Re: CIQC's Last Jingles

[mwaters@mail.wesleyan.edu (Martin J. Waters)]

>Stephen Pickford wrote:
<snip>
>If anybody out there would have on tape any of the following:
>1)- Station jingles/IDs from the old CKO News Network
>2)- Recording of the initial moments from master control during the
>    Challenger space shuttle disaster
>3)- Recording of the radio news live reports of the Hindenburg crash
<snip>

        Your phrasing reminds that this is a widespread but inaccurate
belief about the famous recording of the description of the crash of the
Hindenburg. It was not broadcast live. It was more than 24 hours after the
explosion that it first was broadcast.
        The story of that recording and how it came to be broadcast at all
is an interesting bit of broadcasting history. A short version is that at
the time it happened, the U.S. radio networks still prohibited broadcast of
anything that was recorded. It was more than 24 hours before the highest
officials at NBC decided to authorize the broadcast of this recording. The
recording had been made by a member of the NBC / WMAQ staff from Chicago. I
forget exactly why he happened to have gone to N.J. to make the recording.
Although the disaster took place close to NYC (maybe 40 or 50 miles?), the
announcer, his engineer, and their recording took a train back to Chicago.
In other words, there simply didn't exist then the idea that he might rush
to NBC in NY to put it on the air.
        There is a book, "We Interrupt This Broadcast," published within
the past 12 months or so, that has a companion CD on which the Hindenburg
recording is included. The book has stories about many major U.S. radio and
TV news bulletin situations. The space shuttle may be on there also.
        But I hesitate to encourage anyone to buy the book. Some of the
recordings are recreations, and apparently some of these were used because
the publishers were unable to obtain or unwilling to pay for the rights to
the original recordings--not because the recordings don't exist. But,
mainly, I have a problem with this book because I heard the author (about
whose name I have not a clue at the moment) do an interview on WRKO during
which they played the Hindenburg piece. The author gave the distinct
impression that the Hindenburg description was broadcast live. I don't know
what the book actually says. But knowing the true story when I heard the
WRKO interview, I found the book author's presentation to be extremely
misleading.