Famous Reporters’ School: 1924

1924SepSciInvA hundred years ago this month, the September 1924 issue of Hugo Gernsback’s Science and Invention magazine carried this ad for The Press Guild, Inc. As you can see from the ad, your tuition of five dollars (if you act fast) will set you up as a reporter, earning between $40 and $125 per week. Or, you could increase your income materially as a correspondent for a newspaper or magazine writer.

You would learn at home, under the tutelage of one Henry J. Brockmeyer, on the editorial staff of the New York Evening Post. The six lessons would teach you what it would take years to learn working on a newspaper.

While Brockmeyer is put forward as the expert behind the school, this legal brief reveals that one of the principals of the school was none other than Sidney Gernsback, the older brother of the magazine’s publisher. (It takes pains to note, however, that Hugo was not connected with the business.)

ReporterNotebookIt reminds us, for some reason, of the Ted Baxter Famous Broadcaster’s School. Of course, if you want to learn how to be a writer, we have previously provided advice, free of charge. And to add credibility to your new writing venture, we recommend that you buy one of the reporter’s notebooks shown here.



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Patton Bros, Benton Harbor, MI, 1949

1949SepRadioNewsSeventy-five years ago, these servicemen with the Patton Brothers firm of Benton Harbor, Michigan, speed up television repairs thanks to the use of modern test equipment. Because of the 6 MHz bandwidth of the TV signal, this includes the need for a sweep generator covering the entire TV broadcast range, with a sweep of at least 10 MHz.

The device is discussed in detail in the September 1949 issue of Radio News, on whose cover this illustration appears.



1944 British One-Tube Loudspeaker Set

1944SepPracWireless1Eighty years ago this month, the September 1944 issue of Practical Wireless showed how to build this simple one-tube loudspeaker set.  The dual tube served as regenerative detector and audio amplifier, and the mediumwave set could pull in the Home Service, as well as possibly some stations on the continent.

1944SepPracWireless2



1985 Grocery Prices

1985Sep4For a snapshot of grocery prices in 1985, this ad appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Septeber 4, 1985. A pound of ground beef was 85 cents, and bacon was $1.39 per pound. Cucumbers were five for a dollar, and five pounds of potatoes were $1.09. A package of frozen waffles was 79 cents.

Of course, there’s been a lot of inflation since then. According to this online calculator, one dollar in 1985 is the equivalent of $2.92 in 2024. To see comparable prices today, click the links above, which will show you the current prices on Amazon.



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1949 GE Model 65 Clock Radio

1949SepRadioRetailingSeventy-five years ago this month, the September 1949 issue of Radio Retailing carried this ad for the GE model 65 clock radio.  The radio featured a “slumber switch” which would let you go to sleep to music, and then wake you to music in the morning.  But if the music didn’t wake you up, it would soon revert to a buzzer.

The radio featured the familiar five-tube lineup of 12SA7, 12SK7, 12SQ7, 50C5, and 35W4.



1939: BBC Goes to War

Washington Evening Star, Sept 1, 1939.

Washington Evening Star, Sept 1, 1939.

Today marks the 85th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, with Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. Within days, Britain and France had declared war.

The outbreak of war meant that the BBC put into place a pre-arranged program to prevent its transmitters from being used by enemy aircraft for direction finding. All broadcasting was moved to two frequencies. Synchronized transmitters throughout the country transmitted simultaneously on those frequencies. During an air raid warning in one portion of the country, transmitters in that area would cease. But since other transmitters were still in operation, the listener would continue to hear the program, with only a modest loss of signal strength. Later in the war, another frequency, 1474 kHz, was added, with low-powered transmitters.

BBCprewarImmediately prior to the War, the BBC’s domestic programs were broadcast on the frequencies, shown at left, as shown in the September 1, 1939, issue of Radio Times:

This consisted of a national program on 200 kHz longwave, and 1149 kHz mediumwave, as well as several regional programs. The following issue, dated September 4, entitled “Broadcasting Carries On,” highlighted the changes.  The regional programs were suspended, and a single national program, called the Home Service, covered the whole nation.

The new Home Service would be on the air on 767 (North) and 668 kHz (South), starting at 7:00 AM until 12:15 AM. If important news warranted, there would be broadcasts at 1:00, 3:00, and 5:00 AM. Regional broadcasts were replaced with announcements for the respective regions. London and Scotland announcements would be at 6:15 PM, Welsh and Western announcements at 7:00 PM, Northern announcements at 7:45, and Midland and Northern Ireland at 10:45 PM.

The 200 kHz longwave signal went off the air, although it came back later for foreign broadcasts.  The BBC’s television station in London also went dark for the duration of the War.  You can read more of this history at the BBC website.



1939 Code Practice Oscillator

1939AugPM3Eighty-five years ago, this gentleman is teaching himself Morse code thanks to a one-tube code oscillator shown in the August 1939 issue of Popular Mechanics.

It used a single 12A7 tube, and for the filament, it used a “curtain burner” line cord to drop the voltage to 12 volts.  The article suggested learning the code by sending from the attached chart, and then having someone else, preferably someone already skilled at the code, to send faster and faster.



ATR Power Inverters, 1954

1954AugRadioElec4We’ve previously featured AC power inverters from American Television & Radio Co., of St. Paul, Minnesota. This ad for their products in the August 1954 issue of Radio-Electronics stresses their usefulness in an emergency situation. In addition, it points out how they can be used to power a tape recorder, allowing the busy businessman to dictate memos right from his car, boat, or plane.



Jeri Sullavan, CBS Radio, 1944

1944AugRadioMirrorEighty years ago this month, the cover of the August 1944 issue of Radio Mirror featured singer Jeri Sullavan, who, according to the magazine, was known by GI’s as the girl with the pin-up voice.

She was born in Jersey City, NJ, but the family moved to Bremerton, WA, when she was in her teens. Her first singing job was at a Bremerton ballroom, which paid $1.50 per evening, but she was discovered in San Francisco when some friends asked her to sing with the Bernie Cummins band, and she sang “I’ll Never Smile Again.” Her start in radio came on WSM in Nashville, and at the time of publication, she was a regular on CBS. She was in demand as a performer at camps and canteens. According to the magazine, she lived alone in an apartment two blocks from the studio with her four dogs.



Press Wireless Transmitter Manufacturing, 1944

1944AugRadioNewsEighty years ago, this New Jersey war worker was doing her part to assemble a 2-1/2 kilowatt transmitter for the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Her factory, Press Wireless, made these large transmitters, which were too large for mass production. Each unit was put together by hand, and the guiding principle was to make them rugged. The photo appeared in the August 1944 issue of Radio News.