GOOD NEIGHBORS MEET—Top executives of the Canadian Broadcasting Corpora- tion visit Neiv York's Radio City for a program survey. Left to right: Donald Manson, CBC chief executive assistant; Niles Trammell, NBC president; Dr. James S. Thomson, CBC general manager, and William S. Hedges, NBC vice-president in charge of stations. r 1 j 1 U -7 ' 1 1 J J j * 1 : " 2 NBC TRANSMITTER NBC TRANSMITTER NBC WAR CLINICS IN 7 CITIES VOL. 8 JANUARY 1943 NO. 8 Executive Network Group Starts U. S. Tour January 28 Published Monthly by the National Broadcasting Company © The Second Annual NBC War Clinics Clinics have been sanctioned by the Office RCA Building, Radio City, New York which will afford affiliated stations and of Defense Transportation, affiliated sta- network officials an opportunity to discuss tion officials are urged to attend the clinic broadcasting problems brought about by being held nearest to their city to keep UNIVERSALITY OF MUSIC the war will begin on January 28 with a traveling at a minimum. two-day meeting at the Waldorf Astoria Discussions w ill center around increas- • Recently Maestro Toscanini re- Hotel in New York. ing radio’s usefulness in the war effort. ceived a letter from a Welsh coal Subsequent meetings will be held on Technical developments in the broadcast- miner, reading, in part—“This eve- February 1 and 2 at the Hotel John Mar- ing field, including television and FM, ning I listened with pleasure to the shall in Richmond, Virginia; February will be highlighted along relay of your opening concert of the 3 with planning and 4 at the Netherland Plaza Hotel in radio's place in the new industrial and season. It augurs well for the win- Cincinnati; February 5 and 6 at the Drake economic post-war world. ter entertainment of our American Hotel in Chicago; February 9 and 10 at In announcing the meetings, W illiam friends. I want you to tell Benny the Hotel Roosevelt in New Orleans: Feb- S. Hedges, vice-president in charge of sta- Goodman and Earl Wild that if ever ruary 11 and 12 at the Hotel Rice in tions departments, said: they should come to the old country Houston, Texas, and February 16 and 17 “Last year’s meetings throughout the and find themselves in the West at the Hotel Ambassador in Los Angeles. country were highly successful in pro- Midlands to call at the above ad- The party of NBC officials making the ducing a better understanding by network dress. I would like to meet them and trip will be headed by President Niles officials of the daily problems of affiliated so would my friends, practically all Trammell and will be comprised of Wil- stations comprising the network. In re- coal miners. We take pride in dig- liam S. Hedges, vice-president in charge newing the war clinics again this year in ging for coal but we also enjoy good of stations departments: Roy C. Witmer, the face of diminishing civilian transpor- music, and how." vice-president in charge of sales; Clarence tation facilities, it is our feeling that the This letter is typical of the thou- L. Menser, vice-president in charge of pro- stations and the network will be able to sands received each year by NBC. grams; Dr. James Rowland Angell, public better serve the war effort, our communi- They come from all parts of the service counselor; Frank M. Russell, vice- ties and our nation as a result. We are earth, from folks in all walks of life. president in charge of Washington office; happy that in this decision we have the They show the universality of music 0. B. Hanson, vice-president and chief sanction of the ODT. hut, more important, they show how engineer; John F. Royal, vice-president "We hope that each station will be in a troubled world people have a in charge of international broadcasting; represented by its owner, manager, pro- longing for the works of the master Charles B. Brown, promotion and adver- gram director and promotion manager. composers. Nothing can take its tising director; John McKay, manager of Discussion periods have been planned for place, he the world at peace or war. press department; Sheldon B. Hickox. Jr.. each group with related interests. Even Niles To Trammell, NBC presi- manager of station relations department station should make plans to attend one dent. belongs an accolade for the Noran E. Kersta. director of television, of these meetings and it is emphatically he emphasis has placed on serious and James M. Gaines, of station relations. not too early to make train and hotel reser- music in the network’s program While the Second Annual NBC War vations right now. structure. To his credit he turned a deaf ear to those who pointed to the Crosslevs of serious music pro- U. S. COAST GUARD ACADEMY BAND ON NBC grams. They meant nothing, he in- sisted. Mass appeal would inevitably follow as the appreciation of fine music increased. Mr. Trammell is no visionary; he is a veteran in radio and knows whereof he speaks. To- day. the audiences that listen to the great NBC concerts extend from Johannesburg to Archangel, from Rio to \ ladivostok. The year 1943 holds much in store for NBC listeners. Important The noted musical organization, conducted by Bandmaster Charles W. Messer, is a program plans are in the making. regular Saturday feature from the academy gymnasium at New London, Connecticut, There’s a reason why NBC is the and is a worthy addition to l ncle Sam's service bands entertaining the nation via the network most people listen to most. kilocycle medium. The pickup is made through the facilities of WT1C, Hartford. JANUARY 1943 3 RADIO'S MOST IMPORTANT YEAR By Clarence L. Menser I\BC Vice-President in Charge of Programs • American broadcasting went to war as zones changed to Australia, New Guinea, the first bomb exploded at Pearl Harbor. New Zealand, and North Africa our Avar In 1942 radio was serving at every fight- reporters followed the action. ing front, at home and abroad. The on-the-spot reporting of NBC cor- “Broadcasting as usual’' Avent by the respondent Bert Sillen from Manila made board as the nation girded for war. With broadcasting history. All-in-all,. NBC cor- America’s active participation in the Avar respondents reported to their listeners in for freedom, NBC geared its operations 2,200 individual overseas broadcasts dur- and its program structure toward the one ing 1942. On the home front, NBC pre- and single purpose of speeding victory for sented 3,100 news broadcasts and com- the United Nations. mentaries compiled by newsmen and news Working closely with Government analysts in New York, Washington, Chi- agencies, NBC set up an allocation plan cago and Hollywood. which enlisted commercial as well as sus- When the first infamous blow Avas taining programs in the common task of struck by the Japs at our great outpost in reaching the widest possible audience with the Pacific, NBC short-wave transmitters Governmental and other messages de- Avent on a 24-hour schedule Avith impor- signed to mobilize the nation for maxi- tant news of the war for the peoples of mum war effort. Europe and Latin America. Even before In addition, NBC turned over its facili- December 7, 1941. NBC’s international ties to the War Department for the out- service was being heard around the Avorld standing war program, “The Army Hour," in seven languages. Three more languages and to labor for its program, “Labor for Avere subsequently added, and NBC trans- Victory,” in which the CIO and AFL are mitters broadcast in English, Spanish. heard on alternating weeks. Equally nota- Portuguese, French. German. Italian, CHRISTMAS, ble broadcasts carried by NBC in 1942 Swedish, Turkish, Danish, Greek. Towards 1942, AT RADIO CITY were such good-neighbor programs as the end of the year, NBC, along with other The Inter-American University of the Air broadcasting companies, leased its inter- radio listeners. During the year, NBC. series “Pan-American Holiday,” and the nationally beamed transmitters to the jointly Avith Columbia University, spon- morale-building scripts which include Government for service to Europe and sored the Institute of American Affairs. Arch Oboler’s “Plays for Americans,” the Latin America. Also, in 1942, NBC undertook a new step short-Avave series from Britain, “Britain Broadcasting, through short-wave, fol- in mass education by establishing a teach- to America,” and the “Dear Adolf” letters lowed the American soldiers, sailors and ing course in Spanish and Portuguese Avritten by Stephen Vincent Benet. Pre- airmen to the farthest outposts of the Avar. over the air. Preliminary statistics indi- miere of Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poem, Uncle Sam’s fighting forces received the cate that 37 per cent of its total air time “The Murder of Lidice,” written for pro- cream of NBC’s entertainment programs was devoted by NBC to various types of duction by NBC, was a great radio dra- during the year, as Avell as complete news public service features including news and matic event of the year. from the home front. news analysis, classical and semi-classical The flow of war information, inspira- With the recognition that entertain- music, talks and forums, etc. tion and appeal through the air is indi- ment of itself is an element— a most im- Taking heed of the spiritual demands cated by the fact that at the year’s end a portant element—of war morale, it is a of a nation at Avar, most emphasis Avas single NBC station broadcast approxi- satisfaction to note the fact that 31 out of placed in 1942 on religious programs over mately 5,300 announcements for various the 50 leading programs carried on the the air.