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A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
radio alphabet
HASTINGS HOUSE, NEW YORK 1946
radio alphabet
EDITED BY Paul Kesten, Paul Hollister, Robert Strunsky,
Douglas Coulter, William Lodge, William Gittinger,
William Ackerman, John Churchill, Elmo Wilson,
Gilbert Seldes, Howard Chinn, Earle McGill, Davidson
Taylor, Lyman Bryson and several other modest people
whose counsel is hereby gratefully acknowledged.
COPYRIGHT, 1946 BY THE COLUMBIA BROADCAST-
ING SYSTEM, INC. All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission of the copyright owner.
PUBLISHED BY HASTINGS HOUSE
Printed in the United States of America
ndex
INTRODUCTION 1
GLOSSARY 9
RADIO'S SIGN LANGUAGE . 79
n introductory
program
"The word RADIO was suggested for wireless telegrams by an interna-
tional convention held in Berlin in 1906 and was extended to wireless
broadcasts in the United States about 1920. . "
H. L. MENCKEN, The American Language
( fourth edition )
A VOICE : The word radio in America in its extended acceptance
is now 25 years old.
It is a common noun in the vocabulary of every American old
enough to wonder about the sounds which come from nowhere
out of a box. It is more commonly used to describe three things:
( a ) The receiving apparatus through which the sound is heard.
As: "I got Chungking on my radio"
( b ) The broadcasting industry, science, art. As : "Jimmy Dur-
ante is a radio comedian."
(c) The social phenomenon. As: "Radio's influence on civiliza-
tion is incalculable."
Like every other industry, science, or art, radio has developed,
even in its first generation, its own language. A good deal of it
is picturesque. A lot of it is classroom definition. Because radio
touches many phases of human activity it has borrowed its terms
freely. Since it leans heavily upon the sciences much of its talk is
technical. Since it is interwoven with the engineering and distribu-
ting businesses it shares with them a common frame of reference.
As a commercial enterprise it uses the language of commerce. And
since its first loyalty is to the world of entertainment its working
language draws on that of the arts, theatre, motion picture, music
and literature.
Not since Gutenberg's press has any instrument devised by man
added more promise to the dimensions of man's mind, or more
altered the shape of his thinking. The press enabled man to speak
his mind to man through a code of letters on paper: radio enables
man to speak his mind by living voice. This expansion, under the
somewhat imperative tempo of the radio art, has forced up a new,
raw, essential working vocabulary which is steadily spilling over
into wider understanding and usage.
Radio's new operating tongue speaks now and then with fresh
if familiar economy and color. In the air a pilot on the beam is on
his course; on the air an actor or director or conductor on the beam
is making his most effective use of the microphone. Bite off, bend
the needle, west of Denver, soap opera, dead air, old sexton...
these are new and useful and happy twists of the infinitely flexible
mother tongue.
This collection doesn't pretend to include everything, nor intend
to haggle. Complex definitions have been left to the textbooks
where they belong. Terms popular in radio's infancy which have
since withered will not be defined here: two such are crystal set
and cat's whisker. The imaginative radio virtuoso may complain
that this collection omits his own pet epithets and signals: okay,
let him add them on the margins or the back pages.
Here the terms are listed alphabetically.
At the end of each definition you will see a letter inside ( ) ; this
is a clue to the sense and the branch of broadcasting in which the
term is usually used. So—
(p) means radio Production.
( r ) means radio Research.
(c) means radio's Commercial arm, its business language.
(e) means radio Engineering.
(t) means radio Television.
( e.t. ) means radio's Electrical Transcriptions, or recording.
( o ) names radio's Organizations.
Each of the authorities who have helped to compile this glossary
now has a few words to say about his respective domain.
To speak briefly on the language of radio production, let us
introduce first Mr. Douglas Coulter, a vice-president of the
Columbia Broadcasting System. Mr. Coulter. . .
MR. COULTER: Putting a radio program on the air involves a
lot of differently trained people working to one finicky objective.
Team together a supervisor, writers, directors, actors, musicians,
technicians, and engineers, and they'll naturally speak in their own
special languages. Sooner or later each one has to understand the
others. That is why the language of radio production is one which
draws on the original craft-sense of words and phrases in many and
varied special pursuits— and that is also why you will find many
common radio expressions lifted out of their original meanings and
plunked into the radio dictionary with new shadings. Sometimes
they sound irreverent, perhaps — but that is only because the
achievement of perfection can be a rough business. That isn't all
I could say, but it's all I'm going to. Thanks.
THE VOICE: Thanking Mr. Coulter too, it might be well to hear
now from the scientific department. Mr. William B. Lodge, CBS
director of general engineering, upon whose words depend the
clean audibility of the network's broadcasting by way of 150
United States stations, another hundred in Latin America, and
shortwave stations overseas, is our man. He says . . .
MR. LODGE: The terms used in radio engineering are pretty
technical. They deal with studio equipment, recording facilities,
transmitters, antenna systems, and the general fields of electricity
and physics. In many cases the terms may seem complicated.
As a result simple words have been invented and substituted for
them such as"blast,"" fry ing," "hashing "etc. The meaning of these
words is generally understood by everyone working in the tech-
nical and engineering fields of broadcasting. I hope it is to you, too,
now.
THE VOICE: Since American commerce, national and inter-
national, is the economic cornerstone of the service which Amer-
ican radio" supplies the listeners of the world, we may well now
hear from Mr. William C. Gittinger, vice-president in charge of
sales for CBS. For the terms of radio buying and selling are in this
book. Mr. Gittinger . . .
MR. GITTINGER: The growth of the American system of broad-
casting has been fostered and supported by "sponsors"— that is, by
the concerns who pay wages to those who make and sell their
goods and services to the American people by means of radio enter-
tainment, instruction and inspiration. Their realistic support of
radio has enabled the industry to provide many programs which
are not sponsored— in the broad fields of public service, religion,
education and culture. The special language of radio's commer-
cial arm is not a large or fancy vocabulary. Most of its terms are
readily recognizable, not very colorful perhaps. But they are the
negotiating terms of a simple and rather unusual transaction:
unusual not only because it benefits the buyer and seller, but also
the American people as a whole, to a degree that has never been
exceeded by another advertising medium.
THE VOICE: Thank you, Mr. Gittinger. May we call that the
commercial?
MR. GITTINGER: A good commercial is always sincere, sir.
THE VOICE: Quite right. Now, Mr. William C. Ackerman...you
are director of CBS' reference department. Through this book there
are a lot of initials, referring to radio organizations, with a letter
(o) after them. Is this list complete, definitive and absolute, Mr.
Ackerman?
MR. ACKERMAN: Not by a long shot. Broadcasting touches so
many fields that a complete list of its tangent organizations would
crowd the book. The initials of organizations in this book are simply
the ones most often encountered and used in workaday dealing by
folks throughout radio. I might add that useful as initials may be
for swift allusion and reference, some of them read very funny.
THE VOICE: You might add that, Mr. Ackerman, but nobody
asked you to. Let us turn to graver matters. Let us turn to the
language of research. Let us hear from Mr. Elmo C. Wilson, direc-
tor of the research department which has made a certain network
unique for refusing to offer a customer a pig in a poke. Mr. Wilson,
how can you possibly translate the austere language of mathe-
matical and psychological research into definitions which the aver-
age listener can understand?
MR. WILSON: From a statistical standpoint, nothing is abso-
lute. Hence, from a spiritual standpoint, any definition is tenable.
The terms used in radio research stem largely from three
sources, marketing research, psychology or general radio termi-
nology. The more common statistical terms are borrowed from the
field in which they originated, while complex terminology has been
expressed in simpler and more readily understandable popular
terms. As in other branches of radio operation, there is also a
marked tendency to use abbreviations or to coin a new word or
phrase. Such items, however, do not compete with the colorful
phrases of the theatrical side of radio. Research is concise, its own
terminology reflects this precision.
THE VOICE: That, Mr. Wilson, is a tour de force of accuracy.
To go from records tabulated, to recordings cut on wax or glass
or metal or plastic, let us hear about the language of recording from
Howard A. Chinn, chief audio engineer for Columbia. Mr. Chinn . . .
6
MR. CHINN: The business of making phonograph records and
electrical transcriptions has, of course, a talk of its own, with senti-
ments like "Christmas tree pattern" "duping," "flutter" "hill and
dale" "mother," "wow" Some are old to recording, others new;
some are dry, some crisp and some jolly. This is the first time I know
that most of them were ever put in print. I hope they are interesting.
THE VOICE: So does the reader, Mr. Chinn.
We turn the corner, now, to the area of television, which is just
around it. Television should logically bring to the language of broad-
casting new words, animated words with a third dimension, fine-
grain quality, and even natural color, for those qualities compose
the essence of Columbia's proposed live talking pictures on the
screen of your own living room. Let us ask Mr. Gilbert Seldes,
until recently director of CBS television programs, what he has
to say about the meaning of the language of the new medium.
Mr. Seldes . . .
MR. SELDES: The strange words we use in television are like a
bride's outfit— something old, something new, something borrowed
—and I think I'd better stop there, because men, women and chil-
dren are around a television studio, and we don't habitually use
"blue" words. (See p. 17). We have borrowed from all of those arts
which contribute to television. From the stage we have taken many
of the words for our scenery; from the movies the directions we
give to our "earner a" -men (ours are not really cameras, but "tele-
visor" doesn't seem to stick); from radio we have taken a great many
operating terms. Some of these words we have changed over. "Out
of sync" in the early days of the talkies meant that sound and sight
were out of harmony; with us it is a technical electronic term.
As for new words, we are in the process of building a new form
of communication, and new terms are coming up all the time.
THE VOICE: Pretty austere for a live showman, Mr. Seldes. Now,
to go from signs-verbal in visual broadcasting, to signs-manual-
and-visual in regular broadcasting, let us ask Mr. Earle L. McGill,
a notable radio director, to launch the section in the back of this
book which translates the wig-wag language traded back and
forth through the window of the control room while a program is
in precarious progress. Mr. McGill— without the use of your hands,
please— what have you to say as finale to this introductory program?
MR. McGILL: A special kind of studio race-wisdom grew out of
the need for instant communication between the control room and
studio floor. Patterns of expressive pantomime evolved. Placing the
forefinger on the nose tells instantly a complete story from the
control room to everybody in the studio concerned with the time
problem. Some of the verbal descriptions of this pantomime, if not
the gestures, have already become part of our ordinary speech.
For instance, the phrase on the nose— to indicate that a program is
running on time or will finish on time— has been commonly adopted
by non-radio people.
The signs and descriptions in this glossary would be understood
in every studio in the land. I saw them used on the deck of USS
Missouri at the surrender in Tokyo Bay.
THE VOICE: Let us now get on to the book itself, and high time.
8
A GLOSSARY OF RAD7O TERMS
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
a
A A A A— American Association of Advertising Agencies. Also: Asso-
ciated Actors and Artistes of America. ( o )
ABIE— Anyone who is sure fire.(p)
ACA— American Communications Association. ( o )
ACCOUNT— Sales term for a buyer of radio time ( see SPONSOR ) . ( c )
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE-The individual in an advertising agency
who administers the advertiser's account. (c)
ACE— Anyone who is at the top in ability among directors, assistant
directors, producers and announcers. (p)
ACETATE— The term often erroneously used to describe cellulose-
nitrate recording discs. ( See also LACQUER DISCS. ) ( e.t. )
ACROSS THE BOARD— The manner of scheduling a radio program
at the same time on at least five consecutive week-days, usually
starting Monday. ( c )
ADENOID— Any vocalist with a voice that is "tight". (p)
RADIO ALPHABET
ADJACENCIES— The programs (on the same station) immediately
preceding and following the one under consideration. ( r )
AD LIB— To extemporize lines not written into the script, or in music
to play parts not in the score. ( p )
ADVERTISER— 1. NATIONAL ADVERTISER, whose radio advertising is
nationwide. 2. REGIONAL ADVERTISER, whose radio advertising is
confined to a regional area. 3. LOCAL ADVERTISER, whose radio
advertising is confined to his local marketing area. ( c )
ADVERTISING AGENCY— An independent business organization
recognized by advertising media as qualified to give strategic
counsel to advertisers, and to plan, prepare and place their
advertising, (c)
AER— Association for Education by Radio. (o)
AF A— Advertising Federation of America. ( o )
AFFILIATE— An independent radio station which carries, usually
through contractual agreement, programs provided by a net-
work. ( c )
AFM— American Federation of Musicians. ( o )
AFRA— American Federation of Radio Artists. ( o )
AGENCY— An advertising, agency whose function is to assist the
advertiser in the promotion of his goods or services. ( Not to be
confused with AGENT. ) ( c )
AGENCY COMMISSION -The fee paid to recognized advertising
agencies by broadcasters; the standard is 15% of the net billing
for broadcasting placed by the agency. (c)
AGENT— A representative of performing artists who negotiates
performances for his clients for a fee. ( c )
10
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
AGMA— American Guild of Musical Artists. (o)
AMA— American Marketing Association. ( o )
AMP— Associated Music Publishers, Inc.(o)
AMPLIFIER— A device for increasing the power of the signal of a
radio transmitter or receiver without appreciably altering its
quality. ( e )
AMPLITUDE MODULATION -The "standard" method of transmit-
ting a radio signal through the air which has been employed
since the advent of broadcasting. Also called A.M. Cf. Fre-
quency Modulation, also called F.M.(e)
ANA— Association of National Advertisers. ( o )
ANIMATOR— A Goldberg contrivance of lights, mirrors and other
mechanical devices used to animate scenes in television.(t)
ANIMATOR
ANNOUNCEMENT— A short advertising message; STRAIGHT
ANNOUNCEMENT— usually about 100 words running about 1
minute; SPOT ANNOUNCEMENT— 50 to 75 words; STATION BREAK—
11
RADIO ALPHABET
10 to 30 word statements inserted into the pause between pro-
grams; cur IN— usually a local announcement inserted into a
network program; PARTICIPATING ANNOUNCEMENT— usually 100-
150 words incorporated into a local entertainment or informa-
tive program containing announcements of other participating
advertisers. ( c )
ANNOUNCER — 1. The host on a radio program. 2. The person
who represents the advertiser and reads the commercial. 3.
News announcer— the person who reads the news report but
doesn't necessarily write it. ( p )
APPLE POLISHER— A person who habitually flatters his superior
in an effort to ingratiate himself. A boot-licker, or snake-in-
the-brass.(p)
ARF— Advertising Research Foundation. ( o )
ARN A— Association of Radio News Analysts. (o)
ARRL— American Radio Relay League. (o)
ARSENIC— A disagreeable or boresome program, (p)
ASA— Acoustical Society of America. ( o )
ASCAP— The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Pub-
lishers. ( o )
ATMOSPHERIC— Music or sound used to enhance the mood of the
scene being enacted.(p)
ATS— American Television Society. (o)
AUDIENCE BUILDER— A good program; one which attracts a large
audience.(c)
AUDIENCE COMPOSITION -The number and kinds of people lis-
tening to a given program, as to their age, sex, income, etc.(r)
12
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
AUDIENCE FLOW— The statistical composition of the total audience
of a specific program showing: the fractions of the whole (a)
'inherited' from the same station's previous program, ( b ) trans-
ferred from another station, ( c ) tuned in for the first time. The
sources of listeners during the program and the destination of
the various fractions at the end of the program. ( r )
AUDIENCE TURNOVER -The total number of different listeners to
a given program over a specific number of consecutive broad-
casts; or, the rate at which a program increases its audience of
different listeners over a given span of performances. (r)
A U DIMETER— An electro-mechanical device attached to home radio
receivers which accurately records set operation and station tun-
ing. Its records supply the data for the Nielsen Radio Index.(r)
AUDIO— Of (or concerning) electric currents corresponding to
normally audible sound waves. Audio frequencies are normally
about 15 cycles to 20 thousand cycles per second. (e)
ATMOSPHERIC
13
RADIO ALPHABET
AUDIO EQUIPMENT — The microphones, mixers, amplifiers and
other apparatus which transmit the audio frequencies from the
studio to the broadcasting transmitter. ( e )
AUDITION— A try-out of artists or musicians or programs under
broadcasting conditions. (p)
AVAILABLE AUDIENCE— The number of radio homes in which one
or more members of the family are found to be at home and
awake at a given period.(r)
AVERAGE AUDIENCE-The percentage of radio homes tuned to a
specific program during the average minute of the broadcast. ( r )
BACKGROUND— A sound effect, musical or otherwise, used behind
the dialogue for realistic or emotional effect. ( p )
BALANCE— The placing of instruments, voices or sound effects in
such positions with relation to each other and to the micro-
phone as to produce the best tonal or dramatic effect. (p)
BALOP— Nickname for balopticon, which is a (B)ausch (a)nd
(L)omb stere(opticon), or magic lantern, used in television to
14
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
project still pictures onto the mosaic element in the television
camera.(t)
BASIC NETWORK-That part of a nation-wide radio network
embracing the more heavily populated northeastern area of the
United States and thus saturating the more important markets
in that area. ( c )
BASIC STATION— A station on the basic network, the use of which
is generally a welcome requirement on sponsored programs.(c)
BBC— British Broadcasting Corporation. ( o )
BBM — Bureau of Broadcast Measurement ( Canada ).(o)
BEARD— An error in performance, more often words misread by an
actor ( see FLUFF ) . ( p )
BELCHER— A performer with a frog in his throat. (p)
BEND THE NEEDLE— To use so much volume so suddenly that the
needle on the engineer's volume indicator leaps past its normal
range, (p)
BIG ANNIE— Nickname for a mass Program Analyzer which totals
the reactions of approval, disapproval or indifference of as
many as 100 listeners, second-by-second as the program mate-
rial is heard. ( See PROGRAM ANALYZER ) . ( r )
BILLBOARD— The announcement at the beginning of a broadcast
which lists the people starred or featured. ( p )
BILLING— Name credit on the air in order of importance. ( p )
15
RADIO ALPHABET
BIRDIE— The "tweet-tweet" sound sometimes heard on transmitting
and receiving equipment. ( e )
BIT— A small part in a dramatic program; this is a "bit" part and the
performer who plays it is referred to as a "bit player". ( p )
BITE OFF
BITE OFF— To cut off a line, a cue, or a musical number while the
show is on the air. ( p )
BLANK GROOVE— A groove on a record upon which no sound is
inscribed. ( e.t. )
BLANKET CONTRACT— A contract with a sponsor covering a group
of individual advertising campaigns.(c)
BLAST— A momentary overloading of equipment which causes
severe distortion of sound and ear-distress to all.(e)
16
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
BLINKER— The signal light operated from control room to attract
the attention of the people in the studio. ( e )
BLOCK— A set of consecutive time periods; or, a strip of the same
time on several days.(c)
BLOCKED-OUT TIME -Time which is withheld from sale voluntarily
by the station or network for non-commercial programs. (c)
BLUE— A slang term for the American Broadcasting Company,
formerly known as The Blue Network. ( p )
BLUE GAG— An off -color joke in a broadcasting script, which earns
a blue pencil. A joke that has no place on the air and so
doesn't get one. ( p )
BLURB— A statement handed out for publicity .( p )
8MB —Broadcast Measurement Bureau. ( o )
BMI— Broadcast Music, Inc.(o)
BOARD— The technician's control panel located in the studio con-
trol room which provides for mixing ( balancing ) , fading, and
switching, of the program material. ( e )
BOARD FADE— A fade-away in a program, accomplished manually
on the board by the technician. ( e )
BOOM— The stand to which a microphone is attached in order to
elevate and extend it. Commonly used to pick up the sounds of
an orchestra or chorus.(e)
BOOSTER —An amplifier used to compensate for the loss of program
volume which occurs in transmission. See REPEATER. ( e )
BREAK— A scheduled or unscheduled interruption of a program,
or a recess in rehearsal schedule.(p)
17
RADIO ALPHABET
BRIDGE— A definite music or sound effect cue linking two dramatic
scenes. ( p )
BRIDGE
BRING IT UP— A signal or order for increase in the volume level
of speech, sound, or music. ( p )
BROADCASTER —The owner or operator of a radio station or a net-
work. ( c )
BUGS— Cause of trouble in equipment which is working im-
perfectly.( p )
BUILD-UP— Technique used to increase the popularity of a pro-
gram, a personality or a product. ( c )
BUILD-UP ANNOUNCEMENTS-Radio announcements used prior
to the first broadcast of a new program, designed to start it off
with a hearty and eager "first-night" audience. ( c )
BURP— An interloping noise on transmitting or receiving circuits,
(e)
18
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
BYE BYE— The script line beginning: "We now leave our studio,'
or "We take you now to—" or "We return now to—" etc. ( p )
C
CAB— Cooperative Analysis of Broadcasting(o); also Canadian
Association of Broadcasters. (o)
CALL LETTERS— Initials assigned by the Federal Communications
Commission to identify a station, like WABC, or KNX. ( p )
CAMPAIGN— A series of related programs or announcements
planned to achieve a given objective. (c)
CANARIES— Singers (often coloratura sopranos ).( p )
CANNED MUSIC-Recorded music. (p)
CANS— Headphones worn by directors or actors to control pro-
gram quality and timing. (p)
CARBON MICROPHONE -The earliest type of microphone used in
broadcasting, now obsolete for such applications but still
widely used in other communications services (such as the
regular telephone ).( e )
CAST— The performers in a radio program; (v) to select the per-
formers for a radio program.(p)
19
RADIO ALPHABET
CBC— Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. (o)
CBS— Columbia Broadcasting System. (o)
CHANNEL— A band of frequencies in the spectrum assigned to a
given radio station or stations (see FREQUENCY ).(e)
CLEAR CHANNEL— One reserved for nighttime operation of a
single high-powered station.
REGIONAL CHANNEL— A channel shared by 5 to 15 stations so
located geographically as to minimize interference with each
other.
LOCAL CHANNEL— A channel occupied by 50 or more low-pow-
ered stations separated, in some cases, by as little as 100 miles.
CHARACTER— A casting term referring to an individual dramatic
role. Also currently, a term used as the French use type. ( p )
CHIP— The waste material removed from the surface of a recording
disc by the recording stylus in cutting the groove. ( e.t. )
CHIZ BIZ— Dubious practices suggesting bribery, special rates
secretly made, etc. Short for chiseling business. (p)
CHRISTMAS TREE PATTERN -The pattern on a recording which is
seen when the surface of a record is illuminated by a beam of
parallel light. (e.t.)
CIRCUIT— A complete electrical system used for transmission of
radio or television programs from voice and microphone or
iconoscope to faraway points. (e)
20
A GLOSSARY OF RAD7O TERMS
CIRCULATION — Generally assumed in radio to be the number of
radio families who listen to a station or network of stations
during some definite span of time (usually one or more times
during the broadcast cycle of one week).(r)
CLAMBAKE— A shapeless program filled with uncertainties; re-
hearsals marked by errors, changes and failures, likely to result
in a bad performance. Sometimes called CLAMAROO. ( p )
CLEAN IT UP— To make changes in a program during rehearsals
so as to assure a satisfactory performance. ( p )
CLEAR A NUMBER— To obtain legal permission from responsible
sources to use a certain musical selection. ( p )
CLEAR TIME— To arrange with a station to provide time usually for
a commercial program. (c)
CLIENT— An actual or potential advertiser (see ACCOUNT, SPONSOR).
c)
21
RADIO ALPHABET
CLIFF HANGER
CLIFF HANGER— A serial dramatic program played at a high pitch
of excitement on a strong note of suspense. ( p )
CLOSE THE RIGHTS -To check the musical and literary copyrights.
(P)
CNYT- Current New York Time.(p)
COACH— A vocal or dramatic instructor. ( p )
COAXIAL CABLE— A complex electrical cable suitable for convey-
ing television pictures from cameras to transmitters or from
city to city, (t)
COINCIDENTAL— A method of measurement of the size of a pro-
gram's audience by telephone calls to listeners and non-listeners
during the progress of the actual program's broadcast, i.e. coin-
cidentally. ( r )
COLD DRAMATICS— A dramatic sketch without music. (p)
COMING ON COLD— How the first program of the day goes on the
air.(p)
22
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
COMING UP— A warning cue given by the director or engineer of a
program to the cast that in 10 seconds the program will go on
the air.(p)
COMMERCIAL— (a) A program sponsored by an advertiser; (b)
the advertising message on a given program or announcement.
(p)
COMMERCIAL CREDIT— Specific mention of the sponsor or his
product on the program; also specific acknowledgement to those
to whom he may be indebted for elements in his program. ( p )
COMMISSION —A percentage or fixed sum payable on a radio con-
tract. On a talent contract it may be paid for engagements or
rights provided; see e.g. AGENCY COMMISSION, AGENT. A form of
compensation for services rendered which is figured on the total
cost of the services. ( c )
COMPETITION— The program(s) broadcast over other station(s)
parallel to one's own program. ( c )
CONFLICT— Two (or more) rehearsals or performances scheduled
for the same performer at the same time. See SCHIZOPHRENIC.
(P)
CONFLICT
23
RADIO ALPHABET
CONTINUITY— The written form of a radio program. (c)
CONTROL ROOM— A sound proof windowed booth adjacent to the
broadcasting studio wherefrom the directors and technicians
may control the program. (p)
COOPERATIVE PROGRAM— A network program sponsored in each
station area by a local advertiser who usually pays for the time
at local rates and shares the cost of talent pro rata.(c)
CORN— Unsophisticated program treatment. Simple and obvious
musical or dialogue arrangement. ( p )
CORNFIELD— A studio setup employing a number of standing micro-
phones^ p)
CORN-ON-THE-COB-A harmonica. ( p )
CORNY— Unsophisticated. Simple, ingenuous, pure, innocent, gen-
uine. ( p )
CO-SPONSOR— An advertiser who shares the cost of a program
with other advertisers. See also COOPERATIVE PROGRAM and PAR-
TICIPATING PROGRAM, (c)
COST PER THOUSAND-The cost in radio time and talent of a
given radio program in reaching an average 1,000 of its
listeners. ( c )
COURTESY ANNOUNCEMENT -An announcement crediting the
advertiser whose time is "recaptured" by the broadcaster for
use for a special program. ( c )
COVERAGE— The area in which a station or network of stations
can be heard according to engineering standards. ( e )
24
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
COVER SHOT— A wide angle television picture to alternate (for
contrast) with a confined close-up. ( t )
COW-CATCHER— An isolated commercial announcement at the
beginning of a program, which advertises a "secondary" prod-
uct of the sponsor not mentioned in the program itself. ( p )
CRA WK— An animal imitator. ( p )
CRC— Columbia Recording Corporation. (o)
CRAWK
CREDIT— Commercial passages in the playing script which men-
tion the advertiser or his product, or acknowledge sources and
ownership of program material. See COMMERCIAL CREDIT.(P)
CREDIT WRITER— One who writes the credit, q.v.(p)
CREEPER— A performer who inches close to the microphone dur-
ing the broadcast. ( p )
CROSS-FADE— To fade in sound from one source while sound from
another source is faded out.(e)
CROSSLEY— A program's audience measurement rating; a generic
25
RADIO ALPHABET
term derived from Archibald M. Crossley, one of the early re-
searchers in measuring radio audience. ( r )
CROSS-TALK— Interfering conversation on the broadcasting circuit
originating at a point other than that of the program. ( p )
CROWD NOISES— The sound of a crowd produced by a number of
people in the cast, or by a recording. ( p )
CST-Central Standard Time.(p)
CUE— A signal to start or stop any element of a broadcast. ( p )
CUE BITE— To speak before the previous actor has finished. (p)
CUE SHEET— An orderly tabulation of program routine containing
all the cues.(p)
CUFFO— An adverb or adjective applied to speculative or donated
work without pay, or on the cuff. ( p )
CUSHION— Dialogue, music or sound of variable length inserted
in a broadcast to enable the director to end the broadcast on
time. ( p )
CUT— To stop abruptly the transmission of a program.(e)
CUT A RECORD, DISC OR PLATTER -To make a recording. ( e )
CUTTER— A device which uses electrical energy modulated by
sound to drive a tool to cut the grooves in the blank "platter" or
disc which most people call a "record". ( e.t. )
CUTTING STYLUS— The cutting tool itself: a sharp, fine, exquisite
chisel or gouge which cuts the grooves in the surface of the
record and moves according to the volume of sound it has to
record. ( e.t. )
26
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
CUTS— Those portions of the program-script which are to be elimi-
nated before (or even during) the performance. ( p )
CVC— The chorus, verse and chorus of a musical selection. (p)
CYC— Nickname for CYCLORAMA, a canvas backdrop usually used
on the stage or in the television studio to simulate broad reaches
of distance.(t)
CYCLE— A measure of audio or radio f requency . ( e )
DAKOTA— A dialogue sketch about Dakota leading into a song
called "Dakota". . .where the geography of the dialogue "plants"
the locale of the ensuing and almost inescapable song title.
For DAKOTA read Alabammy through Wyoming. (p)
DAMPEN THE STUDIO -To introduce sound-absorbent devices like
rugs, draperies and human bodies ( live ) into the studio to per-
fect the quality of the program's sound; also, to apply fixed
sound absorbents (not human bodies) to walls, floor, ceiling.
(P)
DAWN PATROL-The engineers, announcers and others who open
the studio and put on the early morning programs. (p)
27
RAD7O ALPHABET
DAYTIME STATION— One which leaves the air at sundown. (c)
DEAD AIR— Silence, either deliberate or accidental. ( p )
DEAD AIR
DEAD BOOK— The file of program material which has been used
on the air.(p)
DEAD END— Portion of a studio in which sound-absorbent char-
acteristics are so high as to mute the sound. ( p )
DEAD MIKE— A microphone which is disconnected. ( e )
DEAD PAN— To read a line without emphasizing it by any expres-
sion. ( p )
DEAD SPOT— A location within the normal service area of a radio
station where its signal is weaker than at other points in the
same general location. (e)
DELAYED BROADCAST— Postponed airing of a program by means
of an instantaneous recording made from the network lines
during the original broadcast. ( c )
DIALLINGS— The number of telephone interviews attempted dur-
ing a coincidental measurement of audience. ( r )
28
A GLOSSARY OF RADZO TERMS
DIARY METHOD— A technique of radio audience-measurement in
which the radio family or individual listener keeps a diary-
record of stations and programs listened-to, and keeps it while
the listening is going on.(r)
DIRECTIONAL ANTENNA— An antenna designed to concentrate a
station's signal in certain directions, reduce it in others. ( e )
DIRECTIVE— A government wartime appeal carried free on a pro-
gram.(p)
DIRECTOR— The person who writes or rewrites, then casts and
rehearses, a radio program, and directs the actual air perform-
ance. ( p )
DISC JOCKEY
DISC (K)— A thin wafer of suitable material ranging in diameter
from 8 to 16 inches, on which is electrically and mechanically
recorded all manner of sound, and which may be played on a
suitable machine so as to produce the effect of the original. See
RECORDING. ( C.t. )
DISC JOCKEY— The master of ceremonies of a program of tran-
scribed music ( records. ) He turns them over. ( p )
29
RADIO ALPHABET
DISCOUNT— A percentage reduction in the cost of radio time which
may be granted from such economies as total of time, size of
network, frequency of broadcasts, prompt payment, etc.(c)
DISCREPANCIES— Changes or aberrations from the script, made in
the studio, and noted on the station log ( q.v, ) . ( p )
DISSECTOR TUBE— A type of cathode ray tube ofteri used in pro-
jecting motion picture film for television.(t)
DISSOLVE— The overlap of two images as one fades in and the
other fades out.(t)
DOG— An obsolete or mediocre musical number, or a hackneyed
piece of writing or program. Not man's best friend. ( p )
DOG HOUSE— Early morning announcing duties. Not disgrace. (p)
DOG WATCH —The 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. shift for an announcer. ( p )
DOLLY— The movable platform or crane of the television camera,
which requires a man (or motor) to move it.(t)
DOUBLE— An actor performing more than one part.(p)
DOWN-AND-UNDER- A direction given to a musician or sound
effects man playing solo to quiet down from his present playing
level, and to sneak under the lines of dialogue which follow. ( p )
DOWN IN THE MUD— Music, speech or sound effect extremely
low in volume. (p)
DRESS— The final complete program rehearsal. ( p )
DRESSING THE PROGRAM -Adding the finishing touches to a
radio program.(p)
30
A GLOSSARY OF KADIO TERMS
DOWN IN THE MUD
DROOLING -Unimportant talk.(p)
DUBBING— Recording made by re-recording from one or more
records. ( e.t. )
DUPING— Making duplicates by re-recording. ( e.t. )
DUPLICATED AUDIENCE— The audience common to two or more
programs. ( r )
DYNAMIC— A moving-coil type of microphone of particularly
rugged construction. ( e )
e
ECCENTRIC CIRCLE— A blank locked groove on a recording whose
center is not that of the grooves of the sound-record, and whose
purpose is to operate the automatic record changer. ( e.t. )
31
RAD7O ALPHABET
ECHO CHAMBER— A reverberant space through which sound and
voices are channeled to give them an echo-like or faraway
quality. ( p )
EIGHT-BALL— A particular type of dynamic microphone, shaped
like a black ball, with non-directional characteristics^ e)
"802"-The New York local of the AFM.(o)
EIGHTY- EIGHT— A piano; derived from the number of piano keys.
(P)
ELECTRICAL TRANSCRIPTION-A form of high-fidelity recording
made especially for broadcasting and allied purposes; its sur-
face noise is very low. ( e.t. )
EQUALIZE— To balance a program channel so as to assure equal
transmission over the entire frequency range. (e)
EST- Eastern Standard Time.(p)
ETHRITUS— A hardening and inflammation of the ear drums due to
continued listening to the loud speaker in the home or station
when run at an excessively high level.(p)
EXTENSION— (a) The telephone wires or radio circuit which con-
nect a remote originating-point with a tributary originating-
point on the same premises. E.g.: the program originates from
the headquarters of Boulder Dam; the extension connects this
point with a point at the centre of the dam-apron from which
the scene is described, (b) The wires and other facilities
which link an established terminating-station to a new termi-
nating-station either temporary or permanent. ( e )
32
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
FACILITIES— A general term describing the technical equipment
of a radio station or a network. Also, the stations of a network.
(e)
FACSIMILE BROADCASTING -A process of transmitting and receiv-
ing, by radio, graphic material such as pictures and printed
matter. ( e )
FADING— The diminishing of volume. (e) FADER— A device used to
increase or diminish volume. ( e )
FAIRY GODMOTHER— An unimaginative musical director.(p)
FAKE— To improvise. See AD LIB. ( p )
FANFARE— A few bars of music usually employing plenty of trum-
pets to herald an entrance or announcement. ( p )
FANFARE
33
RAD7O ALPHABET
FAST SPIRAL— A blank spiral groove cut into a disc, record or
platter, the pitch whereof is greater than the pitch of the
grooves on the record which capture the actual sound. Or much
ado about nothing except good recording. ( e.t. )
FCC— Federal Communications Commission. ( o )
FEED— To transmit a program to stations or groups of stations. (e)
FEED BACK— The squeal or howl which can result from accidentally
closing the inbound and outbound ends of an electrical circuit.
Theyprotest(e)
FIELD STRENGTH— The measured intensity of the radio wave of a
station at various points in its coverage area.(e)
FIGHT THE MUSIC— To struggle in singing; ( said of an actor ) to be
disturbed in speaking lines above a musical background. ( p )
FILL— A program used to fill out a period of otherwise-planned time,
(c)
FILL IN— To stand by to perform, in case a program change has to
be made immediately (see STAND BY).(p)
FILM RECORDER— A machine which photographs sound grooves on
strip film instead of cutting them on a platter or cylinder. ( e )
FILTER— A "thinning" device used to change the tone quality of the
voice, music or sound effect by eliminating frequencies.(e)
FISH BOWL— The clients' observation booth overlooking the acting
studio. ( p )
FLACK-A publicity writer. ( p )
FLATS— Flat vertical sections of television scenery.(t)
34
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
FLOOD— The floodlight used to illuminate a general area.(t)
FLOOR MAN AGER-The official on the floor of the television studio
who, under the eye of the director, supervises production
while a program is broadcast. ( t )
FLUFF— A mistake in reading (see BEARD ).(p)
FLUORESCENT BANKS-A type of "cold" light used in the television
studio, (t)
FLUTTER— A light querulous whimper sometimes heard on a record-
ing, caused by variations in groove velocity. ( e.t. )
FM— Please see Frequency Modulation not far down.(e)
FRAME— One complete picture of a series. 30 frames are shown in
1 second on a black and white television screen. (t)
FRAMING— Including objects or persons within the area of a
single frame. ( t )
FREC— Federal Radio Education Committee. ( o )
FREE LANCE— Personnel not regularly employed, but working on
special assignments.(p)
FREQUENCY— The number of vibrations or cycles per second in a
given unit; also loosely used as a synonym for CHANNEL.(e)
FREQUENCY MODULATION -A method of broadcasting to provide
reception comparatively free of interference day and night to a
service area now believed to be limited to about twice the
radius to the horizon from the transmitter. Usually called FM.
(e)
FROM HUNGER— Epithet of dubious appraisal of program ade-
quacy, as: "It is a trite make-shift device" or "It doesn't look
strong." (p)
35
RADIO ALPHABET
FRYING— A hissing sound caused by defective equipment. ( e )
FTC— Federal Trade Commission. ( o )
FULL NET— A program fed to all stations of a network. (p)
FULL-TIME STATION-One licensed to operate 24 hours a day.(c)
FUN-IN-THE-STUDIO— Self-conscious use, in the playing script, of
behind-the-scenes shop talk in broadcasting; for example: "It
says here", "Who wrote that?" Character thus steps out-of-
character, loses character. ( p )
FUZZY— An adjective used to deplore vocal or instrumental music
which is lacking in both clarity and definition. ( p )
GAFFOON —A sound man who does two or three effects at the same
time. ( p )
GAG— A joke, or comedy device. (p)
GAIN— 1. The amplification or increase of the volume of sound
put out by the performance. 2. The equivalent power increase
of a radio signal obtained by use of a directional antenna. ( e )
GELATINE— A tenor with a thin, quavering voice. (p)
GET HOT— Ad lib musical improvisation. The equivalent of "Jazz
It Up-.(p)
36
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
GHOST— An unwanted image appearing in a television picture, as
a result, for example, of signal reflection. (t)
GIMMICK— A planned characteristic or "quirk" in a program which
distinguishes it from other similar programs. Also, ( v ) to impro-
vise. ( p )
GOBO— (a) A shield to keep direct light out of the television
camera(t); (b) or to shield microphones from extraneous
sounds, (e)
GODBOX-An organ. (p)
GO-HUNTING— Turning the television camera man loose to find
good pictures on a spontaneous program. ( t )
GOOSENECK— A microphone hung from a gallows-support for use
over tables when the broadcaster is seated. Sometimes called
a gallows mike.(p)
GRIEF— Program trouble. Or any other trouble. (p)
GRIP— Studio or scenic carpenter. ( t )
GROAN BOX- An accordion. ( p )
GROAN BOX
37
RADIO ALPHABET
GROUPING — Non- uniform spacing between the grooves of a
recording. It isn't good. ( e.t. )
GUARD CIRCLE— An inner concentric groove on a record to pre-
vent the needle and reproducer from damage by being thrown
to the center of the record. ( e.t. )
GUIDE SHEET— A schedule to outline the routine of a program. ( p )
HAM— An amateur broadcaster. Also a really bad actor. ( p )
H AMBON E— An unconvincing blackface dialectician. ( p )
HAM-FEST— A group of actors discussing a broadcast. ( p )
HAM IT— To over-act for emphasis— to bluster.(p)
HASHING— A jumbling of signals from two stations on the same
or adjacent frequencies.(e)
HASH SESSION— A meeting of the production director and talent
after the dress rehearsal, and before the broadcast to discuss
final changes in program. ( p )
HAYWIRE— Temporary or extemporized equipment, or equipment
in poor condition. ( p )
38
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
HEARTBREAKER— A commercial audition made on speculation. ( p )
HEP— The state of being acutely aware.(p)
HIATUS— A summer period, usually eight weeks, during which a
sponsor may discontinue his program but thereafter resume his
time period on the air. ( c )
HILL AND DALE RECORDING-See VERTICAL RECORDING. ( e.t. )
HILLBILLY— A quasi-musical interpreter of regional folk-lore. ( p )
HIT— A light, momentary crash on a wire line caused by outside
disturbances— lightning, birds, slingshots, etc.(e)
HITCH-HIKE— An isolated commercial for a secondary product (not
advertised in the main body of the program ) which is given a
free ride by the sponsor after the end of the program proper. ( p )
HOE-DOWN— A type of hillbilly dance music peculiar to the
Ozarks. ( p )
HOG CALLING CONTEST— A strenuous commercial audition for
announcers possessed of pear-shaped tones of voice. (p)
HOLD IT DOWN— An order for the studio engineer to reduce the
volume of he program. ( p )
HOLD IT DOWN
VJ
39
RADIO ALPHABET
HOOK— A program device used to attract tangible response from
the audience; e.g., an offer, a contest, etc.(c)
HOOK-UP— Two or more stations or two or more control points con-
nected by wires. (e)
HOOPERATING— A generic term for a program's audience-rating
as determined by the C. E. Hooper, Inc. quantitative audience-
measurement service, (r)
HOT CANARY— A high soprano; an excellent female singer. (p)
HOT SWITCH— The rapid transfer of a program from one orig-
inating point to another. ( e )
HYPO— To add vitality to a program by changing its format, cast,
agency, producer or writer. Or, sometimes, its sponsor. ( p )
•
I
I ATSE— International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes. (o)
IBEW-International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.(o)
IDENTIFICATION— The voice that periodically says who's talking
-as: This is Station WABC, New York, or This is CBS . . . the
Columbia Broadcasting System.(p)
IER— Institute for Education by Radio. (o)
40
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
IKE— The iconoscope, a tube in the television camera in which the
light image is converted into an electrical signal.(t)
INDEPENDENT STATION -Of the 938 licensed stations operating
or building in July 1945, only 17 are owned by networks. The
balance of 921 are independent stations, of which 746 are affili-
ated with networks. ( c )
INGENUE— A female performer with a youthful, pleasant voice.(p)
INHERITED AUDIENCE— The portion of a program's audience which
listened to the preceding program on the same station.(r)
INSTANTANEOUS RECORDING-A recording which may be played
without further processing. ( e.t. )
INSTITUTIONAL— A program designed primarily to build good will,
and confidence in the sponsor; secondarily, to build sales. (c)
INTERFERENCE— Anything which interferes with proper reception
of a station's signal, e.g.: static from near or far storms, local
electrical disturbances (elevators, power lines, household
appliances, etc.), other stations'signals.(e)
INTERPOLATION— A musical phrase or chorus inserted for pur-
poses of contrast, tuneliness, or elaboration of a theme. ( p )
IN THE BEAM— Within effective directional range of the micro-
phone or the loudspeaker. ( p )
RAD7O ALPHABET
IRAC— Interdepartmental Radio Advisory Committee. ( o )
IRE — Institute of Radio Engineers. ( o )
JAM SESSION— Spirited instrumental ad lib renditions of popular
tunes, (p)
JUVENILE— A performer whose voice suggests youth. (p)
KEY STATION— The point at which a network's principal programs
originate. There may be several. ( c )
KICK BACK— Any form of secret rebate on rates or talent. Tabu. ( p )
KILL— To omit a part or all of a broadcast. (p)
42
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
KILL THE MIKE— To disconnect the microphone circuit. (e)
KILOCYCLE -1000 cycles, q.v.(e)
KILOWATT— A measure of power equal to 1000 watts. See WATT. ( e )
KIN E— Kinescope, the television tube which transposes the elec-
trical signal into a light image in your receiver. ( t )
KLINKER— An incorrectly played note.(p)
LACQUER DISC (K)— A disc, usually of metal, glass, or paper, coated
with a lacquer compound ( often containing cellulose nitrate )
and used either for "instantaneous" recordings or lacquer
original. ( e.t. )
LACQUER ORIGINAL— An original recording on a lacquer disc
which is intended to be used for the making of a metal "master"
(sometimes improperly called Lacquer Master). (e.t.)
LADY MACBETH— A superannuated tragedienne. ( p )
LAMINATED RECORD -A record composed of several layers of
material. Usually three-ply—one thin face on each side of a
core; currently made exclusively by CRC. ( e.t. )
LATERAL RECORDING -One in which the sound groove causes the
reproducing needle to move sideways. ( e.t. )
43
RADIO ALPHABET
LAUGH IT UP— An order to the cast to laugh at their own lines. ( p )
LAUGH IT UP
LAY AN EGG— A performance of a program, or part of a program,
or gag, resulting in a total failure. ( p )
LEAD— The most important male or female role in a dramatic pro-
gram, (p)
LEAD-IN SPIRAL— A blank, spiral groove at the beginning of a record
to guide the reproducing needle into the sound grooves. ( e.t. )
LEAVING HERE O.K.— An engineering phrase meaning satisfac-
tory transmission from an originating or intermediate-repeater
or booster point. ( e )
LEG— A wire circuit which branches off the main line.(e)
LEVEL— The amount of electrical program energy being trans-
mitted.^)
44
A GLOSSARY OF RADJO TERMS
LICK— An ad lib musical phrase which deviates from the score.
Usually "hot".(p)
LIGHT AND SHADE— Variations in musical tone-color from calm-
ness to tension, from whispering to shouting, to avoid mon-
otony. ( p )
LINES— The special land wires or circuits linking as many as 150
or more stations to form a network. These lines distribute a
program to the individual stations who broadcast it to their
areas by radio. ( e )
LISTENING AREA— The area in which a station or network of sta-
tions is listened to by a measured number of families.(r)
LIVE— A program actually performed by people— in contrast to a
recording of a previous live performance. ( p )
LEG
45
RADIO ALPHABET
LIVE CAMPAIGN— A series of programs or announcements by liv-
ing performers as contrasted to recordings. ( c )
LIVE MIKE— Also HOT MIKE— A microphone that is connected to
the circuit. It transmits what you say, no matter what.(e)
LIVE MIKE
LIVE STUDIO— A studio with high reverberation. ( e )
LOCAL— A program originating in a local station ( as more than half
of most stations' programs do originate), or in the town in
which the station is located— as contrasted to a network pro-
gram, (c)
LOCKED GROOVE— A concentric blank groove on a record, at the
end of modulated grooves, whose function is to prevent further
travel of the reproducer; a sort of bumpless bumper. ( e.t. )
LOCK JAW— The affliction unsympathetically ascribed to a tired
or lifeless singer.(p)
46
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
LOG— A record kept by stations and networks of every minute of
broadcasting, including errors; it is furnished to the FCC.(p)
LONG HAIR — 1. A term often applied to serious music; 2. A term
used to describe the critical attitude of "art for art's sake."(p)
LONG UNDERWEAR - Sheet music.(p)
LOOP— A local telephone circuit between any two points. (e)
LOSS— The opposite of gain. (See GAIN).(C)
111
MADAME CADENZA-A flighty female vocalist. (p)
MADAME LA ZONGA— A performer who dances nervously in front
of a microphone. ( p )
MAGNETIC RECORDER— A machine, portable or fixed, which re-
cords sound on a reel of wire or tape.(e)
MAKE-GOOD— An offer to an advertiser of comparable facilities as
a substitute for a program or announcement cancelled because
of an emergency. Also, the credit extended in case comparable
facilities are not available. ( c )
47
RADIO ALPHABET
MAKE LOCAL— To identify the local station by broadcasting its
call letters.(p)
MAKE SYSTEM— To announce the network by name as a warning
cue to the wire-line company, to prepare the next hook-up of
lines— and as a reminder to the radio audience.(p)
MARK THE PARK— To use colored crayons, or any other means, by
which an actor can more easily identify his lines in the script.
(p)
MASTER— The negative impression taken from an original sound
recording which serves as the die from which further positives
may be taken. ( e.t. )
MASTER CONTROL— The focal point joining all studios in a station
whence programs are relayed for transmission. ( p )
MASTER STAMPER— A master recording, used as a stamp to make
disc record copies, or pressings. (e.t.)
MATRIX— The negative from which duplicate records are molded.
MBS — Mutual Broadcasting System. (o)
MC— Master of Ceremonies. Sometimes written "emcee" and even
used as a verb.(p)
MEDIAN— The middle item in a numerical list (of, say, program
ratings, etc. ) in which half the items are larger successively and
half successively smaller than the median. ( r )
MEDIUM— A communication channel through which messages may
reach the public in substantial proportions at one time from a
single point. ( c )
48
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
'
MERC— A mercury vapor lamp used for studio light in television.
It is water-cooled. ( t )
METAL MASTER — A metal negative produced directly from an
original recording. ( e.t. )
MIDDLE BREAKS — Station identification by an announcer in or
near the middle of a program. (p)
MIKE— Short for microphone, the thing you talk and play to. It picks
up all sound and passes it along to the audience and posterity,
(e)
MIKE-BOOM— The microphone suspended from a long boom which
is extended or retracted, raised or lowered during the course of
a program as action moves around the stage.(t)
MIKE HOG— A performer who elbows fellow performers away from
the microphone. ( p )
MIKE MUGGER— A performer who persists in working too close
to the microphone. ( p )
MIKE TECHNIQUE-The performer's ability at the microphone to
secure the most effective results. (p)
MIKE WISE— Skillful in microphone technique. ( p )
MIXER— The technician's panel of switches and dials for controlling
and blending sounds.(e)
MIXING— The process of blending sound ( i.e., voices, music, sound
effects ).(e)
MOBILE UNIT— A truck or trailer equipped with transmitting appa-
ratus used to relay programs from remote points to the
studio. ( e )
49
RADIO ALPHABET
MOB SCENE— A group of performers serving as a crowd back-
ground, to say hobble-gobble or "No, no!" or "Yes, yes!"(p)
MOB SCENE
MONEY-GIVE-AWAY— A program which offers money or other
premiums to persons who report listening to it at the moment
of proof -of -listening. ( c )
MONITOR— A loudspeaker and its associated amplifier used in the
control room to listen to the program being transmitted. Also
( v. ) to stand vigil on a program as it is broadcast to see what
it says, does, or sounds like. ( e )
MOOD MUSIC— Background music to establish or intensify the
mood of a dramatic scene. ( p )
MORE WAX— A suggestion to please sing more softly, please.(p)
MOSAIC— A photo-sensitive plate mounted in the television icono-
scope. The image hits it and is scanned by an electron gun. ( t )
MOTHER— A positive recording produced directly from the metal
master or negative record. ( e.t. )
MOVING AVERAGE -A statistical method used to highlight the
trend in a chronological series and to lessen chance fluctuations.
50
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
This often refers to the averaging of a current program rating
with its next earlier rating. ( r )
MPPA— Music Publishers Protective Association. ( o )
MST— Mountain Standard Time.(p)
MUSHY— "The orchestra's all right, but what the microphones pick
up from it sounds slovenly."(p)
MUSICAL CLOCK— A type of musical program, live or recorded,
interspersed with time signals and commercials. ( c )
MUSICAL CURTAIN -The music used at the end of a scene or a
play as finale or curtain. ( p )
n
NAB— National Association of Broadcasters. ( o )
N ABET— National Association of Broadcast Engineers and Tech-
nicians, (o)
NAEB— National Association of Educational Broadcasters. (o)
NAP A— National Association of Performing Artists, (o)
NBC— National Broadcasting Company. (o)
NEEDLE FORCE— The effective weight of the reproducer on a record
51
RADIO ALPHABET
player or the vertical force when the needle is on the record.
NEEDLE PRESSURE-A misnomer for needle force. (e.t.)
NEMO— A broadcast picked up from a point remote from the studio,
or from "Nemo", or from "No one". ( e )
NETWORK — Multiple radio stations linked by land (wire) lines.
[1.] COAST-TO-COAST NETWORK— A group of stations covering the
whole or greater part of the U. S. [2.] REGIONAL NETWORK— One
covering a definite segment of the country. [3.] SPLIT NETWORK
— Selected stations of a network used to meet specific distribu-
tion problems.(c)
NETWORK TIME— Broadcasting time on an affiliated station avail-
able for network programs. (c)
NEUTRAL— Theme music used under verbal announcements. (p)
NEWS ANALYST— A person who interprets the meaning of the news
as opposed to a news announcer who merely reports it. ( p )
NICK 'EM— A musical request to play it staccato. ( p )
NIELSEN RADIO INDEX— A reporting service for broadcasters and
advertisers based on the use of the Audimeter. Operated by the
A. C. Nielsen Co., this service regularly reports program ratings,
trends, and the amount and distribution of radio listening by
periods of the day. ( r )
NOODLING— The tuning up of musical instruments with practice
runs, trills, scales, etc.(p)
52
A GLOSSARY OF RAD7O TERMS
0
OFF MIKE— The position of a performer a little removed from the
microphone. ( p )
OFFSIDE— An off -color comedy line. A "blue gag". Tabu on the
air.(p)
O. HENRY— The crucial final line or "tag" in a broadcast story script.
(p)
OLD COW HAND— An experienced staff member called upon to
escort important guests about the studios. ( p )
OLD SEXTON— A bass soloist with dark vocal quality.(p)
OLD SEXTON
53
RADIO ALPHABET
ONE AND ONE— Instructions to an orchestra to play one verse and
one chorus of a song.(p)
ONE AND TWO— Instructions to the orchestra or soloists to play
or sing one verse and two choruses of a song. ( p )
ONE SHOT— A single program which is not one of a series. (p)
ON THE AIR— The actual period during which a broadcast is being
transmitted. Also (of a program or performer) actually broad-
casting. ( p )
ON THE BEACH -Unemployed. At liberty. Not working, (p)
ON THE BOARD -The engineer on the control board, (p)
ON THE BUTTON— A program which ends exactly on time. ON
THE NOSE.(p)
ON THE CUFF- See CUFFO.(P)
ON THE HEAD— The program starts exactly on scheduled time.(p)
ON THE LOG— An entry in the studio record. (p)
ON THE NOSE— The program has concluded exactly on the planned
second. ( Hurrah. )(p)
OPEN COLD— To open a radio program without theme, or musical
introduction or background, or even without rehearsal. ( p )
ORIGINATE— 1. To emanate a broadcast from a specific location.
2. To create a program. ( c ) and ( p )
OUT IN THE ALLEY-Out of the range of the microphone, woefully
inaudible. ( p )
OUTLET— A radio station which puts the program on the air.(c)
54
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
ON THE NOSE
OVERBOARD— 1. A program which exceeds its allotted time. 2. An
excessive characterization. Overcut, overacted, or, in music,
overintensified. In short, too much. ( p )
P. A.— "Public address"— an intra-mural loudspeaker wire system,
used in studios, halls, battleships, parks, airports, and industrial
plants, (e)
PACKAGE— A special program or series of programs bought by an
advertiser (usually for a lump sum), which includes all com-
ponents, all ready -to-broadcast, (c)
55
RADIO ALPHABET
PAD— To add material, musical or verbal, to fill the requisite
time.(p)
PAN —The instruction to swing the television camera in any direc-
tion in a horizontal or vertical plane, from "panorama".(t)
PANCAKE TURNER— A technician who controls the playing of
double faced records. (p)
PACKAGE
PANEL— A radio control board.(e)
PARTICIPATING PROGRAM— A single program sponsored by more
than one advertiser.(c)
PART-TIME STATION— One which is licensed to broadcast only at
certain hours. (c)
PATCH IN —To tie together pieces of apparatus to form a circuit. ( e )
PAY OFF— The tag line of a gag or witticism. It provokes the laugh,
or the tear, or else. ( p )
PEAK— The highest amplitude reached by an audio sound, which
means 'all the ear can comfortably take/(e)
PEDAL PUSHER— The organist who makes incidental music. (p)
56
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
PEDESTAL— A television camera-mount which can be moved by the
cameraman without assistance.(t)
PERSPECTIVE— AUDIO— The relation of volume of speech-sound to
the size of a speaker in the television picture; VIDEO— The depth
of the image itself. ( t )
PESTS— What some performers call radio fans who rally around
for the autographs of some performers. (p)
PICK IT UP— Instruction to musicians or actors to speed up their
delivery. ( p )
PICKUP— 1. The origination point of a broadcast. ( c ) 2. The quality
of the radio transmission of a given sequence or group in a pro-
gram, as, "The orchestra pickup is superbly balanced". ( p ) 3.
The electrical device which picks up sound from a disc. ( e ) 4.
To pick up a scene by a television camera and transmit the
images by radio or wire. ( t )
PICK UP A CUE— To be prompt in speaking a line immediately
after the preceding speaker has finished his.(p)
PEDAL PUSHER
57
RADIO ALPHABET
PIPE— To send a program from one point to another over a wire,
(e)
P.I-— Private line. Like your phone, if yours isn't a party line. ( p )
PLANT MEN — Members of an operating or maintenance crew. ( e )
PLATTER— A phonograph record, or transcription. (p)
PLAYBACK— The playing of a recording for audition or reference
purposes immediately after it is made. ( p )
PLAY OFF— The "exit" music used at the end of comedy or dramatic
routines. ( p )
PLAY ON — Music used to bring the radio performers "onstage." ( p )
PLOPS— The over-accented pronunciation of the letters B and P
resulting in sound distortion. ( p )
PLUG— The mention of a name or program or advertised product.
Also ( loosely ) the commercial announcement. ( c )
POPS— A series of heavy crashes on a line or transmitter caused by
any of several outside disturbances. (e)
PREEMPTION— Recapture by the broadcaster of an advertiser's
time in order to substitute a special program of emergent value,
(c)
PRESSING— A record produced in a record molding machine from
a matrix or stamper. ( e.t. )
PREVIEW— The picture or program rehearsed before it is on the
air; also, a dress rehearsal with audience. ( p )
PRODUCER— The individual, or impresario, or sponsor, or broad-
caster, originating and presenting a program. (p)
58
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
PRODUCTION— The building, organizing and presenting of a radio
program, (p)
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR -The individual in the studio in charge
of a program. (p)
PRODUCT-USE STUDY-A statistical measurement of the use of a
sponsor's products among listeners and non-listeners to his
program. ( r )
PROFILE OF LISTENER REACTIONS-A chart showing the average
percent of the listeners expressing approval, disapproval or
indifference, as recorded second-by-second by a Program Ana-
lyzer during the progress of a program. ( r )
PROGRAM— 1. COMMERCIAL PROGRAM— one paid for by the adver-
tiser. 2. SUSTAINING PROGRAM— one supported wholly by the
network or station and offered gratuitously in the public serv-
ice by the station or network. ( c )
PROGRAM ANALYZER -A device with which listeners indicate by
means of a pair of push-buttons, their second-by-second reac-
tions of approval, disapproval or indifference to program mate-
rial as they listen to it.
Known as the Lazarsfeld-Stanton Program Analyzer, this device
registers the reactions of the individual listener on a moving
tape synchronized with the program. ( r )
PROGRAM BALANCE— The proper arrangement of musical, dra-
matic and other elements in a program. (p)
PROJECTING— To use the voice so as to be heard more clearly
at increasing distance. ( p )
59
RADIO ALPHABET
PROPS— Furniture, and hand properties, used by the actors, or to
dress a stage set. In radio negligible. In television useful, if not
essential. ( t )
PROVISIONAL CUT— A cut in a program planned conditionally in
case of possible need. ( p )
PST-Pacific Standard Time.(p)
PUNCH— To speak a line with extra force. (p)
PUNCH THE MIKE-To press the switch turning the microphone
on or off. ( p )
PUTTY BLOWER- A trombone. (p)
QST— A teletype message sent to a group of radio stations; derived
from the amateur term "query station time."(c)
QUONKING— Disturbing side-line chatter by persons not on the
program. It sounds like that. ( p )
r
RACKED UP— Radio equipment placed permanently on racks. (p)
60
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
RADAR— An electronic method of determining direction and dis-
tance to objects both visible and invisible to the eye; derived
from Radio, Direction, And Range. (e)
RADIO FAMILY-One of the 33,100,000 families among the 36,-
783,000 in the United States who own one or more of the
59,000,000 U.S. receiving sets (1945). The term is used inter-
changeably with RADIO HOME, and is applied to the average
family known to consist of 2.2 adults, 1.3 children under 18,
and to be listeners to their radio(s) for more than 4 hours on
the average day.(r)
RATES— The time costs set up by a station or network, in terms of
quarter-hour, half -hour, and hour and other periods, night-
time and daytime periods, and number of stations used. GROSS
RATE— The pre-discount rate. NET RATE— The post-discount rate.
PACKAGE RATE — See PACKAGE. ( C )
RATING— The percentage of a statistical sample of radio families
interviewed who report hearing a specific program.(r)
RDG-Radio Directors Guild. (o)
READING HIGH HAT- Reading a script in a lofty manner.(p)
READ-Y— Pronounced reedy. An actor or announcer who sounds as
though he were reading instead of talking. ( p )
REBROADCAST-See REPEAT.(P)
REC- Radio Executives Club.(o)
RECALL-A method of measurement of the number of people who
remember listening to a program after the broadcast. ( r )
61
RAD/0 ALPHABET
RECORDING — Making a permanent sound track of a program on a
disc, film or wire, for historical or critical purposes. ( e.t. )
REFERENCE RECORDING— A recording made primarily for refer-
ence and verification. ( e.t. )
RELAY STATIONS— A series of low power highly directional stations
separated by approximately thirty miles, connecting two widely
separated points, used to pass a television program over a
greater distance than can be covered by one station, even a high
powered one. ( t )
REMOTE PICKUP— A broadcast originating outside the studio, viz.,
hotel ballroom, football field, etc. See NEMO. ( e )
REPEAT— The second presentation of a regular studio program for
those stations not served by the original broadcast, usually due
to time differences. ( p )
REPEATER— An amplifier used by the telephone company to com-
pensate for the loss of program level in telephone lines. See
BOOSTER. ( e )
REPRODUCING NEEDLE -The "needle", or jewel, which is placed in
the record groove, to trace the sound track. ( e.t. )
RE-RECORDING— A recording made from the reproduction of a
recording. ( e.t. )
RETURNS— The amount of mail received as a result of a premium
offer or other stimulus on a program. ( c )
REVERSAL— Changing the direction of flow of transmission in a
program transmission channel. In plain words, reversing the
flow Los Angeles— N. Y. to N. Y.— Los Angeles. (e)
62
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
RIBBON— A high-velocity microphone. ( p )
RIDE GAIN— To keep the program volume constantly adjusted for
proper transmission. ( e )
RIDE IT— To command the swing instruments to ad lib. ( p )
RM A— Radio Manufacturers Association. ( o )
ROSTER-STUDY— A radio audience survey which helps the inter-
viewed listener's recollection by showing him a list of programs
he could have heard at a particular time.(r)
ROSTER-STUDY
ROUND ROBIN— A radio program circuit on the wires, forming a
complete electrical loop, which permits instantaneous switch-
ing between major points of origination without using extra
facilities. ( e )
RRC— Radio Research Council. (o)
63
RADIO ALPHABET
RTPB— Radio Technical Planning Board.(o)
RUMBLE— A low-frequency vibration mechanically transmitted to
a recording or reproducing turntable and superimposed on
the reproduction. It sounds just like a rumble. ( e.t. )
RUNOVER— The program has overrun its allotted time, and that
is not neat. ( p )
RWG - Radio Writers Guild. ( o )
S
SAFETY— A second recording (original), usually made simultane-
ously with the original, to be used for duplication should the
original be damaged. ( e.t. )
SAMPLE— Usually used in radio to denote a segment of radio fam-
ilies or listeners, whose opinions, habits, and tastes are taken
as representative of all such families or listeners in the area
selected for examination.(r)
SCAN— The television process of changing a light image into ar
electrical signal, or vice-versa— or magic.(t)
SCHEDULE— 1. A program time table. 2. A plan for broadcasting
3. A radio campaign.(c)
64
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
SCHIZOPHRENIC— A performer with two or more rehearsals sched-
uled at the same time. From Greek phreno, meaning midriff,
heart or mind, and schizo, meaning split. See CONFLICT. ( p )
SCHMALZ— A super-sentimental rendition of a musical number or
scene. ( p )
SCOOP— To open a mike after the performer has begun, thus los-
ing the start of his music or talk. ( p )
SCRATCHES — Rasping caused by faulty equipment. ( p )
SCRIPT— The pages of paper, usually typewritten, held by each per-
former, director, and technician producing a program; on the
pages is the sequence of the talk, music and sound. ( p )
SCRIPT SHOW— A program, essentially a dramatic broadcast,
chiefly containing talk. ( p )
SEGUE— Pronounced seg-way. The transition from one musical
theme to another without a break or announcements.(p)
SERIAL— Any series of radio programs telling a continued story. ( c )
SERVICE FEATURES -The use of the station's facilities to offer the
public regular human-routine services such as news, weather
reports, time signals, etc.(c)
SERVICE THE SCRIPT-To cast, rehearse and present the material
set down in the manuscript. ( p )
SES AC— Society of European Stage Authors and Composers. ( o )
SETS-IN-USE— The percent of all radio families whose radios are
turned on at a specific time. ( r )
65
RADIO ALPHABET
SET UP— The arrangement of musicians, performers and sound
effects in a studio contrived for the best acoustical effect, (p)
SHARE-OF-AUDIENCE-The percent of listeners tuned to a given
station ( or program ) based on the total of sets-in-use. ( r )
SHORT VOICE— A voice with a limited range. (p)
SHOW— A radio program, or broadcast. The term is also sometimes
used to describe a conceited performer. ( p )
SIGNAL— When you can hear a given station, you're hearing its
signal. When you can see a station's television picture, you're
seeing its signal. ( e )
SIGNAL STRENGTH— The measured strength of a radio signal at a
given distance from the transmitter. ( e )
SIGNATURE— The musical number or sound effect which regularly
identifies a program. ( p )
SKIP DISTANCE— The region where shortwave signals are not audi-
ble because of having "skipped" over. ( e )
SKIP DISTANCE
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
SLAP BASS— To play a bass violin by slapping the strings. (p)
SMPE — Society of Motion Picture Engineers. (o)
SNEAK IN— To bring music in softly, behind the dialogue. (p)
SNOW— A flickering of small lights and dark particles giving the
effect of a snow fall on the picture ( the light effect in television
which compares with the noise effect in radio). Not good.(t)
SOAP OPERA— A patronizing term loosely applied to popular day-
time dramatic serial programs because the early sponsors of
these programs were soap manufacturers^ p)
SOCK IT— To speak a word or line very forcibly. ( p )
SONG PLUGGER— A music publisher's representative who promotes
his firm's songs with more or less zeal. ( p )
SOUND EFFECTS— Various ingenious and highly credible devices
or recordings used to produce realistic sound. ( p )
SOUND MAN— The studio technician who produces, either manu-
ally or by recordings, the desired sound effects. (p)
SOUND TABLE— A movable table for sound effect devices. (p)
SOUND TRACK— A graphic record of sound produced on film, or on
sensitized paper, or on wire. ( p )
SOUR— An off-pitch voice or instrument, automatically awful.(p)
SPELL A LINE— To read a line in the script, carefully accenting...
every... word and e-nun-ci-a-ting clear-ly.(p)
SPIELER— A radio commentator. Also (loosely) an announcer. ( p )
SPLIT CHANNEL— Two or more sections of a network transmitting
different programs at the same time.(e)
67
RADIO ALPHABET
SPLIT-FOCUS— A television picture of two or more objects in which
none is sharply focused at the expense of the others. (t)
SPLIT NETWORK— A network divided into two or more practical
market-sections. ( e )
SPLIT SET-UP— A method of arranging the instruments of an orches-
tra so as to take full advantage of the bi( two ) directional pick-
up characteristic of a microphone. ( p )
SPONSOR— One of the 50,000 or more advertisers in America who
use radio to sell their products and services. ( c )
SPOT— The individual television spotlight directed on a restricted
stage area.(t)
SPOT BROADCASTING— Programs or announcements broadcast
independently by individual radio stations. (c)
SPOTS— The time locations selected for spot broadcasting. ( c )
SPREAD— To stretch any part of a broadcast for the purpose of
filling the full allotted time of the program, (p)
SQUEAK STICK-A clarinet.(p)
STAMPER— A negative recording (generally made of metal) from
which the finished transcription pressings are molded. ( e.t. )
STAND BY— A substitute program ready "in the wings" to go on the
air in any emergency. Or, a command to performers to get
ready to take the air. ( p )
STAND BY GROUP— The performers engaged to take part in a
"stand by" program. ( p )
68
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
STATION— A complete radio-broadcasting unit. One of more than
900 independent transmitting and producing organizations in
the U.S. equipped to produce and broadcast programs serving
their sectional areas of population. ( e )
STATION BREAK— The interval between programs usually at the
hour, 14, l/2t %, used for station identification. Also, the
announcement broadcast during such an interval. (c)
STATION REPRESENTATIVE -An organization or individual em-
ployed on a fee or percentage basis to sell a station's time to
national advertisers. ( c )
STEP IT UP— Increase the volume.(p)
STICK A PIN IN IT— A director's term, meaning, "The final rehearsal
is perfect; there will be no changes before the air show."(p)
STICK WAVER -An orchestra leader, (p)
STOP— The size of the iris in the television camera lens, adjustable
to admit more or less light. ( t )
STRAIGHT READING— Reading material naturally, without undue
emphasis or characterization. ( p )
STRETCH— To slow up the playing of musical numbers or the read-
STRETCH
RADIO ALPHABET
ing of script so that the show will finish exactly on time. ( p )
STRIP SHOW— A serial program, after "strip," or serial cartoons. (p)
STUDIO— A room especially constructed for the production of radio
programs, which in its construction embodies acoustical ele-
ments, and is suitably equipped with microphones and an
associated control room. ( e )
STUDIO MOTHERS— Mothers of juvenile performers. Like stage
mothers, only sometimes perhaps more so. ( p )
STUDIO PROGRAM— One which originates in a studio of a radio
station, not outside, or "remote."(c)
SUPERIMPOSED — A photographic condition under which two
images are visible at the same time.(t)
SUPPLEMENTARY STATION-One not included in the network's
basic group. ( c )
SURFACE NOISE— Noise, not usually agreeable, caused by the
needle passing in the groove of a record. (p)
SUSTAINER-See PROGRAM.(C)
SWEEP— Curved pieces of television scenery. (t)
SWITCH— To transfer a station or line from one source of program
service to another; the switch is made either in a station's master
control room, or on the telephone company's test board, q.v. ( e )
SWITCHER— The electronic technician who sets the brightness and
70
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
contrast of television pictures, and under the production direc-
tor cuts, fades, or dissolves, from one picture to another.(t)
SYNC— Slang for the synchronization of two or more stations to one
wave length, or the simultaneous ending of several programs so
that all sections of a network are ready to take the next forth-
coming program ( e ) ; also when both the horizontal and vertical
scanning at the receiver is in step with the scanning at the
pick up camera.(t)
SYNC-GENERATOR -The device for properly timing the process of
scanning a television image.(t)
RADIO ALPHABET
TAG LINE— The last and most important line of a joke or a scene.
(p)
TAKE— A director's instruction to his switcher to feed a given pic-
ture-channel to the transmitter, so as to put the picture on the
air.(t)
TAKE IT (AWAY)— The go-ahead cue from a studio engineer to the
engineer of a succeeding program or from actor to actor.(p)
TAKE TIMINGS— To time each unit in the program with a stop-
watch, (p)
TAKING A BALANCE— Preliminary testing of various sounds in a
program to determine their relation to one another. ( p )
TALENT COST— The production cost ( for music, actors, etc. ) of a
program aside from the time charge. (c)
TALK BACK— 1. A loudspeaking device between the studio control
room and the studio enabling the producer to give directions
to the cast of a production during rehearsals. 2. A telephone
facility used to permit a remote originating point to hear pre-
determined cues and thus enable switches to be performed. ( e )
TALKING DOWN— Condescension by a radio speaker to his audi-
ence; an offense in good broadcasting. ( p )
72
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
TALKING IN HIS BEARD -Speaking in a muffled voice, (p)
TAPE RECORDER— See MAGNETIC RECORDER. (e)
TBA— Television Broadcasters Association. ( o )
TEAR JERKER— A radio script with a sad or pathetic appeal. (p)
TELECINE— General term used in operations involving transmission
of film in television. TELECINE-ROOM: The special room in which
the film is filed or fixed or projected. ( t )
TELETYPE— To communicate from one point to another by tele-
typewriter circuit, (c)
TELEVISOR -The television camera.(t)
TEST BOARD— The telephone company's control room, similar to a
station's master control room, where testing, amplifying and
switching operations are performed. ( e )
TEST PATTERN— A geometric design used to test the quality of
picture transmission; also used for station identification. ( t )
THEME— See SIGNATURE. ( p )
THICK— The individual instruments in an orchestra are not dis-
tinguishable. They are thick. (p)
"THIRTY"— A sign-off signal used in early radio to signify the end of
a program; derived from the classic telegrapher's sign-off.(p)
THROW A CUE— A director points at a performer to begin. (p)
THROW IT AWAY— The director tells performers or engineers to
fade the dialogue no matter what the script says.(p)
TIGHT SHOW— A program timed accurately in rehearsal to fit its
allotted period like a glove. ( p )
TIME— The period on the air available for a given program. ( c )
73
RADIO ALPHABET
TIME BUYER— 1. The officer of an advertising agency responsible
for making the proper selection of radio coverage to meet the
requirements of the advertiser; 2. A buyer of radio time. ( c )
TIME BUYER
TIME CHECK— A command synchronization of all the watches of all
concerned in a broadcast. A vital rite. ( p )
TIME HOLDER— A program sometimes substituted during the vaca-
tions of regular performers. ( c )
TIME SIGNAL— Where he says "The time is now so-and-so", and
mighty handy this service is. ( p )
TONGUE— The tongue of the crane on the television camera dolly
which controls the angle and height. Also a verb. ( t )
TOTAL AUDIENCE— The percentage of radio homes tuned to a
specific program at some time during the broadcast. ( r )
TOWN CRIER— A vocalist who sings too loudly. (p)
TRANSCRIPTION— A recording of the highest quality especially
made for broadcast purposes. ( e.t. )
TRANSITION— The transition music, sound, or silence, used to
change from one dramatic scene to another. (p)
74
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
TRANSMISSION — 1. A program; 2. Emissions from audio or radio
transmitting equipment. ( e )
TRANSMITTER— The electrical apparatus which transforms the
audio frequencies to radio frequencies and then radiates them
into the air for everybody to hear. ( e )
TRAVELLER— A loose scene curtain, adjustable on pulleys.(t)
TRUCK — Instruction to the cameraman to move the television
camera dolly or pedestal backwards or forwards.(t)
TURKEY- A flop, or failure. (p)
TURN OVER— To relinquish control at the close of one program to
the engineers of the succeeding program. ( p )
TURN TABLE— The rotating platform on which records are spun to
play.(e.t)
TURN-TABLE TOM— A director who is more interested in his sound
effects than in his actors, though both are essential. ( p )
TWO IN HANDS— Programs involving two characters. (p)
TYING IN— A station or part of a network picking up a program
already in progress. ( e )
U
UNDER— A program which does not use all its allotted time.(p)
UNILATERAL MICROPHONE— A microphone sensitive only on one
side.(e)
75
RADIO ALPHABET
V
VELOCITY-MICROPHONE-A ribbon type of microphone. ( ej
VERTICAL RECORDING— One wherein the sound groove causes the
reproducing needle to move up and down or vertically. ( e.t. )
VIDEO— Of (or concerning) electric currents or equipment asso-
ciated with transmitting television pictures. Loosely used to
refer to television. ( e )
VISUAL SHOW— A radio program which is also being presented
before an actual audience called "live."(p)
VOLUME INDICATOR— A meter in the control room which registers
the program volume, thus enabling the technician to "see" the
amount of sound. V.I. for short. (e)
W
WALLA WALLA— An ad lib mumble in crowd scenes to sound like
a mob. Say it several times.(p)
76
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
WARM UP— The 3 or 5-minute period immediately preceding a
broadcast in which the announcer or star puts the studio audi-
ence in a receptive mood by amiably introducing the cast of
the program, or discussing its problems.(p)
WATT— A measure of transmitting power. ( e )
WAX— A blend of waxes with metallic soaps used for original disc
recordings, (e.t.)
WAX ORIGINAL— An original sound recording on a wax surface, for
the purpose of making a metal master record. ( e.t. )
WEAVER— A performer who moves about nervously in front of the
microphone. ( p )
WEB- A slang headline term for network, like"net".(c)
WEST OF DENVER -Technical troubles which can't be located.(e)
WHODUNIT— A mystery program. (p)
WIRE RECORDER— See MAGNETIC RECORDER.(e)
WNRC— Women's National Radio Committee. ( o )
WOOD PILE— A xylophone, or a xylophonist. ( p )
WOOD SHED — (a) A radio actor is said to be "woodshedding"
when he privately rehearses his part outside the studio; (b)
A musical director is said to "woodshed" when he makes an ad
lib arrangement of a number during rehearsal by verbal rather
than written instructions to his orchestra or singers. (p)
WOOF— A word spoken by engineers into the microphone to check
amplitude and/or timing of sound, e.g.: "l-2-3-4-wooF!"(e)
77
RADIO ALPHABET
WOW— Unpleasing sound caused by a variance from normal speed
of a turntable being used to reproduce a transcribed or recorded
program. ( e.t. )
Z
ZAMPA— A florid musical passage, with plenty of brass, blown big
and bitten off sharp. ( p )
ZILCH— The standard name used to describe anyone who walks
into the studio and whose name is not known. (p)
78
ign language
( 1 ) Stretch it out; or ( 2 ) Slow up.
Bring up the volume. Lower the volume.
79
RADIO ALPHABET
Fade out.
How is the balance?
Move closer to the microphone.
80
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
Move away from the microphone.
Cut.
Okay.
Is the program running on schedule?
81
RADIO ALPHABET
Watch me for the cue.
Proceeding on schedule, on the nose.
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
Start the theme.
Play the fanfare.
"This is
WABC.
Repeat.
Make local.
83
RADIO ALPHABET
Slow up.
How does it sound?
Use first ending, repeat chorus. Play the entire arrangement.
84
A GLOSSARY OF RADIO TERMS
Speed up.
Start at beginning of musical number.
Use the second ending and conclude. Board Fade.
Cue to Start.
85
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