Goldfinger Radio Drama Focus
Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF) is an American Christian conservative organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by psychologist James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is active in promoting socially conservative views on public policy.Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s.
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play,[1]radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story: 'It is auditory in the physical dimension but equally powerful as a visual force in the psychological dimension.'[2] Radio drama includes plays specifically written for radio, docudrama, dramatized works of fiction, as well as plays originally written for the theatre, including musical theatre and opera.
Radio drama achieved widespread popularity within a decade of its initial development in the 1920s. By the 1940s, it was a leading international popular entertainment. With the advent of television in the 1950s, however, radio drama began losing its audience, however, in most countries it remains popular.
Recordings of OTR (old-time radio) survive today in the audio archives of collectors, libraries and museums, as well as several online sites such as Internet Archive.
By the 21st century, radio drama had a minimal presence on terrestrial radio in the United States, with much American radio drama being restricted to rebroadcasts of programmes from previous decades. However, other nations still have thriving traditions of radio drama. In the United Kingdom, for example, the BBC produces and broadcasts hundreds of new radio plays each year on Radio 3, Radio 4, and Radio 4 Extra. Like the USA, Australia ABC has abandoned broadcasting drama but in New Zealand RNZ continues to promote and broadcast a variety of drama over its airwaves.
Thanks to advances in digital recording and Internet distribution, radio drama experienced a revival around 2010.[3]Podcasting offered the means of inexpensively creating new radio dramas, in addition to the distribution of vintage programs.
The terms 'audio drama'[4] or 'audio theatre' are sometimes used synonymously with 'radio drama'; however, audio drama or audio theatre may not necessarily be intended specifically for broadcast on radio. Audio drama can also be found on CDs, cassette tapes, podcasts, webcasts as well as broadcast radio.
- 1History
- 2Radio drama around the world
- 6External links
History[edit]
The Roman playwright 'Seneca has been claimed as a forerunner of radio drama because his plays were performed by readers as sound plays, not by actors as stage plays; but in this respect Seneca had no significant successors until 20th-century technology made possible the widespread dissemination of sound plays.'[5]
1880–1930: Early years[edit]
Radio drama traces its roots back to the 1880s: 'In 1881 French engineer Clement Ader had filed a patent for ‘improvements of Telephone Equipment in Theatres’' (Théâtrophone).[6] English-language radio drama seems to have started in the United States.[7]A Rural Line on Education, a brief sketch specifically written for radio, aired on Pittsburgh's KDKA in 1921, according to historian Bill Jaker.[8] Newspaper accounts of the era report on a number of other drama experiments by America's commercial radio stations: KYW broadcast a season of complete operas from Chicago starting in November 1921.[9] In February 1922, entire Broadway musical comedies with the original casts aired from WJZ's Newark studios.[10] Actors Grace George and Herbert Hayes performed an entire play from a San Francisco station in the summer of 1922.[11]
An important turning point in radio drama came when Schenectady, New York's WGY, after a successful tryout on August 3, 1922, began weekly studio broadcasts of full-length stage plays in September 1922,[12] using music, sound effects and a regular troupe of actors, The WGY Players. Aware of this series, the director of Cincinnati's WLW began regularly broadcasting one-acts (as well as excerpts from longer works) in November.[13] The success of these projects led to imitators at other stations. By the spring of 1923, original dramatic pieces written specially for radio were airing on stations in Cincinnati (When Love Wakens by WLW's Fred Smith),[13][14] Philadelphia (The Secret Wave by Clyde A. Criswell)[15] and Los Angeles (At Home over KHJ).[16] That same year, WLW (in May) and WGY (in September) sponsored scripting contests, inviting listeners to create original plays to be performed by those stations' dramatic troupes.[13][17]
Listings in The New York Times[18] and other sources for May 1923 reveal at least 20 dramatic offerings were scheduled (including one-acts, excerpts from longer dramas, complete three- and four-act plays, operettas and a Molière adaptation), either as in-studio productions or by remote broadcast from local theaters and opera houses. An early British drama broadcast was of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream on 2LO on 25 July 1923[19]
Serious study of American radio drama of the 1920s and early 1930s is, at best, very limited. Unsung pioneers of the art include: WLW's Fred Smith; Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll (who popularized the dramatic serial); The Eveready Hour creative team (which began with one-act plays but was soon experimenting with hour-long combinations of drama and music on its weekly variety program); the various acting troupes at stations like WLW, WGY, KGO and a number of others, frequently run by women like Helen Schuster Martin and Wilda Wilson Church; early network continuity writers like Henry Fisk Carlton, William Ford Manley and Don Clark; producers and directors like Clarence Menser and Gerald Stopp; and a long list of others who were credited at the time with any number of innovations but who are largely forgotten or undiscussed today. Elizabeth McLeod's 2005 book on Gosden and Correll's early work[20] is a major exception, as is Richard J. Hand's 2006 study of horror radio, which examines some programs from the late 1920s and early 1930s.[21]
Another notable early radio drama, one of the first specially written for the medium in the UK, was A Comedy of Danger by Richard Hughes, broadcast by the BBC on January 15, 1924, about a group of people trapped in a Welsh coal mine.[22] One of the earliest and most influential French radio plays was the prize-winning 'Marémoto' ('Seaquake'), by Gabriel Germinet and Pierre Cusy, which presents a realistic account of a sinking ship before revealing that the characters are actually actors rehearsing for a broadcast. Translated and broadcast in Germany and England by 1925, the play was originally scheduled by Radio-Paris to air on October 23, 1924, but was instead banned from French radio until 1937 because the government feared that the dramatic SOS messages would be mistaken for genuine distress signals.[23]
In 1951, American writer and producer Arch Oboler suggested that Wyllis Cooper's Lights Out (1934–47) was the first true radio drama to make use of the unique qualities of radio:
Radio drama (as distinguished from theatre plays boiled down to kilocycle size) began at midnight, in the middle thirties, on one of the upper floors of Chicago's Merchandise Mart. The pappy was a rotund writer by the name of Wyllis Cooper.[24]
Though the series is often remembered solely for its gruesome stories and sound effects, Cooper's scripts for Lights Out were well written and offered innovations seldom heard in early radio dramas, including multiple first-person narrators, stream of consciousnessmonologues and scripts that contrasted a duplicitious character's internal monologue and his spoken words.
The question of who was the first to write stream-of-consciousness drama for radio is a difficult one to answer. By 1930, Tyrone Guthrie had written plays for the BBC like Matrimonial News (which consists entirely of the thoughts of a shopgirl awaiting a blind date) and The Flowers Are Not for You to Pick (which takes place inside the mind of a drowning man). After they were published in 1931, Guthrie's plays aired on the American networks. Around the same time, Guthrie himself also worked for the Canadian National Railway radio network, producing plays written by Merrill Denison that used similar techniques. A 1940 article in Variety credited a 1932 NBC play, Drink Deep by Don Johnson, as the first stream-of-consciousness play written for American radio. The climax of Lawrence Holcomb's 1931 NBC play Skyscraper also uses a variation of the technique (so that the listener can hear the final thoughts and relived memories of a man falling to his death from the title building).
There were probably earlier examples of stream-of-consciousness drama on the radio. For example, in December 1924, actor Paul Robeson, then appearing in a revival of Eugene O'Neill's The Emperor Jones, performed a scene from the play over New York's WGBS to critical acclaim. Some of the many storytellers and monologists on early 1920s American radio might be able to claim even earlier dates.
1930–1960s: Widespread popularity[edit]
Perhaps America's most famous radio drama broadcast is Orson Welles' The War of the Worlds (a 1938 version of H. G. Wells' novel), which convinced large numbers of listeners that an actual invasion from Mars was taking place.[25]By the late 1930s, radio drama was widely popular in the United States (and also in other parts of the world). There were dozens of programs in many different genres, from mysteries and thrillers, to soap operas and comedies. Among American playwrights, screenwriters and novelists who got their start in radio drama are Rod Serling and Irwin Shaw.
In Britain, however, during the 1930s BBC programming, tended to be more high brow, including the works of Shakespeare, Classical Greek drama, as well as the works of major modern playwrights, such as Chekhov, Ibsen, Strindberg, and so forth. Novels and short stories were also frequently dramatised.[26] In addition the plays of contemporary writers and original plays were produced, with, for example, a broadcast of T. S. Eliot's famous verse play Murder in the Cathedral in 1936.[27] By 1930, the BBC was producing 'twice as many plays as London's West End' and were producing over 400 plays a year by the mid-1940s.[28]
Producers of radio drama soon became aware that adapting stage plays for radio did not always work, and that there was a need for plays specifically written for radio, which recognized its potential as a distinct and different medium from the theatre. George Bernard Shaw's plays, for example, were seen as readily adaptable.[29] However, in a lead article in the BBC literary journal The Listener, of 14 August 1929, which discussed the broadcasting of 12 great plays, it was suggested that while the theatrical literature of the past should not be neglected the future lay mainly with plays written specifically for the microphone.
In 1939–40, the BBC founded its own Drama Repertory Company which made a stock of actors readily available. After the war, the number was around 50. They performed in the great number of plays broadcast in the heyday of BBC radio drama of the 40s–60s.[30]
Initially the BBC resisted American-style 'soap opera', but eventually highly popular serials, like Dick Barton, Special Agent (1946–51), Mrs Dale's Diary (1948–69) and The Archers (1950– ), were produced. The Archers is still running (October 2017) and is the world's longest-running soap opera with a total of over 18,400 episodes.[31] There had been some earlier serialized drama including, the six episode The Shadow of the Swastika (1939), Dorothy L. Sayers's The Man Born To Be King, in twelve episodes (1941), and Front Line Family (1941–48), which was broadcast to America as part of the effort to encourage the USA to enter the war. The show's storylines depicted the trials and tribulations of a British family, the Robinsons, living through the war. This featured plots about rationing, family members missing in action and the Blitz. After the war in 1946 it was moved to the BBC Light Programme.[32]
The BBC continued producing various kinds of drama, including docu-drama, throughout World War II; amongst the writers they employed were the novelist James Hanley[33] and poet Louis MacNeice, who in 1941 became an employee of the BBC's. MacNeice's work for the BBC initially involved writing and producing radio programmes intended to build support for the USA, and later Russia, through cultural programmes emphasising links between the countries rather than outright propaganda. By the end of the war MacNeice had written well over 60 scripts for the BBC, including Christopher Columbus (1942), which starred Laurence Olivier, The Dark Tower (1946), and a six-part radio adaptation of Goethe's Faust (1949).[34]
Following World War II the BBC reorganized its radio provision, introducing two new channels to supplement the BBC Home Service (itself the result of the fusion in September 1939 of the pre-war National and regional Programmes). These were the BBC Light Programme (dating from 29 July 1945 and a direct successor to the wartimeGeneral Forces Programme) and theBBC Third Programme(launched on 29 September 1946).
The BBC Light Programme, while principally devoted to light entertainment and music, carried a fair share of drama, both single plays (generally, as the name of the station indicated, of a lighter nature) and serials. In contrast, the BBC Third Programme, destined to become one of the leading cultural and intellectual forces in post-war Britain, specialized in heavier drama (as well as the serious music, talks, and other features which made up its content): long-form productions of both classical and modern/experimental dramatic works sometimes occupied the major part of its output on any given evening. The Home Service, meanwhile, continued to broadcast more 'middle-brow' drama (one-off plays and serializations) daily.
The high-water mark for BBC radio drama was the 1950s and 1960s, and during this period many major British playwrights either effectively began their careers with the BBC, or had works adapted for radio. Most of playwright Caryl Churchill's early experiences with professional drama production were as a radio playwright and, starting in 1962 with The Ants, she wrote nine productions with BBC radio drama up until 1973, when her stage work began to be recognised at the Royal Court Theatre.[35]Joe Orton's dramatic debut in 1963 was the radio play The Ruffian on the Stair, which was broadcast on 31 August 1964.[36]
Tom Stoppard's 'first professional production was in the 15-minute Just Before Midnight programme on BBC Radio, which showcased new dramatists'.[36]John Mortimer made his radio debut as a dramatist in 1955, with his adaptation of his own novel Like Men Betrayed for the BBC Light Programme. However, he made his debut as an original playwright with The Dock Brief, starring Michael Hordern as a hapless barrister, first broadcast in 1957 on BBC Third Programme, later televised with the same cast and subsequently presented in a double bill with What Shall We Tell Caroline? at the Lyric Hammersmith in April 1958, before transferring to the Garrick Theatre. Mortimer is most famous for Rumpole of the Bailey, a British television series which starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an aging London barrister who defends any and all clients. It has been spun off into a series of short stories, novels, and radio programmes.[37]
Giles Cooper was a pioneer in writing for radio, becoming prolific in both radio and television drama. His early successes included radio dramatisations of Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist, William Golding's Lord of the Flies,[38] and John Wyndham's classic science fiction novel Day of the Triffids.[39] He was also successful in the theatre. The first of his radio plays to make his reputation was Mathry Beacon (1956), about a small detachment of men and women still guarding a Top Secret 'missile deflector' somewhere in Wales, years after the war has ended.[40]Bill Naughton's radio play Alfie Elkins and his Little Life (1962) was first broadcast on the BBC Third Programme on 7 January 1962. In it Alfie, '[w]ith sublime amorality... swaggers and philosophises his way through' life.[41] The action spans about two decades, from the beginning of World War II to the late 1950s. In 1964, Bill Naughton turned it into a stage play which was put on at London's Mermaid Theatre. Later, he wrote the screenplay for a film version, 'Alfie' (1966), starring Michael Caine.
Other notable radio dramatists included Henry Reed, Brendan Behan, Rhys Adrian, Alan Plater; Anthony Minghella, Alan Bleasdale, and novelist Angela Carter. Novelist Susan Hill also wrote for BBC Radio, from the early 1970s.[39]Henry Reed was especially successful with the Hilda Tablet plays. Irish playwright Brendan Behan, author of The Quare Fellow (1954), was commissioned by the BBC to write a radio play The Big House (1956); prior to this he had written two plays for Irish radio: Moving Out and A Garden Party.[42]
Among the most famous works created for radio, are Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood (1954), Samuel Beckett's All That Fall (1957), Harold Pinter's A Slight Ache (1959), and Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons (1954).[43] Beckett wrote a number of short radio plays in the 1950s and 1960s, and later for television; his radio play Embers was first broadcast on the BBC Third Programme on 24 June 1959 and won the RAI prize at the Prix Italia awards later that year.[44]
Robert Bolt's writing career began with scripts for Children's Hour.[45]A Man for All Seasons was subsequently produced on television in 1957. Then in 1960, there was a highly successful stage production in London's West End and on New York's Broadway from late 1961. In addition there have been two film versions: in 1966 starring Paul Scofield and 1988 for television, starring Charlton Heston.[46]
While Alan Ayckbourn did not write for radio many of his stage plays were subsequently adapted for radio. Other significant adaptations included, dramatised readings of poet David Jones's In Parenthesis in 1946 and The Anathemata in 1953, for the BBC Third Programme,[47] and novelist Wyndham Lewis's The Human Age (1955).[48] Among contemporary novels that were dramatised were the 1964 radio adaptation of Stan Barstow's A Kind of Loving (1960); there had also been a 1962 film adaption.[49]
In Australia, as in most other developed countries, from the early years of the medium almost every radio network and station featured drama, serials, and soap operas as staples of their programming; during the so-called 'Golden Years' of radio these were hugely popular. Many Australian serials and 'soapies' were copies of American originals (e.g., the popular soap Portia Faces Life or the adventure series Superman, which featured future Australian TV star Leonard Teale in the title role), although these were typically locally produced and performed live to air, since the technology of the time did not permit high-quality pre-recording or duplication of programs for import or export.
In this period radio drama, serials and soap operas provided a fertile training ground and a steady source of employment for many actors, and this was particularly important because at this time the Australian theatre scene was in its infancy and opportunities were very limited. Many who trained in this medium (such as Peter Finch) subsequently became prominent both in Australia and overseas.
It has been noted that the producers of the popular 1960s Gerry Anderson TV series Thunderbirds were greatly impressed by the versatility of UK-based Australian actor Ray Barrett, who voiced many roles in Anderson's TV productions. Thanks to his early experience on Australian live radio (where he often played English and American roles), Barrett was considered better than his English counterparts at providing a convincing Mid-Atlantic English ('transatlantic') accent, and he could perform a wide range of character voices; he also impressed the Anderson team with his ability to quickly and easily switch from one voice/accent to another without the sound engineers' having to stop the recording.[50]
The effect of the introduction of television there in the late 1950s had the same devastating effect as it did in the USA and many other markets, and by the early 1960s Australian commercial radio had totally abandoned radio drama and related programming (including comedy, soapies, and variety) in favour of music-based formats (such as Top 40) or talk radio ('talkback'), and the once-flourishing Australia radio production industry vanished within a few years. One of the few companies to survive was the Melbourne-based Crawford Productions, which was able to make the successful transition into TV production.
Despite the complete abandonment of drama and related programming by the commercial radio sector, the government-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) maintained a long history of producing radio drama. One of its most famous and popular series was the daily 15-minute afternoon soap opera Blue Hills, which was written for its entire production history by dramatist Gwen Meredith. It featured many well-known Australian actresses and actors, ran continuously for 27 years, from 28 February 1949 to 30 September 1976, with a total of 5,795 episodes broadcast, and was at one time the world's longest-running radio serial. It was preceded by an earlier Meredith serial The Lawsons, which featured many of the same themes and characters and itself ran for 1299 episodes.
In the 1960s and later, the ABC continued to produce many original Australian radio dramas as well as works adapted from other media. In recent years original radio dramas and adapted works were commissioned from local dramatists and produced for the ABC's Radio National network program Airplay, which ran from the late 1990s until early 2013. In late 2012 ABC management imposed budget cuts and axed a number of long-running arts programs, thereby ending the national broadcaster's decades-long history of producing radio drama (as well as its equally long history of providing daily serialised book readings).
1960–2000: Decline in the United States[edit]
After the advent of television, radio drama never recovered its popularity in the United States. Most remaining CBS and NBC radio dramas were cancelled in 1960.[51] The last network radio dramas to originate during American radio′s 'Golden Age', Suspense and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, ended on September 30, 1962.[52]
There have been some efforts at radio drama since then. In the 1960s, Dick Orkin created the popular syndicated comic adventure series Chicken Man. ABC Radio aired a daily dramatic anthology program, Theater Five, in 1964–65. Inspired by The Goon Show, 'the four or five crazy guys' of the Firesign Theatre built a large following with their satirical plays on recordings exploring the dramatic possibilities inherent in stereo. A brief resurgence of production beginning in the early 1970s yielded Rod Serling's The Zero Hour for Mutual, National Public Radio's Earplay, and veteran Himan Brown's CBS Radio Mystery Theater and General Mills Radio Adventure Theater. These productions were later followed by the Sears/Mutual Radio Theater, The National Radio Theater of Chicago, NPR Playhouse, and a newly produced episode of the former 1950s series X Minus One. Works by a new generation of dramatists also emerged at this time, notably Yuri Rasovsky, Thomas Lopez of ZBS and the dramatic sketches heard on humorist Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion. Brian Daley's 1981 adaptation of the blockbusterspace opera film Star Wars for NPR Playhouse was a notable success. Production costs on this serial were mitigated by the support of Lucasfilm, who sold the rights to NPR for a nominal $1 fee, and by the participation of the BBC in an international co-production deal. Star Wars was credited with generating a 40% rise in NPR's ratings and quadrupling the network's youth audience overnight. Radio adaptations of the sequels followed with The Empire Strikes Back in 1983 and Return of the Jedi in 1996.[53][54]
Thanks in large part to the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, public radio continued to air a smattering of audio drama until the mid-1980s. From 1986 to 2002, NPR's most consistent producer of radio drama was the idiosyncratic Joe Frank, working out of KCRW in Santa Monica. The Sci Fi Channel presented an audio drama series, Seeing Ear Theatre, on its website from 1997 to 2001. Also, the dramatic serial It's Your World aired twice daily on the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show from 1994 to 2008, continuing online through 2010.
2000–present: Radio drama's 'New Media' revival[edit]
Radio drama remains popular in much of the world, though most material is now available through internet download rather than heard over terrestrial or satellite radio.[55] Stations producing radio drama often commission a large number of scripts. The relatively low cost of producing a radio play enables them to take chances with works by unknown writers. Radio can be a good training ground for beginning drama writers as the words written form a much greater part of the finished product; bad lines cannot be obscured with stage business.
The BBC's sole surviving radio soap is The Archers on BBC Radio 4: it is, with over 18,700 episodes to date,[56] the world's longest-running such programme. Other radio soaps ('ongoing serials') produced by the BBC but no longer on air include:
- Mrs Dale's Diary (1948–69)
- Westway on the World Service (1997–2005)[57]
- Silver Street (2004–10) on the Asian Network
In September, 2010 Radio New Zealand began airing its first ongoing soap opera, You Me Now, which won the Best New Drama Award in the 2011 New Zealand Radio Awards.
On KDVS radio in Davis, California there are two radio theater shows, Evening Shadows, a horror/fantasy show paying tribute to classic old-time radio horror, and KDVS Radio Theater which commonly features dramas about social and political themes.
The audio drama format exists side-by-side with books presented on radio, read by actors or by the author. In Britain and other countries there is also a quite a bit of radio comedy (both stand-up and sitcom). Together, these programs provide entertainment where television is either not wanted or would be distracting (such as while driving or operating machinery). Selected Shorts, a long-running NPR program broadcast in front of a live audience at Symphony Space in New York, originated the driveway moment for over 300,000 people listeners each week during readings of contemporary and classic short stories by well-known professional actors.[58]
The lack of visuals also enable fantastical settings and effects to be used in radio plays where the cost would be prohibitive for movies or television. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was first produced as radio drama, and was not adapted for television until much later, when its popularity would ensure an appropriate return for the high cost of the futuristic setting.
On occasion television series can be revived as radio series. For example, a long-running but no longer popular television series can be continued as a radio series because the reduced production costs make it cost-effective with a much smaller audience. When an organization owns both television and radio channels, such as the BBC, the fact that no royalties have to be paid makes this even more attractive. Radio revivals can also use actors reprising their television roles even after decades as they still sound roughly the same. Series that have had this treatment include Doctor Who, Dad's Army, Thunderbirds[dubious] and The Tomorrow People. In 2013 BBC Radio 4 released a radio adaptation of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, featuring a cast of well known television and film actors.[59] Neil Gaiman has said he was excited about the radio drama adaptation as it allowed the work to be presented with a greater deal of special effects than was possible on television.[60] In the United States, an adaptation of The Twilight Zone aired to modest success in the 2000s (decade) as a syndicated program.
Regular broadcasts of radio drama in English can be heard on the BBC's Radio 3, Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra (formerly Radio 7), on RTÉ Radio 1 in Ireland, and RNZ National in New Zealand. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation produced notable radio plays in Calgary and Toronto in the postwar decades, from which many actors and directors proceeded to international careers, but abolished its radio drama department in the 1970s (and in 2012 amalgamated its TV drama and comedy departments into the 'scripted prime time department.')[61] BBC Radio 4 in today noted for its radio drama, broadcasting hundreds of new, one-off plays each year in such strands as The Afternoon Play, as well as serials and soap operas. Radio 4 Extra broadcasts a variety of radio plays from the BBC's vast archives and a few extended versions of Radio 4 programmes. The British commercial station Oneword, though broadcasting mostly book readings, also transmitted a number of radio plays in instalments before it closed in 2008.
In the United States, contemporary radio drama can be found on broadcasters including ACB radio, produced by the American Council of the Blind; on the Sirius XM Book Radio channel from Sirius XM Satellite Radio (previously Sonic Theater on XM); and occasionally in syndication, as with Jim French's production Imagination Theater. Several community radio stations carry weekly radio drama programs including KBOO, KFAI, WMPG, WLPP and WFHB.
A growing number of religious radio stations air daily or weekly programs usually geared to younger audiences, such as Focus on the Family's Adventures in Odyssey (1,700+ syndicated stations), or Pacific Garden Mission's Unshackled! (1,800 syndicated stations – a long-running radio drama), which is geared to adults. The networks sometime sell transcripts of their shows on cassette tapes or CDs or make the shows available for listening or downloading over the Internet. Transcription recordings of many pre-television shows have been preserved. They are collected, re-recorded onto audio CDs and/or MP3 files and traded by hobbyists today as old-time radio programs. Meanwhile, veterans such as the late Yuri Rasovsky (The National Radio Theater of Chicago) and Thomas Lopez (ZBS Foundation) have gained new listeners on cassettes, CDs and downloads. In the mid-1980s, the nonprofit L.A. Theatre Works launched its radio series recorded before live audiences. Productions have been broadcast via public radio, while also being marketed on compact discs and via download.[62] Carl Amari's nationally syndicated radio series 'Hollywood 360' features 4 old-time radio shows during his 4-hour weekly broadcasts. Amari also broadcasts old-time radio shows on 'The WGN Radio Theatre' heard every Sunday on 720-WGN in Chicago.
In addition to traditional radio broadcasters, modern radio drama (also known as audio theater, or audio drama), has experienced a revival, with a growing number of independent producers who are able to build an audience through internet distribution.[3] While there are few academic programs in the United States that offer training in radio drama production, organizations such as the National Audio Theatre Festival teach the craft to new producers.
The digital age has also resulted in recording styles that differ from the studio recordings of radio drama's Golden Age. Not from Space (2003) on XM Satellite Radio was the first national radio play recorded exclusively through the Internet in which the voice actors were all in separate locations. Other producers use portable recording equipment to record actors on location rather than in studios.[3]
Podcasts are a growing distribution format for independent radio drama producers. Podcasts provides a good alternative to mainstream television and radio because they have no restrictions regarding program length or content.[55]
Radio drama around the world[edit]
Cyprus[edit]
Since around the early sixties the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (RIK) features radio plays in the Cypriot Greek dialect. They are called Cypriot (radio drama) sketches and they are mainly about Cyprus's rural life, traditions and customs, its history and its culture.The works are written by established writers, but also from new writers through the Writing Contest of Cypriot Sketches issued annually by CyBC (RIK)[63]
Germany[edit]
The first German radio drama was produced in 1923. Because of the external circumstances in postwar Germany in which most of the theaters were destroyed,[citation needed] radio drama boomed. Between 1945 and 1960 there were more than 500 radio plays every year. The German word for radio drama or audio play is 'Hörspiel'. Today Germany is a major market for radio plays worldwide.[64] In particular, audio plays on CD are very popular. A popular audio play serial of Germany and of the world is 'Die drei ???' (Three Investigators).
Berlin's Prix Europa includes a Radio Fiction category.[citation needed]
India[edit]
Vividh Bharati, a service of All India Radio, has a long running Hindi radio-drama program:Hawa Mahal.
Japan[edit]
Audio dramas are popular in Japan. They began as radio dramas with the first radio broadcasts in 1925, and continue to be relevant as a medium in which storylines from TV series, comics, novels or video games are continued or expanded.
Before the advent of videocassette recorders, drama recordings were the only way to revisit an animated television series. Recordings often featured recapitulations of plotlines along with theme songs from anime series. Audio dramas are often used to expand or detail the plotlines of videogames. Before the advent of disc-based and mass-media games and the internet, the 'universes' in certain video games were fully developed and explained within such CD audio dramas, especially during the era of arcade games. One notable example is TwinBee Paradise, a radio drama spinoff of Detana!! TwinBee that lasted for three seasons and established the names of the game's protagonists.
Norway[edit]
Radioteatret (Radio drama in Norway) has existed since 1926.[65]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^LC subject heading.
- ^Tim Crook: Radio drama. Theory and practiceArchived 2014-07-01 at the Wayback Machine. London; New York: Routledge, 1999, p. 8.
- ^ abcWall Street Journal; Newman, Barry (2010-02-25). 'Return With Us to the Thrilling Days Of Yesteryear — Via the Internet'. Wall Street Journal.
- ^Compare the entry to Hörspiel e.g. in: dict.cc – Deutsch-Englisch-Wörterbuch
- ^Martin Banham (ed.). The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1995, 'Radio drama', p. 896.
- ^Tim Crook: Radio drama. Theory and practice. London; New York: Routledge, 1999, p. 15.
- ^Historian Alan Beck reports in The Invisible Play: B.B.C. Radio Drama 1922–1928 that 'The first English experiment in radio drama' took place October 17, 1922, in Great Britain. But U.S. stations were broadcasting drama prior to this. See following.
- ^Bill Jaker, March 27, 1998, email post to the OTR Digest
- ^'OPERA CARRIES 1,500 MILES BY RADIO PHONES,' November 12, 1921 Chicago Tribune; 'Radi-Opera' November 17, 1921 Chicago Tribune
- ^'TWO PLAYS BY WIRELESS,' February 4, 1922, New York Times; 'MILLION TO HEAR MUSICAL COMEDY,' February 12, 1922 Los Angeles Times; 'YOU CAN HEAR ENTIRE SHOW BY RADIO PHONE,' February 19, 1922 Mansfield (OH) News.
- ^July 1922 wire service story which appeared in the July 19, 1922 Lima (OH) News (under headline: 'ACTING BY RADIO IS A WEIRD SENSATION') and the July 23, 1922 Charleston (SC) Daily Mail (under headline: 'PRESENTING A PLAY OVER THE WIRELESS IN NEWEST WRINKLE')
- ^New York Times and Hartford (CT) Courant radio listings, August 3, 1922; New York Times radio listings, September 11, 19, and 25, 1922; 'Will Give Dramatic Productions By Radio' September 2, 1922 The (Fort Wayne, IN) News-Sentinel; LOCAL RADIO FANS TO HEAR 'OFFICER 666' November 3, 1922 Fayetteville (AK) Democrat; 'MADAME X' FROM WGY THURSDAY NIGHT, November 21, 1922 Fayetteville (AK) Democrat.
- ^ abcLawrence Lichty, 'Radio Drama: The Early Years' in Lawrence Lichty and Malachi Topping (eds): American Broadcasting (New York, Hastings House, 1975).
- ^April 2, 1923 Hamilton (OH) Evening Journal radio listing.
- ^'WRITING RADIO PLAYS IS LATEST,' May 27, 1923 Oakland (CA) Tribune.
- ^April 22, 1923 Los Angeles Times radio listings; 'KHJ TRAVELS IN PRETENSE LAND,' April 23, 1923 Los Angeles Times.
- ^'Contest for Prize Radio Drama Opens September 1,' August 19, 1923 Washington Post; 'G. E. COMPANY HAS PRIZE FOR RADIO DRAMA,' September 7, 1923 Waukesha (WI) Daily Freeman.
- ^Compare The New York Times – Archive 1851–1980
- ^'SHAKESPEARE'. www.britishdrama.org.uk.
- ^Elizabeth McLeod, The Original Amos 'n Andy: Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, and the 1928–1943 Radio Serial. McFarland & Co, 2005.
- ^Richard J. Hand, Terror on the Air!: Horror Radio in America, 1931–1952 McFarland, 2006.
- ^Richard Hughes, 'A Comedy of Danger' in 'The Invisible Play': B.B.C. Radio Drama 1922–1928 by Alan Beck.
- ^'Maremoto, a radio play (1924),' Réseaux, 1994, Volume 2, Numéro 2 p. 251 – 265
- ^'Theatre Arts (July 1951):'Windy Kilocycles' by Arch Oboler'. richsamuels.com.
- ^Koch, Howard, The Panic Broadcast: The Whole Story of Orson Welles' Legendary Radio Show Invasion From Mars, Avon Books, 1971.
- ^See reviews in The Listener
- ^'The Poetic Quality', Grace Wyndham Goldie. The Listener (London, England), Wednesday, January 8, 1936; pg. 78; Issue 365.
- ^'Radio broadcast recordings'. The British Library.
- ^See, for example, 'A Listener's Commentary', R. D. Charques. The Listener (London, England), Wednesday, October 23, 1929; pg. 553; Issue 41.
- ^'Soundstart – The Radio Drama Company'. BBC.
- ^The Archers airs 15,000th episode, BBC News, 2006-11-07
- ^[1] 'British Radio Drama – A Cultural Case History' by Tim Crook.
- ^Linnea Gibbs, James Hanley: A Bibliography. (Vancouver: William Hoffer, 1980), p.165.
- ^Poets.org
- ^'Caryl Churchill'. www.doollee.com.
- ^ ab'International radio drama'. www.irdp.co.uk.
- ^'John Mortimer Radio Plays': [http://www.filmreference.com/film/69/John-Mortimer.html John Mortimer Biography (1923–2009)
- ^The Listener (London, England), Thursday, September 1, 1955; pg. 349; Issue 1383.
- ^ abDeacon, Alison Deacon, Nigel. 'RADIO DRAMA, APPLES, EKEGUSII, POTATOES, EARLY MUSIC, Mandy Giltjes'. www.suttonelms.org.uk.
- ^'Critic on the Hearth', J. C. Trewin. The Listener (London, England), Thursday, June 28, 1956; pg. 903; Issue 1422.
- ^Deacon, Alison Deacon, Nigel. 'Bill Naughton radio drama – DIVERSITY WEBSITE'. www.suttonelms.org.uk.
- ^The Columbia encyclopedia of modern drama, by Gabrielle H. Cody; 'Brendan Behan' – RTÉ Archives [2]
- ^J. C. Trewin, 'Critic on the Hearth.' Listener [London, England] 5 Aug. 1954: 224.
- ^Prix Italia 'PAST EDITIONS — WINNERS 1949 – 2007'Archived 2012-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^British Radio Drama—A Cultural Case History by Tim Crook
- ^A Man for All Seasons (1966) – IMDb [3]; A Man for All Seasons (TV 1988) – IMDb [4]
- ^'Critic on the Hearth', Philip Hope-Wallace. The Listener (London, England), Thursday, November 28, 1946; pg. 767; Issue 933; 'Critic on the Hearth', Martin Armstrong. The Listener (London, England), Thursday, May 14, 1953; pg. 815; Issue 1263.
- ^'The Human Age', Wyndham Lewis.The Listener (London, England), Thursday, June 2, 1955; pg. 976
- ^'A Kind of Loving – The Literature of Stan Barstow':[5]; A Kind of Loving (1962) – IMDb [6]
- ^Bergan, Ronald (September 9, 2009). 'Ray Barrett'. The Guardian. London.
- ^Jim Cox, Say Goodnight, Gracie: The Last Years of Network Radio, p. 145–148.
- ^John Dunning, On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 742. ISBN978-0-19-507678-3.
- ^Robb, Brian J. (2012). A Brief Guide to Star Wars. London: Hachette. ISBN978-1-78033-583-4. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
- ^John, Derek. 'That Time NPR Turned 'Star Wars' Into A Radio Drama — And It Actually Worked'. NPR.org. All Things Considered, National Public Radio. Archived from the original on 20 June 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
- ^ abLichtig, Toby (24 April 2007). 'The podcast's the thing to revive radio drama'. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
- ^'The Archers – Frequently Asked Questions – BBC Radio 4'. BBC.
- ^'Eight years of Westway end'. BBC News. 2005-10-28. Retrieved 2010-04-12.
- ^'Listen – Selected Shorts'. selectedshorts.org.
- ^Mellor, Louise (6 March 2013). 'Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere BBC Radio 4 launch report'. London: Den of Geek. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
- ^LicHatfullhtig, Jonathan (4 March 2013). 'Neil Gaiman, Natalie Dormer and More Talk Neverwhere'. London: SciFiNow. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
- ^https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/2012/07/25/cbc_consolidates_tv_drama_and_comedy_departments.html
- ^Maughan, Shannon. 'L.A. Theatre Works at 40'. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ^'Cypriot Sketch'. Cybc-media.com. 2015. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
- ^Torsten Wissmann, Geographies of Urban Sound, 2016, Routledge (publisher; in the year 2014 published by Ashgate Publishing), page 204. Cite: 'Germany is the most important market for audio plays'
- ^'Radioteatret' (in Norwegian). Store norske leksikon. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
Further reading[edit]
- Tim Crook, Radio Drama: Theory and Practice. London; New York: Routledge, 1999.
- Armin Paul Frank, Das englische und amerikanische Hörspiel. München: Fink, 1981.
- Walter K. Kingson and Rome Cowgill, Radio Drama Acting and Production: A Handbook. New York: Rinehart, 1950.
- Karl Ladle,: Hörspielforschung. Schnittpunkt zwischen Literatur, Medien und Ästhetik. Wiesbaden: Deutscher Universitäts-Verlag, 2001.
- Sherman Paxton Lawton, Radio Drama. Boston: Expression Company, 1938.
- Peter Lewis (ed.), Radio Drama. London; New York: Longman, 1981.
- Dermot Rattigan, Theatre of Sound: Radio and the Dramatic Imagination. 2nd edition. Carysfort Press, 2003.
- Neil Verma, Theater of the Mind: Imagination, Aesthetics, and American Radio Drama. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012.
External links[edit]
Look up radio drama in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Radio dramas. |
- Audio-Drama.com A directory of audio drama websites.
- The Audio Drama Production Podcast Instructional podcast on the production of audio drama.
- The Well-tempered Audio Dramatist Treatise on writing, producing, performing and directing audio plays in the 21st century.
- Necrology of Old Radio Personalities (archived at the Wayback Machine)
- National Audio Theatre Festivals Radio drama workshop.
BBC sources[edit]
- The BBC Story – The Written Archives: [7]
- Radio Plays & Radio Drama webpage (England): [8]
- British Radio Drama- A Cultural Case History by Tim Crook: [9]
Motto | Helping Families Thrive |
---|---|
Founded | 1977; 42 years ago California, United States |
Founder | James Dobson |
95-3188150 (EIN) | |
Location |
|
International | |
Key people | Jim Daly, President |
$95,209,896 (2011 FY)[1] | |
Employees | 640 (as of 2013)[2] |
112 | |
Website | focusonthefamily.com |
Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF) is an American Christian conservative organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by psychologistJames Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[3] It is active in promoting socially conservative views on public policy. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s. As of the 2017 tax filing year, Focus on the Family declared itself to be a church.[4]
Focus on the Family's stated mission is 'nurturing and defending the God-ordained institution of the family and promoting biblical truths worldwide'.[5] It promotes abstinence-only sexual education; creationism;[6]adoption by married, opposite-sex parents;[7]school prayer; and traditional gender roles. It opposes abortion; divorce; gambling; LGBT rights, particularly LGBT adoption and same-sex marriage;[8] pornography; pre-marital sex; and substance abuse. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and social scientists have criticized Focus on the Family for trying to misrepresent their research to bolster its fundamentalist political agenda and ideology.
The core promotional activities of the organization include a daily radio broadcast by its president Jim Daly and his colleagues, providing free resources in line with the group's views, and publishing magazines, videos, and audio recordings. The organization also produces programs for targeted audiences, such as Adventures in Odyssey for children, dramas, and Family Minute. Focus on the Family aims to equip families
- 2Ministries
- 3Political positions and activities
- 5International associates and regional offices
- 5.2Other countries
History and organization[edit]
From 1977 to 2003, James Dobson served as the sole leader of the organization. In 2003, Donald P. Hodel became president and chief executive officer, tasked with the day-to-day operations.[9] Dobson remained chairman of the board of directors, with chiefly creative and speaking duties. In March 2005, Hodel retired and Jim Daly, formerly the Vice President in charge of Focus on the Family's International Division, assumed the role of president and chief executive officer.[10]
In November 2008, the organization announced that it was eliminating 202 jobs, representing 18 percent of its workforce. The organization also cut its budget from $160 million in fiscal 2008 to $138 million for fiscal 2009.[11]
Am Radio Drama Philippines
In February 2009, Dobson resigned his chairmanship,[12] He left Focus on the Family in early 2010, and subsequently founded lk as a non-profit organization and launched a new broadcast that began airing nationally on May 3, 2010. He is no longer affiliated with Focus on the Family.
On June 23, 2017, Vice PresidentMike Pence attended the organization's 40th anniversary celebration; at the event, he praised founder James Dobson, stated that PresidentDonald Trump is an ally of the organization, and added that the Trump administration supports its goals (including the abolition of Planned Parenthood).[13][14][15] Pence's attendance at the event, along with Focus on the Family's stances on LGBT rights, were criticized by the Human Rights Campaign.[16]
In its IRS Form 990 for Tax Year 2015, dated October 26, 2017, Focus on the Family for the first time declared itself a 'church, convention of churches or association of churches', claiming that it was no longer required to file the IRS disclosure form and that the sources and disposition of its $89 million budget were 'Not for public inspection.' Tax Attorney Gail Harmon, who advises nonprofit organisations on tax law, said she found the declaration 'shocking', noting that 'There’s nothing about them that meets the traditional definition of what a church is. They don’t have a congregation, they don’t have the rites of various parts of a person’s life.'[17]
Ministries[edit]
Marriage and family[edit]

Focus on the Family sees its primary ministry as helping couples 'build healthy marriages that reflect God's design', based on what it sees as 'morals and values grounded in biblical principles.'[18] The group strongly opposes same-sex marriage.[19]
Love Won Out[edit]
Focus on the Family formed Love Won Out, an ex-gay ministry, in 1998 and in 2009, it was sold to Exodus International. In June 2013, however, Exodus ceased activities, and it issued a statement which repudiated its aims and apologized for the harm their pursuit caused to LGBT people; see Exodus International § Closure.
Wait No More[edit]
Focus on the Family's Wait No More ministry works with adoption agencies, church leaders and ministry partners to recruit families to adopt children from foster care.[20] The program co-sponsors several adoption conferences throughout the country each year. Since November 2008, more than 2,700 families have started the adoption process through Wait No More.[21] In Colorado, the number of children waiting for adoption dropped from about 800 to 350, due in-part to the efforts of Wait No More.[22] Focus on the Family's efforts to encourage adoption among Christian families is part of a larger effort by Evangelicals to, in their perception, live out what they see as the 'biblical mandate' to help children.[23] Focus on the Family supports banning adoption by homosexual or unmarried cohabiting couples.[24]
Option Ultrasound Program[edit]
Focus on the Family's Option Ultrasound Program (OUP) provides grants to qualifying crisis pregnancy centers to cover 80 percent of the cost of an ultrasound machine or sonography training. As of October 31, 2014, the program has provided 655 grants to centers in all 50 states and Bucharest, Romania.[citation needed] Focus on the Family began OUP in 2004 with the goal of convincing women not to have abortions. FOTF officials said that ultrasound services help a woman better understand her pregnancy and baby's development, creating an important 'bonding opportunity' between 'mother and unborn child'.[25]
The Option Ultrasound Program reported in 2014 that it has helped prevent more than 270,000 abortions since 2004. A study released in February 2012 shows that ultrasounds do not have a direct impact on an abortion decision.[26] In 2011, FOTF President Jim Daly announced that while FOTF will continue to fight for the overturn of Roe v. Wade, in the meantime he would like to work with pro-choice groups like Planned Parenthood who state they want to make abortion 'safe, legal and rare' towards the shared goal of making abortion less common.[27] Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) introduced a sonogram bill in 2011 and – citing Focus on the Family – told Congress that '78 percent of women who see and hear the fetal heartbeat choose life.' She was later corrected by Focus on the Family, which released a statement saying they did not release such data.[28]
Boundless.org[edit]
Boundless.org is Focus on the Family's website for young adults[29] featuring articles, a blog, a podcast, and a conference. The website covers topics such as singleness, dating, relationships, popular culture, career and sex.[30] Boundless.org recommends online dating as a means for Christian singles to find potential spouses.[31]
Day of Dialogue[edit]
The Day of Dialogue is a student-led event which takes place April 16. Founders describe the goal of the event, created in opposition to the anti-bullying and anti-homophobic Day of Silence, as 'encouraging honest and respectful conversation among students about God's design for sexuality.' It was previously known as the Day of Truth and was founded by the Alliance Defense Fund in 2005.[32]
National Day of Prayer[edit]
The National Day of Prayer Task Force is an American evangelicalconservative Christian non-profit organization which organizes, coordinates, and presides over Evangelical Christian religious observances each year on the National Day of Prayer. The website of the NDP Task Force states that 'its business affairs are separate' from those of Focus on the Family, but also that 'between 1990 and 1993, Focus on the Family did provide grants in support of the NDP Task Force' and that 'Focus on the Family is compensated for services rendered.'[33] Shirley Dobson, wife of James Dobson, was chairwoman of the NDP Task Force from 1991 until 2016, when Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of evangelist Billy Graham, assumed the post.[34]
Other ministries[edit]
Focus on the Family has additional ministries. Many are aimed at specific demographics including teenage boys and girls, children, college students, families, young adults, parents, while others are aimed at specific concerns, such as sexual problems, entertainment, and politics. Many have their own regular publications.
Political positions and activities[edit]
Focus on the Family's 501(c)(3) status prevents them from advocating any individual political candidate.[35] Focus on the Family's magazine Citizen is exclusively devoted to cultural and public policy issues. FOTF also has an affiliated group, Family Policy Alliance, though the two groups are legally separate. As a 501(c)(4) social welfare group, Family Policy Alliance has fewer political lobbying restrictions. FOTF's revenue in 2012 was USD $90.5 million, and that of Family Policy Alliance (formerly CitizenLink) was USD $8 million.[36][37]
Focus on the Family supports teaching of what it considers to be traditional 'family values'. It supports student-led and initiated prayer and supports the practice of corporal punishment.[38] It strongly opposes LGBT rights, abortion, pornography, gambling, and pre-marital and extramarital sexual activity.[39] Focus on the Family also promotes a religiously-centered conception of American identity and the support of Israel.
Focus on the Family maintains a strong stand against abortion, and provides grant funding and medical training to assist crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs; also known as pregnancy resource centers) in obtaining ultrasound machines. According to the organization, this funding, which has allowed CPCs to provide pregnant women with live sonogram images of the developing fetus, has led directly to the birth of over 1500 babies who would have otherwise been aborted.[40][41] The organization has been staunchly opposed to public funding for elective abortions.
Focus on the Family broadcasts an eponymous national talk radio program. The program has a range of themes, such as fundamentalist Christian-oriented assistance for victims of rape or child abuse; parenting difficulties; child adoption; husband/wife roles; family history and traditions; struggles with gambling, pornography, alcohol, and drugs.
Focus on the Family has been a prominent supporter of the pseudoscience[42][43] of intelligent design, publishing pro-intelligent design articles in its Citizen magazine and selling intelligent design videos on its website.[44][45] Focus on the Family co-published the intelligent design videotape Unlocking the Mystery of Life with the Discovery Institute, hub of the intelligent design movement.[46]
2008 Presidential campaign[edit]
In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Focus on the Family shifted from supporting Mike Huckabee, to not supporting any candidate, to finally accepting the Republican ticket once Sarah Palin was added to the ticket. Prior to the election, a television and letter campaign was launched predicting terrorist attacks in four U.S. cities and equating the U.S. with Nazi Germany. This publicity was condemned by the Anti Defamation League.[47] Within a month before the general election, Focus on the Family began distributing a 16-page letter titled Letter from 2012 in Obama's America, which describes an imagined American future in which 'many of our freedoms have been taken away by a liberal Supreme Court of the United States and a majority of Democrats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.'[48] According to USA Today, the letter 'is part of an escalation in rhetoric from Christian right activists' trying to paint Democratic Party presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama in a negative light.[49]
Focus on the Family Action supported Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) in his successful December 2, 2008, runoff election win. The organization, according to the Colorado Independent, donated $35,310 in radio ads to the Chambliss runoff campaign effort. As the Independent reports, the Focus-sponsored ads were aired in about a dozen Georgia markets. The commercials were produced in the weeks after Focus laid off 202 employees – some 20 percent of its workforce – because of the national economic crisis.[50]
Opposition to same-sex marriage[edit]
Focus on the Family works to preserve its interpretation of Biblical ideals of marriage and parenthood, taking a strong stance against LGBT rights, including same-sex marriage. Dobson expressed great concern for the institution of marriage in a 2003 letter to the Christian community. In reference to the same-sex marriage movement, Dobson says that the institution of marriage, 'is about to descend into a state of turmoil unlike any other in human history.' Focus on the Family believes that marriage should be defined as only being between a man and a woman. Dobson supported the failed Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman, preventing courts and state legislatures from challenging this definition.[51]
In the same letter, Dobson says that traditional marriage is the cornerstone of society, and he states that the goal of the gay and lesbian movement is not to redefine marriage but to destroy the institution itself. 'Most gays and lesbians do not want to marry each other…the intention here is to destroy marriage altogether.' Dobson argues that, without the institution of marriage, everyone would enjoy the benefits of marriage without limiting the number of partners or their gender. Focus on the Family views allowing same-sex marriage as '…a stepping-stone on the road to eliminating all societal restrictions on marriage and sexuality.'[51]
Focus on the Family asserts that the Bible lays out the correct plan for marriage and family. Dobson says that 'God created Eve to complement Adam physically, spiritually, and emotionally'. Dobson also uses the biblical figure Paul to affirm his views on marriage. He states that Paul maintained that men and women mutually complete each other, and to exchange a 'natural relationship for an unnatural one is sinful'.[51]
In reference to same-sex marriage and same-sex couples with children, Dobson states, 'Same-sex relationships undermine the future generation's understanding of the fundamental principles of marriage, parenthood, and gender.' He also stated that the alleged destruction of what it considers to be the traditional family by permitting same-sex marriage will lead to 'unstable homes for children'.[51]
Focus on the Family became more active in the same-sex marriage opposition movement after the Supreme Court of Canada declared that restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples is a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 2003.[51]
Dobson spoke at the 2004 rally against gay marriage called Mayday for Marriage. It was here for the first time that he endorsed a presidential candidate, George W. Bush. Here he denounced the Supreme Court rulings in favor of gay rights, and he urged rally participants to get out and vote so that the battle against gay rights could be won in the Senate.[52]
In an interview with Christianity Today, Dobson also explained that he was not in favor of civil unions. He stated that civil unions are just same-sex marriage under a different name. The main priority of the opposing same-sex marriage movement is to define marriage on the federal level as between a man and a woman and combat the passage of civil unions later.[53]
Civil rights advocacy groups identify Focus on the Family as a major opponent of gay rights. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights and hate group monitoring organization,[54] described Focus on the Family as one of a 'dozen major groups [which] help drive the religious right's anti-gay crusade'.[55] The SPLC does not list Focus on the Family as a hate group, however, since it opposes homosexuality 'on strictly Biblical grounds'.[56]
Focus on the Family is a member of ProtectMarriage.com, a coalition formed to sponsor California Proposition 8, a ballot initiative to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples, which passed in 2008,[57] but was subsequently struck down as being unconstitutional by a federal court in Perry v. Schwarzenegger.
Misrepresentation of research[edit]
Social scientists have criticized Focus on the Family for misrepresenting their research in order to bolster its own perspective.[58] Researcher Judith Stacey, whose work was used by Focus on the Family to claim that gays and lesbians do not make good parents, said that the claim was 'a direct misrepresentation of the research.'[59] She elaborated, 'Whenever you hear Focus on the Family, legislators or lawyers say, 'Studies prove that children do better in families with a mother and a father,' they are referring to studies which compare two-parent heterosexual households to single-parent households. The studies they are talking about do not cite research on families headed by gay and lesbian couples.'[60] FOTF claimed that Stacey's allegation was without merit and that their position is that the best interests of children are served when there is a father and a mother. 'We haven't said anything about sexual orientation,' said Glenn Stanton.[59]
James Dobson cited the research of Kyle Pruett and Carol Gilligan in a Time Magazine guest article in the service of a claim that two women cannot raise a child; upon finding out that her work had been used in this way, Gilligan wrote a letter to Dobson asking him to apologize and to cease and desist from citing her work, describing herself as 'mortified to learn that you had distorted my work...Not only did you take my research out of context, you did so without my knowledge to support discriminatory goals that I do not agree with...there is nothing in my research that would lead you to draw the stated conclusions you did in the Time article.'[61][62][63] Pruett wrote a similar letter, in which he said that Dobson 'cherry-picked a phrase to shore up highly (in my view) discriminatory purposes. This practice is condemned in real science, common though it may be in pseudo-science circles. There is nothing in my longitudinal research or any of my writings to support such conclusions,' and asked that FOTF not cite him again without permission.[64]
After Elizabeth Saewyc's research on teen suicide was used by Focus on the Family to promote conversion therapy she said that 'the research has been hijacked for somebody's political purposes or ideological purposes and that's worrisome', and that research in fact linked the suicide rate among LGBT teens to harassment, discrimination, and closeting.[65] Other scientists who have criticized Focus on the Family for misrepresenting their findings include Robert Spitzer,[66] Gary Remafedi,[64] and Angela Phillips.[66]
Football advertisements[edit]
In 2010, Focus on the Family bought ad time during Super Bowl XLIV to air a commercial featuring Heisman Trophy winning Florida GatorsquarterbackTim Tebow and his mother, Pam. In the ad, Pam described Tim as a 'miracle baby' who 'almost didn't make it into this world', and further elaborated that 'with all our family's been through, we have to be tough' (after which Pam was promptly tackled by Tim). The ad directed viewers to the organization's website.[67][68]
Women's rights groups asked CBS not to air the then-unseen ad, arguing that it was divisive. Planned Parenthood released a video response of its own featuring fellow NFL player Sean James.[69][70] The claim that Tebow's family chose not to perform an abortion was also widely criticized; critics felt that the claim was implausible because it would be unlikely for doctors to recommend the procedure because abortion is illegal in the Philippines.[68][71] CBS's decision to run the ad was also criticized for deviating from its past policy to reject advocacy-type ads during the Super Bowl, including ads by left-leaning groups such as PETA, MoveOn.org and the United Church of Christ (which wanted to run an ad that was pro-same-sex marriage). However, CBS stated that 'we have for some time moderated our approach to advocacy submissions after it became apparent that our stance did not reflect public sentiment or industry norms on the issue.'[72]
Focus on the Family produced another commercial which ran during the second quarter of the January 14, 2012 Denver Broncos-New England Patriots AFC Divisional Playoff broadcast on CBS,[73] featuring children reciting the Bible verse John 3:16.[74] The game, given the months of preceding hype and media exposure for Tim Tebow (who now played for the Broncos), was seen by more than 30 million viewers, making it the most-watched AFC Divisional Playoff in more than a decade.[75] The ad did not generate nearly the amount of controversy that surrounded the Super Bowl commercial. It did gain some national media attention, and president Jim Daly stated in a press release that its purpose was to 'help everyone understand some numbers are more important than the ones on the scoreboard.'[76]
Recognitions and awards[edit]
In 2008, Dobson's Focus on the Family program was nominated for induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame.[77] Nominations were made by the 157 members of the Hall of Fame and voting on inductees was handed over to the public using online voting.[78] The nomination drew the ire of gay rights activists, who launched efforts to have the program removed from the nominee list and to vote for other nominees to prevent Focus from winning.[79][80] However, on July 18, 2008, it was announced that the program had won and would be inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in a ceremony on November 8, 2008.[81]Truth Wins Out, a gay rights group, protested the ceremony with over 300 protesters.[82]
International associates and regional offices[edit]
New Zealand[edit]
Focus on the Family New Zealand is an organisation promoting a conservative Christian ideology. It has a similar agenda to the Focus on the Family organisation in the United States. Focus on the Family supported a Citizens Initiated Referendum on the repeal of section 59 of the Crimes Act 1961.[83]
Other countries[edit]
- Australia: Focus on the Family Australia, Clayton, Victoria
- Canada – Focus on the Family Canada
- Latin America Region: Enfoque a la Familia, San José, Costa Rica
- Middle East Region: Focus on the Family Middle East, Cairo, Egypt
- Indonesia: Fokus Pada Keluarga, Jakarta
- Ireland: Focus on the Family Ireland, Dublin
- South Korea: Open Family Korea, Seoul
- Malaysia: Focus on the Family Malaysia, Selangor
- Singapore: Focus on the Family Singapore[84]
- Africa Region: Focus on the Family Africa, Hillcrest, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
- Taiwan: Focus on the Family Taiwan, Taipei
Controversy[edit]
The Singapore branch of FotF came under criticism in October 2014 over allegations of sexism and promoting gender stereotypes during their workshops on managing relationships for junior college students. The workshop received a complaint from both a Hwa Chong Junior College student, as well as negative feedback from the college management as being 'ineffective' and will stop by the end of the year.[85]
Headquarters[edit]
The Focus on the Family headquarters is a four building, 47-acre (19 ha)[86] complex located off of Interstate 25 in northern Colorado Springs, Colorado, with its own ZIP code (80995).[87][88] The buildings consist of the Administration building, International building, Welcome Center and Operations building (currently unused), and totals 526,070 square feet.[89]
Focus on the Family moved to its current headquarters from Pomona, California, in 1991,[90] with 1,200 employees. In 2002, the number of employees peaked at 1,400. By September 2011, after years of layoffs, they had 650 employees remaining.[91] Christopher Ott of Salon said in 1998 that the FOTF campus has 'handsome new brick buildings, professional landscaping and even its own traffic signs' and that 'The buildings and grounds are well-maintained and comfortable. If there is any ostentatious or corrupt influence here, it is nowhere in sight.'[87]
While visiting the Focus on the Family complex, a couple had asked the staff if handling the sightseers in the main building was a distraction. The staff told the couple that it was a distraction; afterwards the couple donated $4 million to have a welcome center built. A visiting family donated 7 miles (11 km) of wood trim from the family's Pennsylvania lumber business so FOTF could build its administration building. As of 1998, James Dobson, in his welcome center film, compares his decision to build the headquarters in Colorado Springs to the founding of the temple in Jerusalem.[87]
References[edit]
Goldfinger Radio Drama Focus Live
- ^'FY 2011 IRS Form 990 Federal Tax Return'(PDF). GuideStar. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
- ^Michael Gryboski (September 13, 2013). 'Focus on the Family Cutting 40 More Staff as Part of Restructuring'. The Christian Post. Archived from the original on October 20, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
- ^'Key Christian Conservative Admits Medical Marijuana Has Benefits'. Huffington Post. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
- ^https://wagenmakerlaw.com/blog/defining-“church”-irs-focus
- ^'Focus on the Family's Foundational Values'. Focus on the Family. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
- ^Padian, Kevin (January – April 2006), 'The Dover Victory', Reports of the National Center for Science Education, Berkeley, CA, 26 (1–2): 49–50, ISSN2158-818X, archived from the original on April 20, 2015, retrieved May 6, 2014; Alters, Brian (January – April 2006), ''Ties' to Canada', Reports of the National Center for Science Education, Berkeley, CA, 26 (1–2): 51–52, ISSN2158-818X, archived from the original on April 20, 2015, retrieved May 6, 2014; Wallace, Tim (2007) [Originally published 2005], 'Five Major Evolutionist Misconceptions about Evolution', The True.Origin Archive, Hergiswil, Switzerland: Tim Wallace, archived from the original on March 21, 2015, retrieved April 25, 2011.
- ^Focus on the Family Issue Analysts, 'Our Position (Adoption)', Focus on the Family, archived from the original on December 3, 2013, retrieved April 10, 2014; Culver, Virginia (February 5, 2002), 'Adoption plan stirs controversy Gays applaud doctors' stance; Focus on Family denounces it', The Denver Post; Draper, Electa, 'Adoption initiative halves numbers of kids needing families', The Denver Post, archived from the original on August 12, 2014, retrieved April 10, 2014.
- ^[1]Archived April 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine SPLC on anti-gay groups
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Focus on the Family, which Dobson...began 25 years ago to strengthen and promote the traditional family unit using conservative Christian interpretations of scripture.
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Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. ... Political campaign intervention includes any and all activities that favor or oppose one or more candidates for public office. The prohibition [includes and] extends beyond candidate endorsements.
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t was the latest in a relentless campaign of misrepresentations, half-truths and outright lies in recent years that have defined anti-gay Christian right organizations intent on opposing equal rights and common dignity for LGBT people.
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A Focus on the Family official denied the allegation... Focus on the Family spokesman Glenn Stanton cited other research including an article co-authored by Mary Parke, a policy analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy, that shows that children need a mother and a father, regardless of the parents' sexual orientation. 'We haven't said anything about sexual orientation,' he said.
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External links[edit]
Media related to Focus on the Family at Wikimedia Commons
Coordinates: 38°57′47″N104°47′20″W / 38.9630°N 104.7890°W