NYPR Archives & Preservation
December 6, 2013 - Volume 12 Issue 47

Edition # 585

BROADCAST ON WNYC TODAY INâ€¦

1927: WNYC's resident lexicographer Dr. Frank H. Vizetelly discusses fairy tales.

1949: Professor Paul F. Lazarsfeld of Columbia University discusses "Research Work in the Field of Politics, Political Behavior, and Voting Behavior."

1950: Civil Defense Commissioner Arthur Wallander and Commissioner Raymond Hilliard of the Department of Welfare discuss the Central Registration Bureau and the registration of civilians affected by an atomic attack.

1978: Mimi Poser discusses Henri Matisse at the Museum of Modern Art on this edition of Round and About the Guggenheim.

1986: Amy Goodman talks about day care and war toys on this episode of Speaking for Ourselves.

1991: Richard Holbrook talks about Japan after Pearl Harbor on this edition of America and the World.

2002: The day before Thanksgiving, Henry Kissinger was appointed by President Bush to lead an investigation into possible intelligence failures leading up to the events of September 11, 2001. On the Media checks in with Scott Armstrong, Washington journalist and founder of the National Security Archive about media coverage, or lack thereof, of the controversial appointment.

Oscar Brand's First Show: December 9, 1945

A two-time Peabody Award winner and Guinness Book's World Record-holder for radio longevity, Oscar Brand has hosted Folksong Festival on WNYC for 68 years! His guest roster includes virtually every famous folk, jazz and blues performer of the post-war period. Oscar will mark his anniversary on tomorrow's show at 10 p.m. on WNYC-820 AM. For more on Oscar's Folksong Festival see: BRAND. (Photo: WNYC Archive Collections)

LITTLE-KNOWN FACTS

"Can You Act?"

"Mitchell Grayson, dramatic director of WNYC, is auditioning new voices for a series of revivals of Federal Theater plays to be aired at 8 p.m. Sundays. The opener next Sunday will be One Third of a Nation. Others to be heard are Power, Triple A Plowed Under, It Can't Happen Here, Haiti, and The Big Blow. If you want a chance to act on the air, communicate with Grayson at the station in the Municipal Building, Manhattan, and if you possess dramatic ability you'll be on the air before you can say woof, woofâ€¦"

Source: Jo Ranson writing in his daily column "Radio Dial Log" in The Brooklyn Eagle, November 5, 1940.

WNYC First day of broadcast, July 8th, 1924.
(Municipal Archives Collection).

WQXR at 75

(2 Years Ago)

Engineers Return to WQXR

Familiar faces are returning to the WQXR Engineering Department in the persons of three ex-servicemen back at their old jobs at the station.The first to return was William R. Schwalm, Chief Radioman, U.S. Navy, now at the WQXR transmitter in Maspeth, L.I. after an absence of two years.

"The second ex-serviceman, who this week began his assignments in WQXR control rooms after an absence of three years is, Zaven N. Masoomian. He served as a Lieutenant in the Army Air Forces and spent 16 months as a prisoner of war in Germany. Latest man to report back is George M. Schimmel, who was a Lieutenant in the army for four years and who spent more than two-and-a-half years overseas handling engineering duties for the Psychological Warfare Branch."

Source: WQXR Press Release, October 16, 1945.

WNYC's 90th year of broadcasting is upon us. (The actual anniversary is next July 8th.) In this space we'll be linking to various WNYC champions and milestones. This week: Robert Sonkin and Charles Todd.

In the February, 1943 WQXR Program Guide Olga Samaroff-Stokowski seeks to banish the word "highbrow" from the lexicon of civilized folk. See for yourself in her essay: Are You a Highbrow?

Listen to the first of four WNYC interviews with Kurt Vonnegut by Walter James Miller on The Reader's Almanac. The June 30, 1974 conversation took place just after the publication of Breakfast of Champions.

Check out some of WNYC's earliest surviving broadcast audio in the newly posted: 1931 Files.

NELSON MANDELA AT NYC CITY HALL JUNE,1990

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The WNYC Facebook page has a station timeline (1922-present) with more than 607 milestones, photos, and links to audio. (Right hand column)

We're also working on the WQXR Facebook timeline. (1929 - present)

Do your friends want to subscribe to this newsletter? Have them sign up at: NEWSLETTERS.

Check out the @mayorlaguardia Twitter feed straight from the WNYC broadcasts! His Honor now has 500 followers.

The WNYC Archives is on Twitter with 1,594 followers @wnycarchives. We tweet daily reminders of, and links to, WNYC broadcasts from that day in the past.

Weâ€™ve got a Tumblr page too! More than 7,100 followers. Check it out at:

nyprarchives.tumblr.com

WNYC Archives in theâ€¦