Radio Fatigue and Dog Spies

“RADIO FATIGUE” IS LATEST U.S. DISEASE (DAILY MIRROR WORLD SERVICE.) WASHINGTON.—“Radio fatigue” is a new mental disease discovered by American sociologists in analysing the American people at war. It is produced by too much listening to emotional broadcasts of war news and the ranting of misguided propagandists who stir up emotion and disturb listeners' says the American Sociological Review in Washington. “The first news of the bombing at Hawaii,” it says, “probably released enough energy and caused enough emotion to build thousands of tanks and bombers—if it could have been directed into proper channels. “As it was, it merely produced headaches, stomachaches, loss of sleep and widespread wastage of our most precious national resource—emotional drive.” The manner of presenting radio news is perhaps more important than the content, the paper adds. Strident excited voices damage morale. Calm, factual presentations create confidence. Too Much Repetition “It is also undesirable,” the sociologists say, “that the same news should be repeated over and over, even when it is authentic and has been approved by responsible persons. “Perhaps four officially sifted news periods a day would be enough. It would save millions of hours of pointless listening, millions of kilowatt hours of electricity and billions of ergs (unit of energy) of emotional power.” Training Dogs As “Spies” For British Army Daily Mirror World Service. LONDON.—Hundreds of British soldiers were killed in France because a dog gave their position away to the enemy. In Libya, another enemy-trained Alsatian gave away the positions of an Australian regiment. Because of this, Britain has formed her own dog army. The “school” is near London and its “commanding officer” is a civilian. All other officers and men are civilians in the army. The “star” dog at the school is Rex—a black Labrador—who has a kennel to himself. Rex Is Famous Rex is already famous for his intelligence. At the beginning of the war he worked for a gas company, tracing leaks. He has been pictured and written up in magazines and on cigarette cards. “We are not allowed to say what he is doing now,” the C.O. said.

A black-and-white newspaper clipping presents two wartime articles side by side: one about “radio fatigue,” caused by excessive emotional war broadcasts, and another about training dogs as spies for the British Army. The humor comes from treating anxious news consumption as a serious disease while placing it beside an absurdly dramatic story about a famous spy dog named Rex, making the whole page feel unintentionally surreal. EN: A black-and-white newspaper clipping presents two wartime articles side by side: one about “radio fatigue,” caused by excessive emotional war broadcasts, and another about training dogs as spies for the British Army. The humor comes from treating anxious news consumption as a serious disease while placing it beside an absurdly dramatic story about a famous spy dog named Rex, making the whole page feel unintentionally surreal.

• @antichirst / 14668 2023-11-16