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22 Entertainment

22 Entertainment July 2022 | World and Press Is radio in a second golden age? Here’s what the first looked like. RADIO From the 1930s to the 1950s, the nation gathered together and listened to many of the same programs every night. By Daryl Austin 1 ON OCT.30, 1938, America was rocked by shocking news: Aliens had been spotted crashlanding outside Grover’s Mill, N.J. Additional sightings were soon made across the Northeast, including reports of Martians unleashing poisonous gas on Manhattan and burning onlookers alive with ray guns. Periodically, the breathless news reports would be reduced to static. 2 Listeners reacted in real time; many of them flooded the streets wearing gas masks and wet towels over their faces. Stores were raided, bridges and expressways were inundated with traffic, and pregnant women reportedly went into early labor. 3 Of course, the alien invasion never actually happened. The news bulletins were part of a live Halloween program a young producer and a cast of talented actors were presenting over the radio. The producer was 23-year-old Orson Welles, and the name of the episode was ‘War of the Worlds.’ The H.G. Wells-adapted story had been produced for radio as part of Welles’s regular Sunday night broadcast, ‘The Mercury Theater on the Air’ – a program that had hitherto been largely ignored, as it was up against a wildly popular variety show starring comedians Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. 4 Only this Sunday was different, as millions of Americans who had tuned in to listen to Bergen and McCarthy changed their dials when the duo introduced a guest opera singer. “No one was in the mood for opera that night, and much of the country stumbled onto Welles’s broadcast by mistake, not knowing the news bulletins they heard were part of a radio drama,” explained Carl Amari, a syndicated radio host Orson Welles rehearsing the radio broadcast of ‘War of the Worlds’ on October 10, 1938. | Photo: Picture Alliance/United Archives and the founder of Radio Spirits, a large distributor of classic radio programs. 5 The resulting panic prompted a Federal Communications Commission investigation, changed the way studios used “news flash” bulletins on fictional radio programs, and launched the film career of the previously undiscovered Welles. Shortly afterward, Welles landed an unprecedented movie contract, and two years later he gave the world ‘Citizen Kane.’ 6 “Something like that could only happen during the golden age of radio,” said Murray Horwitz, a Tony Award-winning playwright and the host and co-producer of NPR’s ‘The Big Broadcast.’ He added, “The ’30s through mid-’50s are the one time when the whole nation gathered together and listened to the same programs every night. People believed the news and shared in a collective experience like never before or since.” 7 Until now, that is. The audience numbers might not quite match those of the mid-20th century, but with more Americans than ever listening to audiobooks and podcasts, audio-only formats have made a massive comeback in recent years, suggesting we might be entering a second golden age of radio – or at least audio. 8 Podcasts such as ‘Serial,’ ‘The Daily,’ ‘The Shrink Next Door,’ and ‘This American Life’ have “revitalized audio storytelling,” said Susy Schultz, a radio historian and the former executive director at the Museum of Broadcast Communications – in addition to being very lucrative for some of their creators. … 9 But in today’s splintered media environment, it’s hard to wrap our minds around just how dominant the leading radio shows were three-quarters of a century ago. By 1940, the Census Bureau estimates, 82.8 percent of American households owned a radio, many of which tuned into the same programs day and night. “The percentage of Americans who listened to almost any radio program of the time is vastly greater than anything the country is watching on Netflix today,” said Jim Carlton, interim director of the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago. 10 “The progression of modern American entertainment all came about through radio,” said Neil Grauer, a radio historian and writer based in Baltimore. Radio paved the way for sketch comedy shows such as ‘Saturday Night Live,’ evening talk programs such as ‘The Tonight Show,’ modern soap operas, and sports broadcasts. It also ushered in countless technological advancements, government oversight divisions such as the FCC, and some of today’s major media organizations. … 11 “Before radio, if you wanted entertainment you had to go to a local dance, a vaudeville house, the movie theater, or gather around a player piano,” Horwitz said. “After radio, everyone was able to be entertained within the walls of their own home.” … 12 As radio audiences grew, advertisers paid attention. “Anywhere there’s a large audience, advertisers follow,” Schultz said. Indeed, despite the Depression, advertisers kept increasing their spending on the medium, according to the Library of Congress. “Many radio shows in the 1930s were in fact produced by ad agencies who put together their own radio production departments,” said Susan Douglas, a media professor at the University of Michigan and the author of ‘Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination.’ 13 Until the technology to prerecord broadcasts was developed and perfected in the mid-1950s, most programs had to broadcast live. That resulted in countless on-air mispronunciations, sound effect mishaps, and fits of laughter, in addition to profanities and innuendos that would have otherwise been edited out during the more prudish era. 14 Scripted or unscripted, listeners were swept away. “People’s imaginations run wild when they’re relying on only one of the five senses,” Carlton said. “Listening is more stimulating and immersive than a book because there are sound effects and music in addition to words and the audience is filling in every blank mentally.” Paradoxically, he added, “it’s the most visual of all the mediums.” © 2022 The Washington Post 0 – 1 TO ROCKerschüttern — to crash-land bruchlanden — sighting Sichtung — Martian “"mA…S´n‘ Marsmensch — to unleash “øn"li…S‘ freisetzen — poisonous gas “"pOIz´n´s‘ Giftgas — onlooker “"---‘ Schaulustige(r) — ray gun Strahlenpistole — periodically in regelmäßigen Abständen — breathless “"breTl´s‘ atemlos — static Rauschen 2 – 3 to raid plündern — expressway Schnellstraße — inundated “"InøndeItId‘ überschwemmt; h.: überfüllt — reportedly angeblich — to go into labor Wehen bekommen — cast Besetzung; Mitwirkende — adapted bearbeitet — broadcast Sendung — hitherto “ÆhID´"tu…‘ bis dahin — variety show “v´"raI´ti‘ Varietéshow — starring … mit … in den Hauptrollen 4 – 5 to tune in einschalten — dial Einstellrad — to stumble onto s.th. auf etw. stoßen — by mistake unabsichtlich — syndicated radio host “"sIndIkeItId‘ Radiomoderator(in), dessen/ deren Shows an mehrere Programmanbieter verkauft werden — founder Gründer(in) — distributor “dI"strIbj´t´‘ Anbieter — to prompt s.th. zu etw. führen — Federal … US-Medienaufsichtsbehörde — to launch “lO…ntS‘ starten — unprecedented “øn"presId´ntId‘ beispiellos 6 – 8 playwright “"pleIraIt‘ Dramatiker(in) — to revitalize “Æri… "vaIt´laIz‘ neu beleben — storytelling Erzählkunst — historian Historiker(in) — executive director Geschäftsführer(in) 9 – 11 splintered zersplittert — to wrap one’s mind around s.th. etw. vollständig erfassen — Census Bureau “"bjU´r´U‘ US- Statistikamt — percentage “p´"sentIdZ‘ Prozentsatz — progression “pr´"greS´n‘ Weiterentwicklung — to come about zustande kommen — to pave the way den Weg ebnen — to usher in “"øS´‘ herbeiführen — countless unzählige — government oversight division staatl. Aufsichtsbehörde — vaudeville house “"vO…d´vIl‘ Varieté — player piano Pianola 12 – 13 advertisers Werbetreibende — Depression Weltwirtschaftskrise 1929 – 1939 — ad agency Werbeagentur — to pre record “Æpri…rI"kO…d‘ vorweg aufzeichnen — to perfect “-"-‘ vervollkommnen — on-air live — mispronunciation “ÆmIspr´Ænønsi"eIS´n‘ Versprecher; Aussprachefehler — mishap “"mIshœp‘ Panne — fits of laughter spontanes Gelächter — profanities “pr´"fœn´tiz‘ Obszönitäten — innuendo “ÆInju"end´U‘ sexuelle Anspielung — to edit out h.: herausschneiden 14 scripted/unscripted mit/ohne Drehbuch — to be swept away wie gebannt sein — s.th. runs wild etw. wird freien Lauf gelassen — immersive “I"m‰…sIv‘ eindringlich — blank Lücke

World and Press | July 2022 Lifestyle 23 Landline phones that are owned by Chanell Karr.| Photos: Jessica Ebelhar/The New York Times Too much screen time? Landline phones offer a lifeline. LIFESTYLE Like record players and VHS tapes, landline phones are being embraced by nostalgic fans as an antidote to an increasingly digital way of life. By Hilary Reid 1 FIRST CAMEthe rhinestone-encrusted rotary. Then the cherry-red lips. After that, the cheeseburger. By last summer, Chanell Karr had amassed a collection of six landline phones. Her most recent, an orange corded model made as a promotional item for the 1986 film ‘Pretty in Pink,’ was purchased in June. Though she only has one of them – a more subdued VTech phone – hooked up, all are in working order. 2 “During the pandemic, I wanted to disconnect from all of the things that distract you on a smartphone,” said Karr, 30, who works in marketing and ticketing at a music venue near her home in Alexandria, Kentucky. “I just wanted to get back to the original analog ways of having a landline.” 3 Once a kitchen staple, bedside companion, and plot device on sitcoms such as ‘Sex and the City’ and ‘Seinfeld,’ the landline phone has all but been replaced by its newer, smarter wireless counterpart. In 2003, more than 90% of respondents to a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they had an operational landline in their homes. As of June 2021, that number – which includes Internet-connected phones and those wired the old-fashioned way (via copper lines running from a home to a local junction box) – had dropped to just over 30%. 4 But like record players and VHS tapes, landline phones are being embraced by nostalgic fans who say their non-scrollable and non-strollable nature is an antidote to screen fatigue and overmultitasking. The crescent shape of many phones’ receivers, users say, is also a more natural, comfortable fit against a cheek than the planar body of a smartphone. And with a non-cordless device, one must commit more to the act of conversation; the phone call becomes more intentional. 5 In January, Emily Kennedy, a communications manager in the Canadian public service, started using an old Calaminelotion-pink rotary phone from her father’s office as a way to detach from her work in social media. Ironically, it was on Twitter where Kennedy got the idea. When Rachel Syme, a staff writer at ‘The New Yorker,’ tweeted in January about a landline phone that she had hooked up via Bluetooth, Kennedy was one of many who replied saying that Syme had inspired them to set up one of their own. 6 “Having my old phone as an object in my house is an identity signal that I like a slower pace,” said Kennedy, 38, who lives in Ottawa, Ontario. Like Syme and many other modern users of analog phones, Kennedy doesn’t have her landline copper-wired – so it doesn’t have its own number – but uses a Bluetooth attachment to connect it to her smartphone’s cellular service. (In other words, when she’s connected, she can take a cellphone call on the landline.) 7 Matt Jennings has worked at Old Phone Works, a company in Kingston, Ontario, that refurbishes and sells landline phones, since 2011. Now its general manager, Jennings, 35, said that in the past two years, customers’ demand for candycolored rotary phones from the 1950s and 1960s has skyrocketed. “About a year and a half ago, it absolutely exploded,” Jennings said. “Over the past six or seven years, we might get one or two orders for them, and now it’s probably one of our primary sources of revenue.” 8 “Of what has motivated the recent desire for landline phones,” Jennings said, “It’s a return to basics.” He added, “You can’t really go anywhere with a corded phone, you’re basically stuck within a three-foot radius of the base. You can have a real conversation without being distracted.” … 9 As appealing as landline phones may be, even their most ardent fans recognize it is basically impossible to use them exclusively. Alex McConnell, 30, a personal banker at KeyBank in Fort Collins, Colorado, has a Western Electric rotary phone wired to copper lines at his home. On Feb. 14, he did not celebrate Valentine’s Day, but the 146th anniversary of Alexander Graham Bell submitting the patent application for the telephone. “I prepared a meal with ‘Bell’ peppers and ‘Graham’ crackers,” Mc- Connell said. “Then I made a circular cake that I used blue icing to put the Bell logo on, and the original patent number for the telephone.” 10 His landline phone is not only more reliable than a cellphone, he said, but also encourages him to memorize friends’ phone numbers, which he considers a form of intimacy. “Since I actually have to dial my friends’ phone numbers, I find it really does help me connect them to memory,” Mc- Connell said. But even he cannot avoid the call of modern life. “My secret sorrow is that I do have a cellphone.” © 2022 The New York Times Company This article originally appeared in The New York Times. 0 LANDLINE PHONEFestnetztelefon — lifeline (fig) Rettung; Ausweg — record player Plattenspieler — VHS tape Videokassette — to embrace aufgreifen — antidote “"œntId´Ut‘ Gegenmittel 1 rhinestone-encrusted “"raInst´Un InÆkrøstId‘ strassbesetzt — rotary (phone) “"r´Ut´ri‘ Telefon mit Wählscheibe — to amass “´"mœs‘ ansammeln — corded model h.: Schnurtelefon — promotional item “pr´"m´US´n´l‘ Werbeartikel — subdued “s´b"dju…d‘ dezent — VTech (Elektronikhersteller) — hooked up angeschlossen 2 –3 to distract ablenken — ticketing Ticketverkauf — staple fester Bestandteil — bedside companion h.: Artikel auf dem Nachttisch — plot device dramaturgischer Kunstgriff — wireless counterpart Funk-Pendant — respondent “rI"spÅnd´nt‘ Befragte(r) — Centers for … US-Gesundheitsbehörde — operational funktionstüchtig — to wire verkabeln; verdrahten — junction box “"dZøNkS´nÆ-‘ Anschlusskasten 4 – 5 non-scrollable “"skr´Ul´b´l‘ nicht scrollbar — non-strollable “"str´Ul´b´l‘ statisch (to stroll spazieren gehen) — fatigue “f´"ti…g‘ Ermüdung; Erschöpfung — crescent shape “"kres´nt‘ Halbmondform — receiver Telefonhörer — planar “"pleIn´‘ flach — non-cordless nicht schnurlos — to commit to s. einlassen auf — intentional gewollt — Calamine-lotion-pink “"kœl´maIn‘ zartrosa — to detach s. lösen 6 – 8 pace Tempo — attachment Adapter — cellular service “"selj´l´‘ Mobilfunkdienst — cellphone Handy — to refurbish “Æri…"f‰…bIS‘ runderneuern — general manger Geschäftsführer(in) — candy-colored bonbonfarben — to skyrocket in die Höhe schnellen — primary source of revenue “"rev´nju…‘ Haupteinnahmequelle — desire Verlangen — to be stuck feststecken — base Basisstation; Apparat 9 – 10 appealing reizvoll — ardent “"A…d´nt‘ begeistert; leidenschaftlich — exclusively “Iks"klu…sIvli‘ ausschließlich — to submit a patent application ein Patent anmelden — bell pepper Paprika — Graham crackers Vollkornkekse — circular “"s‰…kj´l´‘ rund — icing Zuckerguss — to memorize s. einprägen — intimacy “"IntIm´si‘ Intimität; Vertrautheit — sorrow Kummer

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