Radio Broadcast - 1927, May - 61 Pages, 4.9 MB ... - VacuumTubeEra

,menMAY, 1927BROADCASTING AND SOCIAL UPHEAVALSalong. An agency which helps to keep people'sfeet on the ground, at such a time, is performingno small service. This is substantially whatradio broadcasting did in England during thecrisis of May, 1926.Let it be emphasized that our discussion isconcerned with the function of broadcastingduring times of grave social disturbance in industrialcommunities. During normal periods,broadcasting occupies a field quite distinct fromthat of journalism. Since fairly normal periods,until the world gets a good deal worse, may beexpected to cover 0.999 f 'he total time, thenewspapers are in a secure position. Their facilitiesfor news-gathering and catering to the interestsof great masses of people are in a class bythemselves. Broadcasting, in quiet times, interfereswith the newspapers about as much asthe theatres do; that is to say, not at all. If aman intends to go to a show in the evening, or tolisten to his radio, he reads his morning andevening papers just the same.But when there is an acute industrial crisis,the tables may be turned temporarily, as theBritish strike showed. The reason lies in the contrastingconditions of news dissemination byradio telephony and by printing. Publishing amodern newspaper of large circulation is a formidableproject. We do not realize what a hugeundertaking it is merely because we are accustomedto it. The thing has been organized andbuilt up on such a scale that we feel it mustcome around every morning, like the sun. Thatis a palpable mistake. The newspaper is producedby the concerted action of hundreds orthousands of men. If the men quit, there is nonewspaper.Even if the newspaper is produced,it meansnothing unless the distribution system remainsintact. Modern newspapers are bulky. One copydoes not weigh much, but try lifting fifty andthen visualize the motor trucks and mailcars required to transport fifty thousand.Reduce the size, and you have amelioratedthe difficulty, but you cannot removeit.Paper is gross matter, subject tothe physical limitations of physical things.Contrast the radio telephone station.Instead of hundreds of workers, it requiresonly a handful of men. A station of 1000watts output is considered fairly large;its night program coverage in an urbandistrict is, in fact, comparable with thatof a good sized newspaper's circulationsay 100,000 listeners. Plenty of 500- andlooo-watt stations with the studios, controlroom, and power plant in closeproximity can be, and are, run by onetechnician. One of the largest broadcastingplants in the world, with forty or fiftyfield points, and the studios and radio powerplant separated by thirty-five miles, isoperatedby a technical staff of sixteen men. In apinch, with the field work tossed overboard, thetwo engineers in charge, whose functions innormal times are mainly administrative, couldrun the whole plant alone. They might need awire chief for the lines connecting the studio andradio station, but a telephone engineer couldsubstitute for the wire chiefs if the latter all wentout on strike. In short, three or four professionalmen, who are likely to be on the "White" sidein a serious industrial conflict, can operate thelargest broadcasting stations, and one or twoeach can take care of the rest. They mightnot turn out a one hundred per cent, transmissionjob, but that is beside the point. The stationwould radiate and say what the proprietors'wanted it to say.The second factor, that of transportation,presents an even more striking contrast. A broadcastingstation generates its own "carrier," asthe high frequency wave is aptly termed. Itscontent is not printed on a few ounces of paperor other tangible medium. It is of the nature ofradiation weightless, impalpable, invisible, and,once released, itpenetrates to every point withinrange of the station without the aid of a singleman or vehicle. In distribution, even more thanin production, the radio is free where the newspaperis shackled, when the men walk out.Not very many powerful radio stations arerequired to cover a country of moderate area. InGreat Britain a single high-power station, Daventry,of twenty-five kilowatts rating, can coverthe entire island kingdom. Countries like Franceand Germany are similarly protected. Even inthe United States a single fifty-kilowatt stationlocated in the North-East can provide usableservice, in daylight,for South-Eastern Canada,New England, New York, Pennsylvania, NewJersey, Maryland, Delaware, the District ofColumbia, and the Virginias, with a possibilityof service to regions beyond. The daylight rangeof such a transmitter is about 400 miles. Thepopulation of the area of a circle of this radius,in this part of the United States, is of the orderof thirty millions. Three or four such stationsstrategically placed over the country, getting"OUR LISTENING WILL BE DONE ATTHE ORIFICES OF LOUD SPEAKERS"news over telephone or telegraph lines remainingin service, or by airplane if the worst comes tothe worst, could solve the problem even in theUnited States. Of course, not every family, evenin such industrialized countries as the UnitedStates and Great Britain, owns a radio receiver.But millions of them do, and each set is potentiallya focus of information when information ishard to get by other means.The weaknesses of radio distribution of newsfall under two heads: First, physical vulnerabilityanalogous to, but less serious than that of thenewspaper; second, the limitations of the spokenword, as such. The first division may in turn beconsidered under two subheads: Power supplyand wire connections. A broadcasting stationrequires electric power, normally obtained fromcentral stations. During a general strike thispower might not be available. But the amountisrequired not excessive, being in the ratio offive or six times the energy output of the transmitter.Ten horsepower would be an ample supplyfor a joo-watt station. A gasolene drivenalternator of two hundred and fifty kilowattscapacity would supply the largest broadcastingstation in existence at the present time. Such amachine is readily obtainable, and might beincluded as an integral part of broadcastingplants whose continuance in operation is vital.As for the telephone lines connecting studio andpower plant, the former being located in the cityand the latter rurally, a detachment of infantrywith a few motor cyclists, could safeguard twentymiles of aerial cable without special difficulty.And in many instances the stretch of wire isshort. In New York City, for example, there aretwo five-kilowatt stations with studios practicallyadjacent to the power rooms. The assailabilityof radio stations, even if overt force is employed,is not greater than that of water worksand similar utilities, and far less than that ofnewspapers. As for the telegraph circuits onwhich the radio stations would have to depend,in the main, for news armies and naviesusually maintain very effective radio telegraphsystems. In the United States there would beno insurmountable difficulty on that score.But, itmay be objected, when the radiospeaks, its words go in at one ear and out at theother; it lacks the relative permanency of theprinted phrase. This defect is of only moderateconsequence. For the general public thenewspaper certainly contains no elementof permanency; it lasts a morning or eveningand goes into the fire. The readersremember principally the headlines of thearticles which interest them. These salientpoints are impressed just as well by oralcommunication, and, by frequent repetition,or by some coordination of printingwith radio, the defect may be overcomeentirely. For example, in New York City,several hundred police booths and precinctstation houses are being fitted outwith receiving apparatus capable of respondingselectively to the municipalradio broadcasting station. During periodsof civil disturbance, these official receivingposts could be utilized as secondary distributionpoints for news, with no moreadditional equipment than simple letteringmaterials for printing bulletins. Suchideas have their ramifications, which weneed not trace in this sketch; the developmentswill follow when the necessity forthem arises.Against the limitations of radio broadcasting,even admitting them to be moreserious than they actually are, we mustbalance the directness and speed of thisform of communication. When the radioaudience receives blow-by-blow descriptions ofprize fights, the impulse of pain has scarcelypassed along the nerve paths of the man struckbefore the radio listeners know as much about itas he does. This quality of immediate contact,as opposed to the tedious mechanical interventionsof printing,is of special importance at timeswhen event follows event and conditions changefrom hour to hour.The next general strike, wherever it bobs up,will provide food for further reflection. It is aplausible guess that we shall hear more than weshall see, and that our listening will be done atthe orifices of loud speakers.Glad Tidings from the WestA CLIPPING kindly contributed by Mr.Zeh Bouck to this department revealsastounding leaps forward in the progressof the radio art, as set down for posterity in theSanta Cruz Morning Sentinel. It is entitled: "Of