NBC transmitter (Oct-Dec 1944)

6 NBC Transmitter 2 Books by NBC Newsmen Published in November NEW YORK.— The month of November is notable for the publication of books by crack news commentators on the NBC staff — W. W. Chaplin and Robert St. John. “Ihe Fifty-Two Days” is the title of Chaplin’s book published by Bobbs Merrill Company. St. John’s literary effort is called “It’s Always Tomorrow,” published by Doubleday Doran. Chaplin’s book is the result of his experience in London and France from D-Day “until D plus fifty-one.” It traces the day-byday existence of a war correspondent and includes many anecdotes illustrating the lighter side W‘ W '• Chaplin of covering a war. Chaplin dedicates his book to Jig Easy Sugar Queen— or JESQ— the portable transmitter from which he broadcast his 100-odd stories from France. I his marks probably the first time in literary history that a book has been dedicated to a two-and-one-half-ton truck. Robert St. John drew upon his great fund of war reporting experiences to fill his novel with authentic thrills. The story concerns a young war reporter who feels the impact of the thing he is writing about. Neither St. John nor Chaplin are new to the book-writing field, the former authoring the p o p ul a r “From the Land of Silent People’ in 1942. Chaplin has written three books —“Blood and Ink," “When War Comes” and “Seventy Thousand Miles of War.” All Robert St. John were “best sellers." Haas Promoted at KARK LITTLE ROCK, ARK.-Julian F. Haas is the new commercial manager of Station KARK. succeeding C. K. Beaver who left to assume the assistant general managership of WOAL San Antonio. Haas, with KARK several years, was most recently head of publicity and promotion. St. John London Broadcast Aids Hartford War Fund HARTFORD, CONN.— A personal appeal from those who “are asked to give so much” to those who are “asked to give so little" was directed October 2 from NBCLondon exclusively to residents of the Hartford area in support of the Greater Hartford War Chest Campaign for a total of $1,300,000. By short wave from London to New York and then by wire to Stations WTIC and WTHT came a message from Robert St. John, NBC war correspondent and commentator, former Hartford Courant reporter and Trinity College graduate, who had promised to come to Hartford in this cause but was prevented by a sudden assignment to the British capital by NBC. The plea was recorded by WTIC and later broadcast by two other Hartford stations, WDRC and WNBC. At St. John’s side at the microphone table in London were two Hartford boys, both in the Air Force— Sergeant David Devine, gunner on a Liberator, and Domenic Patecky— who told their friends in Hartford how the USO shows in England have brightened up many lonesome hours. And. as St. John described what the USO and United Seamen’s Service were doing for homesick boys in the armed Two mothers and a wife are shown at W TIC listening to a transcription of a radio plea from the NBC studios in London by Robert St. John in behalf of the Greater Hartford War Chest Campaign in which Hartford men in overseas service participated. Each was given a record. Left to right: Mrs. Dornenic Patecky, Mrs. Ernest Lavev, Mrs. Helen Devine and Tom Eaton, news editor of W TIC who presented the discs to the service mens relatives. forces, the experiences of Jack McCormick and Raymond Lavey, East Hartford boys in the Merchant Marine, were recounted. Mayor Mortensen, at Station WTIC. introduced St. John and stressed the importance of raising $470,000 for 22 national war relief organizations and funds for 32 local agencies. The USO. United Seamen’s Service and other war relief agencies. St. John said, were essential to the fightingmen of America. KDKA CELEBRATES ITS 24th ANNIVERSARY KL)KA, Pittsburgh, is the only station to have broadcast the last seven elections. On November 2, KDKA celebrated the 24th anniversary of the birth of broadcasting. Pictured above is the actual photograph of the first regularly scheduled program— the Harding-Cox election returns of 1920. A Pittsburgh newspaper furnished the returns by telephone and W'estinghouse operators in East Pittsburgh relayed them through a microphone.