Compilation of interviews and excerpts about the history of radio broadcasting in Newfoundland, as follows:~Sides 1 and 3: announcer states that 2 November 1961 is the 25\up12 th anniversary of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; description of current CBC programming; comments by Aubrey Alexander MacDonald (who broadcast under the name Aubrey Mack and Ted Baker) about his start in broadcasting at the time the CBC was created; commentary about events in Newfoundland when radio broadcasting was in its early days, including Captain J.A. Mollison’s transatlantic flight from Harbour Grace to England, the purchase of a snow plow, and the crowing of Miss Newfoundland; music; Aubrey Mack playing a clip from the long-running program THE DOYLE BULLETIN; singer; excerpt of Joey Smallwood on 28 March 1939 on his broadcast THE BARRELMAN; reflections by Joey Smallwood about his early career in broadcasting and Al Vardy’s pioneering role in doing the first really modern broadcasting of news; reminiscences by Al Vardy about his start in broadcasting in 1936, the many handicaps under which the broadcaster worked, the difficulty in acquiring the news, the material that was needed to fill a 15-minute broadcast, his job to sit up all night and monitor shortwave broadcasts of news from around the world, his compressing this information into a 15-minute newscast for delivery to the Newfoundland public the following day, his recollections of news about Adolf Hitler, Vardy’s announcer Joseph Butler, the primitive equipment in use at the start of his career, the move to new studios, the takeover of the broadcasting system by the Commission of Government, improvements in broadcasting over the years, Newfoundland confederation and the consequent joining up with the CBC, Joey Smallwood and THE BARRELMAN, how Smallwood instilled pride in the people of Newfoundland, other programs such as live music, children’s programs, Barry Hope, the program IRENE B. MELLON, the popularly of THE DOYLE BULLETIN and the show’s announcer Frank L. Barclay; excerpt of Barclay, whose real name was W.F. Galgay, announcing the BCN DANCE PARTY; excerpt of the program HELLO NEWFOUNDLAND, which originated from England starting in 1941, mainly sending messages from the troops overseas; an excerpt of Captain L.C. Murphy’s broadcast of a recruiting campaign from St. John’s in July 1941 and a medley of patriotic songs.~Sides 2 and 4: reminiscences by Joey Smallwood; excerpt from coverage of the 1939 Royal Visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth; clip of the program YOU CAN’T DO BUSINESS WITH HITLER; church choir; battle song of men being called to war; announcer’s voice describing troopship docking in England; interview about war; recollection about singing Ode to Newfoundland; excerpt of Bob [McLeod] interviewing George Squires and [Lewis] Tilley, survivors of the sinking of the HMS Jervis Bay; excerpt of a clip exhorting men to join the military; band playing a march; excerpts of radio soap operas that promoted the war effort; excerpt of Bob [McLeod] doing a broadcast from the Colony Club, with Canadian Army orchestra playing in background; the establishment of VOWN Corner Brook in 1943, followed by VORG Gander and CBT Grand Falls; excerpt of Christmas message by W.F. Galgay, general manager of BCN; recollections by Michael Harrington, editor of the Evening Telegram, about his broadcast days at VONF and VOGY starting in 1937, when he broadcast under the name Ray Alexander, memories of Joey Smallwood’s program THE BARRELMAN and Al Vardy’s newscasts for the Newfoundland Butter Company, Harrington’s work as a disc jockey, his Sunday evening broadcast of classical music and his succeeding Smallwood as host of THE BARRELMAN in 1943, a program he continued until December 1955; more music and mention of events in the news in 1945; and excerpt of a program about Hiroshima.~Sides 5 and 6: excerpt of Winston Churchill announcing the surrender of Japan in 1945; gospel singer Max Young; events of 1946; more on THE DOYLE BULLETIN; recollections of radio broadcasts about the National Convention leading up to Newfoundland Confederation; excerpt from THE BARRELMAN broadcast of 7 June 1946 about the convention; excerpt of Galgay broadcasting from the Colonial Building in St. John’s on 11 September 1946 at the opening of the National Convention; announcement of the arrival of the Governor; the Governor’s formal address at the opening of the convention; an unidentified male announcer recalling how the convention was broadcast from VONF, VONH, VOWN in Cornerbrook and VORG in Gander; announcer reminiscences about the Alexandra Theatre Company from England performing A Christmas Carol at VONF and clip of the performance; excerpt of the swearing-in ceremony on 1 April 1949 of the first Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland; music and commentary about the takeover of the Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland by the CBC.
