NBC Transmitter (Jan-Nov 1942)

16 NBC TRANSMITTER # Battle zones may be far from the locales of NBC serials and dramatic programs, but they are nevertheless drastically affecting the lives and fortunes of the famous microphone characters w hose careers are followed regularly by immense audiences. Lewis H. Titterton, manager of the NBC Script Division, points out that current damatizations cannot ignore the war. Just as the world conflict in one manner or another touches on every citizen’s career, so it is altering the kaleidoscopic adventures of microphone characters. Titterton holds that the intelligence level of dramatizations has increased since the war’s start, and he sees script shows as contributing worth-while morale-building philosoj)hies to the American scene. Neither censoring nor censuring has been essential to date in script treatments of world conditions and the American victory effort. Dehnite proscriptions are made only on enacted air raids, simulated “on-the-scene” broadcasts and other devices that could be misconstrued as “the real thing’’ by listeners tuning in after a j)rogram’s opening has made the fictional aspect clear. According to Titterton, the war is Scripts Reflect War being handled logically and patriotic a 1 1 y in NBC scripts. References to Defense Bonds and Stamps, Red Cross knitting, recruiting and other war aid topics are skillfully inserted LEWIS H. TITTERTON jjj dialogue. There is no preaching, he reports, and all war references constructively reflect our country’s goals. Some tyj)ical examples in commercial scrij)ts indicate that the war is in the background, and is usually handled by dialogue reference rather than by actual battle dramatizations. For example, in the “Light of the World” serial, the main characters, who had their roots in Europe, make frequent reference to the current conflict. “Backstage Wife” has an entirely different approach in that its characters extoll such activities as saving paper and collecting tin. “Stella Dallas” has emphasized the conservation of food and the building up of energy as a contribution to the nation’s resources; participation in jobs helping America’s war effort is also encouraged through the cast’s lines. In “Portia Faces Life,” a leading romantic character is a foreign correspondent whose letters home reveal that he was so incensed with the Axis invasion that he joined the Chetnik forces to do his bit for the Allies. Topics relative to national safety have been included in “One Man’s Family.” And in “Joe and Mabel,” the heroine makes frequent reference to her progress in a Red Cross first aid class. Titterton was born in England, attended Cambridge and Harvard Universities, and has an extensive literary background covering the magazine and book publishing fields. Prior to joining NBC in 1932 he was assistant editor of The Atlantic Monthly, and, in turn, general sales manager and associate editor of the Macmillan Company. Starting his NBC affiliation as manager of the literary rights division, he was later named manager of the script division which embraced both literary rights and continuity supervision. NBC RED NETWORK LEADS ALL MAGAZINES IN ADVERTISING VOLUME 1927 Saturday Evening Post Ladies Home Journal Good Housekeeping 1929 Saturday Evening Post 1931 Saturday Evening Post 1933 Saturday Evening Post 1935 I 1937 I 1939 I 1941 Saturday Evening Post NBC NBC NBC RED RED RED Ladies Home Journal NBC NBC NBC RED RED RED Saturday Evening Post Liberty Good Housekeeping NBC RED Woman's Home Companion Ladies Home Journal Good Housekeeping Woman's Home Companion Ladies Home Journal Good Housekeeping Woman's Home Companion Colliers Good Housekeeping Ladies Home Journal Colliers Good Housekeeping American Weekly Saturday Evening Post Colliers Life Good Housekeeping Saturday Evening Post Ufe Colliers Time