REPORT OF THE SECRETARY JQ 



National Broadcasting Co., lias now operated for a full year. The 

 series, known as "The World is Yours", was initiated by the Office 

 of Education as part of the radio project of the Works Progress 

 Administration. Its purpose was to bring to the people of the United 

 States more of the wealth of knowledge and vitally interesting in- 

 formation on the earth and its inhabitants available in the labora- 

 tories and exhibit halls of the Smithsonian Institution. It was 

 further intended as a pioneering experiment in educational radio 

 to determine the most effective means of presenting to a Nation-wide 

 audience solid information in a form that would hold the listener's 

 interest. Before listing the titles of the broadcasts and telling some- 

 thing of the success of tlie series, it may be of interest to describe 

 briefly the series itself. 



The character of the series and the subjects to be covered were 

 worked out in collaboration between the radio experts of the Office 

 of Education and the Smithsonian's editorial office. The basic re- 

 quirement was that each subject must be presented in dramatized 

 form. Kadio lectures and dialogues have apparently failed to hold 

 the listener's interest, but dramatic incidents well written and pro- 

 duced appeal to listeners of all age groups. The subjects to be 

 dramatized covered all phases of the Institution's activities — science 

 in all its branches, art, invention, and history. About half of the 

 year's broadcasts were on Smithsonian research activities, the other 

 half being based on the exhibits in the National Museum and the art 

 galleries under the Institution's direction. The various subjects were 

 carefully planned to come around in fairly regular rotation, so that 

 those listeners with decided preferences for one or another feature 

 could count on hearing their favorite subjects if they listened 

 regularly. 



The subject once selected for a particular broadcast, the Office of 

 Education's expert script writers conferred with the Smithsonian 

 authority in that field. After preliminary research, they then pre- 

 pared the script, which was carefully checked by the Smithsonian. 

 The script then went to New York, where it was produced by the 

 National Broadcasting Co. in their Radio City studios by a selected 

 cast. 



Beginning on June 7, 1936, the series covered up to June 30, 1937, 

 the following subjects : 



19SG 



The Smithsonian, and Famous Exhibits June 7 



Scientific Explorations June 14 



The Sun June 21 



The American Indian June 28 



Costumes of Ladies of the White House July 5 



Transportation July 12 



Meteorites July 19 



