Broadcasting (July - Dec 1943)

Record Details:

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Uncle Sam Keeps Interior Studio Busy Thousands of Programs Transcribed or Sent Over Shortwaves FOCAL point of Government radio programs, the Interior Dept. studios, among the best equipped in the United States, have been operating at near capacity as various Federal agencies use the facilities for domestic and foreign broadcasts. Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Interior studios present a steady procession of Washington officials, diplomats, translators, news commentators, musicians and dramatists who participate in programs sent to all parts of the world. During a recent six-month period, according to a report by Shannon Allen, chief of the Radio Section, the studios produced 717 programs, both live and transcribed, and cut recordings from which 32,229 pressings were made by various agencies. OWI Main User Largest user of the Interior facilities is the Office of War Information which calls for practically every type of radio and transcription program. The bulk of OWI work is rebroadcast by shortwave. An example of the broadcasts sent out by this agency is a series of daily news programs in the Thai language at the time of the occupation of Siam by the Japanese. The material was transcribed and flown to San Francisco for shortwave broadcast. Another series for OWI was made in connection with the International Student Assembly in Washington. Programs were made in all the native languages for shortwave broadcast to the various countries and included Dutch, Egyptian, Greek, Flemish, Chinese, Mandarin, Malayan and Czech. Another important user of the studios is the military which frequently calls for services in connection with training programs. The Radio Section, during the period, made 220 master records for the Bureau of Aeronautics of the Navy for the teaching of all forms of code transmission. This is believed to be the largest single electrical transcription job in the history of the industry. For the Bureau of Ships of the Navy, the studios transcribed 20 special 15-minute training programs and for the Bureau of Navigation a series of six special musical programs used in connection with cadet training. A total of 76 programs were completed for the Industrial Services Division of the War Dept. which involved recorded messages from war heroes and military officials used in helping to increase industrial morale in war production plants. Another series of morale programs was produced for the Office of the Quartermaster General for distribution to all Army camps. The Interior studios produce many of the programs of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, including the series The United Nations Speak, for distribution by transcription throughout South and Central America, featuring various Latin-American diplomatic representatives. Various news broadcasts in Spanish and Portuguese are sent out by the CIAA from the studios. The studios feed nightly to shortwave transmitters a CIAA program of news and comment in Spanish for South American audiences. This program is beamed from WRUL WCDQ WLWO WRX WCRC and other shortwave stations. Once a week a program of military comment is fed to San Francisco where it is recorded and sent via shortwave a few hours later to South America. This program, which is in English, employs well known military analysts. A Spanish version of this show is fed to New York twice a week for recording and rebroadcast to South America. Treasury Discs The Radio Section produced a series of eight transcribed programs for the Treasury Dept. to aid the sale of War Stamps. Pressings were made from these transcriptions for distribution to stations throughout the country. The studios have produced programs on Victory Food Specials for the Dept. of Agriculture, conservation programs for the Solid Fuels Administration, programs for the War Manpower Commission, Federal Security Agency, various bureaus of the Dept. of the Interior, and other agencies. The main studio of the Radio Section is completely equipped for dramatic productions and has been used to present such dramatic shows as An American Prayer, a half-hour documentary produced for the Interior Dept. which is broadcast every Thanksgiving through one of the networks. This NEIGHBOR STATIONS RESCUE WFIG Help Establish Temporary Studios When Fire Destroys Facilities in Sumter, S. C. A fter the Fire — WFIG's Main Studio and Control Room STUDIOS completely destroyed by fire on Aug. 12, WFIG Sumter, S. C, was back on the air in less than 48 hours, due to the generous help of WCOS and WIS Columbia, S. C. The fire was discovered at 1:35 p.m. when Ray Caddel, announcer, cut in and said: "Emergency announcement — fire department report to radio station — on fire." He left the building by ladder when the fire equipment arrived. T. Doug Youngblood, vice-president, rushed from his home a mile away and into the burning building. Cutting the main switch, he seized $24,000 in unissued war bonds and made for the ladder. Lt. Julius Brody, president of the station who was on furlough at the time, and Mr. Youngblood left for Columbia at 5:30 p.m. when it became evident that the fire was beyond control. They contacted WCOS and WIS for emergency equipment and through the help of these stations' engineers, Harry Clippard of WCOS and Edwin Roman of WFIG, had temporary studios in operation on Friday, Aug. 13, at 10:35 p.m. The WFIG studies were completely destroyed, as can be seen from the accompanying picture. The only piece of equipment that can be salvaged is the air conditioner. Plans are being made to rebuild the studios and offices at present transmitter site. program draws a wide response from all over the country. Professional talent, including both actors and musicians, are drawn from Washington and vicinity for the various programs and the studios maintain a script department to assist Government agencies in the preparation of broadcasts. WNEW Revamping Program Policy Supplements Recordings with Variety, News and Drama THOUGH MAINTAINING its standing as "the record station," WNEW New York, has embarked on a policy of greater scope and variety in programming, and Sunday, Aug. 29, put into effect an extensively revamped schedule for that day. Station is adopting the policy in recognition of independent stations' trend towards better programming as a means of competing against concurrent network shows. Change in Sunday schedule consists of removing a number of straight recorded music shows, substituting disc programs with special frames and inserting news, variety and drama. A total of more than four hours within the 1 to 11 p.m. period are involved in the new programming. Recreates Past One of the half hour record programs with special feature frames is The Time Machine, 25-minute show 4:35 p.m. Central idea is return to the past aided by an imaginary Time Machine. Wax recordings are used to recreate events such as King George of England's abdication speech, or Helen Morgan singing a torch song of the '20's. Music now banned in Axis-controlled countries is presented on Music in Exile, the station's only classical music broadcast. Lady of the Evening brings a different songstress to the microphone each week. News programs added include a quarter-hour broadcast by Kerby Cushing and Around the World in 30 Minutes which combines wire news, a London pickup, a Washington news commentary and sketch of a prominent international figure. Drama and variety are supplied by The Weird Circle, mystery series sponsored by Howard Clothes replacing John B. Kennedy on Sunday; and Stars and Stripes in Britain, BBC feature which shifts to a later Sunday afternoon period. Conkey Sponsoring G. E. CONKEY Co., Cleveland (Conkey's Y-0 Feeds), on Oct 23 starts sponsorship of a quarterhour Sunday morning newscast on WLS Chicago. Contract is for 52 weeks. The company is also placing a varying schedule of announcements and quarter-hour programs on 20 midwest and eastern rural stations. Account is handled by Rogers & Smith, Chicago. Page 24 • August 30, 1943 BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising