Radio: Honeymoon Survey

In 1936, plump, semibald Andre Kostelanetz was No. 1 U. S. air traveler. He made weekly round-trip flights between New York and Los Angeles, in New York conducted his Chesterfield broadcasts, in Hollywood directed cinemusic for and wooed Coloratura Lily Pons. In 1937 he repeated the schedule, and last June the pair were married. As might be expected they quickly tired of a groundling honeymoon.

Promptly Bride Pons Benedict Kostel-anelz flew lo South America. She made a six-week concert tour, he surveyed South American radio. Last week, Andre Kostel-anelz gave CBS his report on the honeymoon survey, incidentally upsetting popular ideas of the nature of Latin American radio listening.

All discussions of the American nations below the equator have stressed the point that they are blanketed with Italian and German short-wave propaganda, that the U. S. should fight propaganda with propaganda. Observer Kostelanetz verified the activity of totalitarian shortwavers, but pricked the balloon of their importance by reporting that short-wave listening in South America, even more than in the U. S., is an exacting hobby, available to relatively few people, of interest to even fewer. Said he: “In all of Brazil [pop. 47,795,000] there are only 420,000 radio sets, only 15% of them equipped for shortwave. Some 40% of the Brazilians are illiterate and illiterates are not likely to be skilled short-wave dialers.”

Like North Americans, South Americans listen to long-wave broadcasts from local stations. They laugh at U. S. attempts to play tangos, but are interested in every thing President Roosevelt has to say, while baffled by reports of Presidential fishing trips. Their own commercial radio stations give them entertainment which is almost 100% sponsored, do not pretend to any interest in furnishing free entertainment education. Advertisements are liberally inserted between musical numbers, for a higher fee between the announcement of a piece of music and its performance. South American airtime is sold not so much by hours, as by minutes, seconds. Therefore, when Latin American radio stations give anything away free, the gifts are small. Last week Radio Splendid (Buenos Aires) gave a three-minute daily period for long-wave rebroadcasting of U. S. news, shortwaved by NBC. German, French, Italian short-wavers have similar three-minute periods for their news.

Traveler Kostelanetz’ conclusions: “It is such long-wave rebroadcasting of short wave broadcasts thai can really bring for eign propaganda lo South American ears.”