In 1926: living at the edge of time - Monoskop

246 ARRAYS
other forms of wireless communication have failed to assume. [see Individuality
vs. Collectivity, Center = Periphery (Infinitude)] Broadcasting
becomes a point of convergence and condensation between innovative
research, industrial production, and consumer participation. By January,
the number of regular radio listeners in Germany has grown from 1,500
(in 1924) to over a million. In February, nine originally independent
radio stations with an average daily airtime of nine hours merge into the
Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft (National Radio Association) under the
control-and with the support-of the Postal Ministry (Chronik, 20). In
Latin America the impact of the new medium is even stronger. The
number of radio stations in Buenos Aires has already reached a level of
saturation (Gallo, 9). The pages of Caras y Caretas are full of advertisements
for radio sets and radio tubes-ads that often devote more enthusiasm
to technical details than to the products' usefulness: "Get the
perfect vacuum! A few years ago, an incandescent lamp containing a
vacuum of one-millionth the density of air was considered something
extraordinary. But that wasn't good enough for our Radiotrons. In the
laboratories that do innovative work for RCA, scientists use a process
of rarefaction to produce electronic tubes with an internal pressure one
ten-millionth of that of an electric lamp. To ensure that you get dependable
service and constant satisfaction from your receiver, you should buy
tubes with the best possible vacuum" (September 15).
In Berlin, the 138-meter-high steel Funkturm (Broadcasting Tower) is
inaugurated at the opening ceremony for the third annual German
Broadcasting Exhibition on Friday, September 3. With its restaurant and
panorama platform [see Roof Gardens], the Funkturm attracts vast numbers
of visitors and brings them close to the popular new medium. But
the structure is above all hailed as a monumental expression of contemporary
achievements in technology and culture: "Every age has its serious
matters, but also its joys, and if one only tries hard enough, the
technical expression of a new age can also be given beautiful form"
(Schrader and Schebera, 182). If news, literary readings, language
courses, and all kinds of music have so far dominated the radio programs,
engineers are now working hard to facilitate the live broadcasting
of outdoor events. Spanish radio stations offer transmissions from a Red
Cross gala bullfight in Madrid on March 16, from a boxing match
featuring the European champion Paulino Uzcudun in Barcelona on May
15, and from the opening Mass of the Third Eucharistic Congress in