NBC Transmitter (Jan-Nov 1942)

6 NBC TRANSMITTER WBZ JOINS NBC-RED Massachusetts' Most Powerful Station Has Splendid Service Record • Massachusetts’ most powerful radio station— 50,000-watt WBZ — joined the NBC-RED Network on June 15, the move marking another milestone in the Boston station’s distinguished career and enlarging NBC-RED’s audience in the vital coverage area. The Boston transmitter, owned by Westinghouse Radio Stations, Inc., was launched under other call letters on November 15, 1924. It adopted its now -famous label of WBZ ( held since 1921 by another New England Westinghouse station ) when it dedicated a new 50-kilowatt transmitter at Millis, Massachusetts, on March 13, 1931. In July, 1940, the present WBZ transmitting plant, designed to become a radio center of standard broadcasting, short wave, frequency modulation and television, was opened at Hull, Massachusetts. The years between were years of growth, of service to the many communities in its great coverage zone, years marked by other important milestones. In November of 1925, WBZ was first linked with station WJZ, New York, and on January 1, 1927, the Westinghouse station formally joined the Blue Network — then a division of NBC. Since 1921, the Boston station had three studio locations, the first in the Hotel Brunswick, later in the Hotel Statler, and since 1931, in the Hotel Bradford. WBZ has served its listeners in many ways. Especially outstanding has been the service rendered in times of disaster. In 1936 and 1938, when the ( Connecticut Valley was ravaged by floods, WBZ flew a force of announcers and engineers, together with ecjuipment, to Springfield, and stayed on the air constantly, giving aid to flood victims and workers, broadcasting news of conditions in the area, clearing messages for the Red Cross and for residents of the stricken area to friends and relatives. WBZ has also been called upon to serve in many other ways. The station has received ealls from hospitals requesting blood donors of a certain type. It has been asked to broadcast warnings of dangerous road conditions, news of forest fires, even official Army instructions to air raid wardens. Special events crews have covered sporting events and spot news. In 1939, when the submarine Squalus went down, WBZ microphones went to sea and covered the disaster. When the Squalus was finally brought to the surface, WBZ flashed the news that the submarine, which is now doing valiant service as the Sailfish, had been reclaimed from the bottom of the Atlantic. In June of 1941, when 33 men went to death in the submarine 0-9, WBZ microphones were first on the scene. Since the station’s early days, WBZ has given listeners complete coverage of world events through frequent news broadcasts. It is impractical to list all the services which WBZ has performed. Thousands of radio hours were devoted to labor, church and educational programs. WBZ has given the farmer the latest in market and agriculture news and weather reports. More recently, hundreds of hours of air time have been given to the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, to civilian defense activities and to the War Bond campaign. One of the station’s important contributions in the present war emergency was the creation of the program “Remember Pearl Harbor,” through which more than $150,000 in War Bonds were sold. For originating this program, which has now spread to many other cities, station WBZ was awarded a plaque for distinguished service by the United States Treasury Department. Statesmen, educators, clergy and Government heads have appeared before the WBZ microphones, sharing the air schedule with musicians and entertainers. Charles S. Young (known more familiarly as Cy Young I is acting general manager of WBZ. Other executives include: F. M. Sloan, chief engineer; W. Gordon Swan, program manager; Frank R. Bowes, sales manager; Harry D. Goodwin, sales promotion manager, and E. F. Stafford, publicity manager. WBZ is proud of its record of public service and today — as an NBC-RED affiliate — stands ready for whatever added duties the future may bring. WBZ"s Cape Cod “Dwelling’ Transmitter House at Hull, Mass. CY YOUNG