Transmitter Bulletin of Special Collections in Mass Media and Culture at the University of Maryland Spring 2014 Symposium Friday, April 11 10am-5pm “Saving College Radio,” a symposium hosted by the University of Maryland Libraries, offers a day of insightful and interactive presentations on the themes of preserving active college radio culture as well as stations’ historical archives. In conjunction with our current gallery exhibit “Saving College Radio: WMUC Past, Present and Future,” the symposium brings academics, archivists and college radio participants together to highlight the vital contributions of college radio to campus, local and online communities, and to emphasize the value of college radio archival materials in history and scholarship. An exhibit documenting the rich istrative files, brochures and photographs. Keynote speaker Jennifer Waits, the history of the University of Materials in the WMUC Collection are College Radio and Culture Editor of part of the University Archives and docu- the blog Radio Survivor, founder and Maryland’s radio station is on ment cultural, music, sports, and news pro- display in Hornbake Library and editor of the blog Spinning Indie and grams. longtime college radio DJ, will open open through July 2014. Among the highlights of the exhibit the symposium with a presentation on are: early 1970s audio recordings of Viet- “Saving College Radio: WMUC Past, the importance of keeping college radio nam War protests on campus that drew alive in the United States. Present and Future” showcases the student- thousands of demonstrators; a station ID, operated station that has served as a train- She will be followed by Dr. Kip or short on-air promo, that John Lennon Lornell and Tori Kerr of George ing ground and creative outlet for students recorded for a WMUC deejay at the press since 1948, making it one of the nation’s Washington University. Dr. Lornell, conference accompanying the Beatles’ first Assistant Professor of Musicology, will longest continuously operating college ra- U.S. concert at the Washington Coliseum; dio stations. As a platform for alternative discuss his current research on WAMU’s station IDs recorded by other celebrities bluegrass programming, and Ms. Kerr, programming, WMUC remains the only including Fats Domino, Chubby Checker, alternative music station in the D.C. metro the Music Director of campus station Phyllis Diller and Frank Zappa, among WGRW will talk about the station’s role area. others; and information about Yesternow, “Radio stations are hubs of cultural as the voice of GWU. the station’s first ongoing program to both After lunch, guest speaker Dr. activity and embody local traditions and feature and target African Americans and culture,” says Laura Schnitker, curator of Maureen Loughran, who holds a Ph.D. other minority communities. in Ethnomusicology from Brown the exhibit and sound archivist at the Uni- The exhibit underscores the UMD Li- versity Libraries. “In addition to being the University and current Managing braries’ efforts to preserve the university’s Producer for NPR’s American Routes, voice of the campus community, WMUC is student radio heritage. Robin Pike, manager important because it provides an alternative will share her experience using of digital conversion and media reformat- college radio archives for her doctoral to commercial Top 40 or talk radio.” ting, leads a team of specialists working to Offering the student perspective of key dissertation on local music culture in digitize the station’s audio recordings and Washington, D.C. historical events and campus happenings, print materials, important to the university the exhibit draws from more than 1,800 She will be followed by Eric Cartier, audio recordings as well as reports, admin- continued on page 5 continued on page 2 Page 2 Transmitter Last of the An Announcement from the Curator ‘Murrow Boys’ The University of Maryland Broadcasting Archives, home of the Library of American Broadcasting (LAB) and the National Public Broadcasting Archives Talks to Merrill (NPBA), is now officially known asSpecial Collections in Mass Media & Culture (SCMMC). Students SCMMC has always been about more than over-the-air radio and television. Note: Special thanks to Mike Freedman, Material on community antenna or “cable” TV, distance learning, closed circuit TV, senior vice president of communications satellite technology, film and other related topics were present in the LAB when it at the University of Maryland University opened its doors as the Broadcast Pioneers Library in the early 1970’s. College, who is an old friend of Richard The Archives of The Children’s Television Workshop in NPBA contains hundreds C. Hottelet’s and made the conference of books and reports on early childhood education. Such resources might not appear call possible. Freedman was also a guest to have much to do with traditional television – but they have everything to do with speaker during the Historiography of Sesame Street, seen as very non-traditional television when it debuted in 1969. Broadcasting class. The inclusion of this kind of material in our holdings, when combined with the genre-spanning nature of the careers of many of our donors and rapid changes in the By Adam Kuhn viewing and creating of media in our “interconnected” age, have led to a decision Philip Merrill College of Journalism to formally expand our mission, and to change our name to reflect that broadened Class of 2014 focus. COLLEGE PARK, Md. – On Tuesday, A perfect example of why we made this choice is represented by the popular March 25, students enrolled in the Emmy-winning series House of Cards. This series, starring Kevin Spacey and Historiography of Broadcasting class had Robin Wright (and shot largely in the state of Maryland), cannot be viewed on any the unique opportunity to participate in a TV network or station, cable system or channel. It’s not available by satellite TV conference call with Richard C. Hottelet, a either. Netflix, a media streaming service that delivers content over the Internet, journalist who had a distinguished career produces it. House of Cards has no time slot. It has a release date, when Netflix with CBS. makes an entire “season” of thirteen episodes available, the better to please its Mr. Hottelet, 96, is the last surviving “binge watching” viewers. Netflix content can be watched on web-capable TV’s or member of The Murrow Boys, which through TV’s attached to web-capable devices, like Roku or the new Fire TV from refers to a group of young reporters who Amazon. It can also be watched on desktop and laptop computers, tablets, smart worked with legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow. phones and other like devices. It looks like a television show, but its economic During the 20-minute conference call, model and delivery mode make it very unlike television as we’ve understood it for Mr. Hottelet told stories from his career the last 65 years or so. that included covering World War II. On If the producers of House of Cards called tomorrow and offered the production one instance, he met Adolf Hitler at an records of their show to us, I would accept with alacrity. Though it’s a subscriber- airport. Mr. Hottelet was told of the German funded series streamed over the Internet, it has definitely made an impact on the chancellor’s intense blue eyes. But to Mr. broader culture. It’s also undoubtedly “mass media,” as Netflix has over 44 million Hottelet, the eyes were nothing out of the subscribers and adds more every day. It’s exactly the kind of program scholars ordinary. will be writing about, in both the near term and the future. I want our collection Mr. Hottelet also had the experience to be part of that scholarly conversation, and part of other conversations not yet of parachuting out of an airplane that was imagined. The changes I’ve outlined will help us accomplish that. damaged during a battle. Mr. Hottelet escaped with only a black eye, and President Chuck Howell, CA Franklin Roosevelt commented on how Curator, SCMMC fortunate the journalist was. On June 6, 1944, Mr. Hottelet reported an eyewitness account of D-Day. reception for the presenters and attendees. For today’s journalists, Mr. Hottelet Symposium We expect the symposium to reach a Continued from page 1 stressed that “writing what you know” is broad audience that includes academics important in order to be successful. He Digital Reformatting Specialist at UMD who study local culture, past and current also took questions from Merrill College Libraries, who will discuss the goals and participants in college radio, radio students about breaking into the field challenges of archiving WMUC’s audio enthusiasts and historians and archivists and the evolution of presidential press collection. Our final speakers are archival who work with amateur-created, multi- conferences from just a few reporters into a assistants Amanda Knox and Cara Shillenn, media formats. televised production. who will share some of the more valuable The symposium is free and open to It was certainly a phone call that the treasures from the WMUC Collection. the public. Please RSVP at the event students will remember. The symposium will be followed by website: http://www.lib.umd.edu/wmuc/ Reprinted with permission of the Philip a viewing of the WMUC exhibit in the events.html or by contacting curator Laura Merrill School of Journalism. Maryland Room Gallery at Hornbake, and a Schnitker at [email protected]. Transmitter Page 3 Reporter who witnessed JFK assassination spoke at journalism college By Talia Richman (Reprinted from The Diamondback) On his way to cover President John F. Kennedy’s campaign for re-election, Sid Davis realized he had left his reporter’s notebook at home. During a stop at a San Antonio airport, he purchased a simple red notepad for 15 cents.