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- Title
The Ethics of Radio Announcing: A Dilemma.
- Authors
McLeod, Alan Lindsey
- Abstract
This article deals with ethical issues related to radio announcing. The person who wishes to become a radio announcer and the announcer who wishes to hold his job must be prepared to undertake to influence the beliefs and hence the conduct of large numbers of people. He must be willing to assume the role of advocate for all who have purchased time on his station with the express purpose of having its listening public persuaded. The implications are grave. But some solace can probably be found in that the average announcer is unaware of the remarkable influence and power at his disposal; ignorant too, it must be regretted, of the social! significance of his attitudes and words. In becoming a professional advocate or disseminator of propaganda (mass persuasion), the radio announcer is faced with a situation similar to that of actors, newspaper copy-writers, or lawyers. Each must feel, from time to time, that he is playing "devil's advocate" but that he has no real alternative--or else an alternative that is unacceptable, such as loss of employment through refusal to accept the task assigned him. However, the actor can frequently be re-cast on application to the producer, and the lawyer can often have a brief taken by an associate. The radio announcer has to face the problem in its severity. As a professional advocate, nonetheless, the announcer bas accepted the responsibility of performing to the best of his ability, the tasks assigned to him. This demands that he be as persuasive as possible when reading (interpreting) commercials. But persuasion is an ephemeral part of the total speech process and its elements are not easily dissected, though text books on persuasion suggest that there are four principal parts, viz.: logical proof, emotional proof, rationalization, and ethical proof.
- Subjects
RADIO broadcasters; RADIO broadcasting -- Social aspects; RADIO in propaganda; RADIO announcing; RADIO public speaking; COMMUNICATION &; society
- Publication
Today's Speech, 1957, Vol 5, Issue 2, p30
- ISSN
0040-8573
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1080/01463375709385008