WJSV broadcast day
Entrance to the Warner Building, formerly known as the Earle Building, and in 1939 the location of the WJSV studios in Washington, D.C.
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| Genre | Radio programs |
|---|---|
| Running time | 19 hours |
| Home station | CBS Radio |
| Hosted by | WJSV radio station |
| Recording studio | 817 Earle Building, 13th and E Streets, NW, Washington, DC |
| Original release | September 21, 1939 – present |
On September 21, 1939 radio station WJSV in Washington, D.C. made an audio recording of its entire 19-hour broadcast day. This undertaking was a collaboration between the station and the National Archives, and it was the first time that such a comprehensive recording of a radio broadcast had been made. The station then donated its original set of recording discs to the National Archives, giving it a rare and complete artifact from an era frequently called the Golden Age of Radio. Due to their historical significance, the United States Library of Congress has since added these sound recordings to its National Recording Registry.
In 1939 station WJSV was an owned-and-operated member of the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) radio network. At that time there were four major national radio networks in the United States. In Washington, D.C. they were represented by:
(The NBC Blue network would soon be split off and then later become the American Broadcasting Company (ABC))
The idea of recording WJSV's entire broadcast day from sign-on to sign-off grew out of ongoing talks between members of the National Archives and station WJSV. Before this project took place members of the National Archives such as John Bradley, the chief of the Division of Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings, and R. D. W. Connor, the Archivist of the United States, discussed the matter with the staff at WJSV, including Ann Gillis, WJSV Publicity Director, and Harry C. Butcher, Vice-President in Charge of the CBS Washington Office. It was agreed that WJSV would record the broadcast at their studio and then donate the finished product to the files of the National Archives.
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