Many regulars on this board will know that from 1928 until 1967, there was a regional radio network in New England called the Yankee Network.
Originally launched by Boston's WNAC, the network eventually would reach 30 stations across the six New England states. Yankee broadcast several news programs each day (they were among the first full-fledged radio news departments anywhere) before (around the late 1950's??) switching to hourly newscasts, dealing with national and regional stories.
Yankee also broadcast some musical programs from WNAC and for much of radio's Golden Age had a lock on Boston pro sports broadcasts (home games of the Red Sox, the old Boston Braves, and the Boston Bruins). It was also (after 1942) the Mutual "affiliate" for New England; MBS programs would be fed through Yankee to the latter's stations. Prior to 1942, the Colonial Network, also under the same ownership as Yankee, was Mutual's affiliate for the region.
In 1956, Yankee used the film unit of WNAC-7 to produce a film on it's efforts, which I think was aimed towards potential advertisers, although it's half-hour length might have allowed it to also be shown on WNAC-TV as well.
The film is in color, and begins with re-enactments of the first "network" radio show (a 1923 concert from New York's WEAF relayed by WNAC) and a re-enactment of the first on-air Yankee Network ID. It also features some of the Yankee Network news anchors of the period as well as three affiliate stations (not identified by call letters in the film, but they give the locations so I suspect they were WGTH-1410 Hartford; WOCB-1240 in West Yarmouth on Cape Cod, then the Cape's only radio station; and WHAI-1240 in Greenfield, Massachusetts).
The only women working at Yankee seen in the film were Duncan McDonald (who did a women's show for regional broadcast;' she later did public affairs at WQXR-1560/96.3 in New York) and an unidentified woman who was a secretary, news editor, production assistant or intern at the Yankee Network newsroom.
By 1956, old-line network radio was dying, so nothing about Mutual (nor NBC Radio, which WNAC was briefly affiliated with in 1956 and 1957) was mentioned in the film.
It's possible that if WNAC-7 showed the film that (if the station had a color film chain) it was that station's first locally-produced program.
The link can be found at http://archive.org/details/0859_Yankee_Story_The_10_01_02_00 .
Originally launched by Boston's WNAC, the network eventually would reach 30 stations across the six New England states. Yankee broadcast several news programs each day (they were among the first full-fledged radio news departments anywhere) before (around the late 1950's??) switching to hourly newscasts, dealing with national and regional stories.
Yankee also broadcast some musical programs from WNAC and for much of radio's Golden Age had a lock on Boston pro sports broadcasts (home games of the Red Sox, the old Boston Braves, and the Boston Bruins). It was also (after 1942) the Mutual "affiliate" for New England; MBS programs would be fed through Yankee to the latter's stations. Prior to 1942, the Colonial Network, also under the same ownership as Yankee, was Mutual's affiliate for the region.
In 1956, Yankee used the film unit of WNAC-7 to produce a film on it's efforts, which I think was aimed towards potential advertisers, although it's half-hour length might have allowed it to also be shown on WNAC-TV as well.
The film is in color, and begins with re-enactments of the first "network" radio show (a 1923 concert from New York's WEAF relayed by WNAC) and a re-enactment of the first on-air Yankee Network ID. It also features some of the Yankee Network news anchors of the period as well as three affiliate stations (not identified by call letters in the film, but they give the locations so I suspect they were WGTH-1410 Hartford; WOCB-1240 in West Yarmouth on Cape Cod, then the Cape's only radio station; and WHAI-1240 in Greenfield, Massachusetts).
The only women working at Yankee seen in the film were Duncan McDonald (who did a women's show for regional broadcast;' she later did public affairs at WQXR-1560/96.3 in New York) and an unidentified woman who was a secretary, news editor, production assistant or intern at the Yankee Network newsroom.
By 1956, old-line network radio was dying, so nothing about Mutual (nor NBC Radio, which WNAC was briefly affiliated with in 1956 and 1957) was mentioned in the film.
It's possible that if WNAC-7 showed the film that (if the station had a color film chain) it was that station's first locally-produced program.
The link can be found at http://archive.org/details/0859_Yankee_Story_The_10_01_02_00 .