Use of Early Radio by Politicians

Huey Long, in his early political career had much to learn about public speaking. He had a tendency to gesticulate too much, distracting his hearers by slicing the air with his arms. He had a good voice, but when he became excited, he raised it too high, so that it sounded shrill. Some of his platform habits that offended urban audiences captivated his country hearers. He paced up and down the stage, and as he talked he would rumple his hair, take off his coat and tie, and loosen his collar and shirt. His strenuous actions on the platform, repeated several times a day--for many days in a row--made his voice hoarse, and sometimes even inaudible. However, during the latter part of one of his campaigns he resorted to the radio--on WCAG in New Orleans. The station's owner said there were 8,000 sets in the city, and if only half of them were tuned in, with five listeners each, Huey would reach an audience of 20,000. Realizing the importance of this medium for his career, he used it increasingly in the future.

In the early 1930s, when Huey Long became a U.S. senator, he did a most unusual thing that attracted nationwide attention. Immedi

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he decided that an increase in the value of gold would be the decisive factor in restoring higher commodity prices. In what has been called probably the boldest attempt made to give the widest public a brief instruction in a complicated economic doctrine and maneuver, Roosevelt told the people in a fireside chat about the commodity market and his plan to buy gold. Roosevelt's ultimate strength as a president was always his hold on the people. During his second year in office he maintained his popularity through timely action, unfailing cheerfulness in public and private, and a masterly grasp of public opinion. Millions sat by their radios to hear his warm, reassuring words. His most important link with the people was his fireside chat. Read in cold newspaper print the next day, these talks seemed somewhat stilted and banal. Heard on the radio, they were fresh, direct, and moving. The radio chats were effective largely because Roosevelt threw himself into the role of a father talking with his great family. He made a conscious effort to visualize the people he was talking to: he would forget the microphone, his head would nod as he talked, his hands would move in simple, natural gestures, and his face would light up as th
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Roosevelt's Deal, Father Coughlin, York Roosevelt, Reich Chancellor, Broadcasting Company, WCAG Orleans, Chamber Culture, Little Flower, Leo XIII, Goebbels German, von hindenberg, father coughlin, fireside chat, fuehrer reich chancellor, reich chancellor, stations roosevelt, fuehrer reich, german people, heard radio, little flower, told people, people fireside chat,
Approximate Word count = 1643
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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