Research Guides
Quoted from: Godfrey, Donald. “History Held a Microphone.” Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and Television Studies, Volume 3, Number 1, February 1973, pp. 13-16. Accessed 2016-04-01: https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/film_and_history/summary/v003/3.1.godfrey.html
How does it happen that we have these recordings in Seattle? They are recordings from the network lines by the CBS affiliate in Seattle, KIRO. And in the 1930' s and 1940' s recording took audacity as there was a firm stipulation in the affiliation contract between networks and the station that everything carried be live. Even in the cases where a network program was rebroadcast for reasons of time differentials, the programs were repeated live, not as recordings. The war approached and the management of KIRO reasoned that an important part of what was flowing through the system was information of a grim history and it ought to be kept.
This material, particularly the news reports, came at a time when the majority of the audience would not be at their receiving sets. A newscast originating in New York at 6 p.m. reached Seattle at 3 p.m., hardly a suitable time for the news oriented audience. The answer was a recorded delay, something ruled out in the network affiliate agreement. If KIRO asked for a waiver of the rules, the petition would be denied. So, on the theory don't ask for a ruling and none is likely made, KIRO went ahead without asking. Remember these recordings were made from glass, aluminum and its alloys having been transported to battle. The network carried, and KIRO transcribed, many hours of speeches, news reports, and special broadcasts. As the war continued, KIRO had a fast growing pile of transcriptions. Milo' s search yielded a rich choice of Roosevelt and Churchill propaganda.
This search was the beginning of the Phonoarchive. In 1957, the CBS foundation awarded Milo a generous grant enabling transfer of the disc contents to tape. This job was completed in the summer of 1959, and in 1963 the HISTORY IN SOUND was published cataloging and annotating each tape."
Due to space and storage concerns, the University of Washington transferred the original acetates to the National Archives and Records Administration in the 1980s, but retained a master copy of the discs on open reel tapes. Between 2016-2017 the University of Washington Libraries digitized and preserved these reels. Questions regarding access should be sent here: https://www.lib.washington.edu/about/contact/email