculturists. Unless this section of the population becomes eoncious of its responsibilities and obligations both to themselves and to the state, no experiment in democracy will ever succeed.

How to motivate the farmers,

in a real sense, Is the headache of every administration of the world.

This will explain why some of the progressive

governments are eager to Introduce radio to their rural population. Agricultural Programs in the United States.

These

programs have resulted in demonstrable benefits to the farmers of the land.

Radio had scarcely been perfected

for listening purposes before the planners of its programs saw what it could do to help those living In rural communi­ ties.

Radio for rural people, as Judith C Waller has said,

49 is what might be called a "natural”.

The remoteness or

farmers from the general run of news made radio more of an asset than any other development in their lives, aside from the automobile#

Mo matter how remote are the people

on a ranch or farm, a mere click of their radios, and they are as close to Australia, New York or Washington as their 1 urban cousins. Senator Arthur Capper of Kansas once stated: To the farmer, radio, with programs properly coordinated, is the sunrise devotional service, the first edition of his morning newspaper, the noonday luncheon club, the stock and grain market, and the nightly "protracted” meeting or political meeting or symphony. To the farmer*s wife, radio is the cooking school, beauty parlor, household clinic, bargain counter, sewing circle, afternoon tea or musicale, community club, and evening at the theater. To the farmer's children, it is the comic strip, the home teacher, a ringside seat at big~league sports, the school of the air, and the white lights of Broad­ way. ^ Radio in the United States furnishes to the farmer in easy and intelligible language important vital statis­ tics concerning the whole range of farm products; colleges and universities were not the only groups concerned with reaching the farmer by radio, the commercial stations felt a similar obligation. On January 1, 1931, the National Broadcasting

^•Judith C. Waller, Radio, The Fifth Estate (Albert Crews, editor, The Houghton Mifflin Radio Broadcasting Series; Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1946 ), p. 260.

50 Company and the United States Department of Agriculture joined forces to present, five days a week, Monday through Friday, the "Western Farm and Home Hour”, originating in San Francisco.

NBC furnished the orchestra; the Department

of Agriculture, the speakers,

This service continued in

operation as a separate western farm service until December 28, 1937, when it was discontinued in favor of the "National Farm and Home Hour", which made arrangements to extend its facilities from coast to coast.

However, in

1938, a new agricultural program, "Western Agriculture”, was inaugurated and carried on KGO and eleven other stations on the Basie Blue until the fall of 1944.^ Many other stations in this country have been carrying on interesting experiments on agricultural programs.

Most

radio stations have their farm service departments, which are served by specialists in the field.

There are some

individual stations which are rendering great service to the farmers in their listening area.

WLW (50,000 watts,

Cincinnati, Ohio, one of the most powerful stations of the nation) besides furnishing news, music, weather and market reports, and other special feature programs like the costs and benefits of rural electrification, provides field pick-ups also.

5Ibld.. p. 264.

In order to render better farm service,

51 the WLW microphone is constantly traveling to farms, a discussion on poultry raising at the Purdue, Indiana, Experimental Farm, a description of a maple sugar camp in Ohio —

these are typical field pick-ups which are inte­

grated into regular WLW farm programs*

Ihe needs of the

farmers differ according to the particular type of farming done In the area*

A program designed for dairymen, poultry-

men, and livestock farmers would not be of much Interest to farmers living in areas growing nothing but vegetables or cotton*

An unusual feature recently Introduced by WLW

is a broadcast by short wave from farmers in other parts of the world*

Using terms Midwestern listeners understand,

a Chinese farmer spoke of the problems of agriculture in his country*

Such programs can help sow the seeds of

understanding among different countries of the world in the field of agriculture* At the present time the radio service of the United States Department of Agriculture is one of the busiest offices in the whole Department, sending out material to approximately four hundred and fifty local radio stations and to the networks each day*

In most cases the station

operates the farm program, inviting field people from the Department of Agriculture to participate; In others, the station turns over the time to one or more of the Department

52

agencies, thus making the agencies responsible for filling the time* Many radio stations maintain full-time radio farm directors (RFD1s )•

They are on the air at least once a

day with professionally produced farm and home shows (some of them include home information).

Many of these

RFD's have been country agents, teachers of vocational agriculture, representatives of USDA agencies, or other­ wise connected with public agencies. The growth of these special farm departments on individual radio stations Is a relatively, new development-within the last four or five years, although a few stations have had farm programs for 20 years or more.4 These radio farm directors know their agriculture as well as their broadcasting.

They are conscientious.

They are trying to do a service to farm families*

A

participant does not necessarily have to appear on their programs, the main thing is to get acquainted with that station farm director.

He is Just like a farm reporter on

a newspaper or farm magazine. helpful information.

He is looking for new and

When one of the farmers has achieved

some success, or has done something noteworthy or is working

A

Radio Handbook for Extension Workers* U.S. Depart­ ment of Agriculture, Washington t>. C., February, 1946, p. 4.

53 on some particular project, the farm program director should he informed*

Prom there on, he handles the story*

write it up and tell it himself.

He may

He may bring transcription

equipment to the farm and get the story first-hand on a recording for broadcast*

He may have the farm people come

to the station for a broadcast. The farmers in the United States have derived immense benefit from radio.

They receive wider education on new

agricultural methods and pest control such as the treatment of blights and parasites, in addition to the fact that the loss of their crops Is often prevented by the broadcast of timely weather reports. The weekly bulletins in the form of FARM NEWS, pre­ pared for local adaptation and released by farm advisors under the Agricultural Extension Service in California, are an invaluable help to the farmers in taking all proper care of their crops and farm produce.

The timely warnings

given by these bulletins prevent a considerable amount of damage that may be caused to the crops.

The "Farm News",

for Instance, warns the farmer of the possibility of serious damage to their crops from curley top disease, which is caused by a virus carried by the beet leaf hopper, and they recommend the use of DDT to control the insect.

There are

hundreds of such warnings given in time which keep the

54

farmers always on the alert.

There are useful hints,

besides, in the "Farm Hews” regarding harvesting of crops, management of farms, sale of the produce.

There is always

an eye to the reduction of production and increase in the sales price.

The institution of what is known as the

Home Advisor is a boon to the farmers, because these ad­ visors move from home to home and advise the farmer on the spot as to his day to day difficulties.® Realizing that the middle-western farmer and his family were doing a lot of thinking about war problems of food production as well as what was going on all over the world, WHO, Bes Moines, Iowa, at the invitation of the British Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Agri­ culture, sent Herb Plambeek, in the fall of 1943, on a two months’ tour of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. There he observed the agricultural war efforts and needs of the British people.

Every Saturday noon during his

visit he broadcast a report on his observations and im­ pressions by short wave from the British Broadcasting Corporation studios in London.

His reports were beamed

toward Iowa to be picked up at Bes Moines and rebroadcast simultaneously during the " C o m Belt Hour” by WHO and other Iowa stations.

a.

5 Farm News Bullet in > Agricultural Extension Service, Berkeley, California, May 29, 1950. 6Judith C. W aller, op. clt.. p. 269.

55

The National Association of Radio Farm Directors — now five and a half years old ~

is a lusty youngster and

a thoroughly respected organization.

Radio farm directors

serve on countless committees dealing with the welfare of agriculture and of their communities*

In addition,

they attend innumerable meetings and, very often, are called upon to serve as program speakers or as masters of cere­ monies* The broadcasters are aware of the interest of farm people and are working purposefully to satisfy their needs, as Is attested by the following facts: There are over 150 members of the National Association of Radio Farm Directors* Over 400 stations have farm service or farm news broadcasts* 300 or more of these have one or more farm service programs under the direction of a full-time broadcaster* In addition, more than 2,000 farm and home agents in the United States broadcast regularly and very frequently, over these stations.*? Radio is serving the farmer. Is needed*

Of that no more proof

The fact, as shown by the United States Census

for 1940, Is that 60$ of the rural families of the country, owned radio sets; while by January 1, 1948, the proportion had Increased to 89$, would seem to be sufficient evidence that the farmers are interested in radio broadcasting.

Q

7 The Profession of Radio Farm Broadcasting, An address by Justin Miller, ^resTcTent of the Rational Association of Broadcasters, at the Annual Banquet of the National Associa­ tion of Radio Farm Directors, November 23, 1948. ®Loc* cit*

56

Rural Broadcasts in India, an agricultural country.

India is essentially

The importance of rural broad­

casting can be understood from two facts:

ninety percent

of India*s population lives in some seven hundred thou- . sand villages (half of them with less than 500 inhabitants) and eighty percent of the people are illiterate (the con­ stitution, however, gives the right to vote to all persons over 21 years of age(.

Radio Is, therefore, the most ef­

fective means of contact and publicity for social, economic and political purposes. All-India Radio broadcasts special programs for rural areas from all stations situated In all the States of the Indian Union.

The Installation of radio sets in villages

for community listening Is undertaken by the respective State Governments.

Progress in this regard has so far been

slow for two main reasons:

the lack of electricity in the

villages and the extremely unsatisfactory means of communi­ cations.

To overcome the former handicap, six-volt batteries

are used for operating sets in rural areas.

These batteries

have to be recharged periodically, and here the lack of dependable roads constitutes a serious difficulty*

Dry

batteries which require replacement once they are used up are now being tried out.

Schemes for their installation

and other schemes for the spread of community listening are

worked out together by All-India Radio and passed on to the State Governments Tor implementation*

As a result,

the number of radio sets in rural areas is steadily on the increase* Programs for rural listeners are planned and executed according to the special needs of different areas*

Broad­

cast in the local language or dialect, the program Includes Items of information, instruction and entertainment.

In

spoken word the mode of presentation is either a dialogue or a discussion, but rarely a straight talk*

Features and

documentaries, plays and skits are effectively exploited for their direct and dramatic appeal,

^ews bulletins,

weather and market reports, and discussion on a variety of topics — agriculture, health, sanitation, veterinary, cattle breeding, cooperatives, education, social reforms including the schemes of the State of Union Government to supply the necessary Information and instruction.

Folk dramas based

on stories from epics and history, folk lore consisting of legend and local traditions and music (both folk and urban), often by parties of artists drawn from the villages, form the entertainment*

Women and children have special pro­

grams, In which matters of particular interests to them figure prominently.

Recently All-India Radio has initiated In certain centers post-broadcast discussions, which help the listeners in one village to bring their problems to the notice of other villages, resulting in common benefit*9 Programs for the Villages by All-India Radio* Bombay* The Bombay Station broadcasts daily a special program of a half hourfs duration each in Marathi and Kannada for the benefit of rural listeners*

This program .consists of talks,

discussions, plays, features, folk-songs, weather report, market, rates, etc. which are of interest to villagers. On three days in the week, programs in each language known as Radio Farm Forum programs are broadcast*

This special

service is in Marathi on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and Kannada Farm Forum programs are broadcast on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The object of these special pro­

grams is to help in the “Grow More Food” schemes, and they are related to the Government’s target of self-sufficiency in food by 1951*

Forty Farm Forum centers among 652 lis­

tening villages in Bombay State have been set up*

A Forum

is a voluntary listening body consisting of cultivators and village workers who listen to these special programs and keep in contact with All-India Radio.

A representative

of All-India Radio is usually present in one of the centera during the actual broadcast of the program and after the

59

program is over, the representative answers questions from the rural listeners and clears doubts and difficulties arising in the course of the program.

The leader of the

”Farm Forum11 sends a detailed report to All-India Radio based on the post-broadcast discussion, and further pro­ grams are planned based on the needs of the villages.^-0 Suggestions for Improvement of Programs.

India in

general, and the State of Bombay in particular, can benefit immensely by introducing some of the farm programs which have become the daily feature of American radio.

The basic

necessity of these programs is the introduction of a radio set in the farmer1s home or as near it as possible.

The

state Government has already opened forty Farm Forum Centers among 650 listening villages in the State of Bombay. number, however, is too inadequate for the purpose. averages about fifteen villages to a ^Forum®.

This It

This means

that farmers from fifteen villages spread, over several square miles of area have to walk a few miles to come to the nForum”.

This naturally involves considerable waste

of time and loss of energy.

Effort therefore must be made

to have in every village at least one such wForumf1 that would naturally stimulate interest among the farmers and

Report from All-India Radio, Bombay.

60

their wives who will not fail to take advantage of the service* The State of Bombay has a capable agricultural de­ partment, organized many years ago*

This department, however,

has not yet introduced the system of appointing Farm Advisors as in the United States.

It is high time the agricultural

department in the state did so in the large national interest. Economically any extension in the radio services among the villages of the state is a self paying proposition because the increase in farm production must necessarily result in the increase of state revenue.

A radio program must be pre­

pared that will interest and entertain a typical m o d e m farmer and his family*

It must be aimed at the man or

woman, the boy or girl, who not only has the will to do a job and do it well, but one who, to be successful, must be a good agronomist, entomologist, scientist, animal husbandry* man, and a keen businessman*

CHAPTER V INDUSTRIAL WORKER'S PROGRAMS On© of the problems that faces our modern civi­ lization is how to resolve the conflict between the man and the machine*

The machine is daily finding an increas­

ing place and, also, importance in the affairs of man.

The

countries which are regarded as more advanced and civilized are necessarily the countries where the machine has made considerable progress.

This has inescapably lead to the

growth of modern cities and large colonies of industrial workers.

Experience shows that an industrial worker working

on the machine is a far more intelligent and thoughtful man than his brother working in the field.

His self-conciousness

very often tends to make him more assertive of his rights and privileges in society.

Politically anaindustrial worker

is in the nature of a highly inflammable material, not very easy to deal with.

The industrial disputes are often

resultant in strikes and lockouts have almost become the order of the day in every country of the world. Everyone knows that some people have more power, more prestige, and more money than others.

The difference

between the underdog and the man in the social register Is a well-known feature of daily life.

According to Paul F.

62

Lazarsfeld, there is a disagreement on the extent to which these social strata are fixed in the -American community* Some consider the classes of society are now fairly well established and rigid, while others think that many of the "little men" still have a chance to become big shots.

The

corner grocer in a small community sometimes has more pres­ tige with his fellow men than the rich manufacturer.

But

by and large, it is widely recognized, he says, that "society looks like a seven layer cake, and there is not much doubt as to who is on the top and who is at the bottom. Industrial Programs in the United States.

Although

radio does not especially cater to the needs of the In­ dustrial workers to any high degree, there are some programs broadcast from various networks and local stations which are calculated to stimulate the interest of the industrial workers. "Americans the World Over" is a new series of twelve round table discussions with American leaders of national organizations, including labor, management, organizations, headed by Brooks Emeny, President of the Foreign Policy Association.

These twenty-eight representatives are on a

Paul F. Lazarsfeld, The People Look at Radio (Ohapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1946), p. 82.

1

63

round-the-world tour covering twelve capitals of the nations —

London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Rome, Ankara,

Tel Aviv, Cairo, Karachi, Hew Delhi, Manila and Tokyo* At each stop round table discussions and seminars are held with leading citizens of each capital*

These dis­

cussions give a better understanding of the practical problems, the struggles, anxieties and responsibilities of people throughout the world seeking recovery and security.

These discussions are recorded and flown each

week to this country for broadcast purposes. nC.I.O. Labor Day Festival*11 An interview program, the interviews being along the lines of the infiltration of communism into the ranks of the G.I.O. and discussing the steps the G.I.O. is taking to purge this communistic influence* "America United11.

In addition to presenting speakers

from conventions and labor organizations, NBC presents "America United", a radio forum conducted by the Congress of Industrial Organizations on various subjects.

Leaders

of Industrial groups, agriculture and labor present their views on problems affecting living conditions in this country.

The proceedings of "America United as broadcast

over the Coast to Coast Network of the National Broadcasting Company are printed weekly said a limited number are dis­ tributed free to further the public interest in impartial

64

radio discussions of questions affecting the public welfare* "American

F o r m a ,

of the Air”*

This popular dis­

cussion program deals with current subjects, by interviews* This broadcast is a simelcast on both AM and TV* "Living 1949”*

This is one of the series inaugurated

early in 1948 by the Public Affairs and Education Department and executed by the Special Program Division of the National Broadcasting Company.

This documentary series selects sub­

jects which have deep significance for the American way of living, Infuses into the facts a dramatic Interest, and sends them over the network to a nationwide NBC audience* The programs of 1948 included such diverse and provocative facets of the American scene as divorce ("Marriage in Dis­ tress"), problems of retirement age citizens ("Second Class Citizens"), the Marshall Plan ("Operation Co-operation"), delinquent tendencies in young people ("As the Twig is Bent")• "They Wage the Peace3**

This program was a part of

the weekly documentary series "Living 1949"*

It was a

positive approach to labor-management relations*

With the

presentation of this program "Living 1949" chose to hold up a mirror to the much publicized subject of labor-management conflict*

In searching for facts, it became obvious that

65

the story of labor and management of workers and employers Is full of encouraging evidence that American can solve, and is solving quietly and efficiently*

All over the

country, there are great industries and local planst and shops where management and labor are combining their efforts and adjusting their points of view, with the result that the businessmen and the employees earn a peaceful, satisfactory, and prosperous existence* Peace is usually not news*

Newspapers report largely

those cases which result in strikes, layoffs, and the hue and cry of conflicts, but seldom mention the vast mamjorlty of business concerns which function smoothly*

To present

a valid picture for ”They Wage the Peace”, NBC has collaborated with the National Planning Association, a nonprofit, non­ partisan organization of leaders in agriculture, business, and labor*

NPA is engaged in a study called ”The Causes of

Industrial Peace Under Collective Bargaining”*

Out of

thousands of nominations of companies and unions which have successful records of constructive relations, fifteen com­ panies have been selected for close study.

Trained research­

ers make on-the-spot Investigations to discover why these companies and unions get along well together*

The findings

are printed in pamphlet form; five case studies have been

66

completed so far; and it is from these five studies that ”LIving 1949” built the dramatic broadcast, 11They Wage the Peace#11 Clinton S# Golden, Chairman, NPA Committee on the Causes of Industrial Peace says, ”the time has come when, Instead of looking into the causes of conflict that we know and hear so much about, we ought to try to discover how much peace there is and what makes peace# !fLabor for Victory11#

This was a program prepared

in alternation by the CIO and the American Federation of Labor#

It was the only nationally organized labor pro­

gram offered at the time on any network#

Of 104 stations,

only 35 carried lt#S Western Michigan at Work#

This is a weekly quarter-

hour series of WRZO, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, called 11Stories of Kalamazoo”#

This program Illustrated another

phase of labor problem which can be developed, that of local industries# The program was sponsored by a local building and loan association; it is a straight narrative show which ties in with newspaper ads containing pictures and stories, and window displays containing old documents, pictures and maps#

In dealing with such subject matter, It

They Wage the Peace”, a mimeographed article pre­ pared by The National Broadcasting Company# ®Charles A# Slepmann, Radio’s Second Chance (Bostons Little, Brown and Company, 194b), p. 77# " ~

Is possible to build a better understanding bow tbe city grew and thus establish better foundations for future planning and development* Each program of "Western Michigan at Work” tells the story of an industry in the area.

It covers about 12

counties, and it has been found that these programs evoke a wide range of interest.

They relate, narrative fashion,

the history and development of a given plant, how It re­ lates to the industry of which it Is a part and to the community in which it Is situated.

The programs try to

show how the industry works and how the Industry ties in with American enterprise.

They show how an original idea,

such as Dr. Upjohn* s conception of a pill that could be crushed under the thumb, if put to work can provide thou­ sands of jobs. The general programs offered by American radio cover such a variety

o T

useful subjects that a special emphasis

on labor programs may not be necessary In this country. However, the problems created by industrial unrest natural­ ly becomes more serious and harmful in industrially unde­ veloped countries like India, where labor is Ignorant and has not the same facilities for training and education as in the United States and 'some European countries.

63

Industrial Programs in India#

India is not a

highly industrialized country, only ten per cent of her population being engaged In industry.

All-India Radio

broadcasts special programs for industrial workers from five stations, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Lucknow and Ahmedabad — these towns.

for working class population in and around The Lucknow program is mainly extended for

workers in Kanpur. These programs are mainly heard through Community sets, installed by State Governments in Labour Welfare Centers, Workers1 Canteens and Recreation Centers.

Private

employers have also provided similar listening facilities in mills and factories* The main purpose of these programs is wholesome entertainment through drama and music, occasionally punc­ tuated with items intended to keep the listeners abreast of current labour and production topics.

Here the labour

angle is generally stressed with a veiw to promoting healthy unionism.

4

Programs for Industrial Areas of All-India Radio. Bombay.

A daily service of half-hour, from 7:45 P.M.

to 8:15 P.M. on Bombay, a program was Inaugurated on the 2nd of October, 1949 (Gandhi Jayanti Lai).

This is a

^A Report from All-India Radio (Delhi).

69

composite program purveying useful Information and pro­ viding entertainment to industrial workers.

The complexion

of the Industrial Program is far different from that of the rural program Inasmuch as It is specially meant for labour workers♦6 Suggestions for Improvement of Programs.

In India,

industrial labour through radio requires a special treat­ ment.

In the state of Bombay, and particularly in big

towns like Bombay and Ahmedabad, where India1s great tex­ tile industry is concentrated, efforts are being made to improve the conditions of work for the laboring people. There are a number of welfare centers organized by the State for providing healthy entertainment to the workers. In some of these centers radio has already been Introduced. There is, however, a large scope for the expansion of radio service.

Special programs on the model of the United States

can be arranged to give the worker a much needed healthy entertainment at the end of the day or during the recess, and these can be used for the purpose of training him In the responsibilities of his job* Labor must naturally assume many responsibilities when It enters such a competitive field as radio.

5 A

Report from All India Radio (Bombay).

Pro-

gramming must include a balanced and complete schedule of news, serious music, popular music, plays and sports, as well as community service programs.

And programming

must observe the canons of good radio or it will not attract listeners.

It should further public education

and present forums with emphasis on such public discussions as industry-labor relations, community, consumer and farmer relations. The great need in India today is an increase in the productive capacity of the country.

This can be accomp­

lished only if the man behind the machine is kept happy and contented.

Radio can do that if it is organized in the

manner indicated.

ij 7 CHAPTER VI EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTHS It is in the field of education that radio can make the greatest and most useful contributions; and yet it has z. to be regretfully acknowledged that no progress which can be regarded as satisfactory has been made in India In this field of radio activity*

It is clear that India needs edu­

cation if she is going to have citizens who not only undert* stand their rights and privileges but are deeply conscious of their duties and obligations to others*

This is the

*»■ essence of what can be called ideal citizenship*

How to

4 Instill the educative principles of this citizenship among our children and youths has become the most difficult a problem

both for educator and administrator*

In these days

of popular democracy, our education must be mass education and not the kind of education which was hitherto con­ fined to a small and privileged section of the society. The success of popular democracy must necessarily depend upon the measure and type of education that we may be able to impart to our citizens and especially to our children and youths, who are citizens In the making* We have therefore to think In terms of mass media for carrying mass education to millions of our children and youths.

One of the most effective mass media is radio.

72

*■ In a country Ilk© India with its appalling mass Illiteracy radio becomes the only effective means of training the mass mind.

It is obvious that a great deal of this mass

education has to be done by people themselves.

This Is

where the essence of the broadcasting problem lies* Educational Programs in the United States. In the United States there are widely divergent theories of edu­ cational broadcasting.

Many broadcasters contend that all

radio listening is educational because every program contributes In some degree to the sum total of the experience of the listener.

But this can be true in the same sense

that travel is educational, or the reading of magazines is educational.

Usually the term "Education11 is given a

more limited definition. Some educators feel that those programs alone whose primary purpose is to make broadcasting bear its share of the task of education may be called educational programs.^ In this connection, Dr. James Rowland Angell says: y, y m*

Any program may be regarded as educational in purpose which attempts to Increase knowledge, to stimulate thinking, to teach technique and methods, to cultivate discernment, appreciation, and taste, or to enrich character by sensitizing emotion and by Inspiring 2 socialized ideals that may Issue in constructive conduct.

^Broadcasting and the Public (New Yorks The Abingdon Press, Inc•, 1938), p. 105. 2Judith C. Waller, Radio. The Fifth Estate (Albert Grews, editor, The Houghton Mifflin Radio Broadcasting Series Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1946), p. 171.

Perhaps this definition suggests a very wide field. Another definition which has been more generally accepted throughout the radio Industry is one presented by Dr. W. W. Charters, In 1932, while Dean of Educational Research at Ohio State University: An educational program Is one which purposes to Improve rather than merely amuse, to improve the audience in the matter of information, aesthetic _ appreciation, and the stimulation toward proper conduct. In restating it later at the Institute for Education by Radio, Doctor Charters said: An educational program is one which raises standards of taste, Increases the range of valuable information, or stimulates audiences to undertake worth-while acti­ vities. In short, an educational program is one which improves the listener.4 All persons concerned seem to agree on the basic issue that radio has an educational responsibility.

Programs

such as the 11Chicago Round Table”, "American School of the Air”, "Cavalcade of America”, the Philharmonic broadcasts and many others have become classics among American programs. Children of all ages listen to radio programs regularly.

Studies conducted In various sections of the

United States indicate that during the months when school is In session, children of school age listen to the radio an average of approximately three and one-half hours each

3Ibld., p. 172 ^Loc. cit. 6"Children1s Radio Program Preferences”, a mimeo­ graphed article prepared by the American Broadcasting Co.

74

day*

An elementary school spends rive and one-half

hours per day in the classroom, five days a week, and

\.

in most localities, 56 weeks a year*

But the same stu­

dent, like the average adult, spends roughly 25 hours a week listening to the radio, 52 weeks in the year —

so

that the number of hours he spends each year listening to radio is considerably greater than the time he spends in the classroom*

Thus the persons in charge of radio pro­

gramming have a real responsibility in planning the children*s program* Surveys® indicate that the children listen to the radio mostly during the afternoon and evening, when they are home from school.

They listen to the so-called

“children’s programs11, and they listen to programs planned chiefly for adults even more* The National Association of Broadcasters has drawn up a standard of practices for those individuals interes­ ted in preparing children’s programs.

The rules are as

follows: Children’s programs should be based upon sound social concepts and should reflect respect for parents, law and order, clean living, high morals, fair play and honorable behavior*

6 Carrol Atkinson* Radio Network Contributions to Education (Boston: Meade Publishing Co., 1942), p . 93.

75

They should convey the commonly accepted moral, social and ethical Ideals characteristic of American life. They should contribute to the healthy development of personality and character* There should be no appeals urging children to pur­ chase the product in order to keep the program on the air* Since contests and offers which encourage children to enter strange places and to converse with strangers in an effort to collect box tops or wrappers may pre­ sent a definite element of danger to children, they should not be accepted.” If the broadcasters adhere to the principles laid down in the NAB Code, there would not be much cause for resentment* Examples of Educational Broadcasts*

In some sec­

tions of the country broadcasters have instigated programs and workshops which follow these suggestions made by the NAB Standards of Practice* 1#

School Programs*

These programs are planned

and written for school children to listen to in the class­ room; usually they are graded and classified into subjectmatter categories.

Some are broadcast on national networks,

some by state departments of education, and others by local school systems or local interests.

The school programs

broadcast in this country usually are supplemented by printed materials;

teachers* manuals containing advance

rt

Standards of Practice, (Washington: Association of Broadcasters, 1948), p. 6.

National

76

information on the programs as well as suggestions for classroom procedure and, in some cases, by students1 notebooks or pupil work sheets* Usually school programs are broadcast in regular series — month.

daily, once a week, twice a week, or once a

Each series is based on one topic or subject, and

usually is presented either for a full school year or for one school term. \!

Like general recreational radio programs,

school programs seldom are repeated; usually a new series is built up each year or each session. Perhaps the best example of educational radio as it will operate in hundreds of PM stations in the future may be found in the Board of Education Station WNYE for the City of Hew York.

The programs follow a pattern

similar to that of other educational stations.

”America

in Song and Story” is a series of legendary and historical vignettes.

”This Way to Storyland” is prepared for

kindergarten listeners in collaboration with the Office of Early Childhood Education.

This broadcast fulfills the

function of the kindergarten story hour.

”Great Days in

Books” is a series of adaptations and famous radio scripts prepared for junior high school listeners and centered around the birthdays of literary figures. as these:

Sample scripts are such

”Valley Forge” by Maxwell Anderson; ”Johnny

77

Appleseed” by Stephen Vincent Benet; "On a Note of Triumph” by Norman Corwin.

f,Round the Year* is a nature-study

program presented from the human interest point of view of a city boy on a yearfs visit to a farm.

With the co­

operation of the Museum of Natural History and of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, this series is calculated to provide significant enrichment to the science source of study.

It has been planned for music classes in grades

three to nine; American history classes in grades four to eight; American history classes in junior high school; and high school music classes which include folk songs. An adequate investigation of educational radio in Philadelphia cannot be made without closer scrutiny into the actual types of programs broadcast.

**A Trip to the Zoo*

heard over station WIP, Philadelphia, combines a fanciful story with facts of an animal’s life and background.

The

program, designed to supplement and enrich the child’s work in social studies, science and literature, etc., presents facts about the animal, but greater emphasis in placed upon the story to arouse interest and encourage pupils to make further study.

All the programs may be used to

stimulate research, ceramics, stuffed animals, etc.

Tea­

chers will find the series an aid to encouraging vocabulary building, composition and reading.

”Radioland Express*

brings a song-and-story time to the youngest fans.

The

mistress of ceremonies, a teacher and one of the Radio Assistants, sings a song to the studio audience of approximately 30 third-grade children; they sing with her. A story is told, using sound effects for novelty to provide humor to the story and to acquaint the children with the sounds of every-day objects.

MThe Whiffles” atta§ks an

all-important and extremely difficult problem— health and safety education—

that of

but it does so in a thoroughly

delightful and entertaining way, as a serial story for children.

An average American family and their dog ex­

perience the trials and vicissitudes of every day living, through which ohly a knowledge of the rules of health and safety can steer them safely.

The follow-up activities

are comprised of a large list of such things as postermaking, safety drives, health charts, interviews with the school doctor or nurse, and many other pursuits. ”0ne£ Upon a Time” dramatizes myths and legends presented in cooperation with the Museum of the University of Pennsyl­ vania.

These stories are drawn from every culture in the

Oriental world, and suggested readings enrich their pre­ sentations, as do visits to the Museaum and studies of the art and archeology of the culture under investigation.

79

,!Once Upon a Tim© in Ohio11 is broadcast by the Ohio School of the Air in cooperation with the Ohio State Museum*

Prepared for the intermediate grades, the series

is built around incidents in Ohio history, featuring legends, anniversaries, celebrations, and biographies, all aimed at increasing the children1s interest in, and knowledge of, Ohio*

The stories are chosen by the Radio Committee of the

Ohio State Museum*

Production is handled by WOSU, using

radio students at the university in the dramatic parts# 2* Hon-school Programs«

At some time or other during

the day, most radio stations broadcast programs that contain material of possible interest to school children or that is related to their school interests*

These non­

school programs cover a large number and variety of subjects; they are directed toward a general audience and not to school children.

Although they may not be so satisfactory

for school use as the planned school programs, they should not be ignored in planning for utilization of the school radio. Non-school programs are broadcast by such agencies as health associations, municipal organizations, commercial companies, life insurance companies, or by individuals who have a special story to tell* Standard Oil Company of California pioneered in

80

education by radio in 1928 by inaugurating the *Standard School Broadcast11 course in music enjoyment, as a com­ panion to its weekly broadcasts of symphony concerts on 11The Standard Hour”*

Beginning as a simple lecture-

type program, with musical examples played by a trio of piano, violin and cello, the ”Standard School Broadcast” has developed during its twenty-two years on the air into a dramatized concert-type educational program, with a 35-piece orchestra, chorus, vocal and instrumental soloists and a cast of actors and actresses dramatizing facts and stories relating to music* The theme of the 22nd Annual ”Standard School Broad­ cast” course in music enjoyment for the 1949-50 season is entitled ”A Music-Map of America”.

The course is

devoted entirely to American music correlated with history, geography, art, literature and folklore, and traces the growth of the map of the United States.

Further to aid

classroom teachers, the Standard Oil Company of California has available a full-color pictorial ”Music Map of America11 for each educator requesting a copy of the Teacher1s Manual, the annually issued guide to classroom teachers using the broadcast. ”American School of the Air”, presented by the

81

Columbia Broadcasting System, has for its purpose the bringing of education in an attractive form to children and young people, and to their parents and friends*

The

active help and advice of many distinguished educators in the preparation of each broadcast help illuminate many present-day problems*

"The Story of America", "Gateways

to Music”, "March of Science”, "This Living World11 and tfTales from Par and Near” are only a few of the topics treated on the "American School of the Air".

"Documenting

the Atom" a documentary unit by the Columbia Broadcasting Company was started in October, 1946*

This program has

touched on such gigantic problems as juvenile delinquency and national health problems with effective force*

"Docu­

menting the Atom" shouldered the story of the peacetime uses of the atomic power in a program called "Sunny Side of the Atom".

It was a story as powerful and important

as any of those depicting the horror of atomic warfare— a subject already thoroughly covered by radio.

"This is

Your FBI" was a program of ABC network, produced with the cooperation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to combat juvenile delinquency.

"Information Please" was a

program on MBS network of quiz-show type which was chosen as the best quiz program in the TEN BEST RADIO PROGRAMS of

82

1947, selected by Scholastic Teacher magazine* School Radio Workshop*

A number of high schools and

colleges have developed a radio workshop*

These workshops

provide direct participation in broadcasting*

Hotable

work has been done in Detroit, Michigan; Columbus, Ohio; and Hew York City.

Such workshops may produce their own

plays or scripts written by others —

thus operating in

the same way that any experienced theater would work*

The

benefits of such a radio workshop have been summarized by Edgar Dales 1* Professional radio quality in high and elementary school dramatic programs* 2* Additional training and experience in speech and acting for students from any high school in the system. 3. The invaluable experience gained through the medium of radio auditions. 4. A marked increase in the growth of clubs and radio workshops throughout the city high schools, re­ sulting in better scripts and superior acting. 5. Through their participation in workshop activi­ ties, outstanding members have found interesting and profitable careers.§ Programs for Colleges and Universities.

So far as

the youths in colleges and universities are concerned, there are various programs arranged for them by the various broadcasting systems in the United States. The Columbia Broadcasting System presents ^Invitation to Learning'*, an informal discussion of classics of the world literature.

York:

®Edgar Dale, Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching, (Hew The Dryden Press, 1948), p. 260.

The American Broadcasting Company presents 1tAmerica’s Town Meeting”, a discussion by authorities of the social, political and economic issues uppermost in the minds of the American people#

"On Trial11 was a program broadcast

on the ABC network in which major national and inter­ national issues were placed "on trial” by students of a University Graduate School of Law# sented were: Law*

The schools repre­

Columbia, Yale, Harvard and other Schools of

nNorthwestern Reviewing Stand”, broadcast on MBS,

was a panel discussion on questions of national interest and significance; it was produced in cooperation with Northwestern University#

"College by Radio" is the

special project introduced by the National Broadcasting Company in which ten colleges and universities cooperate# Home-study course in contemporary literature, music, social science and contemporary living are offered, basing the work on the NBC radio program series, such as"NBC TheaterJ "Pioneers of Music”, "University of Chicago Round Table", and "Living 1950"#

Listeners can participate actively-

studying in their own homes, preparing written assignments and having their work examined and criticized by college instructors.

For those who desire a college degree, many

of these courses offer college eredit#

"College by Radio"

in the first two experimental years has registered thou-

84

sands of students In the cooperating institutions, thou­ sands of letters in their files prove that people every­ where are stimulated and gratified by this combination of listening and learning.

Even courses like world politics

and economics in the modern world are taught through these home-study courses. Educational Programs in India.

School broadcasting

in India was started in 1940 by All-India Radio from its four important stations -- Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. The broadcasts are directed mainly to students in secondary schools or to an age group between years.

10

and 16

They are heard by students in their class-rooms

during school hours in those schools where facilities for listening have been provided by school authorities. Except in the Madras State, school broadcasting is not a part of school curriculum and listening Is voluntary. Programs for schools are mainly arranged in the various regional languages with a certain number of items in English which are meant for school teachers. The main policy in program planning —

both in the

selection of subjects and the manner of presentations Is that school broadcasting should supplement and not supplant or duplicate the school syllabus.

While most of the subjects

have a bearing on the syllabus, they do not necessarily form a part of It*

Our aim Is to encourage the personal

experience of students by conveying information which is not ordinarily available to them and in a form readily acceptable to them at their own level#

Thus, well-known

personalities, writers, national leaders, educators, sports men and experts in many fields are asked to speak to the school students about their work or their personal experie­ nces.

Literature, history, geography, health and hygiene,

civics, current affairs and science are the most popular subjects. The success of school broadcasting will depend as much upon the efforts of all India Radio in putting out adequate programs as upon the cooperation of school authori ties in the provision of listening facilities where they do not exist, providing better facilities where they go, and in assisting students to derive greater benefit out of broadcast lessons by arranging follow-up discussions and visual Illustrations.^ Programs for Schools in All-India Radio (Bombay)• This station broadcasts a program for the schools daily on Bombay A & B from 4:20 P.M. to days of the week.

S i 0 0

P.M. on all working

They are addressed to pupils of the

Secondary and Higher Glasses.

The schedule of broadcasts

9A Report from All-India Radio, (Delhi).

is divided into two terms: The Winter Term.

(l) The Monsoon Term and (2)

Over 200 registered listening schools

have made arrangements for pupils to listen to these pro­ grams during school hours.

Subjects of special interest

to pupils, which supplement the school curriculum and help to enlarge the intellectual horizon of young listeners, are Included in these broadcasts which comprise the series of talks, discussions, debates and features for both seniors and juniors.

Constant liaison is maintained with

the listening Institutions —

both school staff and pupils-

through a school broadcast supervisor, specially appointed for this purpose*

Visits are made by this supervisor to

these institutions when the programs are actually broad­ cast; the students* reactions and needs are studied, and further programs are planned as a result of such contact. Programs for Universities in All-India Radio (Bombay) Special programs for the Universities are broadcast by the Bombay Station every week on Fridays from 9:45 P.M. to 10:00 P.M. on both Bombay A & B.

These programs consist

of talks, discussions and debates which are both informa­ tive and entertaining.

The talks are usually broadcast

by persons connected with a university or by people posses­ sing an extensive knowledge of the subjects concerned.

In

87

the discussions and debates, students from colleges are Invited to participate# Children*s Programs in All*;India Radio (Bombay)# Children1 s programs are broadcast from all stations of All-India Radio#

They are mainly addressed to children

of the age group between

6

and

10.

Children^ programs aim at combining information with amusement and inculcating in the minds of young listeners the traditions of Indian culture through the medium of stories, recitations, features and sketches based on history, legend and classics#

Items intended

to develop the character of children are specially stressed#

Items of general knowledge are also Intro­

duced with a view to stimulating the intellectual curio­ sity and the spirit of inquiry amongst the young minds. The programs broadcast in various regional languages and in English from Bombay, Calcutta and Madras stations are usually participated in by children and conducted by grown-up stock characters.

The object here Is as much

to promote radio-consciousness among young listeners as to encourage talent among budding artists.^

^Report from All-India Radio, (Bombay).

Suggestions for Improvement of Programs.

Radio in

India, and particularly in the state of Bombay, can profit by the immense experience which the United States radio has acquired while conducting educational programs during the last twenty years.

For this purpose, every college

In the state and every school whether primary or secon­ dary must be equipped with radio sets.

Of course, this

would mean a heavy expenditure for the state Government. But in the end it will be more than repaid by the results which must freely occur from such an experiment* Whatever criticism might be levelled at commercial radio, It cannot be denied that commercial broadcasting has popularised radio and brought it within the reach of the common man more than any other single system*

It is

possible even for the state-owned radio in India to re­ lax the rigidity of its control In peace time and encourage commercial broadcasting within the general influence of the state.

If this is done, many business and industrial

concerns will come forward to take their hand In populari­ zing radio*

Since India is the latest and the most

gigantic experiment in popular democracy, It Is highly essential that the children and the youths of the country

89

should receive adequate training in the right type of citizenship.

The most effective agency that can bring

this about through entertainment is radio.

CHAPTER VII ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS The expression MAdult Education*9 has a different meaning in various parts of the world.

In most of the

American and European countries which are sufficiently civilized and progressive and where nearly all citizens have acquired the knowledge of at least the three R fs, adult education may take the form of general education in ideal citizenship.

The case, however, in India is

something very different.

About eighty per cent of the

population in India Is today in the unfortunate condition of not being able even to read or write.

This colossal

illiteracy has naturally led to mass ignorance.

This is

* not only a political disadvantage, but even economically, It is a great national drawback.

Democracy cannot make

progress unless the citizens participating in its opera­ tion have received at least the minimum education necessary to enable them to take an Intelligent interest In the work of the democracy.

The pace of India’s national progress

has remained slow mainly because of this drawback.

The

nation, therefore, has to direct its energies to the stupendous task of liquidating mass illiteracy as quickly as possible.

In the solution of this task, radio In India

has come to play a great role.

M u l t Education in the United States.

MAdult Edu­

cation,” Levering Tyson says, Tfis not an easy terra to define.

The idea which it denotes cannot he expressed

concisely in a definition satisfactory to everyone.” He says, ^perhaps the most useful definition is any purposeful and sustained effort by the student for the increase of knowledge, skill or appreciation.”■** In defining the scope of M u l t Education Franklin Dunham, Chairman of the Inter-Divisional Committee on M u l t Education says: M u l t Education is that area of education which provides learning opportunities for persons who have * adult responsibilities but for whom schooling is no * longer the principal occupation. Benefits to the learners are utilized in furthering their own growth . and development with a view to Increasing satisfac; tlons, maintaining or improving economic status, and contributing to community welfare.^ Within this area the program of teaching activity naturally divides itself into that of formal adult education, which is recognized as organized under definite subject matter fields conducted by means of formal classroom in­ structors and Informal adult education which may exist through study-clubs, forum discussions, stimulated in various ways either through leader-speaker radio broadcast, or motion picture audition, or even discussion stimulated through

Levering Tyson, Educ atlon Tunes In, (American Association for Adult Education, Hew York, 1930), p. 35* ^Franklin Dunham, A Report of the Inter-Dlvisional Committee on M u l t Education. May 25, 1948, p. 1 .

92

conversation within a family group*

It is assumed that

*

all adult education outside the limited area of formal adult education is informal adult education*^ The problem of adult education has been nicely pre­ sented by William J* Donovan in the following way: What, then, do we seek to accomplish in adult > education? As I view it, it has two objectives* The first is to stimulate the growth and accomplish­ ment of the individual and give him new hope and power* The second is to develop our capacity for a people to comprehend and to be responsible for the affairs of our country* It has often been stressed that mere literacy is not the vital education upon which a valid democracy depends. Vast ignorance can be found in the so-called educated--political, economic, religious, social ignorance. The United States Department of Agriculture through its cooperative extension work in agriculture and home economics is trying to solve this problem of adult edu­ cation through its special series nYou Gan Teach by RadioJ” Information on all specific ideas or practices was given in all methods of teaching.

For example, the radio-leaflet

group (a group where the leader distributes material which is discussed before and after the program is heard) listened to more of the six broadcasts on the project than did the leader-leaflet radio group ( a group who reads the leaflets before and after the show is heard).

*5

Loc. cit.

A

Levering Tyson and William J. Donovan, Retrospect and Forecast in Radio Education (Chicago: The University of Chicago ^Press, 1936), p* 15.

@3

The average number of talks heard was 3*4 for the first group and 2.6 for the second.

Two and one-half times as

many of those in the radio-leaflet group as of those in the leader-leaflet group said they were regular listeners to the homemakers1 program from the university.

One-third

of the radio-leaflet group and one-fourth of the leaderleaflet group did nothing but listen during the broadcast on hats.

Slightly more than half of each group did house­

work while they listened and about

1

out of

10

did sewing.

The women who did nothing but listen during the broadcasts listened to more of the talks than did those who engaged in housework or other activities when they listened. Considerably more of them also read the leaflet thoroughly and tried some of the ideas.

They tried more ideas; they

thought the instruction was fairly clear on more ideas; and more of them thought the instruction would have been clear enough to do the work had they received it only from the radio than was true for those who did housework while they listened.5 The question might be asked:

why indeed put out

any such farm and home information at all? lies in this: mation.

The answer

radio is just another source of infor­

As with all such sources, the use of radio calls

5 You Can Teach by Radio, a mimeographed leaflet prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture, October, 1947.

94

* for certain knacks.

Those tricks of the trade must be

learned and they can be learned.

In the first place,

radio can reach large numbers of people at one time. Ho matter what station or at what time of day, the audience is bound to be larger than at any meeting.

One can broaden

his sphere of influence actually by using radio.

Radio is

not going to take the place of meetings, demonstrations, publications, newspaper stories and personal visits.

But

it can be an effective means of supplementing all these other media. One such program was organized at the instigation of the Evaluation of School Broadcasts of Ohio State Uni­ versity with the cooperation of a local school principal. A valuable audience building project was undertaken in California.

Its pattern Is adaptable to most communities

and should constitute a worthwhile project for Radio Coun­ cils, Committees, or Radio Chairmen.

The underlying prin­

ciple was based on the realization that most public service or educational programs suffer from under-consumption by listeners.

Educators and civic leaders In California

worked together to build the largest possible audience for a selected program of high quality in this experiment. First, a commercially sponsored educational program, "Cavalcade of America*1, was selected by a committee of local leaders.

Second, a telephone survey was conducted

95

to determine the extent of listening to the broadcast. About 180 homes were reached with about

20$

of the repor­

ting radios tuned to ^Cavalcade of America.”

Names were

selected at random from the high school directory.

A

large committee of forty or fifty did the telephoning. Third, a publicity campaign was then inaugurated for two weeks.

High school students wrote publicity for news­

papers and developed other means of publicizing the program. Posters and student speakers helped to tell the story as well.

Fourth, at the end of two weeks another telephone

survey revealed that 41.4$ of the 185 families called were listening to the program; or an increase of r

1 0 0 $, ^

presumably a result of the campaign.

Fifth, six weeks

later ja. final telephone survey was conducted with the re­ sult that 31.3$ of these families called were listening, indicating about a gain of 50$ from the time of the original telephone survey.** Various other organizations can promote particular programs of importance in the same manner.

Music clubs

can publicize outstanding music programs, opera broad­ casts, etc.

Patriotic societies can further their causes

by special efforts coincident with special programs of a patriotic character; Medical societies and service clubs

—Dorothy Lewis, Radio and Public Service (The National Association of Broadcasters, Washington, D. C., 1944), p. 47.

96

can launch, a campaign to develop a listening audience for their programs*

Jill such projects are useful and needed*

Certainly, groups who produce local radio programs should realize that they must do a promotional Job that they must * deliver an audience*

This may be done by mail promotion,

in schools and libraries, telephone campaigns, display posters, personal appearances, etc* The Problem of M u l t Education in India*

As it is,

the All-India Badio has done very little in this direction* The rural broadcasts organized by the All-India Radio are partly designated to meet the problem of mass illiteracy. In many states in India and particularly in the state of Bombay, organizations have been set up under the inspiration of the Government, to tackle the problem of mass illiteracy* Thousands of classes are being held to train illiterate adults in the knowledge of the three R*s.

This experiment

is carried on very vigorously in the state of Bombay, and particularly in the city of Bombay* The Social Education Committee appointed by the Government of Bombay has' during the last twelve years con­ verted a great number of illiterates into those who—can read and write*

These efforts are, however, very inade­

quate, as the results show*

The adults can not be forced

into learning something against their will*

The process

of adult education has therefore remained on a voluntary basis*

v ,

97

The Government of Bombay carries on persistent propaganda persuading the workers to attend classes where elementary reading and writing are taught*

There is no

doubt that radio can do this persuading better than any other agency which the government can employ* Suggestions for Improvement of Programs*

The efforts

that are made in the state of Bombay to stimulate adult education by various means can definitely be reinforced by radio broadcasting*

The Introduction of the commercial

system in that broadcasting can aid materially In the solution of the problem.

In Education on the Air* Mr.

Willis Dunbar, program director of Station WKXO, Kalamazoo, Michigan, points out the fact that the commercial broad­ casting can do a great deal of adult education*

Similarly,

if commercial radio Is to do an effective job of adult education, it must have more educators*

A mature person

with broad educational background in a responsible position in the program department of a commercial radio station can do that job*

There are positive advantages for the commer­

cial broadcaster in having such a person on his staff, particularly If he Is from a local school or college.

Such

an educator is apt to enjoy considerable prestige in the community, to begin with.

It Is likely that he has appeared

98

as a speaker before local clubs and organizations* views and opinions are respected.

His

In public relations,

tiie advantages to the commercial broadcaster by adding such a man to his staff are very considerable, r

7

India is a land of mystiesm and superstitions. Some of these superstitions are a great drag on the edu­ cation of the people.

Radio can do a great deal in demon­

strating how some of these superstitions are hollow and p

impossible of belief.

This will be an excellent service

which adult education programs on the radio can render. The illiterate adults In India suffer from many social vices such as gambling, excessive drinking, un­ sanitary habits, etc.

These can be combatted by radio by

dramatizing them in an effective manner In the adult edu­ cation program.

Very often In the city of Bombay radio is

used for this purpose. *

What is needed is systematic pro-

gramralng spread over a length of time and with an element of entertainment in it, to make It sufficiently attractive to adult listeners.

7

Education on the Air. (Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 18th Yearbook, 1948), p. 182.

CHAPTER VIII WOMEN’S PROGRAMS You cannot make a happy home unless the woman that makes the home Is happy.

Experience everywhere In the

world and ever since human history came to he written has shown that the woman is the home. Its happiness*

She makes* or mars

She rears the children and lays the foun­

dation of citizenship.

She manages the home economics and

in the end controls her share of national economics, to a large extent.

She listens to the radio, as has been con­

clusively proved by experience, more than the male folks of the family*

^Remember that old adage?

’When you want

to spread good news In a hurry, telephone, telegraph, tell a woman* * women,”

That is the reason for my news program for

says Rhea McCarty, formerly director of women’s

programs for station WCOL.^ Women’s Programs in the United States.

In a country

like the United States where commercial radio programs are the order of the day, the woman has naturally so much Importance in radio programming.

It is naturally so be­

cause she is the consumer, and hence she Is the more pre­ ferable object for commercial radio appeal.

She is the home

Judith C. Waller, Radio, The Fifth Estate (Albert Crewx, editor, The Houghton Mifflin Radio Broadcasting Series; Bostons Houghton Mifflin Company, 1946) p. 141*

100

maker, the great potential in radio, and radio is acceptable *£ to her*

She can summon the world with a twist of the wrist*

She can go from station to station, shopping for what she wants to hear, depending on her mood* At this point, consideration should be given to the contributions of women in the radio industry.

In America

the Association of Women Broadcasters was formed with 35 members in 1942.

Today there are more than 1,200 members

representing 600 stations in the United States.

Their

active members are women who are broadcasting over, or are on the staffs of radio stations that are affiliated with the National Association of Broadcasters.

Their associate

membership takes in those women who are engaged in execu­ tive phases of radio work outside the stations.

In other

words, the association is made up of women who make a living in radio* The objectives of this Association are to promote the interests of women in radio, encourage closer coopera< tion, increase opportunities for service and in general, to formulate the principles for the work of women broad­ casters throughout the nation.

One of the chief concerns

of the radio industry as a whole and of the women broadcasters in particular is education.

The woman broadcaster is, in

effect, a teacher, a salesman, adviser, friend of the chil­

dren, champion of the under-privileged, and a public relations representative for her station* In this connection, Pat Griffith, director, women* s activities, NAB, Washington, in Education on the Air says that the woman commands a large audience and that Is why she must weigh carefully all the material she presents. She Is a hard working, serious minded person who must keep abreast of the news, carefully screen the many releases which cross her desk and in most cases serve as her own censor.

These are only a few of the many qualities that

are necessary In a competent woman broadcaster.

The woman*

program Is as necessary to radio as the woman* s page is to the daily newspaper*

2

Judith C. Waller sums up the importance of radio by saying that radio entertains her, keeps her up-to-date, gives her advice and Information on everything that con­ cerns her home, her family, her community, and herself. Contrariwise, radio provides an escape from her anxieties and her troubles and obliterates the four walls that sur­ round her. ness.

Radio helps her to combat a feeling of loneli­

It helps her with her personal problems.

2

Most im-

Education on the Air, (Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, Eighteenth Yearbook, 1948), p. 357*

pdrtant of all, it helps her with her personal standards of judgment.

All this, and more, make radio one of the

great social forces, and particularly where women are concerned.

•z

It is a well known fact that practically the entire audience available to radio during the daytime hours consists of women at home.

Economic experts say that the

women of America spend 80 percent of the national Income, and the largest part of this expenditure Is made for the necessities and the small luxuries of llfe.^ Studies of audience mail and the various types of marketing research reveal that the daytime audience of women at home consists largely of persons in the economic groups having average or less than average Incomes.

These

facts are significant to commercial radio broadcasters! They also indicate that all daytime programs are essentially women’s programs, whether they be newscasts, interviews, music, variety shows, serial stories, man-on-the-street Interviews, quiz programs, pots-of-gold, or talks directed deliberately at women’s homemaking and social interests. If they remain on the air any length of time, it is safe to assume that they are successfully serving the needs of a certain group of women.

^Loc. cit. 4 Ibld..

p. 142.

103

The various broadcasting systems In America vie with one another in attracting the attention of the largest number of women listeners in their respective networks* Through eighty-five well-known organizations of women, parents and teachers, educational and social groups, more than eight million women members are cooperating with NBC,® in presenting programs to show what women are doing, where they work, how they play, what they eat, wear and buy, and how they can contribute to happy marriages and successful homes*

By expanding its programs during

1938, NBC brought to the attention of women throughout the country the aims and ideals of the many women’s groups which are a civic, social and cultural force in the nation* The Women’s Activities Division of the Company, however, did not confine its services to network radio programs alone*

It has assisted organizations in planning programs

for local broadcasting stations or for meetings, and it has provided speakers for gatherings in all parts of the country.

In addition, NBC is presenting twenty-two programs

a week of special interest to women*

There are now seven

v sustaining series for women on the Company’s networks, exclusive of dramatic serials.

The improvement in women’s

programs and the interest of listeners in them has reached

104

the point where organizations are seeking to educate their members in the importance of radio in dally life. That women’s programs are popular throughout the world is evident through many manifestations of women listeners abroad.

It Is worthy of note that the listen­

ing group plan was advocated also by the International Council of Women at Edinburgh In 1938 at the last Inter­ national Congress.

The resolution passed at that time

reads as follows: that women view broadcasting by women as of particular Interest, that such broadcasts are of special value in raising the cultural level of women, and In defending their rights, In combating social evils, and in promotion of peace, that qualified women are urged to take active interest in all countries in broadcasting both through cooperation by women’s organizations and also to widen the scope of women’s activities by means of wireless, that concerted effort be made to Induce listeners to follow radio programming, and that they send appreciation, suggestions or criticisms to proper authorities of wireless. 6 This resolution was reaffirmed by the Association of Women Directors of NAB in 1944 at their annual meeting, adding these words, that they, dedicate themselves to these several purposes to the end that a Just peace be made and freedom of the air maintained for and by all nations.

6Dorothy Lewis, Radio and Public Service (The National Association of Broadcast ers, Washington, D. C., 1944) pp. 42-43. ^Loc. eit.

Canadian Women 1 3 Program Ideas#

Although not a

development of American radio, there may be found several interesting ideas among the program output of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

This Corporation carries many

fine programs of interest to women#

Some of the Ideas may

be adapted to amateur presentation by women's organizations. A few are listed with short descriptions, quote from aCBC manual: "Our Knitting Circle11 —

15 minutes of fun when

women can laugh at themselves. "Monologues of the Moment” -- a pupil at Stephen Leacock writes and delivers her own monologues that have become famous to Canadian audiences. “Fireside Fun” —

talks on amusements and recreation,

available to amateurs, such as forming an orchestra, or­ ganizing a reading circle, putting on a play, learning square dancing, practicing public speaking, mastering home crafts.

Programs are designed to aid ways and means of

organizing home entertainment and to suit wartime purses and gasless holidays. "Citizenship” —

talks by a woman authority on the

place of women In m o d e m democracy.

Others are titled:

"Child Guidance”, "This Changing World”, ”Shop to Save”, "Food for Victory”, and "Healthy in the Home”.

106

Women 1s Programs in India,

The importance of the

woman in radio broadcasting has been recognized by the All-India Radio from the very beginning. are broadcast from all stations.

Women* s programs

They are addressed to

the average middle elass woman who is neither too sophis­ ticated nor quite uneducated and whose interests are generally confined to home and children*

The interest of

the more advanced Indian womanhood are also recognized when subjects like legal rights, the status of women and possible careers for women are discussed in these programs. Other items broadcast in these programs are topics of mother-craft, health and hygiene, child psychology, useful hobbies, practicable hints on sewing, knitting, cooking, and other subjects of general Interest.

With a

view to widening the average woman’s perspective and crea­ ting In her a general awareness of the world at large, news and reviews of the happenings In India and abroad, life and work of women in other countries and women’s rights and duties under the Constitution are dealt with in these programs. The program is broadcast in the regional languageand Is conducted by stock characters*

The time selected

for broadcast generally conforms with the leisure hours of a housewife, and some advice is also given in these programs towards the use of this leisure.®

®A Report from All-India Radio (Delhi).

107

Women* s Programs by All-India Radio, Bombay, The Bombay station also broadcasts special women*s pro­ grams from time to time, designed for domestic listening, in the afternoon, such as food publicity under rationed conditions, using available food stuffs to best advantage, upbringing of children, personal and family health*

These

are presented In diverse forms; music, folk songs and stories of special Interest to women are the special features*

Very often leading women in the country are

called on the air to speak on subjects In which women are specially interested*

Women in India, have always been

highly respected; they have taken no less a part in the politics of their country than the men in India*

Off and

on the Bombay station organizes special programs to inform and train women in the art of making happy homes.® Suggestions for Improvement of Programs.

Although

All-India Radio, and especially its Bombay station, has always given some kind of preference to the women* s pro­ grams, a great deal more remains to be done in this direction.

The expansion of radio service In the state

of Bombay must primarily and necessarily include a variety

9A Report from All-India Radio (Bombay)

108

for women* s programs on the model of the TJnited States and Canadian broadcasting corporations. At present there are not enough programs issued by the Bombay station during daytime.

The experience in

countries like the TJnited States and Canada and even the TJnited Kingdom has proved that daytime programs are very popular with women.

x ,

As Judith W§ller says:

If one were to list in order of importance the reasons why women listen to the radio in the daytime, the need for social contact would head the list, followed by desire for entertainment, and occasional use of the radio as a pace setter for other activity, with the craving for information or education a long way down the line. A woman will listen to many types of programs at various times, under various conditions and while engaged in various occupations. The Bombay station can

add many new features with

a view to activlzing women* s Interest In the radio.

There

are any number of women* s clubs and organizations in big cities in the state of Bombay.

These can be used as centers

for women to hear the special programs for women.

Once

active Interest is roused In these programs there is no doubt that they will be more and more popular day by day. The subject matter for women’s programs is infinite: food, cooking, handicrafts, household hints, home-sewing style, beauty, health, problems of child care, human-interest stories, book reviews, Interviews with interesting people

•^Judith C. Waller,

0 £.

cit., p. 144


knows the broadcaster and she welcomes her as a friendly visit or*

Messages addressed to women

should be more in­

teresting and diversified so as to appeal to women who are genuinely concerned with problems which lie outside the home but which seriously affect them and their families* It is a regret that there are so few women directors at our stations*

Experience shows that women listeners en­

joy the friendship of a woman broadcaster who speaks their ^ language and knows a woman’s problems. There are very many backward customs which the woman in India must overcome In order that women might contribute

110

their best to the making or a new society*

A high percen­

tage of infant mortality and bad health due to unhealthy surroundings are also evils which the women in India can work toward solving more effectively than men.

Special

health programs during daytime would give the necessary ^ training and incentive to women in overcoming these evils. Such broadcasts will go a long way in adjusting these backward customs and superstitions.

CHAPTER IX SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS Of all the functions of radio, entertainment of listeners is the most important.

The increasing popularity

which radio is getting day by day is largely due to the recreation that it brings to a tired mind.

It would be

almost impossible to educate the public mind with the means of radio If radio broadcasting was not made a source of entertainment and happiness for the listeners.

It is

the sweetness of the sugar, and not the healthy bitterness of the pill, that makes a sugar-coated pill readily accep­ table.

That is exactly what radio does.

In a pleasant

entertaining way it conveys to the minds of listeners things which ought to be known. Those who argue on the side of mere entertainment state authoritatively that radio was born as a medium for pleasing and amusing listeners.

They declare that when

radio has made the nation more Joyous, or when it has provided pleasant experiences, its main purposes have been accomplished.

If radio educates at all it must

*

educate primarily through entertainment; any instruction provided must be in the nature of a by-product.

Radio

it must be admitted provides entertainment preferred by most of the people since they prefer to be entertained rather than educated by any medium; unfortunately, those

112

* who prefer radio entertainment are those most in need of education. Radio As a Means of Recreation in the United States. The studies of Paul F. Lazarsfeld, Director, Office of Radio Research, Columbia University, indicate that as one descends the economic scale there is more listening to the radio, but that the listening is less and less discrimina­ ting.

This does not necessarily hold true on the lowest

economic level.

The wide-spread enthusiasm for soap

AS-) operas, swing bands, and brief news summaries, as opposed to detailed analytical newscasts or commentaries, arises from the demand of the lower economic groups.

Gathering

his conclusions after a careful study of all available data, Lazarsfeld sums up his findings in the following chart.

A sample of people is classified by some adequate

index as to cultural level, then as to listening habits. The complete bars in the schematic chart represent the total amount of radio listening, and the black portions of those bars the amount of serious listening. k-

The chart

reveals that, as we go down the cultural seale, there Is more and more radio listening but less and less serious listening.

113

High Cultural level

Low Cultural level

Complete Bars: Total Amount of Listening. Black Portions: Amount of serious listening. General Listening and Serious Listening on Different Cultural Levels (Schematic)

Those who believe that the first objective of radio is to educate argue that radio itself can cultivate the desires of its public. V

If the listeners demand entertain-

ment, it is because radio has fostered this demand.

Edu­

cators who hope to use radio to foster higher ideals and standards of living recognize that radio can bring in­ struction and information, to its listeners and can con­ structively influence ways of thinking and doing.

^Paul P. Lazarsfeld, Radio and the Printed Page, (Hew York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, Inc., 1940), p. 44.

114

It Is evident from statistics that on the list of things about which most people are interested, radio has a top ranking place. tainment value.

This is evidently due to its enter­

More than ninety per cent of all the

United States houses are equipped with radio sets today. There are approximately 66 million sets in use.

One-third

of the houses have two or/more sets in operation.

Two and

a half million families have three or more sets in the home. Nearly another million families have four or more radios. Only about ten per cent, or even less than that, of the family population of the United States is without a radio of any kind.^ Considering the wide use of radio, we should give attention to its proper function in relation to its potential capacities.

It Is a marvelous social and mechani­

cal invention, capable of giving the listener entertainment and Information adapted to his tastes and needs.® One of the potential capacities of radio Is In the field of music.

Radio broadcasting has provided the oppor­

tunity for everyone to hear some of the great musical literature of the world.

Carrol Atkinson pointed out that *

most authorities, if asked to name the most outstanding

2A case history from the NAB Sales Project ”Radio Advertising for Public and Employee Relations”, prepared by the National Association of Broadcasters. ^Hadley Cantrll and Gordon W. Allport, The Psychology of Radio, (New York: Harper and Bros. Publishers, 1935), p. 271.

115

single contribution radio has made to m o d e m society, would agree that it is the increased demand and appre^ ciation of good music.^ Many surveys made in the field indicate that the mass of listeners in American want to be, not educated, but entertained.

It is not surprising, therefore, that

about half of all radio programs broadcast in the United States are of a musical nature.

c

The recreational side of broadcasting has advanced ^

greatly in the United States during the last 20 years. There it seems to be a universally accepted principle that the main purpose of/ radio is entertainment.

Edu-

cational and other serious programs are also made sufficiently entertaining to be easily acceptable to the listeners.

Music, indeed, plays a prominent role in the

radio programs of the United States. The Federal Communications Commission conducted a survey of programs during the week of March 6, 1938, and released its results in June of the same year.

The

table on the following page gives the percentage of time devoted to music for the country as a whole.

^Carrol Atkinson, Radio Hetwork Contributions to Education, (Boston: Header Jmbrishidg’"tr67',“ 1942), p7“78* p* 46*

5Lazarsfeld, The People Look At Radio, op. eit., ---

116

Types of Programs Broadcast Type of Program

Per cent of total time

1* Music Serious

6.48

Light..

9.95

Popular

52.27

Other..

3.75 Total

52.45

Different types of audiences have different tastes in music.

Some like "swing” music more than any other

kind, while there are others who prefer the classical or semi-classical type.

The broadcaster has the re­

sponsibility of making judicious decisions in these matters. *

As Dr. S. E. Frost pointed out, "both station

owners and advertisers seek to discover the lowest common denominator of interest within the group to which their appeal is directed and to build their programs with this as a standard.” It goes to the credit of radio that it has made It possible for millions to listen to the best of musical i

programs produced in the country.

Symphony orchestra

concerts like those of the New York Philharmonic or the

^Broadcasting and the Public, (New York: Press, lyob), p. 48. 7Ibid.. p. 95

The Abingdon

117

Boston Symphony could not be recorded in full length on the regular phonograph disks for everyone1s use* Today people can listen in regularly and enjoy these masterpieces of music.

Although they do not attract

even two-thirds of all listeners, it is evident that their sponsors think, ”They have a value in prestige, !

^

in institutional reputation, in public service, that cannot be measured merely by the number of people who are listening.”® In the field of sports, football, baseball, horse racing, boxing, golf, tennis and track meets are but a few of the exciting events which the networks bring to virtually millions of fans in their complete coverage of the sports world.

In cases where foreign sports

events are of particular interest to American listeners, the networks arrange special programs from abroad. In recent years listeners have been able to follow all the outstanding contests from season to season.

In

x the coldness of late autumn and early winter they have * sat In their warm homes and heard the thrilling play-by&

play reports from the big football bowls and stadia of a score of colleges.

In the winter they have also listened

B Lyman Bryson, Time for Reason About Radio, (William C* Ackerman, ed., Radio House Series No. 4; New York: George W. Stewart, Publisher, Inc., 1948), p. 40

118

to skiing meets, and to the heavyweight championship fights broadcast from Madison Square Garden.

In the

spring and summer radio has given its audience major league baseball games, yacht races, golf tournaments, track meets, auto races and tennis matches.

Throughout

the seasons there have also been innumerable programs from the leading racing tracks of the country. The following is an over-all picture of sports broadcasting In the United States and Its relation to social and economic factors: Children in -America are sports conscious from their early childhood because of the coverage given sports in the newspapers and over radio and television.

Practically

every game In the major and minor leagues is broadcast locally, and In many cases they are television presen­ tations.

The daily attendance at big league baseball

games runs from thirty to sixty thousand people per game. Football, which runs from September until the end of November, is another sport with a tremendous following. Football has made untold numbers of fans through radio and television. Boxing, which is a night time sport, normally held indoors, although a few championship fights are held in

119

the baseball parks In the summer, has a great following, and the same is true of horse racing which has tracks all over the United States, with probably the greatest interest on a year to year basis of any sport•

Both of

these sports are covered extensively by radio and tele­ vision. During the winter months several sueh sports as basketball, track meets and ice hockey games are con­ ducted in various indoor arenas.

Basketball and hockey

are broadcast locally, and some of the track meets are heard on the radio. One can see from a glance at a schedule of this type how important a part sports play in the life of the average American.

They have a tremendous social and

economic impact because baseball, racing and prize fighting are actually big business with millions of dol17-'%

lars invested in stadia, franchises and players.

It costs

huge sums of money to support these sports, and this money comes from the fan through his ticket of admission as well as from radio and television rights. All major sports today are either broadcast to the public or television arrangements are made.

This trans­

mission by radio or television Is particularly true of all

big championship events as well as outstanding horse races, college crew races, track and field meets, and every other event that is of major importance to the listening audience* Most of the heroes of young Americans today are famous sports figures#

Whereas in other parts of the

world the military leaders of the past or the public figures of a country may be the national heroes, here the youth of America have always picked out as their particular idol a great baseball player, a champion prize fighter, a famous football player, with the idea of eventually emulating that idol when they grow up# This is mainly due to the fact that they hear and see these sports figures on radio and television#

Prom this

angle sports have been of vast importance in conditioning the youths and have made them aware of the necessity of physical fitness# It is interesting to note in connection with sports, the two great service academies, the United States Military and the United States Naval Academy*

These insist that

all members of the undergraduate body participate in some form of sport#

They state that athletes make the best

officer material because on the field of play they learn

121

v to make decisions quickly and clearly. Another important form of entertainment is the drama, and dramatic programs are gaining increasing popularity.

Never before has the art of the writer

and actor been so much in demand.

Radio has flooded

^ the airways with drama of all kinds for every type of listener.

A few examples of these may be listed as

follows: The Columbia Broadcasting System presents the ”Lux Radio Theater”, a series of adaptations of out­ standing film hits starring name stars of Hollywood. The Mutual Broadcasting System carries wFamlly Theater”, a dramatic series in whieh social and spiritual problems form the basis of the plots. The National Broadcasting Company presents nTheater Guild on the Air”, a program which adapts famous plays for radio and stars noted actors and actresses in the leading roles. The American Broadcasting Company offers ,fThis is Your F.B.I.”, produced with the cooperation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The material for each script is

taken from the files of the Bureau.

122

Sports and

B n

tertalnment Programs in India--

Suggestions for Improvement.

Sports and entertainment

go hand in hand in radio programming in India.

It cannot,

however, he said that the All-India Radio has given any special prominence to the recreational side of broadcasting* If in India radio has not yet come to the standard of popularity that it enjoys in the United States, the main reason is that it has not been made sufficiently enter­ taining.

There is so much of seriousness and comparative­

ly so little of fun. The All-India Radio has yet to go a very long way in bringing sports and music programs to the air.

What Is

there at the present time is so scanty that it does not v rouse sufficient enthusiasm among the listening public. India Is a sporting nation, and sports like cricket, foot­ ball, hockey, tennis, badminton and polo, besides many ^ other indigenous games, are growing Increasingly popular \ and drawing millions of young men and women Into the sporting fraternity.

It is difficult to create suffi­

cient Interest among the youths for sports, without doing a lot of promotion as is done by the American networks. The most effective medium for such promotion is radio.

123

The All-India Radio should introduce a pleasing variety in its sporting programs. Bombay is the home of sports, and many of the games that are played in India are either sponsored or played from Bombay.

The Bombay station of the All-India Radio,

therefore, should take the lead by introducing sports programs of a planned variety. Horse racing also is very popular in India.

Hitherto

the All-India Radio has not included any racing programs in its list except for giving the race results.

If there

is a feature of racing introduced in the Bombay station, radio is bound to be more popular among that section of listeners who are fond of racing. What applies to sports also applies to music and other entertainment programs, perhaps in a greater measure. India is well known for the excellence of her classical music and dance.

The All-India Radio has a daily pro­

gram of classical music and it is steadily growing in popularity.

Similarly, the programs of light music and

popular music are immensely favored. The Bombay station can emulate the example of the American radio in popularizing music and thereby carry a

124

healthy entertainment to millions of people*

We in India

should introduce a large variety of-musical programs.

No

doubt the classical music is at its best in India but that is not enough.

On the pattern of the United States, sym­

phony concerts, operas and music appreciation programs should be organized. The dramatic art in India, which was very great in the past, is being slowly revived.

Such a revival is

bound to be a great attraction to a large section of the people.

The Bombay station of All-India Radio can, on

the lines of the United States Radio, organize special dramatic programs and introduce sufficient variety in them to make them attractive and popular. As a means of social education, radio can stimulate new interests.

It can multipXy experiences, even though

these experiences must generally be of a vicarious nature. Radio adds emotional appeal to the sense of hearing.

It

may be seen from the popularity of sports and entertainment programs that radio can be both entertaining and educa­ te

tional; neither object is antithetical to the other.

Edu­

cational values can be derived from a program designed to entertain, and so-called educational programs should certainly be entertaining.

If it is granted that enter­

tainment is essential and signifies radio interest then together they should serve in the interest of education.

CHAPTER X CULTURAL PROGRAMS In the foregoing chapters radio has been treated as a great national institution, a capable instrument for entertaining and educating millions of citizens of a country.

This is really a far too limited aspect of radio.

The advance of science is making our world smaller.

Civil

aviation, wireless-telegraphy and radio have made human society appear as one family of human beings.

These

scientific inventions therefore must be regarded not as national or belonging to one country but as international and belonging to humanity as a whole.

Our old concept of

nationalism must change if international society is going to become a happy family working for the peace and pros­ perity of mankind.

The cultures of the various peoples,

instead of being conflicting factors, must blend together to make a homogeneous world culture.

We can never hope

to establish and hold world peace unless we educate human society In the essence of various cultures of the world. Cultural education therefore is the crying need of the hour.

Radio, which is one of the Influencing media of

public education, should therefore be utilized In drawing human society together culturally.

While catering to the

entertainment and education of its country, radio must

126

transcend national boundries and become international in its content and appeal. A list of worthy objectives relevant to contem­ porary conditions is stated below, following the list given by Mr. Allen Miller, Director, Hocky Mountain Radio Council, Denver: 1.

To bring meaning and inner peace into the lives of all people. To give them insight into themselves and to clarify their re­ lationships with others.

2.

To set a tone of tolerance and understanding of other creeds, colors, and culture. To do this, particularly, so there may be har­ mony on the national and community level since international .understanding will more certainly follow.

3.

To make possible wisdom of choice by our citi­ zens. To see that they have, or are stimulated to secure, facts necessary to sound judgments. To see that they are exposed to conflicting points of view so that they may choose from among the principal courses of action that are advocated or so they may-synthesize the proposals into a new channel.

4.

To Introduce the rich cultural {heritage of man to the individual so that he may be aware of the enjoyment it may bring to him. Then to continue to satisfy the appetites which may be created.

5.

To strive to elevate the tastes of the public but to recognize that, these may not success­ fully be dictated. Conversely, never to under­ estimate the tastes of th£ public nor to cater to perverted appetites.

Allan Miller, Education on the Air (17th Yearbook of the Institute of Education by Radio), edited by 0. Joe Olsom, p. 240.

127

Cultural Programs in the United States.

As Willey

and Young have put it, "America is the cultural result of amalgamation, and radio is hastening the process. «|£>

Regional differences in attitude, in belief, in language, o

and in habit are fast being erased,”

How radio can be used for defusion of the right type of international propaganda is illustrated by the "Voice of America*1 as a part of the United States* foreign policy.

Prom 36 short-wave transmitters in the United

States and from other powerful transmitters and relay stations in widely scattered parts of the world, the "Voice of America” is now beaming daily programs in three languages to a potential global audience of 25,000,000 listeners.

A division of the Department of State*s Office

of International Information, the "Voice of America” is the radio medium employed by the United States Government to promote a better understanding of America abroad and to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and peoples of other countries.

"The Voice

of America” sees its job as one encompassing the straight­ forward presentation of developments in the United States and abroad, put into proper perspective in relation to

^Willey and Young, Radio in Elementary Education (Boston: D. C. Heath and Co., 1948), p. 218

128

other current developments and events of record*

This

is done with the aim of making the United States, its people, plicies, and ways of thinking and living under­ standable to people abroad* Most of the "Voice of -America" broadcasts emanate from studios in New York City and are channelled through a master control panel to various combinations of trans­ mitters for beaming overseas*

The present "Voice" schedule

calls for more than 30 hours of broadcasting each day* "Voice of America" programs are of all types—

news, talks,

special features, interviews, speeches, dramatic presen­ tations and music* Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, the "Voice" keeps in touch with events all over the world through the service of press associations and a staff of its own correspondents in Washington and at Lake Success* Special correspondents-cover important international con­ ferences and provide news and official Interpretations of American foreign policy*

As the news is received and

edited, it is instantly transmitted to the various language desks for conversion into more than 50 daily news broad­ casts*

The news staff also prepares a daily press-opinion

broadcast of significant editorials from leading American newspapers.

129

In addition to the above mentioned service, a number of programs which have proved their popularity with -American radio audiences are regularly re-broadcast by the 11Voice of America*1#

Among them are the "Town

Meeting of the Air1*, the "Hit Parade*1, and "Invitation to Learning”*

The last series, featuring discussions

of significant literary and philosophical works from the time of Zoraster until the present day, is currently broadcasting a series the theme and title of which is f,Man*s Search for Faith”*

In addition, a large proportion

of "Voice of America” programs Is devoted to music, popular and classical, performed by leading American orchestras, choral groups and soloists* To supplement the programs broadcast directly over ”Voice of America” transmitters and relay stations, a special overseas unit provides recordings, program notes and scripts to United States Information Service offices throughout the world for loan to local stations. "Voice” programs have attracted an ever-increasing audience abroad, and response from listeners Is growing steadily*

About 150,000 letters are received annually

by the audience mail section, which handles and processes the mail, and which supplies as far as possible all the

130

Information requested.

Some of the question-and-answer

programs are broadcast in many languages. One of the most rewarding activities of the audience mail staff is the help they are able to give listeners who ask for American "pen pals" or letter correspondents. Such letters are forwarded to a private American organi­ zation which matches them with similar requests from Americans of all ages, occupations and cultural interests. In the past year, 2,500 requests for American "pen pals" have been forwarded in this way.

•5

Additional Appropriations for improving "Voice of America" facilities have been recently recommended.

The

Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives in its report Issued August 16, on the Fourth Deficiency Appropriation Bill, has recommended an additional appro­ priation of $11,320,000 for the construction and improve­ ment of "Voice of America" facilities for international broadcasting.4^ A world-wide view finds support in the United States. The international division of the National Broadcasting Company broadcasts in the six great languages of the occidental world, each of which is used by a population of

gRadlo Times In India. Vol. V, April 16, 1950. No. 8, edited and published by D. D. Lakhanpal, Bombay. ^The Department of State Bulletin, Vol. XXI, No. 530, publication 3616, August 29, 1949.

131

40,000,000 or more,

These are English, German, French,

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.

Guided by a common

denominator of audience interest in every part of the world, the division concentrates upon the delivery of upto-the-minute news of world importance, swiftly gathered, and delivered factually and without bias to populations which in many countries of Europe live under close censor ships and which in many other parts of the world are without adequate communications.

In order to accomplish

this purpose, the division has assembled a staff which O

knows the tastes, traditions, habits and preferences of the countries to which the Division broadcasts.

All

members of this staff of thirty-five have lived in the countries to which their programs are directed.

Three

who direct the news broadcasts have had an aggregate of forty-seven years of experience as news correspondents abroad.

Care is taken that the voices of those who speak

on the National Broadcasting Company international program shall speak not only in the language of the listeners, but in their own native accents.

Around the central body

of news broadcasts in six languages, the Division builds programs of cultural, informative and entertainment value in its foreign field of listening.

From the resources of

132

the National Broadcasting Company networks broadcasts of classical and popular music are adapted to foreign audiences. Every effort is made to avoid programs which listeners would interpret as propaganda.

Thus the company, while it

endeavors to interpret the Unites States to foreign listen­ ers through its International Division, also makes every effort to give the people of the United States free access by radio to the cultures and viewpoints of other nations.^ The National Broadcasting Company has been able to present many of the worlds greatest artists, lecturers, v * *

scientists, and authorities in many fields.

Sponsored i

programs alone have introduced many persons renowned in these same fields and have made vast contributions to the cultural life of the iteierican people as well as to Its entertainment and information. The National Broadcasting Company special events programs represent a world coverage of news and features i>

from the scene of action.

Through Its receiving sets the

© public may be present at epoch making events, however far distant the scene may be.

Momentous events during 1938

found the National Broadcasting Company busy on every con­ tinent, bringing to its far-flung audience not only the

^Broadcasting in the Public Interest.(National Broadcasting Company, Inc., 1939), pp. 56-57.

153

^

news itself but also the men who were making that news. The cultural influence of religion on mankind is still very considerable and the medium of religion can be used in promoting the concept of brotherhood of man.

The

experiment in religious broadcasting carried on by the National Broadcasting Company has been very helpful in support of this point of view.

The National Broadcasting

Company religious broadcasts are non-sectarian and non/ denominational, for it is the Company* s belief that the r

, religious message broadcasts should be of the widest appeal, \ presenting the broad claims of religion, which not only , aid in elevating the personal and social life of the ini

* dividual but also help in popularizing religion.

It is

felt that the most worthwhile objective attained in this matter of religious broadcasting is the encouragement of respect and understanding for the other person*s point of view.

No one listening to another religion than his own

has to give up a particle of his own faith in order to appreciate the pther person*s viewpoint.

The Company has

since its beginning maintained a firm policy of not selling time for religious broadcasts. An important contribution of radio to religion is evidenced by the fact that the urban type of sermon has been brought into rural areas.

This is important in

134

another sense—

that Sabbath services are possible in

areas where a minister could not be supported. Other broadcasting systems also have special fea­ tures in their programming for cultural development and contacts with other people of the world.

A good documen-

1 tary program is the surest means of focusing the attention / 1 of- the country on a specific situation, good or bad. Such I'a program can be assembled relatively quickly, while the situation is critical, a technique more difficult in the motion picture arts.

It can reach the entire nation

simultaneously with its message, and it takes the problem into the American household. To take advantage of these positive factors, the Columbia Broadcasting Company organized a Documentary Unit within its New York production department.

It was given

the task of preparing periodic documentaries on a series lr of national and international affairs--or any situation " which seemed to, merit the consideration of the American people as a whole.

When this unit and its objectives

were announced, the Columbia Broadcasting System made the promise that it would not relegate these programs to the marginal hours which sponsors do not want because of lack of listeners.

These programs were promised for the peak

135

listening times, at the cost of canceling commercial programs. One of the early documentaries in this series was the nEaglefs Brood”. quency.

T h e

focus was on Juvenile delin­

It showed that Juvenile delinquency was to be

not an Isolated characteristic of misguided adolescence, but a national ill having roots in the very ways people live, and exerting its effects far beyond the boyhood of the offenders.

Chapter by chapter it laid open the un­

happy story of youthful gangs, of headline Journalism which stimulates further offenses, of the lack of rehabilitation ^ facilities, the brutal and candid venality of underpaid prison officials, the national housing shortage, Inade­ quate schools and teaching, and, finally, of the apathy of all citizens. At the end it suggested methods of checking this cancer, methods which hitherto had evolved fitfully and sporadically, unpublicized and without public backing or funds, working only here and there where parents and local officials had already awakened to the urgency of the need*6

64Ehe Saturday Review of Literature, April 12, 1947, Vol. XXX, No. 15, p. 63.

136

As Robert P. Heller says:

*

“The Eaglet Brood11 hit hard. There was proof of it. Two seconds after “System” the switchboards of CBS stations lit up, as the operators put it, “like Coney Island.” Mail poured in— thousands of letters and post­ cards. Government officials throughout the nation transmitted their thanks. But most important— hundreds of listeners in American communities did something about It. They swung into action to establish community councils that the program had urged to combat juvenile delinquency.' “The Eagle* s Brood15 was only a beginning.

Later CBS

produced ”A Long Life and a Merry One”, concerning national health; “Experiment In Living”, on democratic techniques g) in human relations; “The Sunny Side of the Atom'”, on the peaceful potentials of atomic science; ”We Went Back”, a panoramic view of the world two years after V-J day; ”Fear Begins at Forty”, a projection of the tragic problems of the aged; “Among Ourselves”, a new and positive approach to race and minority relations; and”Bear Mr. Lincoln”, a poetic Interpretation, inspired by Carl Sandburg, of the revelations in the Robert Todd Lincoln collection of Lincoln papers. Other networks joined in the documentary technique. The American Broadcasting Company dug Into the problems of the teacher shortage, and our national resources.

The

^Max Wylie, Radio and Television Writing (New York: Rinehart and Co., Inc., 1950), pp. 384-385.

137

The Mutual Broadcasting System studied the problems of "war babies.tJ "Child’s World”, broadcast over the American Broad­ casting Company network, was series in which young^cHlldie-n discussed for the benefit of themselves and their elders the things that concern or oppress childhood minds.

As

every parent knows, the world of childhood is full of > fears and fancies, shrewd insights and savage impulses. Only as a child is fully understood by adults can he be helped toward maturigy.

In this broadcast the children

examined their reasons for lying or stealing; they ex­ changed their concepts of God and death, they analyzed race prejudices.

The result is by far the most fascinating

of juvenile programs. "Child’s World" was conducted by Miss Helen Parkhurst, founder of New York* s progressive Dalton School. For every weekly program she selected a group of six to nine children, rich and poor alike, usually from lists provided by New York schools. The children, whose ages varied from 4 to 14, were invited to Miss Parkhurst’s apartment. After a few minutes in a cheer­ ful room by themselves, In order to gain confidence, the youngsters went into the dining room where they stood around a circular brass railing. Shoes were re­ moved both for comfort and so that toes could be wiggled without creating odd sound effects. Miss Parkhurst, who maintained an interested but firmly impersonal attitude introduced the subject for discussion and each child spon­ taneously made his own comments into a microphone.®

®tlLifeft, August 2, 1948; Vol. 25, No. 5, p. 79.

138

Some other specific aspects of community service rendered by the radio may be examined here.

It does not

need to be mentioned that there is hardly a radio station on which does not appear community service programs sponsored by such civic groups as the community chest, the Boy Scouts and government agencies.

Dhrlng the war

years every station had men engaged in scrap drives., blood donor recruiting, war bond and many other campaigns.

In

the United States services like these are almost taken for granted from a radio station today. The active participation of a local radio station in all the worthy projects of the community helps to build tremendous prestige for the station.

A striking example

is one which a radio station in Its first year had some­ thing to say about how its community affairs were to be run.

A citizen^ group wanted to promote a bond issue for i

$200,000 to build an addition to the city hospital.

The

radio station took over the campaign and tried all the rf-

promotion stunts at Its command.

These ranged from inter­

views in an iron lung to the description of an appendectomy and a babyfs cry after birth.

Needless to say, with such

promotion and direction, the bond issue received more than

139

73 per cent favorable vote, the first to carry the needed 65 per cent in that city in more than twenty-five years.® This illustrates the cumulative effect of station contact. It is comparatively easy for a station to identify itself with the community outlook If every member of the staff Is interested in one of the community activities, according to his choice.

The sports director can become

a member of Y.M.C.A. Advisory Board; the director of music can become a church choir leader; the farm editor can se­ cure an appointment to the conservation district board; the woman’s editor can join the various business and professional women’s clubs.

To cite a typical example of

what staff participation In a community activity may mean, Robert T. Mason, general manager of radio station WMRN, Marion, Ohio, speaking before the Association of Indiana Broadcasters on June 24, 1947, said:

v1

Last night our assistant general manager was In­ stalled as president of the Marion Lions Club, one announcer was M C ’ing a big Boy Scout jamboree at the local ball park, our news man was broadcasting inter­ views and music from the annual dance of the Federal Order of Police, and the manager was attending the annual meeting of the holding company of our Country Club. Under ordinary circumstances I would have attended all four, but was cut down to three, missing the Lion’s (sic) installation.^

^Robert T. Mason, copy of an address presented before the Association of Indiana Broadcasters on June 24, 1947, p. 8. 10Ibld.. pp. 5-6

140

Many good points in cultural services are credited to the United States radio industry today#

As pointed

out earlier, radio has greatly popularized the enjoyment of music, and what is more, has made possible the much more frequent opportunity for hearing good music in rural areas.

A few of the social trends which have resulted in

connection with radio entertainment are the greater ap­ preciation of the international nature of music, in general; and considerable pleasure for shutins, invalids, the blind, etc.

Radio publicity and coverage’ of the major athletic

events have to a considerable extent Increased the interest of the people in sports in general.

In the interests of

public welfare, there have been increased installations of radio receivers in prisons and other institutions for delinquents.

Other items of importance have been the

documentary units broadcast by the Columbia Broadcasting System and the educational broadcasts originating over most of the major networks. Cultural Programs in India— Improvement. w. culture.

Suggestions for

India Is a land known for its ancient

Universal arts like music, drama, painting

and sculpture were highly developed in India centuries ago.

India again is a home of religions.

She has given

to the world religions which are professed today by nearly

141

half of mankind.

These religions, understood in their

proper essence, are a great cultural factor that can

i>

bring human society together in an effort to establish and maintain the peace of the world. The All-India Radio and particularly its Bombay station have Included in their radio programming many cultural programs such as news, talks, interviews, health programs, in addition to music, sport, literature, and drama.

It Is indeed difficult to define what exactly

constitutes the culture of a pedple.

Is culture of a

e