NBC Transmitter (Jan-Dec 1938)

NOVEMBER, 1938 11 NEW PUBLICATION FOR SALES DEPARTMENT The NBC Station Digest is the name of a new publication which made its appearance in the Eastern Sales Division last month. In its first issue, the “Digest” stated that its purpose was “to keep its readers constantly informed of many interesting facts which are available regarding NBC’s Associated Stations.” The little mimeographed sheet, which is mainly distributed among NBC salesmen, promises to publish findings regarding the popularity of different stations, results of surveys, proof of coverage, results of successful advertising campaigns, and other items which may be useful or of interest to members of the Sales Department. The “Digest” is written and edited by Eunice S. Adams and Katherine Hoffmeir, under the supervision of Victor van der Linde, general sales counsel. It is printed on colored paper, the color varying from one issue to another, and its contents are attractively presented under bold headlines and sub-headlines. At present it is published once a week. The first two issues, which were warmly received by the paper’s prospective readers, carried stories on merchandising, the coverage of the Blue Network facilities as determined by a recent survey made by NBC, expansion of networks being used by advertisers, football scoops by various NBC associated stations, audience surveys by individual stations and new additions to the NBC networks. It being a non-competitive publication, the NBC Transmitter formally salutes The NBC Station Digest and wishes it success and long-life. KDKA Celebrates Its Eighteenth Anniversary ( Continued from page 1) of his early work at KDKA was presented on the air during the special broadcast on November 6. The anniversary exhibition in the NBC studios included a radio facsimile receiver and transmitter in full operation, demonstrating how pictures, news bulletins, printed matter and other text may be flashed through the air and reproduced by the receiver-printer. Other radio equipment from early crystal sets to the last word in modern phonograph-radio console sets was also shown. 111 An NBC hobby exhibit is planned ior the mezzanine floor in Radio City. AU NBCites wishing to ?articipate please communicate with the NBC ransmitter. WGY LAUDED BY STATE THE STAGECRAFTERS TO OFFICIAL FOR FLOOD AID PRESENT ANOTHER PLAY The letter reprinted below was received by WGY, NBC operated station in Schenectady, N. Y., shortly after it had rendered special assistance to the District Engineer, J. W. Holler, of the Department of Public Works of the State of New York during the recent hurricane that swept through New York and New England. The telephone lines having been destroyed by the storm, radio was the only means of communication available to call an emergency squad to reinforce and repair the dykes that protected West Sand Lake, a small town upstate, from swelling streams. The appeal for assistance was broadcast by WGY and in less than an hour a crew reported for duty at the dykes. Gentlemen: When the flood and wind storm struck us on Tuesday, September 20th, I had a call from West Sand Lake that the swollen streams were about to overflow their dykes at this little hamlet and possibly repeat a catastrophe that occurred in a similar situation more than forty years ago. Our highway maintenance forces are organized so that I can reach them in emergencies under normal conditions. Upon such an attempt by telephone, I found all of the lines to have been destroyed by wind damage and there were no means of communication left between my location in Albany and patrolmen scattered all throughout Rensselaer County In distress I called up your Mr. Swanson, appealing for assistance of your station. In just a few minutes a dignified announcement interrupting a regular program came through most clearly, asking our maintenance men in Rensselaer County, together with volunteers to report at our emergency station in West Sand Lake. When I arrived at this alarmed hamlet only forty minutes later, due to your assistance, 89 husky men with shovels, picks, and other tools, together with 8 trucks, a power shovel and equipment stood ready to receive my instructions. This could not have been accomplished through any other means than that which you so generously rendered to me. We were able, through uninterrupted labors of this crew throughout the night, to fill with sand a thousand burlap bags, raise level of dykes, and confine waters of stream to this artificial channel, thereby averting damage to our highway system and two adjacent large bridges which would have amounted in monetary value, to not less than $50,000. Much more ( Continued from page 1) The Stagecrafters to direct them in their second play. Production date has been tentatively set for the early part of December. The Pursuit of Happiness, which became widely known as the “bundling” play when it opened on Broadway in 1933, is a romantic comedy set in Revolutionary America. The Langners originally intended their play to be a satire on the social customs of the times, and, as bundling was one of the most publicized of those customs, it was written into the play. The charming naivete with which the bundling situation and the entire play were presented, captivated the imagination of blase New York audiences, and The Pursuit of Happiness was an overnight hit! The Stagecrafters have chosen this play, not only because of its charms, humor and joie de vivre, but also because of its timeliness. For underneath the romantic plot runs a theme— a theme emphasized by the dry humor of Aaron, a Connecticut Yankee, and the vitality and enthusiasm of Max, a young Hessian soldier who deserts the British army— a theme devoted to the American ideals of equality and to “Life— Liberty— and the Pursuit of Happiness.” importantly, however, we protected the village homes of an otherwise peaceful community, averting private property damage and undoubtedly human life destruction. I could not very well write you at less length than this and accomplish a description of circumstances for which I am so personally grateful and for which I extend the sincere appreciation not only of the New York State Department of Public Works, but the people of the State of New York as a whole. I realize that I hardly had a right to expect any such enormous service from a radio station of your importance but in sheer desperation in the midst of a hopeless situation I appealed with only a hope. And you responded. * * * I do not happen to know names of particular gentlemen with whom I talked over the telephone at your station, but whoever they may be, I extend my further thanks. This is an unforgettable experience which will leave me restless until I encounter a circumstance permitting me to reciprocate in at least some small measure. (Signed) J. W. Holler, District Engineer.