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BROADCAST ON WNYC TODAY IN:
1957: Eleanor Roosevelt talks to women in prison about her recent trip to the Middle East.
2006: In this archival edition of Fishko Files, Sara Fishko reminisces about comedy duo Nichols and May.
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August 8, 1925
The backstory: Mayor Hylan's frequent use of WNYC to trumpet his administration's achievements led the Citizens Union to file suit against the city seeking to stop him. They argued the Mayor's "official" reports were nothing more than self-serving political propaganda that tax payers should not be underwriting. The court temporarily barred elected officials from using WNYC for broadcasting any political speeches or for any political purpose or political advantage.
Contrary to the clipping's headline, the station's "fate," at least at that moment, was not seriously threatened. The case, however, did raise the level of public debate about the need for, and function of, a municipal radio station.
The August 8, 1925 Radio World (pg 21) is courtesy of Americanradiohistory.com
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Press vs. Radio
December 23, 1946
"Except for the first days, and on a few special occasions, there has been no general coverage of the proceedings of the United Nations by big radio chains. NY's municipal station, WNYC has covered the UN thoroughly. Now, there is a campaign to have the city stop this because it is 'dull'.
"Radio coverage of actual proceedings permit any listener to compare the event with the press report. Here is an excellent example:
"On Dec. 10 the newspapers reported that the General Assembly had voted 23 to 4, with 20 abstensions, to recall ambassadors from fascist Spain, as a warning to Franco to quit.
"The ordinary listener to the day's debates and votes would realize that what the newspapers did not report but what radio brought to his ears, was repeated division between the Russian bloc and the Anglo-American bloc..."
Seldes, George, "Press vs. Radio," In Fact, December 23, 1946, pg. 1.
Editor's Note: Seldes' newsletter continues with a long list of things the WNYC listener would have understood about the U.N. vote that the newspaper reader would never have. In Fact was no doubt an influence on I.F. Stone, who later published his own muckraking newsletter, I.F. Stone's Weekly.
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