Radio Before Television

Programs 

     The early days of radio offered a host of programs specially designed for young audiences, as well as several family-friendly options that encouraged parents and children alike to gather in front of the centrally located radio receiver. In the 1930s and 1940s, children everywhere rushed home from after-school activities and errands to listen closely to a series of three to five consecutively run quarter-hour serials largely sponsored by breakfast food companies, collectively called the Children's Hour. In the ever-popular category of children's adventure programs, young listeners followed the interplanetary exploits of Buck Rogers in the Twenty-fifth Century, the aviation adventures of Captain Midnight, the high school heroics of Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy, or the daunting detective work of Little Orphan Annie. Westerns such as Tom Mix, Sky King, and the wildly popular Lone Ranger sparked the imaginations of children across the country and made "Kemo Sabe" a household phrase.

Science fiction was also a favorite genre for young radio listeners. Adapted from comic books was Buck Rogers in the Twenty-fifth Century, in which the hero Buck and his faithful assistant and love interest Wilma fought the evil powers of Killer Kane on the planet Niagara. Other early sci-fi favorites of children included Flash Gordon, Tom Corbett, Space Patrol, and Space Cadet.

Themes and Messages

      Typical themes and messages in the wartime and immediate postwar programs included defending "good"-freedom, justice, honor, and other "American values"-from "evil." A series of episodes, for instance, had Tom Mix fighting an enemy balloon perched over the plains or had Superman rushing off to rescue a captured Lois Lane. The Lone Ranger and Tonto battled the wilds of the desert, and Dick Tracy solved crimes and foiled villains in a number of contexts. Perils and pitfalls plagued characters but were expertly averted by the stars of the shows. The hero concept was omnipresent, with viewers left hoping that they would be as strong, as brave, and as principled as those largely male characters who saved the day time and time again.

     In fact, during the period to 1948, the potential for violent and aggressive messages to influence child listeners was a prominent and controversial concern. Newspapers and magazines of the 1930s and 1940s invited experts to comment on the issue, with most suggesting there was little ground for concern, citing psychoanalytic and cathartic theories. The discourse was very similar to the controversy that would later arise about television violence, yet it occurred well before the scholarly attention of psychologists and other researchers to the influence of the media and prior to the research and theories that were advanced to explain and demonstrate the influence of media violence on aggression.

     When the country was at war, enemies on such programs as Terry and the Pirates and Chandu the Magician were from the Far East; in Little Orphan Annie or Jack Armstrong, the All­ American Boy, villains had German, Russian, or Italian accents. Some were blatantly referred to as Nazis or obliquely called spies. The "damsel in distress" was a frequent theme, and often highly stereotypical gender representations pre­vailed. One exception was Little Orphan Annie, who solved crimes a la Nancy Drew and was even more adventurous and plucky than her comic strip character.

Program Openings and Sound Effects

     Attention-getting introductions perked the ears and piqued the interest of youngsters across the country. "Look! Up in the sky ... it's a bird ... it's a plane ... it's Superman!" heralded the beginning of a child favorite, as did the sing-along openings of Little Orphan Annie ("Who's that little chatter-box ... The one with the pretty auburn locks ... Who can it be? ... It's Little Orphan Annie") or Jack Armstrong ("Raise the flag for Hudson High, boys ... Show them how we stand"). Terry and the Pirates opened to the waterfront sounds and hearty bellows of a busy harbor.

     The artful use of sound characterized much of the radio offerings of the day, encouraging the "theater of the mind" that fed off young imaginations. The radio tower communications of Hop Harrigan added to the realism and authentic feel of the program. The sirens and screeching brakes of police squad cars in Dick Tracy sent many a pulse racing. And of course, the gun sound effect after "Faster than a speeding bullet" and the train sound effect following "More powerful than a locomotive" reinforced the power and strength of the visual image of Superman aroused in children's minds.

Sponsors, Premiums, Announcers

     Almost equally entertaining were the commercial jingles and premium offers intertwined with children's adventure plots by such advertisers as Ralston Purina (sponsor of Tom Mix), General Mills' Wheaties (jack Armstrong), Kellogg's Pep cereal (Superman), and Ovaltine (Little Orphan Annie, Captain Midnight). Children saved numerous box tops and anxiously awaited the arrival of program-associated toys and gadgets. Successful receipt of a nail from the shoe of Tom Mix horse Tony, a Dick Tracy badge, or a secret decoder ring that ​​made sense of encrypted messages in Little Orphan Annie instantly elevated a child to envied status in the neighborhood. Millions of boxes of hot or cold cereal and tons of hot cocoa and peanut butter were consumed with the ulterior motive of a Captain Midnight Key-O-Matic Code-A-Graph, a Little Orphan Annie Shake-Up Mug, a Green Hornet ring, or a Tom Mix Straight-Shooter Medal. Premiums also encouraged further listening and careful attention to the program, because secret messages were woven into the fabric of plots and called for premium decoders for deciphering. Many children's radio programs also offered club memberships to avid followers and follow-up premiums that complemented past offers.

     The sponsorship of an entire radio program by a single advertiser allowed for a blending of program and ad copy that heightened the ability of the ad to entertain. Episodes of Tom Mix both began and ended with a musical message promoting the qualities of Ralston cereals. At the beginning of the show, the "Tom Mix Straight-Shooters" asked kids (in a Texas accent) to "Start the mornin' with Hot Ralston" amid the sounds of horse hooves and cowboy yips and yells. At the end of the show, the singers urged listeners to "Take a tip from Tom ... go and tell your mom ... Hot Ralston can't be beat." The characters, the music, the sound effects, and the sponsors' messages all contributed to the overall theme, in this case a Western, a strategy successfully pursued by many radio programs.

     The announcer/host was often used to create a tr:msition from the message of the sponsor to the program and back or even to speak the commercial message, as well as to introduce the program or unveil the latest premium offer. The Lone Ranger and Tonto were introduced by Fred Foy, Brace Beemer, and others, who occupied the announcer role by inviting audience members to "return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. From out of the past come the thundering hoofbeats." Before his 60 Minutes tenure, Mike Wallace was a convincing voice for Sky King and sponsor Peter Pan Peanut Butter on National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and Mutual in the mid-194os. Announcer Pierre Andre read a copy that persuaded young listeners to fully experience the escapades of Captain Midnight with membership into the Secret Squadron or the purchase of a decoder badge.

Weekend Programming

     The programs for children during weekend hours generally involved storytelling, singing, and playing educational games. The target age group was often lower on the weekends as well, with many shows appealing to pre-kindergarten and early elementary school children.

     Saturday mornings were populated by Archie, Jughead, Veronica, and friends on Archie Andrews, replete with storylines featuring the harebrained hijinks of Jughead and the budding romances between the more suave characters. There was also No School Today, in which characters Big Jon and Sparkie would tell various adventure tales to very young listeners. Bos­ ton's WCOP ran the Children's Song Bag on Saturday mornings, while Mutual affiliates carried a show in which birds sang the notes of popular songs, called the Hartz Mountain Canary Hour, Canary Pet Show, and American Radio Warblers at various times during its 15-year history (late 1930s to early 1950s). Beginning on WGN in Chicago in 1932 was the Singing Story Lady, hosted by Ireene Wicker who, true to her title, sang songs and told stories.

     Sunday afternoon's gem was Quiz Kids, which offered brain-teasing knowledge questions asked of panelists under 16 years of age (aired from 1940-54). The series began on NBC Blue and ended on Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS): time slots changed, but it was generally broadcast on Sunday in late afternoon or early evening. Hosted by Joe Kelly, Quiz Kids featured very intelligent young panelists who defined difficult words and performed other mentally challenging tasks. Sponsors of the show included Alka Seltzer and One-a-Day vitamins.

     In many markets, radio personalities and other prominent people (including New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia during a newspaper strike in 1945) read the comics to children on Sunday mornings. Among the most beloved children's radio programs was Let's Pretend, which was hosted by Nila Mack and enjoyed a 20-year stint (1934-54) on CBS. In the program, a group of child actors (the "Pretenders") acted out a half-hour story built around the names of three objects sent in by young audience members. The actors also played roles in other charming fairy tales written by Mack. The precursor to Let's Pretend, a show called Adventures of Helen and Mary, had run for five years before Mack changed the name and made the concept more popular with children by involving more young actors. The enthusiastic opening included a theme song ("Hello, hello ... Come on, let's go ... It's time for "Let's Pretend") and a rousing "Hello, Pretenders!" shouted by recurring host Uncle Bill Adams, to which the chorus of child actors would respond "Hello, Uncle Bill!"

Radio After Television (Since 1948)

Music Programming

     After television arrived and radio came to be primarily devoted to music, teenage audiences remained among the most loyal fans to radio's new programming. Music is the primary force drawing young people to radio. The lure increases with age: 85 to 95 percent of those aged 2 to 18 who listen to the radio are listening to music programs. From rock and roll in the 1950s through alternative and rap in the 1990s and into the new millennium, teens and music have gone hand in hand. Teenagers use music for relaxation and entertainment as well as to keep up to date on popular trends. Another gratification teens derive from music is its social utility; it is something to talk about with their friends. But perhaps what is unique about teenagers and music is the relationship of music to self-identity. Young people use musical styles and favorite performing artists' as ways of defining and expressing themselves in a manner that has no equivalent at any other time in life. Evidence for the relationship between music and identity is not limited to teenagers' uses of radio. It is also apparent in concert T-shirts and other styles of dress, posters and sometimes even lyrics dis­ played by teens in their bedrooms and school lockers, and their treasured compact disc collections. Research suggests that as teens move toward adulthood, their preferred means of listening to music will not be radio but their own sets of compact discs, tapes, and records.

     Music programs such as American Top 40 (launched in 1970) and Rick Dees' Weekly Top 40 (launched in 1983) have long drawn faithful young audiences on weekends. The contemporary hit format (Top 40) is highly favored by children. When they become teens, they also like album-oriented/classic rock, country, rap, and alternative.

     In addition to Top 40 favorites, children's radio offers musical options not likely to be found on stations targeting an older audience, with a heavy emphasis on songs from Disney or other kids' movies and novelty tunes. A list of the top 30 songs on Radio Disney affiliate WSDZ in St. Louis for 20 January 2003 featured the songs of pop stars Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, and 'N Sync, as well as the child-friendly tunes "Hamp­ sterdance Song" by Hampton and the Hamsters and "Who Let the Dogs Out" by Baha Men.

Talk, News, and Educational Programs

     Young people also have a wide variety of non-music radio programming options. Statistics show that r r- to r 8-year-olds in the United States spend an average of five to seven minutes with talk radio per day, five minutes with radio news, and six minutes with other types of radio programs. Many local markets offer their own version of WXPN Philadelphia's Kid's Corner, an entertaining combination of talk, games, and novelty songs for 8- to 14-year-olds. One of the most popular features of Kid's Corner is the news segment, in which 10- to 17- year-olds who have participated in reporter training workshops present stories they've gathered on such topics as women's issues and politics. Somewhat similarly, National Public Radio (NPR) features Teenage Diaries, a program in which teens act as newscasters reporting on themselves. They conduct interviews with friends and family and for several months chronicle many aspects of their lives on audiotape, providing reflections on what it means to be a teenager in contemporary society. The older children become, the more often they tune into such non-music radio programs.

     Countless stations provide call-in or talk shows tackling youth-oriented issues and subjects of concern, including such diverse topics as cheating in school, romance and young crushes, and struggles with self-esteem and "fitting in." WXPN host Kathy O'Connell has encountered callers interested in talking about light-hearted issues such as their computers or their pets as well as those eager to discuss more weighty topics such as animal rights and AIDS. Other youngsters call in not to discuss issues but to sing a song, play an instrument, or tell a joke. The program has boasted some 400 attempted calls per night.

Educational children's radio enjoys a niche-market position. Endeavors such as the Kinetic City Super Crew, sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, have proven successful at stimulating chil_dren's interest in scientific concepts as well as provoking them to work on science projects at home. This particular 30-minute program was launched in 1993 on several public radio stations across the nation and targeted third to fifth graders. The program showcased four students' attempts at solving problems of the world using science, with the goal of encouraging interest in science as well as advancing knowledge and honing critical thinking skills. The Super Crew, comprising Annalee, Joaquin, Chantel, and Alvin, aged 12 to 16, solved mysteries by "traveling" to different locations around the world and gathering information. A scientific study of over 250 fourth graders found that there were educational benefits for both boys and girls in listening to Kinetic City·Super Crew.

     Radio can also be a source of information regarding poli­tics. Studies have found that children turn to television and radio much more often than to newspapers or magazines when gathering information about politics and political campaigns. The national civics education program Kids Voting USA found that children overwhelmingly turn to broadcast media for current events and civics information gathering to complete their school assignments. Children and teenagers are often exposed to the news media when their parents tune in, and they are present in the broadcast news audience in surprisingly large numbers. They use radio and television to provide them with information about public figures, policies, and events. In turn, this knowledge helps shape their opinions, values, and behaviors.

     As with adults, radio and other media can also set the agenda of youngsters by highlighting some occurrences as newsworthy while shunning others. Through news bias, be it intentional or inadvertent, radio can also influence young people's interpretations of events. Because children often lack first­ hand information to counter media messages, these influences can be stronger and more dramatic for children than for adult audiences.

Cultural Programming and the Arts

     Radio has been an outlet as well as a vehicle for appreciation of the arts,·including theater and literature. Many radio plays are written for young performers or written by young playwrights. All encourage expression, imagination, and creativity. Children's Radio Theater, for example, began in 1977 at WPFW in Washington, D.C., and was picked up by more than 100 public radio affiliates by the mid-198os. The series fea­tured 30-minute plays written by children aged 5 to 17 and performed by professional actors of all ages. The scripts were chosen by teachers, librarians, and actors affiliated with the nationwide Henny Penny Playwriting Contest. The troupe broadcast its last performance in December 1997 on WPFW in New York City.

     1994 saw the launch of Rabbit Ears Radio, a radio program founded by Rabbit Ears, the Connecticut-based publishers of video and book-and-tapes. It enjoyed a two-year run distributed by Public Radio International. It featured stories narrated by celebrities and was hosted by Mel Gibson and Meg Ryan, who described the history of the story and the music chosen to accompany it and also introduced the narrator. Examples included John Henry, narrated by Denzel Wash­ington with music by B.B. King, and The Velveteen Rabbit, narrated by Meryl Streep with music by George Winston. Many local radio stations also offer programs in which stories are read to children over the air, often created through collaborations between stations and local libraries or colleges. Examples include Northeast Indiana Public Radio's "Folk Tales from the Briar Patch" offered on two weekday afternoons and "Magic Hat Storytime" broadcast on Sundays on the campus station at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.

Children's Radio Networks

     In addition to individual children's programs, there have also been attempts-some successful, some not-at establishing children's radio networks. In 1990 an early entry into the all­ children's radio scene was launched: Orlando-based Kid's Choice Broadcasting network boasted an advisory board at the time that included Peggy Charren of Action for Children's Television fame as well as Peter Yarrow of the musical group Peter, Paul, and Mary, who wrote original music and the theme song for the network. Among the programming alternatives offered by Kid's Choice were a 6 to 10 A.M. segment called New Day Highway (a family show with news, music, and special features), Curbside Carnival from 2 to 6 P.M. (offering story and exercise segments and music from around the globe), and a 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. slot targeted to preschoolers featuring music and information on numbers, colors, and shapes.

     Foremost among obstacles preventing adoption of a kids' radio format cited by executives was the difficulty in providing potential advertisers with viable listenership data, because Arbitron didn't measure the presence of young children in the radio audience. Station owners and managers have noted that many advertisers, both local and national, would have welcomed the opportunity to address child audiences with their advertising messages. The potential of another outlet, in addition to television, for peddling the breakfast cereals, snack foods, clothing, and other products favored by a young audience was appealing to many advertisers. The tradition in the industry to base pricing, placement, and other crucial advertising decisions on ratings data that were lacking for children's radio was, however, a real impediment to the growth of children's radio at that time.

     Therefore, the decision of Arbitron in 1993 to gather data on children aged 2 to 11 years had the potential to be ground­-breaking. Arbitron contracted with the Children's Satellite net­ work's Radio Aahs, the nation's only 24-hour children's network at the time. At the request of advertisers, then-president of the Children's Satellite network Bill Barnett arrived at an agreement with Arbitron whereby they would target households with children aged 2 to 11 in return for a subscription fee. To address the needs of the young audience, Arbitron adopted new strategies of training and assistance: older children filled out their own diaries, and Arbitron also conducted sessions to inform parents about completing surveys for younger children. For Radio Aahs, a network that had already been successful at reaching 15 percent of the nation just three years after its debut in Minneapolis, the ratings information offered the potential of additional growth and strengthening of advertising base for the future. Yet the Arbitron agreement turned out to be short-lived and Radio Aahs resumed the practice of relying on call-in statistics to woo advertisers.

Modern Networks and Programs

     Despite the breaking of new ground by Arbitron and Radio Aahs, measuring the 2- to 11-year-old audience is still exceptionally rare today. Nevertheless, the 1990s spawned a remarkable growth spurt in children's radio. The growth was due in part to the mere possibility of obtaining ratings data for young child audiences. It was also attributed to the many pioneers and trailblazers whose occasional forays into children's radio had been largely successful. There was also a commonly held view that the nation's youngsters had been an underserved radio audience for too long. For all of these reasons, a resurgence of additional programs and networks geared toward children occurred in the mid-1990s. Some of these fledgling networks are presently enjoying growing financial success and increasing patronage by young audiences, while others have gone belly up.

     One of the clear success stories is American Broadcasting Companies' (ABC) Radio Disney, launched in 1997 and targeting 2- to 11-year-olds, boasted 45 subscribing stations and an audience of 1.6 million nationwide in the year 2000, offering pop, soundtrack, and novelty songs as well as safety and education tips and news. Music programming accounts for the vast majority of Radio Disney's offerings, and the network showcases such kid-friendly acts as Weird Al Yankovic, 'N Sync, Backstreet Boys, and teen heartthrobs Christina Aguil­era and Britney Spears. The network uses focus groups with parents to determine whether music is appropriate for its audience and has often aired edited or alternate versions of songs to ensure that the family-friendly principle is met. Reactions of audience members are monitored carefully through email and phone calls to the station. Radio Disney also gives away prizes that range from the somewhat typical-compact discs, Pokemon cards, and concert tickets-to the downright luxurious, such as snowboarding trips, visits to space camp, and even a day with a recording artist. Audience research data is gathered by Statistical Research, Inc. and has helped attract sponsors.

     Fox Kids network's weekly Fox Kids Countdown program had garnered well over 200 affiliates by 1997 and reached an estimated 3 million listeners, mostly in the 8- to 14-year-old age group. The host is Los Angeles disc jockey Chris Leary, who helps draw in the Sunday morning audience with movie promotions and spots advertising Fox television shows. Songs requested by kids, call-in shows, and guest celebrities help make the program, now called Fox All Access Countdown, appealing to its affiliates, 95 percent of which are FM outlets.

     In the mid 1990s, the Children's Broadcasting Corporation delivered 24-hour programming through Radio Aahs via satellite to over 40 percent of the country, allowing children aged 2 to 11 to listen to young disc jockeys, games, contests, news, and educational or self-esteem messages. A glimpse at the Radio Aahs programming schedule revealed such educational entertaining fare as All-American Alarm Clock (6 to 9 A.M.), Alphabet Soup (noon to I P.M.), and Evening Theater (8 to 9 P.M.). The network also featured weekly live broadcasts from Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida. Later nightly slots were designed for adults tackling parenting issues.

     Yet the Children's Broadcasting Corporation soon faced stiff competition from the growing Radio Disney network. Indeed, the two companies were in litigation from 1996 to 2002 as Children's Broadcasting Corporation filed suit against Radio Disney for breach of contract and use of trade secrets, claiming that after the Corporation hired ABC as a consultant, ABC used that information to design Radio Disney. The Chil­dren's Broadcasting Corporation ultimately received an award of $9.5 million, yet the judgment was too little, too late for the struggling network, which had gone off the air in 1998.

     Despite new growth for more fortunate kid-friendly options, the late 1990s also saw the demise of a pioneer force in children's radio, KidStar Radio. The Seattle-based KidStar Interactive Media organization had distributed 24-hour children's programming from its home at KKDZ (AM) to AM stations in such major markets as San Francisco, Boston, Houston, and Detroit. The network made its debut in May 1993 and used 45 different interactive phone lines to record kids' input on songs, elicit their views on social issues, and even allow them to leave a message for their state senators. Sponsored programs included Virtual Safari, in which kids encountered adventures with animals (sponsored by GapKids), and Zack and Zoey's Survival Guide, in which the title characters were eighth graders who passed on words of wisdom from their experiences at school (sponsored by the Disney Channel). Citing the loss of a crucial investment deal, KidStar folded in 1997, leaving its affiliates scrambling to replace the child-oriented music (from disc jockeys ranging in age from 9 to 14), news, sports, and entertainment programming that KidStar Radio had provided.

     Today, two- to seven-year-olds in the United States listen to the radio an average of 24 minutes per day. Eight to ten-year­ olds listen for 26 minutes. From age II to 13, average radio use is 44 minutes per day, whereas for 14- to 18-year-olds it's 65 minutes per day. The most common times for radio listening among youngsters are after school on weekdays (3 to 7 P.M.) and on weekends from late morning through the afternoon (10 A.M. to 3 P.M.).

     Radio is still an important and consistent presence in the lives of young people. Many fundamental characteristics of radio remain unchanged. In addition to musical programming, modern radio programs for children are still populated by heroes and villains, main characters and sidekicks, and the occasional presentations of aggression and gender stereotypes. The adventures and trials and tribulations deemed interesting or relevant to children and teens are still the focus of many shows, much like in the days of old-time radio. Radio is still used to inform young people of topics, events, and central figures in public life. It remains an outlet or a vehicle for creative expression and appreciation of the arts. And radio is still a source of distraction, a means of escape, and a companion. Frequently entertaining and often educational, radio remains a means of exercising the imagination of America's youth.