NYPR History Notes

Averill Harriman and his wife Marie after winning the governorship of New York in November 1954. (Photo: WNYC Archive Collections)

"Fascist Tendencies in the United States"

Dr. Carmen Haider discusses "Fascist Tendencies in the United States" from the WNYC studio. Haider had a Ph.D. from Columbia University and spent time at the Brookings Institution. Her book, Do We Want Fascism? had just been published by John Day in New York. A New York Times book review noted her extensive studies in Europe, particularly Germany, in which she described fascism's "anti-intellectualism" and "acceptance of violence as a means of gaining a desired end." As for fascism in the United States, the reviewer wrote: "She thinks that the only group that would gain under Fascist rule would be the industrial and banking capitalists." The unnamed reviewer concluded that Haider's research is "marked by much finely spun theorizing and acceptance of hypotheses as realities."
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The autumn weather brings with it sightings of vintage WNYC logo jackets. Some NYPR staffers are green with envy of the handful of 'old-timers' wearing them. So, we thought we'd revisit the snappy branding of yore.

Beginning in 1998 and well into 2002, this logo was nothing short of ubiquitous. Emblazened on countless caps, jackets, business cards, mouse pads, coffee mugs, tote bags, magnets, and doodads, it was a radical departure from all previous station logos. The trademarked icon was created for WNYC in 1997 by the advertising firm of Beaver Reitzfeld, Inc. The ‘W” is from the sign on the Western Union Building at 60 Hudson Street. The ‘N’ is from the sign on Fanelli’s Café at 94 Prince Street. The “Y” is from a New York City manhole cover. And the “C” is from the subway mosaic at the 68th Street Hunter College stop on the Lexington Avenue line. Although a bit expensive to reproduce, it served us well.

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

December 3, 2016 will be WQXR's 80th anniversary. Listen to the twenty-sixth and final episode of WQXR at 50. Host Bob Sherman plays a rare snippet about the "speed gadget" from Alec Templeton's April Fool's Show in the 1940s, followed by announcer Lloyd Moss telling a story about introducing conductor Thomas Schippers.

Other clips include: Executive Vice President of WQXR Norman McGee's 1965 announcement of a new radio transmitter at the Empire State Building, with Elliott M. Sanger recalling the memory of Edwin Howard Armstrong, the inventor of frequency modulation (FM) radio; an interview with Elliott and Eleanor Sanger, who remember WQXR's Walter Neiman.

The program concludes with a September 18, 1981 performance from WQXR's The Listening Room with performances by Giora Feidman and Jan Peerce, followed by final thoughts about the Anniversary album by Bob Sherman.

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WNYC celebrated its 92nd anniversary this past July. Just think, less than 8 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:
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This week's NEH-funded Annotations blog series features: Mayor Lindsay Responds to the 1967 Riots.
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WNYC's Way Back series:
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The WNYC Archives is on Twitter with 2,981 followers @wnycarchives. We tweet regular reminders of, and links to, WNYC broadcasts from that day in the past.

We’ve got a Tumblr page too! More than 10,500 followers. Check it out at:

WNYC Archives in the…