American Radio Newsreel, 1939-1940

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From the series: Radio Programs, 1930s-1980s

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Physical description:

Four 16-inch phonodiscs

Scope and content:

Randy Riddle note: According to John Dunning's "On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old Time Radio", American Radio Newsreel was heard on about 300 stations and he describes it as one of the earliest attempts at "cut and edit" syndication, blending the announcer, interview clips, and music into a show that had to be produced, pressed on records, and sent to subscribing stations on a fairly short turnaround. With developments with the War in Europe and more remote live news broadcasts, this program, combining recorded features into a magazine format, distributed on a delayed basis, was outdated pretty quickly. These appear to be the few surviving episodes of the series. There are no commercials; they would have been added at the individual stations for local sponsors. Pgm 4 - December 1939 https://randsesotericotr.podbean.com/e/american-radio-newsreel-pgm-4/ Wyeth Williams, editor of the "Greenwich Time", talks about his predictions on the political situation in Europe and how he comes to his conclusions. He predicts that the end of the War will come with the overthrow of Hitler from within Germany and that the US will never enter the conflict because of the dependence on other nations for our industrial might. A creationist, Rev. Dr. Harry Rimmer of the Central Baptist Church, who placed an ad offering rewards to anyone who could prove scientific inaccuracies in the Bible is interviewed, along with William Floyd, editor of "The Arbitrator", who is suing him to claim the award. Pgm 5 - December 1939 https://randsesotericotr.podbean.com/e/american-radio-newsreel-pgm-5/ Stories include an interview with the captain and radio operator of a US vessel sailing for Norway to test neutrality law and another with the "only white rani in the world", Viner Brooke. Then we hear Otis Skinner and Martha Raye. Note - This is the only episode listed in WorldCat; it's held at the University of Missouri-Kansas City library. Pgm 7 - January or February 1940 https://randsesotericotr.podbean.com/e/american-radio-newsreel-pgm-7/ Delores Laurell recounts her harrowing escape from Poland as it fell to the Nazis. Jack Dempsy discusses fighters, past and present. Edith Rogers Dahl fights for her release of her husband from a Spanish prison. Then we go to Hollywood for short interviews with actors and actresses, including Claire Trevor, Adrian Aimes, Eddie Lowe, and Beverly Roberts. Finally, the editor of the Pathe News is interviewed about how he gets his war pictures. Pgm 8 - January or Feb 1940 https://randsesotericotr.podbean.com/e/american-radio-newsreel-pgm-8/ The head of the French Bureau of Information gives his opinion on the war in Europe, the Russian-German pact, and the mistakes of 1918. A former Nazi propaganda official, Hitler's press secretary, is interviewed about Hitler. Benny Friedman, coach at New York City College, gives tips to football hopefuls and gives his opinion on schools funding football players. Paul Robeson is interviewed about a new play about folk hero John Henry that is headed for Broadway. The "Woman's Page" talks with twin women about returning from a sheik's harem in Iraq.

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