Teaching the Broadcaster.

 

On January 1, 1940, there were 881 broadcasting stations in the United States. Twenty-seven million families owned 40 million receiving sets, of which 8 million were in their automobiles. Radio broadcasting as an industry had grown in a scant twenty years to a point where it is included among the six largest industries of the United States. With these facts in mind it is not hard to understand how courses in radio work have increased greatly in recent years. According to a survey made by the Radio Education Committee under the supervision of the U. S. Office of Education, there were 357 colleges and universities offering 564 courses for the broadcaster. It has been suggested that such courses be divided into three groups. The first group would include those designed to give the student a broad understanding of radio and its place in society; these courses would consist of lectures, assigned reading, discussions, and reports. In the second group would be those courses which give the student practice in writing and in producing various types of radio programs. In the third group students would consider the effective use of radio programs in the field of education. According to the survey made by the Radio Education Committee, existing courses were also classified as to subject matter: general course in radio, radio program planning and production, education by radio, radio script writing, announcing, speech, dramatics, music, station management, advertising, technical courses, television, and radio law. Universities are training future broadcasters not only in these classes, but also by permitting them to assist in the operation of educationally owned stations. There were 36 educational institutions operating either full- or part-time stations. Many of these institutions do not give academic credit for work done by students, but do give them training and experience of a very practical nature. The courses in broadcasting in various universities are under different departmental or school supervision, but by far the largest number of such courses are a part of the speech department curriculum. In some instances, the broadcasting of programs is under the supervision of a separate radio department, not the speech department or any other department conducting classes in broadcasting. This, I feel, is rather unfortunate, because it does not give the instructor an opportunity to give adequate training to the student.

A college workshop is an important factor in the training of future broadcasters; it is a broadcasting outlet for the college, a laboratory for students of radio, and it may serve as a filter through which commercial stations pass their broadcasts by local groups. An excellent discussion of college radio workshops has been prepared by Leonard Power for the Radio Education Committee; it may be obtained by writing to the U. S. Office of Education. In order to function satisfactorily, the college radio workshop should be equipped with facilities to meet the most exacting requirements for the satisfactory production of musical, dramatic, and other programs of high quality. There should be a control room with standard broadcasting equipment and a trained technician who can give to the student valuable information concerning the technical side of radio. There should be a studio that has been acoustically treated for broadcasting and additional studios with control room and, possibly observation rooms for rehearsals and experimental classwork. The directors of workshops should be so experienced in broadcasting that their productive abilities are appreciated and valued by station managers for whom they work. In order to comply with the requirement set forth by the networks, that future broadcasters must have a cultural background, it is advisable to require of the student two years of preparatory work before he is admitted to the broadcasting classes. English courses in composition or rhetoric are essential both for the preparation of continuity and for grammatical speech. A knowledge of English literature is helpful to the interpretative reader and book reviewer. An insight into civics or political science will be a worth -while foundation for the commentator or interviewer. Probably one of the first questions asked by the station manager of an applicant is whether or not he has had any dramatic training. Announcers for the networks are required to have some knowledge of foreign languages. Courses in music appreciation, the history of music, and creative listening will prepare the announcer for the introduction of and comment upon operas and classical selections. Many schools of journalism are recognizing the entrance of radio into the field of dissemination of current news, and journalistic training is of great value to the broadcaster. Courses in business management and economics will help the announcer into executive positions with the station. The lifeblood of the broadcasting station is its commercial accounts, and over one-half of the station staff is in the sales department; consequently courses in advertising and the psychology of advertising are among those recommended. Finally, I would make a course in typing a prerequisite for all broadcasting work. The technician will gain his scientific background in physics and electrical engineering, and the broadcaster will do well to choose physics for a college science course. Naturally, speech courses are vital in preparation for broadcasting; public speaking, linguistics, dramatics, and oral interpretation are generally given as prerequisites for the courses in broadcastings.

The teacher in broadcasting should be able to assume that those enrolled have had general training in diction, pronunciation, articulation and enunciation, voice quality, and speech vocabulary. However, a review is an excellent method of beginning the semester's work. A popular introductory course in broadcasting may be given which will appeal to all radio listeners and users. If the class is located in a city where there is a radio station, members of the staff of the station may grant weekly interviews concerning their work in the station. The technical staff will explain the operation of the microphones, control board, and electrical -transcription pickup, and will take the class to visit the transmitter. The general manager will discuss contractual relations with the network and with ASCAP and B.M.I., costs of operation, the N.A.B., and F.C.C. The program director, announcers, sports announcer, and news commentator will explain and demonstrate their methods and duties. The dramatic director, with his cast, will demonstrate a rehearsal of a play, later to be heard over the station's facilities. Using the public-address equipment, the musical director will illustrate balance and distortion caused by different placing of musical instruments before the microphone. Continuity writers will discuss their problems. The sales -department representatives will tell of the station's rates, explain how campaigns are planned for the sale of radio time, show by charts the station's coverage, and explain tie-in and merchandising campaigns. Through these interviews and demonstrations the class will gain a general view of the work done in the station and studios by the broadcaster. I have found that it is helpful to enlist the aid of those in the radio department of advertising agencies to explain the relation of the advertising agency to broadcasting. Inasmuch as some of the students who are taking such courses in broadcasting may go into commercial motion pictures, I have been fortunate in inducing such manufacturers to allow me to bring my classes to the studio to show how the microphone is used for making commercial motion pictures. In this connection the Jam Handy Company of West Grand Boulevard, Detroit, one of the largest manufacturers of commercial motion pictures, has three sound films made for the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. One of these is On the Air and shows by the use of motion pictures and moving diaphragms how sound waves travel through the air and gives pictures of the control room and some of the signals used in broadcasting. A second motion picture, Behind

 the Mike, illustrates the making of a great number of sound effects for the radio drama. The picture is entertaining and instructive to classes in broadcasting. The third picture, Quiet, Please, deals with acoustics of studios. These pictures are generally available to schools equipped to project sound motion pictures. I think that they can be obtained without cost. The National Broadcasting Company also has motion pictures of network broadcasting which might be obtained to show before beginning classes in broadcasting. The class will be given auditions over the classroom public-address equipment so that those whose voices are unpleasant or who have speech defects may be eliminated from more advanced classes. Individual difficulties in speech may be given special attention in the speech -correction clinic. Other members will be advised to select classes in continuity writing, sales, or production, all of which require the foundation knowledge given by the station staff. By the close of the semester the students should have gained a foundation knowledge of microphone technique, have become aware of their speech faults, and haee developed into critical listeners.

Those students who have passed the audition tests of the introductory courses may enroll in radio speaking. Again relying upon the generosity of the local station, the teacher will have built up a library of electrical transcriptions. The words of the commercial continuity upon these transcriptions will be typed for the students, who will record their own delivery of such commercial announcements upon the classroom recording equipment. Their recording will be compared with the announcement upon the electrical transcription; in this way they may hear their own faults in enunciation, emphasis, and intonation. Students will listen to and study the announcements heard over the radio from recognized broadcasters and analyze their virtues. Different types of announcements will be given by the students in their auditions-station breaks, straight commercial, introductions of speakers, musical announcements, mail pulls, announcements of children's programs-all of which are given in slightly different styles. Those students who have successfully found employment in broadcasting studios as announcers are the ones who have practiced constantly in the studio in reading commercial announcements. Probably too great stress is laid in radio speech classes upon conversational style. There are usually three or four students who are particularly good who wish to be announcers and they, using copy obtained from broadcasting stations or copied from the air or continuity found in Sherman P. Lawton's book, Continuity Types, practice to one another the punch style of commercial announcing. The use of the Sound Mirror, the tape recorder, is particularly helpful to the student in this training. One of the first things to do in training the radio announcer or speaker is to create within him the feeling that he is reading to a small audience when he is addressing the microphone. With this in mind, at the outset I place the radio speaker with his copy at a table with the microphone before him and a listener on the opposite side of the table and try to get the speaker to read his material as if he were talking to the person who is opposite him. His auditor in this case must show by facial expressions he understands what is going on. After the speaker becomes accustomed to the microphone and to reading in such a way that what he is reading sounds conversational, I allow the auditor to remain in the same room with the speaker while he is addressing the microphone. It is not until after the novice has been accustomed to the microphone that I take away a visible auditor. The students of radio speech will next be trained for actuality broadcasts. A small, domestic, motion -picture projector can be used to throw a picture on a screen which can be seen through a window in the announcer's booth. The student announcer will be required to describe the action vividly and clearly so that the rest of the class who cannot see the picture will be able to visualize the scene through their ears. This will require vocabulary control by the announcer and concentration upon his task. Another student who has previously seen the picture can blend the necessary sound effects from recordings to make the audition realistic. Such auditions should start with simple types of motion pictures. Comedies and parades should be practiced before football, baseball, and tennis games are attempted. In most institutions the athletic department has films that have been taken during games to show the players their faults; these films may be borrowed by the teacher of broadcasting. These are just some of the exercises that may be tried out in extemporaneous and impromptu speech, which has been discussed in a previous chapter. We have a small announcing booth at the University of Michigan, adjoining a larger studio. Using some of the bridge hands that are given in the daily papers, we have allowed a quartet of students to play a game of bridge while the announcer carries on a running commentary upon their play from the adjoining studio, the idea being that he will have to fill time and yet make the listener see the game as it progresses. He uses headphones to hear the bids made by the players. All types of radio speech should be practiced over the public-address equipment in this radio speech class: educational addresses, political talks, interviews, conversations, round -table discussions, inquiring reporter, and news presentation. Speech programs of the local station should be listened to and the continuity used should be obtained and used by the students 

for comparison. The instructor should be aided in his criticism of the auditions by the class, which constitutes the radio audience for the student speaker. The auditors should be concerned with the qualities of the voice, its shading, melody, vitality, and personality. Is it well modulated, full, soft, low pitched, strong, buoyant, well directed, convincing, attractive, magnetic, warm, sincere, friendly, live, and convincing? If so, it has the qualities sought in the radio speaker.

For the class in writing for the radio, the teacher will do well to gather a library of used continuities from broadcasting stations. All types of commercial plugs may thus be studied. The World Broadcasting System furnishes weekly continuities to be used in conjunction with its transcriptions (as well as a pronunciation guide to be used in announcing musical selections), which the station will give to the teacher for educational purposes after they have been used. The station usually will also give the scripts of its local dramatic productions to student broadcasters. It is more difficult to obtain scripts of network plays, for these belong either to the sponsors or to the artists; but in some instances they may be obtained for classroom study. Mimeographed continuities of government programs, such as the "Farm and Home Hour,"1 can be obtained for study. There are many books which contain sample continuity; a bibliography will be found on page 371. Also contained in this text is a list of sources of scripts that can be studied by the student. Most of the continuity contained in such books is copyrighted and cannot be used upon the air without permission. Having this in mind I have selected the plays in this text from scripts that have been handed in by my students in the past year. There are no restrictions upon the use of any skit in this book. These samples of student writing may be compared with professional writing in determining imperfections. The United States Department of the Interior, Office of Education, has established an Educational Radio Script Exchange, from which various types of manuscripts may be obtained for analysis. It is helpful to place the students in charge of the script library and have them solicit copies of acceptable continuity. The students should type additional copies so that there will be enough for the casts of the plays when used in the classroom. After the class has studied the forms and diction of such professional scripts, it may write original copy. As it is best for the radio writer to construct his skits about characters and situations with which he is familiar, the college student may wisely start with short informative skits upon college life. Skits that have human interest but little conflict or de nouement are popular and simple to write for anyone who is observing. Skits about student life, university research, a campus news dramatization must he realistic to meet the approval of the student critics; they are excellent broadcasting material and they are easy to cast in a college class. Journalistic training is an excellent prerequisite. The next step in dramatic writing may consist in the dramatization of short stories. O. Henry, Bret Harte, and other modern writers furnish excellent plots for classroom exercises but, because of copyright restrietions, are not available for broadcasting. Short stories that come in the public domain are possibilities for broadcasting; these include the works of De Maupassant, Balzac, and the Russian writers. I have found that my students in writing courses are offered outside opportunity to practice the preparation of radio skits. The Bar Association of the state was eager to have a series of programs prepared to familiarize the public with the service rendered by the lawyer. The legal group furnished facts to be used in the preparation of such programs, which combined the dramatic and discussion, and the students prepared the continuity, which was then submitted to the committee of lawyers before it was put on the air. Another group that appealed to the university was the Forty -Plus Club, which requested that the students prepare dramatic programs for these men over forty, who are seeking employment. Such programs offered problems that had to be met by those in the writing class. Historical groups, medical societies, and other organizations need aid in the preparation of their programs which may be obtained through the writing class and the workshop. It is advisable for the author of a radio play that is to be produced to sit in upon the rehearsals of the play so that he may check upon the faults that are brought out during such rehearsals. Such things as difficult words, poor dialogue, lack of clarity, and timing can best be determined during such rehearsals.

The course in radio reading and dramatics generally draws students who have had training in oral interpretation and in dramatics. Students required to interpret poems that will appeal to the radio audience will first study the author, his times, and his purpose. The instructor in radio dramatics will obtain from near -by stations a list of poetry programs and radio plays that may be heard in the college town. Students should study these professional productions, as well as such skits on electrical transcriptions as are available. They should examine the types of scene transitions used, the speech and "sound action" of the characters, as well as the effective use of voice by 'the actors. Field trips to local stations will give the students an opportunity to see and hear the players in action. Over the classroom public-address system the radio actors may prac- tice first the simple skits of student life. In these there will be less difficulty in voice casting and in inducing the actors to feel their parts. The students should early learn the vital necessity of correct timing. Follow these with scenes from older plays. Next the students should be given practice on plays that have been produced professionally. The teacher can usually establish relations with the local station to obtain plays. When the students have studied the dramatic radio programs and have practiced skits used by the professional radio actors, they may rehearse for presentation original plays prepared by the radio -writing class. These will require practice in developing sound effects. As the average university broadcasting course has a limited budget, plays should be produced with as few effects as possible. Whenever possible these sound effects should be originated by the students rather than by recordings. The radio actors must study their parts until their parts become parts of them. They must organize their material so that it has ear appeal, so that action is made obvious by words and sound, and so that voice contrasts will project facial movements. As teachers usually learn more than their students, it is advisable to have members of the class act as dramatic directors for various plays in early auditions.

Classes in production should be assigned to the task of arranging and presenting the university broadcasts. For theoretical practice the students may be required to arrange full -day schedules for the public-address system. Programs should not run for more than 15 minutes and should be live presentations. Station breaks, spot announcements, sustaining programs, and sponsored programs should all be given. The musician. actor, commentator, and writer all will have a part in making the abbreviated "day" realistic. Production requires a broad background, showmanship, and a thorough knowledge of broadcasting. Daily and weekly program schedules are easily obtained from stations for study. Forms such as are used in radio stations should be provided. All musical numbers must be cleared, logs must be kept, and the routine of the regular station observed. Students are appointed as station manager, program manager, continuity manager, etc. Students of all radio classes are then assigned to different periods of time during the day for which they are responsible. The students write, cast, direct, and act in their own productions. In short, the entire studio and the operating thereof is placed entirely in the hands of the students. The broadcasting is continuous for eight to ten hours and is transmitted by public address to a jury which criticizes each individual production. When each student has received his criticism and has had ample time to correct his mistakes and build up his good points in the revision of his work, the experiment is repeated upon a later date. To make this work even more satisfactory, the instructor might assign types for production which the student might not choose himself. For example, the person or persons who choose to do a dramatic program might, after the revision and correction of that, be assigned to take over a news broadcast or a children's program the next time. This would eliminate the possibility of students' doing only one type of work and also would insure variety and desirable time placement of programs. The experience of the full day of broadcasting reveals to the student a goodly portion of the difficulties which arise in professional broadcasting. It brings to light the problems which are easily overlooked or unneces- ' sary to consider in the presentation of single radio programs. Furthermore, the students are brought to a fuller realization of the different types of audience that are appealed to during the day. We begin our broadcasting at seven o'clock in the morning with a program of popular music which is interspersed with advertising continuity covering a wide range of merchandise. This sort of program appeals to almost the same type of audience to which the evening programs cater. After this, practically the entire morning is given over to women's programs: serial dramas, shopping news, recipes, etc. At noon there are news broadcasts and stock -market quotations, which are followed by musical programs. Fashion news, music, drama, sports talks, poetry, news, and children's programs fill the rest of the day in the order in which you would expect to find them on your radio. Schools of journalism are recognizing the popularity and importance of news broadcasting, with the result that courses in this type of broadcasting are being inaugurated in some institutions. Those students who are interested both in broadcasting and in journalism may be organized into a news dissemination service for the university. Their copy should embrace material of an educational nature designed to inform the public accurately concerning the scholastic news of university life. Classroom news, advances in educational methods, and the value and extent of research as presented by such news broadcasts will give to the public a different insight into college life than it receives from newspaper items. Accuracy, methods of unifying the news, transitions from one item to another, and the development of an individual style are matters to be stressed in addition to journalistic principles. The radio -advertising field is one of the most promising for the college graduate. While a college education in business is not essential for the student entering this department, it certainly provides an excellent background. Classroom work in salesmanship, merchandising, marketing, personnel management, and psychology is helpful. Courses in radio law are best described by this catalogue announcement: The development of the legal regulations of wireless telegraphy and tele- phone; the Federal Radio Act of 1927 and its amendments; a study of the Federal Radio Commission and its general orders; procedure and practice before the commission; the law of crimes, torts, and contract applicable to radio; licenses, and copyright; rights and liabilities of wireless operators and Government regu- lations of their activities; rights and liabilities of other persons affected by such activities; State and municipal regulations of radio; and international agreements and international aspects of radio control.

A course offered by a teachers' college to train teachers properly to receive programs in their classrooms does not exactly come under the heading of teaching the broadcaster. Such instruction, however, would be a valuable aid to the educational broadcaster. While some teachers make effective use of the radio as an instructional device, the majority would be aided and made more cooperative if they were instructed in the purposes and methods of the broadcast. In such a course the teacher should learn how to tune and operate the receiving set correctly. She should be informed of the worth -while educational programs available and how to keep informed concerning programs. She should be taught the value of visual aids, how to create student interest in the programs, and how to evaluate the effectiveness of such programs. Since one of the greatest problems of the teacher is how to obtain a receiving set for her classroom, various plans for earning or securing radios should be outlined. In many districts local stations do not carry educational programs; in such a class teachers can be shown how to arouse public demand for such programs. In many instances these teacher -students will return to their localities to educate their school officials to an appreciation of the educational opportunities offered by the radio. The teacher -training course should instruct the student how to tie-in the radio presentation with classroom work. Teachers must find out who is broadcasting and why before they bring any broadcast into the classroom. Teacher instruction can be given over the radio or in the summer -session classroom and will provide the teacher with background attitudes and broadcasting technique that will help her to use educational programs more effectively. A number of teacher -training institutions are offering such courses. Research in the field of broadcasting is being conducted by many institutions. In some cases research is being carried on as a part of the regular radio classwork, and a number of universities and colleges in the  country are conducting surveys on various phases of broadcasting through other departments of instruction or through administrative divisions.

During the summer session there are many teachers who anticipate an opportunity to become radio educational directors for their school systems or colleges. A seminar for them is much in demand. A broad education is necessary for the undergraduate who looks forward to this position, to be followed by teacher education and internship. The radio educational director should enroll in all general and specialized courses in broadcasting, including technical radio training. He should have experience both in teaching and in a broadcasting station before applying for the position of educational director. His or her position (a very large proportion of radio educational directors are women) entails a great variety of tasks. 1. Planning Programs. Developing, outlining, checking general plans, originating program ideas. 2. Research. Gathering data for scripts and program effectiveness; assisting graduate students with master's and doctor's theses. 3. Script Writing. Inspiring and editing programs of all types for both faculty and students. 4. Program Directing. ¡Scheduling, casting, rehearsing, arranging sound effects, engineering services, obtaining music. 5. Administration. Taking charge of publicity, music clearance, copyright releases, public relations. 6. Radio Contacts. Obtaining time from commercial stations, inducing professional broadcasters to address class, begging for free equipment, obtaining con- tinuity for classroom examination, arranging dates and hours for programs. 7. Extramural Activities. Giving extension talks, soliciting cooperation from schools and listening groups. 8. Broadcast Participation. Conducting interviews, talks. 9. Library. Reading everything on the subject of radio; clipping and filing worth -while material and ordering all new books and pamphlets; taking advantage of all offers of free material. 10. Student Placement. Building up a reputation and developing friends in stations so that graduating students may be placed. 11. Instruction. Teaching classes in broadcasting. 

There is a tendency under pressure of program production always to use those students who excel as actors and announcers and to neglect others who desire and deserve training. The director -teacher needs to remember that workshop classes are training schools, not professional studios.

 The radio educational director is all the buttons. The responsibility and success of radio in education rests upon his or her shoulders. There is a need for trained directors in order that radio education will not be neglected and that fine programs packed with information will be arranged, broadcast, and called to the attention of teachers. 

Students who have been graduated after having taken courses in broadcasting find that, upon obtaining positions with small stations, they will be required to handle controls and transcription turntables in

addition to serving as announcers (see Fig. 44). 

Such technical training has not been given to them in their speech courses. There is a definite place for a course of such a nature that would include a semi-technical understanding of the control board and handling of the technical side of studio production. The course would also offer instruction in the use of the transcription turntables, the making of recordings, and sound effects. A large proportion of those enrolled in such a course at the University of Michigan are teachers whose schools are equipped with public-address systems and recording equipment. Information is also given by the studio technician concerning frequency modulation, short-wave, television, facsimile, etc. Students enrolled in this course are generally given practical experience in handling auditions and rehearsals as well as in building sound -effect equipment. Field trips to police broadcasting stations, visits to amateur short-wave operators, station transmitters, and studio -control rooms are interesting. Displays of recording equipment, radio, and public-address equipment are made by local dealers during the course. A library of catalogues from all manufacturers is easily built up.

The announcing booth and studio should be acoustically treated. The ideal size for a speaker's studio is between 2000 and 4000 cubic feet; the general purpose studio should be between 20,000 and 40,000 cubic feet. The treatmentis best left to engineers provided by the various companies manufacturing acoustical materials, but note should be taken of the fact that the majority of acoustical plasters do not have sufficient sound absorption. It is best to avoid parallel and opposite reflecting surfaces, as these cause persistent reflections or flutter. Where two opposite walls are hard reflecting surfaces, they should be treated or the surfaces should be made saw-toothed in such a way as to disperse impinging sound. The floor is best covered with inlaid cork, rubber tiles, or a nonabsorbing material. There is a definite relation between the height (2), width (3), length (5), or 2, 3, 4. Thus a studio may be 20 feet high, 30 feet wide, and 50 feet long. Studios should not have low ceilings. It is advisable to have large double windows set in rubber between the studio and the classroom so that the students who are watching a rehearsal may observe the placing of speakers before the microphone and the making of sound effects. The control room is best placed in a corner of the classroom and raised above the level of both the studio, into which it should have windows, and the classroom. There should be windows between the classroom and the control room also so that students may observe the operation of control equipment. There should be a sound vestibule between the classroom and the studio. If possible, there should be a small room off the studio in which sound equipment may be kept. The studio and classroom should be wired for high-fidelity public-address equipment (see Chap. XX), with broadcasting microphones both in the announcing booth and in the studio and less expensive talk -back microphones in the classroom as well as in the control room. There should be loud -speakers in the classroom and control room, as well as a speaker to be used for talk -back in the studio. The broadcasting microphones should include a velocity and either an eight -ball or salt -shaker. In the control booth there should be a transcription turntable arranged for both 33% and 78 revolutions per minute, with electrical pickup. This should be connected through the control board to the speakers in the classroom and in the studio, to be used in the studio for sound -effect recordings and in the classroom for playback for analysis. If possible an old microphone on Public-address and Sound -recording Equipment in the Schools should form a part of the teaching equipment.

 Students in physics or in electrical engineering can do much in the building of equipment. The following plans and instructions dealing with the talk -back system, an inexpensive microphone for talk -back, enlarged volume indicator, and variable -speed turntables can be built by students, as well as many of the manual sound effects. Talk -back Microphone. A program director who has a talk -back setup will be able to hear his rehearsal as it will sound over the air and be able to give his directions and comments to the cast as he hears it. Ordinarily, this would require two amplifiers. However, under the following arrangement the director may interrupt the rehearsal and use the same amplifier for his talk -back microphone. Materials needed are: a special switch, a talk -back microphone, a talk -back speaker, and some miscellaneous small parts such as wire, plugs, and perhaps a box to mount the switch in. The diagram (Fig. 45) shows how to hook up the circuit of such a system. A satisfactory microphone for such a talk -back system can be made from an ordinary 3 -inch permanent -magnet loud -speaker. All the parts necessary for the microphone unit and the connecting transformer may be purchased for approximately $4. The speaker, transformer, and plug are obtainable at any radio supply house. A lathe tool handle, or a good file handle purchased from a hardware store, makes a convenient handle, and a small aluminum clime -store saucepan, 33.' inches in diameter and 134 inches deep, will serve as a microphone case. (A drum of sheet metal was used in the microphone illustrated in Fig. 46.) A few small bolts and nuts, a h -inch pipe nipple 1%4 inches long, a little solder, a small piece of sheet metal, and a small piece of wood 4 by 4 inches and ?4 inch thick complete the list of necessary parts. The speaker that you purchase will probably have a square flange with mounting holes in the flange. In order to keep the case small, it will be more convenient if the square flange is cut off with a pair of tin shears. It will then be necessary to drill and tap three holes in the speaker, or, if the tools are not at hand, small machine screws and nuts may be used. Remove the handle and the knob from the cóver of the pan by drilling the rivets out. Holes drilled in some regular pattern in the bottom of the pan form the protecting grid for the speaker. A piece of silk or rayon placed over the face of -the speaker and held there by a drawstring protects the paper cone from dust and moisture. The speaker may now be fastened in place, face down, in the bottom of the pan. Drill a hole through the wooden handle large enough for the cord. Ip the end of the handle next to the pan drill a hole slightly smaller than the h -inch pipe nipple so that the nipple can be screwed into the wood, making a tight fit. The other end of the nipple can be soldered, threaded into, or held by two nuts to a small piece of sheet iron. (Since the aluminum is very thin, it is necessary to reinforce it where the handle is fastened to the pan.) The metal plate is then bolted to the pan. If the depth of the speaker is such that the cover of the pan will not go in place, a wooden ring can be used to increase the depth of the pan. Small wood screws will hold the cover and the ring in place. A machine screw placed in the hole left by the removal of the wooden knob from the cover improves the appearance. Run the two -conductor cable (rubber -covered lamp cord is very satisfactory) up through the handle and solder one end of each wire to the speaker terminals. Tie a knot in the cord or wind some tape around the cord so that, when the cord is pulled, the strain will be taken by the handle and not by the speaker terminals. The cover can now be fastened in place. If you have a fine wire buffing wheel, the shine on the aluminum may be removed and a very pleasing brushed finish obtained by subjecting the pan to treatment by the buffing brush. After placing a suitable plug on the end of the cord (whatever length you need), your microphone unit is complete. The transformer should be placed in the circuit, in the amplifier, or near it. Care must be taken in selecting its location. If placed near a power transformer, the system will have a very annoying hum; therefore, keep it away from power transformers. Perhaps it will be necessary to place the transformer outside the amplifier case. The location must be selected by trial. The transformer may be placed in the microphone housing if the housing is made large enough to accommodate it (as illustrated, Fig. 46). In this case a shielded two -conductor cable will be necessary instead of the lamp cord. The hum problem will be lessened but the weight of the microphone will be increased. The transformer may have a switch on it or it may have several taps. The proper one to use is the one which gives you the greatest volume. In general this will be the one which gives the transformer the highest turn ratio. If you desire a stand microphone instead of a hand microphone, the only changes necessary will be to mount the microphone on top of a stand instead of fastening it to a handle. Of course it is much nicer to purchase an inexpensive aerodynamic microphone of the pressure type.

It is very helpful to a person practicing before a microphone to know when he is too close or too far away. Usually the only way to get this information is from someone else, who is either listening or watching the volume indicator on the control board. This handicap is eliminated by the use of the enlarged volume indicator to be described (see Fig. 47). Essentially this meter consists of the movement of an ordinary volume -indicator meter, behind which is mounted an automobile headlight bulb so that, as the meter needle swings, the needle shadow is cast on a ground -glass screen. The entire mechanism is housed in a metal box and is mounted on the wall in the studio in a place convenient for the student to observe his own volume level as he practices. Anyone who is gifted at making things and is a careful workman can make and install a similar meter. The necessary parts are: A volume-indicator meter; a 50 -candle -power automobile -headlight bulb; a 6.3 -volt radio filament transformer capable of carrying at least 5 amperes (Thordarson transformer T 19F98 is satisfactory); a 3- by 7 -inch piece of ground glass; one piece of 24 -gauge galvanized iron 7 by 30% inches; two pieces of 24 -gauge galvanized iron 7% by 8% inches; one piece of sheet zinc or aluminum 9 by 7 inches (this is easier to cut than sheetiron-otherwise sheet iron is all right) ; electric switch, cord, and plug, wire, solder, miscellaneous nuts and screws. The meter needs a little revamping before it can be used. Remove the meter case and you see a magnet and the meter movement. The magnet as it is placed in the meter will cause a shadow on the screen and block out the shadow of the pointer at some positions; so loosen the two small screws and turn the magnet down. After cutting a hole in the 9- by 7 -inch piece of metal and bending the ends, mount the meter with two small machine screws. The 7- by 30% -inch and the two 9- by 8 -inch pieces of metal are bent and cut to make the box. The headlight bulb, which is outlined in the illustration (Fig. 47), is mounted in a 3 -inch piece of bakelite. The ground - glass screen (removed from its frame in the photograph) is held in place by two wooden strips fastened by six No. 32 machine screws. The ground side of the glass should be on the outside. The meter panel should be mounted last in assembling the unit so as to avoid damage as much as possible. After the assembly and wiring are completed, the unit is ready to be connected to the amplifier. Since there are so many makes and kinds of amplifiers it is very hard to give directions for connecting the volume indicator. Therefore, unless the services of one familiar with radio circuits is available, it is recommended that you secure the services of your" local radio service man for this purpose.

A Variable -speed Turntable. The variable -speed turntable consists of an arrangement of three turntables (propelled by an electric motor) so that the turntable upon which the record rests can be speeded up or slowed clown gradually or abruptly, as the operator desires. Figure 48 shows this variable -speed turntable. The two turntables to the right are on the same stem; the top table is cloth -covered and carries the record. The lower two turntables are on the same level, the first being revolved by the power supplied by the electric motor and the second turntable being revolved by the right wheel of the car (which rides on the bar in front), which in turn receives its power from the left wheel, which rests on the first turntable. The operator increases the speed of the third table by moving the car along the bar to the right. As the car moves from left to right the wheel on the first turntable is revolved by the faster outer edge of the turntable; the wheel on the turntable to the right rests near the center of the second table, increasing its speed and turning the second and third turntables faster as the wheel approaches the center of the second turntable.

 The building of a sound wagon should be within the ability of many high-school science and manual -training departments. Briefly, a sound wagon consists of a rectangular box mounted on noiseless castors, with two or more electrically driven turntables accommodating 12- or 16 -inch sound -effects transcriptions, with high-fidelity phonographic pickups having about 14 -inch arms, a high-fidelity amplifier of from 8 to 10 watts output mounted on the floor of the box, a high-fidelity loud -speaker (preferably one of the heavy-duty, PM type) mounted in the front of the box, and balanced -impedance attenuators for varying the volume of either pickup. A substantial door in the side nearest the operator and another on the left end will be useful additions, and drop leaves at each end provide space for records when raised. The studio should be equipped with a large electric wall clock with a second hand. A good stop watch is also valuable equipment. The classes should be organized to conform with the organization of a broadcasting station and in accordance with the chart (Fig. 49). A minimum library for the teacher of broadcasting is given in the General References on page 393.

A duty that perplexes the student of radio who enters the radio profession after graduation is the keeping of station forms. Students should practice filling in these forms in all their experimental broadcasts, whether these are over public-address systems in a studio, or actual radio presentations. A log is a record of every minute of broadcasting, including all errors-an accurate journal required by law of all broadcasting stations. When the announcer has checked in at the studio, he studies the log for the day. In the first column are the initials of the announcer who is to take charge of the program. In the second column is the time at which the program is to be presented. In the third column is the title of the program. The fourth column informs the announcer whether the program is to be transcribed upon discs revolving at 33% revolutions per minute or upon recordings at 78 revolutions per minute or, if it is to be a live program, in which studio it will originate. If the program is to be a network program, this information is also given in this column. The fifth column tells whether the program is sustaining, sponsored, or a participating program. After ascertaining the programs he is to announce, the announcer next refers to the daybook, which contains the commercial copy that he is to deliver upon each one of his programs. Adequate space is left in the center of this form for the "spot," "1 -minute," "100 -words," "station- break," or "tag -line" announcement. At the bottom of the form he is to put down the date on which such copy is read, the time, and his initials (see Fig. 50). 

The next form that he will use is the announcers' program report (Fig. 51). Upon this the announcer will list the time at which the program went on the air and the exact second when it came off. He will list the time at which the call letters of the station were given, and the title of the program. If the sponsor's name is given by the announcer upon a participating or transcribed program, the time when the sponsor is announced is also listed. The origin of the program, that is, the studio from which it originates, or whether it is a transcribed program is noted. The types of programs are abbreviated, and a list of these is given upon the form. In the column for comments, he'll make notes of anything that might have happened during the presentation of the program.

 

. For instance, he may have to put a notation of this sort: "ET Announced at the beginning and at the end," which means that the program was electrically transcribed and that the announcer announced that it was a transcribed program both at the beginning and at the end of the playing of the transcription. 

"ET announcement at beginning-live announcement at end" would mean that the transcription was announced as a transcription at the beginning of the program on the record and at the end by the announcer. All such comments are included upon this report, which he initials.

The man who is in charge of traffic in the station will make out a time chart for the station. This time chart shows what is being presented by the radio station for every quarter of an hour of every day in the week. Such a time chart is used by the sales department to determine at a glance what periods are available for sale. As radio bookings quite frequently change, such time charts have to be made out nearly weekly. Many stations keep time charts of competitor stations in the same town so that they can easily see what other stations have on the air at the same time that a program is being presented over their station. Traffic is really a separate job in the broadcasting station. The librarian who is in charge of transcriptions is required to keep a transcription cue sheet which he makes out after playing the record upon his play-back equipment. Such a cue sheet takes the form shown in Fig. 5e. A report is made by the accounting department of the station, by the program or production director, or by the announcer in charge of the program. It is essential that this production report (Fig. 53) be kept accurate.

 In many broadcasting stations the actors, artists, musicians, and other participants are paid in accordance with the record of performance. Failure to give an exact list of all participants causes great confusion in the accounting department. This log is kept for both the rehearsal and the air performance and a copy of the script or continuity is usually attached to the form. A second production report (Fig. 54) lists all musical selections used, the rehearsal time of each number, and the actual broadcasting time of each selection. Such a report is vital in case of controversies over the use of copyright or restricted selections and also avoids the too frequent repetition of selections. This report goes to the music department. A similar performance record is used in making a permanent timing record of music; It serves to indicate the time taken by each standard piece of music and by each particular arrangement. Thus by referring to a program record, one can easily arrange a program that is accurately timed. 

In case any original musical selection or arrangement which has not been cleared is used, a release of the following type should be signed by the composer before the broadcast. WJR-The Goodwill Station, Fisher Building, Detroit, Michigan.

 DEAR SIRS: I am the creator and owner of the following composition(s) and I hereby grant to you and your affiliated radio stations the right to broadcast such composition(s), without fee, until 30 days' written notice to you of revocation, and to make arrangements and transcriptions thereof and to broadcast the same. In consideration of your cataloguing such com- position(s) as available for broadcasting, I agree to hold you, your affiliated stations, sponsors, agencies and others making use of such composi- tion(s) under this license free and harmless from any and all claims arising out of any such use hereunder. Yours very truly, Because of the care with which radio stations protect themselves from suits resulting from the unauthorized use of copyright selections, a careful record is kept of every musical selection presented by live talent or upon a transcription. A list of all selections to be used must be filed well in advance of the program so that they may be cleared (copyright released). Evidence of such clearance and of performance are recorded upon the music Record of Programs (Fig. 55). Audition logs are kept by stations for radio performers. Such logs list the voice qualities, parts for which the performer is acceptable, and other records for the benefit of the dramatic or musical director or for the chief announcer. At the University of Michigan the audition card shown in Fig. 56 is used for students; however, a blank sheet of paper will serve the purpose.