Commentators, Radio

Development

Commentary on radio is almost as old as the medium itself. In their search for programming to fill air time, many stations welcomed those who appeared informed, could speak clearly and in an interesting fashion, to comment on current events. Indeed, commentators were heard on radio before regular news broadcasts in many cases. Newspaper attempts to quash radio newscasts in the early 1930s [Page 327]did not target commentary (which was not seen as competitive with newspaper columnists), thus further helping to promote on-air comment. Programs of commentary also lent themselves to commercial sponsorship much better than newscasts at that time. Commentary on radio attracted listeners who could identify with a voice and personality more readily than with mere words on a newspaper page. And commentary attracted an upper socioeconomic class audience—exactly the listeners many upscale advertisers sought. Commentators were respected and widely listened to, their views often quoted elsewhere. Most had extensive professional grounding in newspapers and magazines, and many benefited from both foreign experience and language ability, further distinguishing them from their radio talkshow counterparts of today.

Commentary by its very nature usually deals with matters of controversy. Most commentators made clear that they expressed their own views, not necessarily the ideas of network or station management (and thus should not be confused with occasional broadcaster editorials which do speak for management). CBS and NBC developed policies by the late 1930s that appeared to promote news analysis more than commentary, while the newer Mutual (1934) and ABC (1945) networks generally allowed their speakers greater freedom of action. Numerous commentators who began on one of the legacy networks thus ended up on the newer chains. The stated aim to maintain overall objectivity and neutrality on issues—an express goal of most broadcasters who feared offending listeners or advertisers—was a constant countervailing pressure against commentary. So were shifting sponsors, for by the 1940s, advertisers controlled most radio air time. To displease or lose a sponsor often meant losing a given time slot or even leaving the air.

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