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

other noted persons to appear on the program, in addition to Secre- tary Stimson. inchide Undersecre- tary of War Robert Patterson, Sec- retary of Agriculture Claude Wick- ard: Col. David Sarnoff; Mrs. E. V. "Eddie" Rickenbacker: and Ser- geant Joe Louis, to name just a few. As "The Army Hour" grew in importance to the American public, listenei-s began to turn to the pro- gram for official war news. NBC producers were quick to recognize this need, and recently asked the Army to include an official war re- port each week. Col. R. Ernest Dupuy, Chief of the News Division of the Bureau of Public Relations, War Department, now reports each week from Washington. It is the only official "communique" regu- larly announced by an officer of the General Staff Corps. With the Army of 1942 so vastly diflferent from the Army of 1917, "The Army Hour" found itself with a reporting job to do—a job of acquainting the nation with its new armed forces, and their new weapons. The problem of demonstrating the new army and its new weapons was a difficult one. But the Army offered its fullest cooperation, with certain wartime restrictions, and NBC offered its corps of experts for the problem of broadcasting loud- voiced cannons, thunderous flying fortresses, and chattering machine guns. The program has done a compre- hensive job, demonstrating more than fifty different weapons — "weapon" meaning anything from an echelon of pursuit planes to a new automatic pistol. From planes whizzing through the air, from bomb turrets using new sights, from monstrous tanks rumbling across the fields, and from rifle ranges, "The Army Hour" has shown the nation what its soldiers are using in the field of battle,— what their war bond money is buying. But despite the record of the program to date, it hasn't been all milk and honey. "The Armv Hour" BILL STERN, NBC ANNOUNCER. T.ALKS ON "the army hour" FRO.M a PLANE. works under handicaps that prob- ably have been faced by no other program in the history of radio— this despite the all-out cooperation (if the Army and NBC. The first obstacle is the inherent difiiculty of handling a program that encompasses the world in scope, and has as its substance mil- lions of soldiers and war workers. It was that inherent difficulty that made the cynics scoff when the pro- gram was first undertaken. Yet strangely enough, that is the least troublesome problem. Although it does remain a problem it is one with which "The Army Hour" is success- fully coping. With NBC's expert knowledge of bringing in reports from every corner of the globe, vast distances have shrunk to insignifi- cance, and with a horde of pro- ducers, writers and engineers scat- tered across the country—handling the large number of soldiers and machines is now almost a matter of routine. Now, as the U. S. Army seizes the offensive, the "Army Hour" has a major problem in the time ele- ment. When American forces landed in North Africa, the "Army Hour" had to remake the program on last-minute notice. Similar last-minute news report- ing took place when Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker was rescued at sea. The dramatic story of his rescue was flashed to the world on the morning of Saturday, November 14. The following day "The Army Hour" presented a stirring message from Mrs. Rickenbacker. Today "The Army Hour" is ac- customed to last-minute revamping of scripts, and plans to keep pace with the war news. One problem that presents an outstanding bugaboo is censorship. A program that is as close to the armed forces as is "The Army Hour," stands in constant danger of revealing vital information. It is no slight tribute to the producers of "The Army Hour" that with hundreds of broadcasts from war plants and army camps, nothing of value to the enemy has been re- vealed, although suflicient informa- tion has been broadcast to be of dramatic interest to American lis- teners. But it hasn't always been easy. For instance, a certain important airport is beset with bad weather conditions. (Wouldn't the Japs like to know which one?) "The Army Hour" went out to that airport to demonstrate a new pursuit plane. The weather at the start of the broadcast was fine. The planes took off and the NBC announcer—Joy Storm—prepared to describe them as they came in for a landing. Sud- RADIO AGE 13