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

NBC at the Political Conventions J_he National Broadcasting Company is mobi- lizing its full resources to give the Republican and Democratic conventions the most complete, most mobile news coverage in the history of television and radio. NBC News will cover each of the conventions with a staff of nearly 400, with a communications system including three mobile units and more than 40 cameras, and with a number of new electronic devices developed by RCA for maximum portability and mobility. Among the new devices being introduced at the conventions are: — "Transceivers," pocket-size two-way radios no larger than a lady's formal handbag, which will be used by NBC newsmen for live reports of news as it breaks on the convention floor. — One-man portable television cameras, which can be held in the hand like a flare pistol and aimed at areas, whether inside or outside the convention hall, that are impossible to reach with standard studio equipment. — "Porto-Vision," which involves the use of an ultra- portable television receiver and will enable political figures to see one another as they converse before the TV cameras, even though they may be some distance apart. NBC coverage will be focused in "Convention Cen- trals," large, specially-designed control rooms which will coordinate the entire news operation. These communi- cation centers will be constructed in Chicago's Inter- national Amphitheatre, where the Democratic Conven- tion will open August 13, and the Cow Palace in San Francisco, site of the Republican convention beginning August 20. Nerve Centers The "Convention Centrals" will act as nerve centers, with television, radio, telephone and teletype lines reach- ing out to the sources of news — the caucus rooms, the convention floor, the platform, the candidate's head- quarters, hotel lobbies, committee rooms, airports, rail- road stations and to many points around the country as well. The special telephone system alone will be as extensive as those in most small cities. Inside the convention halls, roving teams of NBC reporters equipped with their tiny transceivers will report crucial decisions as they are made. Each of the top two dozen delegations will have an NBC reporter assigned to it on a constant basis, so that NBC editors will be instantly informed of any policy changes. Working with the reporters on the convention floor will be the camera- men equipped with portable cameras for close-ups of political personalities in action. Outside the convention hall, news breaks will be covered by other reporter teams operating with radio cars, helicopters, television mobile units and film units equipped with high-speed developing equipment. Using the "Porto-Vision" system, these teams will be able to visit a candidate's headquarters, for example, and show the candidate talking face to face with the head of a delegation who may be speaking before the television cameras in the convention hall several miles away. Nationwide Coverage The coverage will go even beyond the convention cities to get the opinions of political experts around the nation. In a new feature called "Cross-Country Caucus," NBC News will swing away from the convention hall to visit newspaper editors and editorial writers all over the United States to get their views on an issue or situation. If interest centers on the Pennsylvania delega- tion, for example, "Cross-Country Caucus" will take viewers to editorial offices in Pittsburgh, perhaps, or Philadelphia for an authoritive review. NBC commentator Chet Huntley demonstrates what the well-equipped TV reporter will wear at the conven- tions. He carries portable TV camera and back-pack transmitter, two-way transceiver for radio communication (in his pocket) and light portable TV set. RADIO AGE J 5