WONDERS OF RADIO

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXX, Issue 4874, 23 July 1936, Page 6

WONDERS OF RADIO

FACSIMILE PAPERS. AID TO EDUCATION. Washington, June 15. Radio facsimile newspapers in the home in the near future —possibly every citizen has a wavelength all his own for private communication in the far future—was the picture painted by David Sarnoff, president of the Radio Corporation of America, speaking at the opening meeting of a hearing before the Federal Communication Commission to-day, says a correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor. He made these points to illustrate the need for care in the allocation of the wavelengths below the present shortwave band, wavelengths which are seen to carry infinite possibilities in communication of the future, as this most important conference on radio in years, for considering future allocation of wavelengths, got under way. No Press Competitor. Mr.' Sarnoff pointed out that the facsimile newspaper should not be considered a competitor but rather an aid to the present press. But this writer was told from informed high source that some newspapers approached on the possible use of facsimile had taken the same obstructionist attitude as marked the original newspaper opposition to radio broadcasting. To-day newspapers are seeking to get into broadcasting, many unable to make it while others are paying a high price for their delayed appreciation of the art. The hope was expressed that this history would not be repeated in facsimile.

Schools and Radio.

It was the possible disemployment of teachers that caused the comment, although Commissioner Studebaker did not stress the point. But by his own figures, he said that there were 239,000 schools and 1,000,000 teachers in the country. Then he pointed out that the cost of operating a school broadcasting station in each community could be offset by releasing a few teachers in each school. Taking the commissioner’s figures, if only two teachers per school were released it would mean 478,000 out of 1,000,000 teachers or nearly five out of every ten.

The commissioner felt that teachers who would be teaching “artists” would be able to give more to the many students by radio than is possible with the existing teachers.