Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

Record Details:

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'/-^f>-'^-'^- MISS HJiLEN GBA\ ES WAS THE KIKST KEATUHEU SOLOIST ON STATION WEAK, IN 1922. HER ACCOMPANIST. MRS. MAY W. SW.WZE. RIGHT- EXCERPT FROM WEAF's FIRST STATION LOG. WEAF IN 20™ ANNIVERSARY Key Station of NBC Has Been Trail-Blazer in Broadcasting-, Soloed Reuenue Problem Earhj. New York Girl Wins "Miss WEAF" Contest. WEAF, kev station of the National Broadcasting Company since its formation in 1926, celebrated its twen- tieth anniversar)' in August with a se- ries of special programs and a contest to select a talented girl born in the month of its own creation, August, 1922. Winner of the contest was Miss Katherine Donaldson, of 32 West 10th Street, New York. Interested in a dra- matic career, "Miss WE.^F" will be given a promotional build-up to help further her ambitions. Station \\'EAF started life Wednes- day, August 16, 1922, on the twenty- fourth floor of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company building, 24 Walker Street, New York. Broadcast through a transmitter at 463 West Street, WEAF's first program went on the air with no fanfare and little indication of the trail-blazing for which it was destined in the radio in- dustry. Talent was drav\Ti from telephone company employees whose desk work for some time had been interrupted bv "SOS" calls horn the engineering de- partment to lend themseh es as figura- tive guinea pigs to experiments in voice and music transmission. Since they worked on company time, artists, of course, were not paid for their microphone appearances in cur- rencv. but in courteouslv-worded cards of appreciation. WEAF'S first log records merely: "Start broadcasting through 'WEAF' \\'estern Electric Companv, \\'est Street," together with remarks required 1)\ the Government as to stations and signals picked up during the dav. Precocious WEAF w^is only 12 days old when it sohed the problem of re\- enue that had plagued radio operators for years—by selling the first commer- cial sponsorship of a broadcast. In contrast to the commercials of toda\. averaging 50 seconds, this historic coiii- mercial, paid for by the Queensbor- ough Corporation, ran for 10 minutes. Since its early days, WEAF has been an outstanding member of the Ameri- can broadcasting system, and has made inanv contributions to the service of radio in the fields of information, cul- ture, entertainment. KATHERINE DONALDSON, WINNER OF THE "miss WEAF" CONTEST. RADIO AGE 19