Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

NBC Invasion Reports Win Acclaim GRAPHIC. COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE OF D-DAY NEWS DRAWS CONGRATULATIONS OF AFFILIATED STATIONS —NETWORK IS FIRST ON AIR WITH EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF LANDINGS IN FRANCE By William F. Brooks Director of Xeivs and Special Events Xdtioiial Broadcasting Company FROM the first invasion flash and throughout a tense and sol- emn D-Day's dramatic unfolding of Allied strategy and might in the bold cross-channel sweep onto Normandy beachheads, NBC's fully-prepared and far-flung per- sonnel and facilities passed their most challenging reporting test with flying colors. In climaxing six months of ex- tensive preparations for invasion coverage with one of the most com- plete and comprehensive reportorial jobs in the history of radio, NBC's news and special events deiiart- nients in effect linked the fighting hearts of our striking forces across I lie Atlantic with the hopes and prayers of the home front. Practically every minute of June 6 was devoted to giving the iniblic a vivid and searching conception of what was taking place in the drive across the English Channel by the unparalleled Allied armada of ships and planes. Thus did a prediction made near- ly a decade ago by Col. David Sar- ARMED WITH QUICKLY PENCILLED NOTES AND A MAP OF FRANCE. H. V. KALTEN- BORN, VETERAN NEWS ANALYST, IS ON THE AIR WITH NEWS FLASHED FROM THE INVASION COAST OF NORMANDY. rRADIO AGE 31 iHiir. President of RCA and Ciiair- nian of the Board of NBC, come (rue. Said Colonel SarnofF on May I. li);!o, in an address at the Army liidnstrial College at Washington, J). C.: "Inventive resourcefulness in:iy bring the full panorama of war 1(1 thr instrument at our fireside." I)-l)ay found Colonel Sarnoff sur- \eying the panorama of war at close range with the United States Signal Corps in England as Special Consultant to the Communications Branch of the Public Relations Of- fice, Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Force. Niles Trammell, President of NBC, long ago realized the magni- tude of the invasion story. He knew that the nation wanted to know everything hapiiening with the least possible interruption. Hence, soon after the first bulletin came in via German radio, he ordered every commercial broadcast, without ex- ception, cancelled and to stay can- celled as long as there was a story to be told. Numerous stations on the net- work, realizing the vast imjiortance of the invasion, gladl.y sacrificed their commercial time for continu- ous coverage. On Tuesday evening, wires flooded the newsroom with congratulatory messages for the manner in which NBC was report- ing the invasion. Nothing was overlooked in an effort to give listeners a composite picture of what many have termed the greatest niilitar\- action the world has ever known. From the time the AP machines sounded the five l)el]s in the newsroom, shortly after midnight on .June 6, until the How of spot news began to die on the wires, NBC news and special events overlooked not a single de- tail in an effort to bring to the people a story in which it was vitally interested. There were interviews with wives of military leaders on the front. Priests, ministers and rabbis came to the air to give their benediction to this cause of freedom. Govern- ment representatives in Washing- ton were summoned to the air to give their reaction to this great military undertaking. Even the music, which was heard so seldom during the day. seemed to be played with a finite feeling, demonstrative of some momentous occasion. Planned 6 Months Ahead Six months ago NBC's news and special events department began to lay plans for D-Day. London and Mediterranean staffs were aug- mented, and Francis C. McCall was later dispatched to the English capital to help Stanley Richardson, London Manager, coordinate the set-up and to see that the news was developed for broadcast consump- tion. Seasoned reporters like W. W. Chaplin. John \'andercook. Alerrill