ABSTRACT
As has been noted elsewhere, there is a tendency for broadcasters to shut themselves away in studios being enormously busy making programmes which do not originate from a direct contact with the audience. The outside broadcast, or ‘remote’, represents more than a desire to include in the schedule coverage of outside events in which there is public interest. It is a positive duty for the broadcasters to escape from the confines of their buildings into the world that is both the source and the target for all their enterprise. The concert, church service, exhibition, civic ceremony, sporting event, public meeting, conference or demonstration, these demand the
broadcaster’s attention. But it is not only good for radio to reflect what is going on, it is necessary for the station’s credibility to be involved in such things. Radio must not only go to where people are, it must come from the interests and activities of many people. If its sources are too few, it is in danger of appearing detached, sectional, elitist or out of touch. Thus, the OB is essential to broadcasting’s health.
