Radio Moments of the Century An annotated compendium of the most memorable or influential broadcasts and personalities from 1920 thru 1962
Documenting Early Radio An examination of the format and content of known broadcast recordings prior to 1932. A work in progress.
The Network Paley Didn't Found Unearthing the real story behind the creation of the Columbia Broadcasting System
WGY and the Birth of Radio Drama A look at the WGY Players and the earliest known radio drama series
Dramatic Scoring for Radio An historic overview of the use of music in radio drama
Local Voices -- The Don Lee and Yankee Networks The two leading regional networks of the 1930s and 1940s.
Max Jordan -- NBC's Forgotten Pioneer A contemporary of Murrow and Shirer, he took great delight in scooping his CBS rivals on major stories of the late 1930s -- but then left journalism to answer a Higher Calling.
Amos 'n' Andy In Person An overview the lost years of this complex radio landmark, tying in with the full length book "The Original Amos 'n' Andy: Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, and the 1928-43 Radio Serial," published by McFarland & Co.
Radio's Forgotten Years A review and analysis of Depression-era radio programs and personalities
From Hawthorne to Hard-Sell The story behind WEAF and the development of "toll broadcasting".
Nitwits of the Networks A look at the radio career of George Burns and Gracie Allen
Charlie's Big Night The 1937 "Mae West Affair" that inflamed the issue of Broadcast Censorship
Tonight The Program's Gonna Be Different The Life and Times of Ed Wynn, the Fire Chief
Forgotten Laughter Revisiting the Radio Works of Fred Allen
Broadcasting In Chicago 1921-1989 An excellent overview of the early years of Windy City broadcasting, with an emphasis on NBC's Merchandise Mart studio complex. Rare photos, articles, and a virtual tour. Comprehensive and useful.
Library Of American Broadcasting Formerly known as the Broadcast Pioneers Library, this Maryland-based institution is an important repository of scripts and recordings of interest to the broadcast historian. Copies may be obtained for non-commercial research.
First Generation Radio Archives A volunteer-based non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and restoration of original radio recordings.
Lou Genco's Old Time Radio Pages The Web's leading site for Old Time Radio's listening and collecting community.
John Schneider's San Francisco Radio History Collection An impressive and detailed study of early radio's West Coast capital. Detailed station histories, programming schedules, and profiles of important San Francisco radio personalities of the 1920s and 1930s.
Jerry Haendiges' Vintage Radio Logs One of Old Time Radio's most respected collectors, Jerry has assembled program logs for hundreds of series dating back to the early 1930s. A valuable resource for researching specific programs. Both network and syndicated shows are included.
Boston Radio Archives Information on broadcasting in New England. Much of the emphasis is contemporary, but there are several valuable historical articles by Donna Halper reviewing radio's earliest days in the region.
United States Early Radio History Valuable articles by Thomas H. White on the develoment of radio in the US from 1900 to 1925. Also included are extracts from a number of Government documents related to the earliest years of the broadcasting industry.
Library of Congress Recorded Sound Reference Center The home of the largest collection of broadcast recordings and historical documentation in the United States. General information for researchers on how to access and get the most out of the resources available.
The Alexandra Palace Television Society An historic group dedicated to the preservation of the early years of British television -- including an examination of the earliest known moving images of all-electronic televison, 2 minutes and 46 seconds of off-the-screen footage dating to November 1938.
The Restelli Collection An online album of one-of-a-kind off-screen still photographs taken for Dr. Vladimir K. Zworykin providing the earliest known visual documentation of all-electronic television. Most of the images date to 1933-34.
The Radio Propaganda Page A detailed look at WW2 era propaganda broadcasters on both sides of the war. Special emphasis on Iva Toguri, who, despite what most people believe, never broadcast as "Tokyo Rose." Real Audio excerpts and even a few complete broadcasts are offered.
Ed Reitan's Color Television History The evolution of color telecasting was a complicated process, with political obstacles almost as difficult to overcome as the technical obstacles. Ed Reitan is a technician well-versed in early color TV systems, and offers a detailed study, with plenty of illustrations
Fireside Chats A complete listing of the twenty-eight "Fireside Chat" broadcasts delivered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt between March 12, 1933 and June 12, 1944. Text transcripts of each of the talks are included.
The Test Card Gallery Exploring the history of the humble television test pattern, from the 1930s to the present. The emphasis at this British site is on the BBC-TV Test Card series, A thru G -- but there are also examples of test patterns from the US and elsewhere. Lots of detailed images and fascinating historical descriptions.
Uncle Don Never Said It! One of radio's most enduring legends is the so-called "little bastards" remark attributed to WOR kiddie host Uncle Don Carney. Here is conclusive proof, courtesy of the Urban Legends Reference Pages, that the incident never happened. It's also a dramatic illustration of how deeply myths and legends have contaminated the true history of broadcasting.
The Preservation Of Recorded Sound Materials An overview by Gilles St. Laurent of the Music Division of the National Library Of Canada of the preservation problems posed by all types of sound recordings, from wax cylinders to compact discs. Proper care of instantaneous lacquer discs is explored in detail. (Article presented at Graham Newton's Audio Preservation website -- check out his other features and services!)
The Library of Congress SONIC Database A searchable online database offering researchers easy access to documentation on more than 100,000 broadcast recordings in the Library of Congress's NBC Radio Network Collection, from 1931 thru 1986.
NBC History Files Finding Aid A partial online index to NBC historical documents held by the Library of Congress. While the documents themselves are not accessible on line, the finding aid offers a useful starting point for in-person research.
RadioGOLDINdex An online database documenting more than 70,000 broadcast recordings originally collected by J. David Goldin, founder of the former Radio Yesteryear old-time-radio distribution company.
Vanderbilt Television News Archive Located on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, the Television News Archive is the nation's most important collection of television's nightly news broadcasts. Since August 5, 1968, the Archive has made off-the-air videotape recordings of the nightly news broadcasts of NBC, ABC, and CBS -- and in many cases these recordings are the only surviving versions of the complete telecasts. The collection is fully searchable on line, and reference copies of individual programs -- or individual stories -- may be rented by academic or private researchers.
Text Copyright (c) 1998-2006 by Elizabeth McLeod
All Rights Reserved