January I STILL LOVE RADIO Round-Up

It's been a busy winter so far, and I've been slow to update things here at ISLR. Here's a round-up of recent activities:

1. Continuing to write about radio and TV for the Western States Museum of Broadcasting's AIRCHECK Blog

2. Wrote a piece about the demise of Seattle's Smooth Jazz FM station for Crosscut.com

3. Wrote a piece about Fisher Broadcasting fending off a takeover from a Canadian firm for Crosscut.com

4. Produced a piece for KUOW FM about radio coverage of John Lennon's murder, and a piece about post-Pearl Harbor radio blackouts on the West Coast

I'm also excited to be working on a large-format photographic history of Seattle broadcasting for Arcadia Publishing (for publication later this year), working with the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) collection and grateful to Dave Richardson, who generously provided me with the research he gathered for his 1980 book Puget Sounds.

Several individuals from Seattle's radio and TV past and present have already provided or pledged photos from their personal collections, and I'll be doing more reaching out in the next few months. Please let me know if you have photos you're willing to share, or if you know of images that would be a good fit for this project.

Seattle Radio Theatre's New Facebook Page

This item just in from the Self-Serving, Self-Promotional Desk of I STILL LOVE RADIO: we've just launched the Seattle Radio Theatre Facebook page.

The page includes images from last year's production of It's A Wonderful Life (the Lux Radio Theater version); a video clip and a link to complete audio of the October 2010 production of Dracula (the Mercury Theater version); and details about our upcoming Christmas production.

This year's live holiday broadcast will take place on Friday, December 10 at 8pm at Town Hall Seattle.

And Now For Something Not Completely Different: More BBC Cover Art

As promised, here are more covers of BBC Hand Books/Year Books from the World War II era (and immediately afterward). I don't have a complete set of dustjackets, and am missing the middle years of the war (if you have the dustjackets for 1942, 1943 and/or 1944, please let me know--I'd love to see the artwork and include in a subsequent post--please scan and send my way if you can).

It's interesting to examine the progression in how the war was perceived, as depicted on these covers.

The earliest edition shown here (from January 1940) is fairly obvious in its depiction of common implements of the Phoney War--a radio (though not one of a size you'd likely carry with you over to France), a helmet, a kit bag. By January 1941, one could argue the war (which had taken a turn for the worse in the previous months) isn't even acknowledged, though the radio tower seems to be the only source of light (hope, optimism, etc.) for the otherwise darkened globe.

By January 1945 (in spite of the Battle of the Bulge), the Allies are well on their way to victory, and the cover art already looks pretty victorious.

The 1946 edition is, perhaps, the most haunting--a solitary dove of peace takes flight above a bombed-out city. By 1947, the cover art is almost jubilant, with fairy musicians floating about and above the crowded London streets (though if you look closely, you'll see that a "lorry" has pinned a pedestrian on the street in front of Broadcasting House--not sure what that's all about).

For more radio-related cover art, please check out these earlier I STILL LOVE RADIO posts:

THE ART OF RADIO

RADIO WITH PICTURES

REMAINDERS: MORE RADIO COVER ART

Dracula Audio from AM 1090 KPTK

Click here for audio from last Friday night's spooky live broadcast of the Mercury Theater On The Air version of Dracula, as performed by Seattle Radio Theatre and produced and directed by me at Town Hall for an audience of 300.

Special thanks to Pat Cashman (splendid as Orson Welles as Dracula and as Arthur Seward), Tracey Conway, Steve Wilson, John Maynard, Jim Dever, and Chris Topping for so ably playing (in some cases) multiple roles (including howling wolves and baying hounds), and to Rob Jones for perfect accompanying music and to Curtis Takahashi for authentic, period-appropriate sound effects (which were all manual--nothing was pre-recorded).

Seattle Radio Theatre is also grateful to Wier Harman and his staff at Town Hall Seattle for serving as home to our live radio drama broadcasts since 2007, and for being willing to give a Halloween show a try this year.

The audio linked above is courtesy of AM 1090 KPTK, Seattle Radio Theatre's official broadcast partner--with on-site engineering by Teurth Tran and oversight by Paul Van Erem.

The actual live broadcast on Friday, October 29 at 8pm--in glorious monaural AM replete with static and other atmospheric disturbances--sounded even better and even SCARIER!

LIVE Radio Drama this Friday in Seattle: DRACULA!

Come on down to Town Hall Seattle this Friday, October 29 at 8pm for a live performance and broadcast of the Mercury Theater version of Dracula!

This was the program that kicked off the Mercury series in July 1938, a few months before the infamous Mercury production of War of the Worlds. This Drac is pretty scary, but is appropriate for a family audience.

Tickets for this first-ever Halloween-inspired production by Seattle Radio Theatre are available here, or stay home and listen to AM 1090 KPTK. Those who do show up in person will get to take part in pre-show festivities and sample white powdered-sugar doughnuts and other season-appropriate snacks.

Featured in the cast are Pat Cashman as Orson Welles as Dracula (follow that?), plus Steve Wilson, Tracey Conway, John Maynard, Jim Dever, Lee Callahan and Chris Topping. Live music is by Rob Jones, with live sound effects by Curtis Takahashi (using equipment provided courtesy of the Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound).

Advance warning: this year's Christmastime Seattle Radio Theatre production will take place on Friday, December 10, also at Town Hall Seattle.

The Art of Radio: 1930s BBC Year Books

I recently came upon a collection of annual books published by the BBC beginning in 1928. Known (varyingly) as "year books," "hand books" or "annuals," they were issued every year from the late 1920s to the early 1950s, and then for another 20 years or so from the mid 1950s to the mid 1970s.

The books contain a wealth of (okay, probably biased!) information about BBC programming, engineering and management as well as some terrific historical context. The earliest editions also feature some terrific period advertising for radios and non-broadcasting related products and organizations.

While the written material is a great resource for anyone interested in BBC history, the artwork featured on the covers (of the dustjacket, or "dustwrapper" as they say in the UK) in the first two decades is absolutely unbelievable.

Please enjoy this sampling of covers from the early 1930s. I'll plan on posting some additional covers from the WWII years later.

Aircheck: The Western States Museum of Broadcasting Blog

One reason for the continued quiet here at ISLR is that I've begun creating posts for the newly launched Aircheck: The Western States Museum of Broadcasting Blog.

The Western States Museum of Broadcasting (WSMB) is affiliated with Southern Oregon University and Jefferson Public Radio. They have an amazing collection, and are working to build a permanent home with exhibits and public programming.

Please drop by Aircheck when you can. Today there's a short post about Charles Herring, the first TV newscaster in Seattle (and the first TV newscaster north of Los Angeles and west of Minneapolis).