30 RADIO The Tribal Drum England and America had had their "shots" against radio in the form of long exposure to literacy and industrialism. These forms involve an intense visual organization of experience. The more earthy and less visual European cultures were not immune to radio. Its tribal magic was not lost on them, and the old web of kinship began to resonate once more with the note of fascism. The inability of literate people to grasp the language and mes- mentts of the media as such i sinvoluntarily conveyed by the com- ments of sociologist Paul Lazarsfeld m discussing the effects of The last groupo f effects may be called the monopolititic effects fo raido. such have ttracted most public attention because of their importance inthe totalitarian countries. If a government monopolizes the radio, then by mere repetition and by the.r importance in the totalitarian countries. If a government monopolizes the radio, then by mere repetition RADIO 325 and by exclusion of conflicting points of view it can determine the opinions of the population. We do not know much about how this monopolistic effect really works,but it is important to note its singularity. No inference should be drawn regardign the effects of radio as such. It is often forgotten that Hitler did not achieve control through radio but almost despite it, because at the time of his rise to power radio was controlled by his enem.es. The monopolistic effects have probably less social importance than is generally assumed. Professor Lazarsfeld's helpless unawareness of the nature and effects of radio is not a personal defect, but a universally shared ineptitude.