New Medium

Showman Billy Rose last week dipped an inquiring toe into the third of what he calls the Seven Lively Arts* -;radio. Despite the artful aid of filters and mixers, the Rose radio voice was flat and monotonous ("I don't think Gabriel Heatter has anything to worry about"). But Broadway's Billy was out to make a dent on radio. His brief, five-nights-a-week show (Mutual, Mon.-Fri. 8:55-9 p.m.) is a rewrite of his daily newspaper column, "Pitching Horseshoes" (TIME., July 15, 1946). Once a week, he transcribes the week's batch of five records.

In his first week Billy sounded like a not-too-assured mixture of Walter Winchell and the late Alexander Woollcott. He let his listeners in on his random thoughts, a bit of philosophy, some gossip. He did a little crusading for higher salaries for teachers. He told a yarn about World's Fair days, when J. Edgar Hoover put the finger on a gangster who was bothering Billy. He bemoaned all the big-time stars that he has been dope enough to pass up.

Billy's show is heard on 379 of Mutual's 446 stations, with Kreml and Musterole ("pretty stylish sponsors") paying the bill. "As per usual I'm being well paid. I'd be ashamed to tell you how much."

Off the air, Billy is as assured as ever: "I approach this medium with a lot of respect. I know it's difficult. But don't forget I'm not trying to get laughs. I'm not nervous. And anyway I'm pretty good in the ducking department." On the air, he sings a more modest tune: "It wouldn't surprise me if this program wound up owing Hooper ten points."

*The others (by Rose's reckoning): concert, theater, movies, ballet, opera, jive.

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