NYPR History Notes

NYPR Archives & Preservation
April 15, 2016 - Volume 15 Issue 16

Edition # 705

BROADCAST ON WNYC TODAY INâ€¦

1943: The dramatized story of Samuel "Jesse" Battle, the first African-American police officer in New York, from his first attempts to join the force to his promotion to Lieutenant on WNYC's Great Americans series.

1985: Sound artist Peter Meyer speaks with Jennie Dixon on Artists in the City.

WNYC's News and Special Events Director Lily Supove in the 1940s.

Lilian Supove began her ten years at WNYC in 1941. Although it's not yet clear when she took on the role of News and Special Events Director, it was a position she held for at least half of her time at the station and no doubt made her one of the very few women in broadcast journalism at the time not relegated to home economics and society page topics.

Known generally as 'Lily.' she wrote and produced WNYC's special 20th and 25th anniversary programming, was the host of the weekly interview program Weekend in New York, launched the Department of Correction series Toward a Return to Society, went to London to negotiate WNYC's acquisition of BBC drama programming, and was sent on special assignments as noted below. (Photo: Courtesy of Edwin Blake/WNYC Archive Collections)

November 30, 1946

"Municipal Station WNYC experimented with magnetic paper tape recorded broadcast this week [November 20]. Broadcast, a 15-minute portion of the National aircraft show, was put on tape last week at the show in Cleveland by Lily Supove, station's news and special events director. Recorder is called the Soundmirror Magnetic Tape Recorder-Reproducer. Cost runs less than that of a wire recorder...

"Soundmirror operates on the principle of changing sound into a magnetic pattern and converting back into sound..."

Source: "WNYC Airs Magnetic Paper Tape Broadcast," Billboard, November 30, 1946, pg. 5..

Editor's Note: This particular Soundmirror was among the earliest reel-to-reel decks in America at the time and was schlepped up to WNYC Director Sy Siegel's 25th floor office by then Antioch College intern John Michael Kittross.

WNYC first day of broadcast, July 8, 1924 (Municipal Archives Collection)

"Empire" Broadcast from New York

"As a tribute to the King and Queen, a New York wireless station, WQXR, has arranged to make a special 'Empire' broadcast while Their Majesties are crossing the boarder from Canada into the United States on the evening of June 7.

""The broadcast, which has been arranged by Mr. Irving Deakin, the British-born music critic, will be in two parts. The first part will open with John Gielgud speaking the 'England' speech from Shakespeare's King John and will consist of a dramatization of events in British history since the accession of King George V.

"English variety performers have recorded their voices for the second half of the programme. It represents a review of London life, and includes a visit to a 'Command performance.' "

Source: The Evening Telegraph and Post, [Dundee, Scotland], June 2, 1939, pg. 1.
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91.5

WNYC celebrated its 91st anniversary last July. Just think, 8-and-a-half short years to the big centennial. In this space we'll be linking to various historical WNYC champions, broadcasts and milestones celebrating nearly a century on the air in the public interest. This week: The New York Public Radio Archives Loses An Old Friend
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This week's NEH-funded Annotations blog series features: Robert Moses, Master Builder, Rap Genius and e.e. cummings

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In Speech from 1983, Sanders Rails Against the Establishment
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Do your friends want to subscribe to this newsletter? Have them sign up at: NEWSLETTERS.

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WNYC's Way Back series: You Remind Me of my Jeep: A Vehicular Love Story
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Poetry Month is here! Check out our compilation of major holdings at: POETRY

The WNYC Archives is on Twitter with 2,864 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 10,000 followers. Check it out at:

nyprarchives.tumblr.com
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WNYC Archives in theâ€¦