NBC Transmitter (Jan-Nov 1942)

JULY 1942 3 A YANKEE JOB THAT'S DANDY! NBC's International Division Boosts Uncle Sam's Cause # “If you want my biography, you can say that I was born on the f ourth of July — but that’s all. With a war on, this is no time for biographies; the job that’s being done is the thing that counts.” The speaker was John Francis Royal, NBC Vice-President in charge of inter,! national relations, and the interviewer who 6 • had set out to write his personal story was j abashed. “There is a great story in the job the ' i men of the department are doing in warj time,” Mr. Royal suggested. So the writer I hustled after the facts — and found them I as follows: The International Division of NBC, he found, functions as a self-contained broadcasting system. While its broadcasts are close and cooperative with NBC-RED netj work activities, it is an entity in its own I right, embracing a staff of 82 in adminisj trative, sales, program, publicity, music, traffic, editorial and news divisions. Under its new chief — Fred Bate, former head of the NBC Western European staff, the division services three 50-kilowatt transmitters — WRCA and WNBI, Bound Brook, New Jersey, and WBOS, Boston — . a total of 20 hours each day. Ten languages are included in the schedule and there are several major program func: tions: an elaborate news and entertainment lineup for South America and Europe; relays of outstanding NBC-RED sustain, ing shows; recorded repeats of smash-hit commercial programs for reception by the United States Armed Forces in all parts of the world, and sponsored shortwave features designed to interest foreign buyers in American manufacturers’ wares. There is a tremendous responsibility in : each phase of the International Division’s operations. This is true in normal peacetime periods and the trust is greatly amplified in wartime. News and editorial comment is perhaps the program item in greatest demand. In realization that short-wave radio is the only link persons of Nazi-controlled and occupied countries have with the United Nations, NBC International is giving them hope and mental ammunition in preparation for the day they will be free peoples i again. FLYING DOWN TO RIO. — A familiar airport sight is depicted above with John F. Royal catching a plane for one of his frequent visits to Latin American nations represented in NBC’s 126-station Pan American Network. Last year. Royal made a 20,00()-mile air tour of South America to organize the gigantic international radio project which now represents a vital asset to the United Nations victory effort. As this issue of the Transmitter went to press. Royal had just returned to New York after a twoweek trip to Mexico City, where he conferred with executives of NBC Pan American network stations. Some observers might call the broadcasting of news and editorial comment “propaganda,” but the NBC short-wavers prefer to call it by its real name — “truth.” Because it’s truth, they feel, that the enemyfears the most. Are the programs having their desired effect? Short-wave executives have definite proof that they are. Despite restrictions and severe penalties placed on shortwave listening in Nazi-dominated nations, letters and other forms of communications have been smuggled out of Germany and occupied countries which register cheers and applause for the American broadcasts. The main j)oint proved is that people are listening. Radio waves don’t need passports and don’t have to pass custom inspection. They cross enemy borders as readily as friendly ones. They jienetrate closed windows, drawn blinds and darkened rooms. Invisibly, they reach out to give hope and comfort to the oppre.ssed. It is coincidental that they give torment and anxiety to the enemy. On NBC’s second floor, a huge office section hums like a beehive all around the clock with the men and women doing their hits to help America win this War of Survival. There are ten language sections — each with a schedule of its own. The featured tongues are English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Turkish, Swedish and Danish. A complete news and editorial setup is provided. Despite the fact that NBC-RED has an elaborate globe-girdling news and special event department, the International Division has its own news section due to different requirements. The importance of the items in relation to the nations at which they are beamed calls for separate handling. However, the short-wave division and NBC-RED work closely on coverage of big news stories. For example, when Mexico’s President asked his Congress to declare war on the Axis powers, both the Red network and the short-wave stations cooperated efficiently and effectively on pickups from Mexico City as well as translated relays to the entire world. Many original “live” programs originate in Radio City for foreign listeners. Aside from news in the ten languages, there are interviews with foreign diplomats, visiting newsmen from distant nations, and other persons deemed of interest to the listeners abroad. A second floor studio has been set aside for the exclusive use of International; when extra facilities are needed, studios of NBC-RED in New York and other cities are made available on split-second notice. While news and comment top the program order of the day, music is not neglected. A music staff under the direction of Joseph Littau — noted symphonic and ( Continued on page 15 I