RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

club members (France , Spain ) . Because their financial means usually were limited , the amateurs almost always had to confine their activities to them immediate geographical areas. Thus , they were local or regional, even though their stations sometimes could be heard in neighboring countries . They sometimes emphasized local or regional culture , e.g. in the broadcasts of the Radio Club of Fecamp (Normandy, France), where the poetry and music of the region was an almost daily f eature . 2 ) U.S. amateur -operated rađio stations frequently featured musical performances by frienđs anđ relatives of the station operator . 3 5 Very few amateur stations collected or broađcast news about their locales, however . To the extent that апу station of the early 1920s systematically and regularly transmitted local news , it was a local ad- ог business- (usually radio set manufacturers and dealers ) supported venture that did so , and few of them felt able to afford the cost of a staff of reporters . As larger national stations began to appear throughout the industrialized world , many of them furnished newscasts , but the emphasis was on national anđ international events. Drama , comedy and music usually were '■nationaT in character , as well. If regional stations were established as part of the national service , they usually had an hour or less рег day with which to worK . Ву the early 19 30s, amateur-operated stations m most industrialized countnes had đisappeared , and ad- or business-supported stations in many nations had been abolished or severely restricted . Radio broadcasting seemed more and more to be considered a national enterprise , both by governments and by listeners . Even where local stations still were common - m Canada , the United States and Australia - national networks claimed increasmg shares of their air time . The many linguistic and ethnic minorities in vanous nations rarely had found it within their financial reach to operate stations , even if they could have obtained licenses; nor đid they find other , more 'establishment'’ run or onented stations mterested in providing them with air time , or even in covenng their activities or catering to their cultural preferences . Trade unions , political parties and religious groups that were active locally and regionally , as well as nationally , encountered similar difficulties m most countries : m the United States a 'voice of labor' station in Chicago had a very difficult time obtaining a license , 4 ) while m Canada ali religious orgamzations which had operated stations lost their licenses m the late 1920s, 5) and none has received a license smce then. The Netherlanđs granted permission for political parties and religious groups to operate broadcast services startn'ig in

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