NBC Transmitter (Jan-Dec 1939)

2 NBC TRANSMITTER NEW APPOINTMENTS TO TRANSCRIPTION POSTS July saw many changes and additions in the rapidly growing Electrical Transcription Department. Willis B. Parsons is now in charge of the department’s Advertising and Promotion. Parsons first came to NBC under E. P. H. James in Sales Promotion in November, 1934. In October, 1938, this department was divided, and he was made head of the Institutional Promotional Division of the Publicity Department. In his present capacity he is concerned with the promotion of the NBC Thesaurus and serialized programs. E. William Young has been appointed to the Sales Division of Electrical Transcription. He came here from the Transcription Department of NBC Chicago, where he was in the Sales Division for three years. Formerly he was studio manager for RCA in Chicago. Joseph W. Pepper, Jr., has been added to the Sales Division of Electrical Transcription as a salesman. He was previously in the Traffic Department for a period of two years. G. Thornton Steil has been appointed by the same division to make a survey of the radio industry as it applies to smaller stations all over the country. Ted joined the page staff in May of 1938. After leaving Trinity College, he had gained a wealth of experience in music, announcing, and dramatics. That experience was not long in being found out. At the end of a month on the page staff, he was transferred to the Music Division. After a period of seven months service here, he was again advanced to Electrical Transcription. Soon he was doing musical production work under Reginald D. Thomas, head of Transcription Production. In the meantime he had formed his own musical organization. the idea of which was to “show (Cont. on page 16J TOWNS IN BRAZIL TURN OUT TO HEAR NBC SHOWS Listening to the National Broadcasting Company’s shortwave broadcasts in Portuguese is becoming a community affair in Brazil, according to information contained in letters which have been pouring into NBC’s New York headquarters during the past month. In cities all over the republic it has become customary to set up loudspeakers in parks, on street corners, in cafes and amphitheaters so that people who do not own radio sets or who indulge in the Latin American habit of strolling after dinner, may hear the nightly Brazilian Hour broadcast over station W3XAL. The experiment of community listening has even been tried at one huge coffee plantation with the result that in a recent poll, the hundreds of employes voted NBC’s programs on W3XL and W3XAL the best in the world. Not only do letters praise our programs but laud Announcer Arthur Deter, chief of the International Division Portuguese Language section. Born of American missionary parents in Brazil, Deter learned Portuguese as it is spoken in Brazil as his native ( Continued on page 17) NEW SET-UP IS CREATED FOR NBC BLUE NETWORK ( Continued from page 1) Committee in the presidential campaign. With two others, he directed and coordinated all radio promotion for the G. 0. P. It has also been announced that Robert Saudek will be assistant to Mr. Kiggins in directing the network. Mr. Saudek’s interest in radio dates back to his undergraduate days at Harvard, where he did part-time announcing over Station WBZ. Following his graduation in 1932, he joined the staff of KDKA, where he was continuity editor, until he came to New York last year as assistant to A. E. Nelson, Blue Network sales manager. Mr. Kiggins has had a rapid rise in the ranks of radio officials. He attended the University of Oregon, and entered the business world in 1920 by way of the investment concern of Blyth and Company in Portland. Seven years later he came to New York and formed the investment house of Kiggins and Vidal. He had always been interested in the possibilities of broadcasting. Because of this, and in behalf of clients, he conducted a worldwide survey on the international commercial aspects of radio. This gained some prominence, and as a result he was invited to join the staff of the National Broadcasting Company. As assistant manager of the Station Relations Department, he traveled over the entire country, visiting affiliated NBC stations, and aiding them in their problems. He was made manager of the department in September, 1937. When interviewed. Mr. K iggins wa« particularly pleased with the fact that most loudspeakers in Radio City are kept tuned in to Blue Network programs. This shows, he feels, that NBCites are becoming increasingly interested in the new Blue Network developments. NBC division engineers gathered in Radio City recently for their annual convention. They are pictured here at the Ford Exhibit at the World's Fair, where they were entertained at luncheon. Standing, left to right: George McElrath, NBC operating engineer: A. E. Johnson, Washington, D. C.; C. D. Peck, San Francisco; S. E. Leonard. Cleveland; C. A. Peregrin, Denver; A. H. Saxton, Hollywood; H. C. Luttgens, Chicago; G. O. Milne. New York; and W. J. Purcell, Schenectady. Seated, left to right: Mrs. Leonard. Mrs. Saxton, Mrs. Milne, Mrs. McElrath, and Mrs. Purcell.