Dartmouth Broadcasting System

Student Radio, in a Carefully Planned Campus Network, Has Arrived and Is Here To Stay

ONE SATURDAY NIGHT a few weeks ago hundreds gathered around radios in dormitory rooms, a loud-speaker in the Trophy Room of Alumni Gym, and a radio in the lobby of the Hanover Inn. Dartmouth played Stanford that night for the NCAA basketball title in Kansas City, and these hundreds in Hanover heard a sports commentator describe the game play-by-play against the background of an excited crowd.

The program originated in the Robinson Hall studios of the Dartmouth Broadcasting System A Western Union operator received the play-by-play account of the game in DBS studio 1.....A DBS heeler relayed the information to sports commentator Jim Wells '43 who sat before a microphone in studio 2.....A freshman radio engineer in the DBS control room sat behind the control board and blended cheering with crowd noise from records after each basket Wells described.. . . .And the hundreds of DBS listeners hung on every word, following the Dartmouth and Stanford players up and down the Kansas City basketball court Some believed DBS had sent its commentator all the way to Kansas City to cover the game.

Radio at Dartmouth had come a long way since President Hopkins appointed a committee "to survey student, faculty, and alumni interest in radio" two years ago. It had come far even since The Dartmouth of April 17, 1941, said in large type, "We're for Radio," above an editorial urging the College to give a small group of student radio enthusiasts the "go ahead" to start a campus radio station.

For in its first year the Dartmouth Broadcasting System had broadcast as far as England via shoTt-wave It had brought dormitory residents the most complete news coverage of the first 48 hours of the war with Japan of any regular station or network It had rebroadcast every major speech by President Roosevelt since the beginning of the school year It had reconstructed the 1941 World's Series and the 1942 NCAA basketball playoffs. ... .It had covered lectures, student meetings, black-out tests, and scores of other events as Dartmouth College changed from its peacetime status to a war footing.

The story of Dartmouth radio today began, perhaps, in 1939 when Hugh Dryfoos '4O operated an intra-dormitory radio station for residents of Russell Sage hall, and made the pages of Life magazine. This had been the first marked interest in radio shown by students since the activities of a radio club at Dartmouth about a decade ago, when short-wave broadcasting was carried out by a number of "hams" from atop Wilder Hall.

The story continues with the somewhat widely publicized "Illegal Broadcasting C 0.," which suddenly discontinued broadcasting one autumn afternoon in 1939 when FCC agents visited the off-campus studios of IBC following an investigation of their unlicensed radio wave which had extended ten miles away in Vermont.

As early as 1938, Max Wilie of the Columbia Broadcasting System had sent a number of radio scripts to the Sanborn House library. Heagan Bayles '33 of Ruthraulf and Ryan Advertising had also contributed some scripts and written to Prof. Stearns Morse of the English department of the possibilities of introducing radio to Dartmouth College in some more complete form. Doug Storer '21 and Jerry Danzig '34 had also shown considerable interest in such a project.

In the fall of 1939 Professor Morse, observing these various phases of undergraduate and alumni interest in radio, sent a memo to President Hopkins suggesting that a survey committee be established to look into the matter. President Hopkins appointed Sid Hayward '26 and Prof. Russell Larmon to such a committee under the chairmanship of Professor Morse in January, 1940.

The committee soon discovered that the Public Speaking department had a great interest in radio, and had even done some broadcasting through the facilities of station WNBX, Springfield, Vt. (now WKNE, Keene, N. H.). At the same time a group of students under Dick Krolik '4l were surveying WMS, campus radio station at Williams -College, and the student radio station at Brown University to discover the possibilities of operating an inter-dormitory broadcasting system at Dartmouth.

The radio survey committee made a complete report of such interest among students, alumni, and faculty to President Hopkins by the end of 1940. The President then appointed the Dartmouth College Radio Council in January, 1941, with power to bring radio to the College in concrete form. Professor Morse was named Chairman, Prof. Larmon faculty representative, Mr. Hayward administration representative, Mr. Storer alumni representative, Robert E. -Lang '38 representative for the Council on Student Organizations, and Bill Mitchel '42 undergraduate representative. Mr. Almon Ives of the Public Speaking department was appointed to the Council later as a second faculty representative.

Dick Krolik, Tom Jardine, Bill Mitchel, and other students who had looked into the student stations at Williams and Brown drew up their plan, and then sought the sponsorship of The Dartmouth for the project, and The Dartmouth made the first proposal to the Radio Council for the establishment of a student-operated radio station that would broadcast daily programs to dormitory residents. After consulting the College departments and extra-curricular organizations who had an interest in radio, the Radio Council de: cided that it would not be desirable to have The Dartmouth own and operate such a station.

After a number of meetings with the student radio group and administrative committees, the Council late in April, 1941, proposed that a loan be made to finance the construction of the Dartmouth Broadcasting System as an independent student organization to operate under the Council's supervision. The initial loan was granted by the College, a year's license of operation was given the Dartmouth Broadcasting System by the Council, and DBS became the first campus radio station in the country to have the official backing of its college administration.

The Council, which acts as a kind of Federal Communications Commission for the station, stated the following objectives in the license:

"1. To provide a new medium for the better integration of the diverse groups within the College community.

"2. To provide radio programs more in keeping with the educational objectives of the College and with the interests of the College student than those which are now being produced for general reception by the American radio industry.

"3. To give undergraduates interested in radio an opportunity to gain realistic experience in production and technical work in the radio field; by so doing to prepare for the College's participation in future radio broadcasting outside the community and to provide a laboratory for experimental radio production with an eye to the future of American radio."

The Dartmouth Broadcasting System has been financed by a long-term loan from the College which has covered capital investment and operating costs for the first year. The loan is to be paid back by the station over a period of years from revenue realized from local and national advertising on the station.

The license also set certain minimum standards of performance, such as the requirement that at least 25% of DBS broadcasting time be devoted to educational programs. Through its first year of operation DBS has been well above the required minimum in its presentation of educational broadcasts.

The system functions as follows: Programs originate in the studios in Robinson Hall or at some remote point connected with the studios, and the radio signal is sent by telephone wire to small transmitters in each dormitory via the Hanover Inn switch board. These small transmitters then radiate the DBS radio signal over a small area, just large enough in most cases to cover all radios in the respective dorms.

Basic equipment was purchased and the initial tests completed successfully by the middle of June. The Radio Council then made arrangements to have the writer, who was elected DBS's first station manager, work on the organization and programming throughout the summer months. Under his supervision a large and small studio and a control room were constructed in 51 Robinson Hall, and an office established across the hall. Prospective personnel were contacted and plans made for the start of operations early in the fall.

A skeleton staff of 20 undergraduates returned to Hanover a week before classes started in September, and began working on the installation of the permanent equipment

DBS started a week of test broadcasting on September 28, operating three hours a day and five days during the week. That first week, typical of DBS' regular broadcasting schedule throughout the year, included popular and classical music programs, campus and outside news, sports features, a half-hour dramatic show, interviews, faculty talks, and many other features.

The first week of broadcasting showed that there were a number of defects in the mode of transmission adopted, but DBS continued to broadcast, constantly improving the transmission system and investigating other systems which might be substituted. At last it was decided that DBS would try a new system, employing a central transmitter which will feed the DBS signal to the 110-volt current lines running into all College buildings. But defense priorities on radio materials have caused many delays in the completion of the new system.

At present DBS is still operating on the original transmission plan; reception in dormitories on the campus, at Tuck School, the President's house, Dick's house, and a number of fraternities is better now than ever before. But DBS hopes to have its new transmitter in operation for the summer semester.

In keeping with its first objective, attempting to "keep the College small" in a sense, DBS presented a variety of programs featuring students and professors from all over the campus. "Meet the Professor," a weekly informal interview with members of the faculty, attempted to break down the barrier between teachers and students by bringing out the professor's extra-curricular interests, college background, and views on everyday things.

Once each week the Dartmouth Outing Club presented its own 15-minute program, "A Story by Ross McKenney," featuring their popular woodsman-adviser. From time to time Jack-O, the Dartmouth Players, the glee club, the language clubs, and other student organizations have presented DBS programs, bringing to the fore some of the best radio talent DBS has discovered this year.

The DBS "Campus Roundtable" has brought professors and students together once each week for 30-minute discussions on campus and national affairs, especially those related to the war effort. Recently a series of Friday night News Roundtables has been organized. The week's news is summarized by a student commentator, and then three guest consultants from the faculty and student bodies discuss the most important aspects of the latest developments.

In the line of experimental radio, the "DBS Workshop" has presented the best in radio art from both transcriptions and live talent, and a number of original productions. New ideas and techniques are constantly sought by DBS broadcasters, some of which fail and some of which are highly successful.

Conscious of its obligations to the College to broadcast more than recorded music to the campus, and at the same time realizing the popularity of music among student listeners, DBS has attempted to provide a well-balanced program schedule of entertaining and educational broadcasts through its three-hour a day, five-day a week periods.

The development of the DBS Special Features department has been one of the most appealing and fascinating aspects of Dartmouth radio for both the student listener and broadcaster.

Before February of this year, DBS greatest highlights had been.... the rebroadcast of the 1941 World Series, which was arranged with WOR, the Mutual Broadcasting System, and the Gillette Safety Razor Cos. through Jerry Danzig, who has been a source of much aid and advice throughout the past two years .... the cooperation of DBS and WMUR, Manchester, in several special broadcasts of Dartmouth football rallies and games, and of the celebration of Dartmouth night which Manchester alumni heard in the studios of WMUR....the DBS-Dartmouth Defense Group broadcast to England through WMUR and WRUL, Boston, on November 20, 1941....the DBS listening post's news service during the long hours of December 7-8-g, when DBS gathered news from all American networks, BBC in London and CBC in Canada, and short-wave stations abroad, providing the best minute-to-minute news service available to Dartmouth College during those hectic days.... and the rebroadcast of President Roosevelt's speeches, once again through the cooperation of WOR-Mutual and Jerry Danzig.

Since returning to the air after mid-year exams, DBS expanded its special features programming to include on-the-spot coverage of home basketball and hockey games and brief summaries of away-contests as received by telephone.... broadcasts of the Owen Lattimore lectures through the cooperation of the President's office.... coverage of the "Pearson Plan" meeting....a description of Hanover's first black-out. .. .and a broadcast of Robert Frost's lecture from Webster Hall.

DBS kept in contact with the Big Green basketball team as it moved south to take the Eastern Intercollegiate League title in Philadelphia, and the Eastern Division of the NCAA tournament in New Orleans. Reports of the team's successes were broadcast to DBS listeners as soon as received, hardly an hour after the contests had ended. The play-by-play description of the Dartmouth-Stanford NCAA playoff in Kansas City marked a new high in special features achievement for DBS, and made more and more people aware of the Dartmouth Broadcasting System's growing importance in the College.

Recent additions to the DBS program schedule include a nightly half-hour radio class in Morse Code for CPT students and others planning to enter certain branches of the Army and Navy, a special hour-long broadcast for guests of Dick's House entitled "Bed Pan Alley," and the series of "Treasury Star Parade" programs broadcast by almost all radio stations in the nation for the U.S. Savings Bond and Stamp campaign.

As the first senior board of DBS cleaned up its desk space in Robinson Hall to make way for the station's second directorate, the College announced that it would institute a new course this summer. .. . Radio 20-A, which will cover the history of American radio, microphone techniques, script writing, and instruction in the building of radio programs. Professor Morse and Mr. Ives will teach Radio 20-A, using the facilities of DBS and recently completed facilities of the Public Speaking department.

And so, as Mr. Norman Corwin put it to the nation in a radio drama, the undergraduate staff of DBS and the Radio Council can say to and of the College, "Radio is here to stay "

DARTMOUTH BROADCASTING SYSTEM WAS CHRISTENED WITH CEREMONY At the opening ceremonies of DBS held at the Little Theatre, Robinson Hall, October 27, 1941, speeches were made by Coach Tuss McLaughry, left, Dean Neidlinger, andothers. The master of ceremonies for the occasion was Frederick Scott Matthews '42,shown above in the process of interviewing two of the distinguished guests on the program. DBS, its beginnings, growth, and activities, is described in the accompanyingarticle by the student director William J. Mitchel '42.

CHAIRMAN OF RADIO COUNCIL Prof. Stearns Morse is chairman of theDartmouth Radio Council, responsible forall broadcasting on the campus or originating at the College. The student broadcasting system, DBS, operates on an annuallicense issued by the Radio Council.

BILL MITCHEL '42 AND GUEST Nancy Carrol was interviewed by DBS station manager in Hanover last fall.

EMPHASIS ON THE SCIENCES IS CURRICULAR TREND Prof. Andrew J. Scarlett 'IO gives the large course in elementary Chemistry that is required of pre-medical students, unless they present Chemistry for admission, and is takenby many other undergraduates preparing for military and war industry service, engineering and Civil Service. Professor Scarlett, shown above with students in Chemistry I—2,is also chairman of the Faculty Committee on Educational Policy.

'42, STATION MANAGER DBS