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An American Right to an ‘Unannoyed Journey’? Transit Radio as a Contested Site of Public Space and Private Attention, 1949–1952

2009; Routledge; Volume: 29; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/01439680802704575

1465-3451

Alexander Russo,

Cinema and Media Studies

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes Notes 1 For the purposes of this article, when referring to the practice of broadcasting on buses I will use the term transitcasting and the term transit radio to refer to the particular practices and business strategies performed by Transit Radio, Inc. 2 William Osten, Letter to the Editor: Transit Radios, The Washington Post, February 19, 1949. 3 Editors Note, Transit Radio Poll, The Washington Post, March 6, 1949. 4 Albert Bard, The Right to an ‘Unannoyed Journey’, The American City, February 1950. 5 See for example James Hay, Locating the televisual, Television & New Media 2(3) (2001), 205–234. 6 Anna McCarthy, Ambient Television: visual culture and public space (Durham, NC, Duke University Press, 2001), 2. 7 McCarthy, 6. 8 See for example, Brett Gary, The Nervous Liberals: propaganda anxieties from World War I to the Cold War (New York, Columbia University Press, 1999), 199; Kathy M. Newman, Radio Active: advertising and consumer activism, 1935–1947 (Berkeley, CA, University of California Press, 2004); James Patterson, Grand Expectations: the United States, 1945–1974 (New York, Oxford University Press, 1996), 343–348; Stephen Whitfield, The Culture of the Cold War (Baltimore, MD, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991). 9 Smith focuses on antebellum elites in the North and South who heard the cracking of their way of life by sectional divides and the development of industrial capitalism in the sounds of industry and slave revolts. Mark M. Smith, Listening to Nineteenth-Century America (Chapel Hill, NC, University of North Carolina Press, 2001). Thompson examines the circumstances whereby American society in the 1920s came to define itself via its noise. Emily Thompson, The Soundscape of Modernity: architectural acoustics and the culture of listening in America, 1900–1933 (Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, 2002). 10 The idea of transitcasting as a commercial enterprise has been attributed to Richard Evans, the owner of FM station WIZZ in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Evans’ search for an acceptable radio receiver sent him to Stromberg–Carlson in Indiana, who drew the attention of the Cincinnati group. FM Sets in Buses, Radio-Craft, July 1948, 18; Charles Rodecker, A survey of the first three years of transit radio. Master of Arts Thesis (University of Missouri, 1950), 6–7, Straphangers’ Radio, Saturday Evening Post, April 24, 1948, 12. On a separate note, this idea was uncannily prescient of that of Christopher Whittle's Channel One of the 1980s. 11 My account of the history of Transit Radio relies on Charles Rodecker's 1950 University of Missouri Master's thesis, ibid. In addition to being largely descriptive, Rodecker's research also had the unfortunate situation of ending in August 1950, when the possibilities for the future of Transit Radio looked bright leading him to conclude that ‘Transit Radio seems destined to join the ranks of the important American advertising media.’ Rodecker, 104. 12 The idea of combining public transit and radio was not new. The Canadian National Railway installed radio receivers in its trains beginning in 1923. Significantly, in the pre-network era the company used a carrier current system along the system's telegraph lines to provide programs across five time zones. Programming ranged from typical entertainment fare to new updates, stock market quotes and sports scores, all sent from one of 13 railway owned stations. Significantly, radio cars featured both loudspeakers and headsets to avoid disturbing fellow passengers. Radio News, April 1930, 918; Rose Meyer, Listening In Across Canada, Radio News, August 1930, 144–145. A number of regional lines in the USA had followed the Canadian's lead, including the Central Vermont, Chicago, Burlington, Quincy, Lehigh Valley and Grand Trunk lines. Radio News, Radio Broadcast, February 1930, 193. Radio News: Radio on Trains, Radio Broadcast, August 1928, 198, Radio Rides the Zephyr, Broadcast News, December 1934, 9. Radio also migrated to long distance bus travel in the late 1920s. As early 1927, the Birmingham–Montgomery Alabama line offered radio in its entire fleet. According to illustrations of the system, it consisted of a radio set and speaker mounted by the driver. George Wall, Radio News of the Month Illustrated, Radio News, June 1927, 1429. Radio Broadcast reported in April 1930 that it was becoming ‘quite common’ to find a Southern Kansas Stage Line bus equipped with a Crosley receiver. Review: Automobile Radio, Radio Broadcast, April 1930, 309. 13 NAB FM Executive Committee, Transit Radio, 1949, National Association of Broadcasters Records, 1938–1982, Box 113, Folder 3, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. 14 If this was attempted with AM equipment the two signals would interfere with one another. For this reason, a number of long distance bus companies were experimenting with FM as part of two-way communications. In 1945, Greyhound Bus Lines used this kind of system for both dispatch transmissions and entertainment programs. With a central control station and relay receiving stations covering several lines in the Chicago vicinity, Greyhound could maintain contact between the bus drivers and the dispatchers, while providing small speakers mounted in seat headrest that permitted passengers a choice of two musical programs. However, Greyhound did not attempt to sell advertising time on this system. Spot News Notes: FM for Buses, FM and Television, September 1945, 22. FM Transport Radio, Radiocraft, June 1948, 19. 15 During this period, there were many prognostications about the unvarnished possibilities of FM broadcasting. Not the least of whom was Charles Siepmann, Radio's Second Chance (Boston, MA, Little, Brown and Company, 1946). 16 Lawrence Lessing, Man of High Fidelity: Edwin Howard Armstrong (New York, J. B. Lippincott Company, 1956), 256–278. In his treatment of FM reallocation, Hugh Slotten argues that two factors influenced the FCC decision: the availability of spectrum adapters and a feeling television was more important than FM. Hugh Slotten, Radio and Television Regulation: broadcast technology in the United States, 1920–1969 (Baltimore, MD, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000), 239. See also William Boddy, Fifties Television: the industry and its critics (Urbana, IL, University of Illinois Press, 1990), 35–36, Don V. Erickson, Armstrong's Fight for FM Broadcasting: one man's versus big business and bureaucracy (Birmingham, AL, University of Alabama Press, 1973); Lawrence Longley, The FM Shift in 1945, Journal of Broadcasting 12(Fall) (1968), 353–365. 17 FM and Television, March 1948, 48, Hugo Gernsback, The Rising Tide of FM, Radio-Craft, June 1948, 17, Sponsor Reports, Sponsor, June 1948, 2. Tim Anderson argues that many FM stations during this era chose to promote the superior tonal clarity offered by Frequency Modulation and programmed classical and other ‘highbrow’ music. See Tim J. Anderson, Making Easy Listening: material culture and postwar American recording (Minneapolis, MN, University of Minnesota Press, 2006). 18 Chet Thomas, Transit Radio's Case, Broadcasting, February 5, 1950, 22. As part of this rhetoric, Transit Radio President Chet Thomas sought to gain the endorsement of the National Association of Broadcasters. The NAB's Executive Committee had seen in Transit Radio an ideal opportunity to promote FM. NAB FM Executive Committee, Transit Radio. However, when the Washington controversy erupted this relationship became strained even as Miller ultimately gave public support to Thomas, see for example Chet Thomas, Letter to Justin Miller, May 20, 1950, Box 113 Folder 3, in National Association of Broadcasters Records, 1938–1982, Files of the National Association of Broadcasters, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. 19 Paul Lazarsfeld and Patricia Kendall, Radio Listening in America: the people look at radio—again (New York, Prentice-Hall, 1948), 61. See also, Michael Socolow, Questioning advertising's influence over American radio: the Blue Book controversy of 1945–1947, Journal of Radio Studies, 9(2), 2002, 282–302; Newman, 37–50. 20 The literature on consumer culture in this era is voluminous. For two recent examples see Lizabeth Cohen, A Consumers’ Republic: the politics of mass consumption in postwar America (Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 2003), and Charles McGovern, Sold American: consumption and citizenship, 1890–1945 (Chapel Hill, NC, The University of North Carolina Press, 2006). 21 For an excellent analysis of the relationship between the idea of commercial impressions and advertising philosophy and practice, see Newman, 45. 22 Transit Radio Inc., A New Advertising Medium in Cincinnati, Sponsor, June 1948, 51. For a discussion of the benefits of such an arrangement, see also Rodecker, 59–60. 23 McCarthy, 218–219. 24 Charles Hull Wolfe, Modern Radio Advertising (New York, Printer's Ink Publishing, 1949), 514. 25 Transit Radio Inc., Transit Radio … A New Idea … A New Voice … A New Medium! Sponsor, March 28, 1949, 6–7. This advertisement also appeared in the March 21, 1949 issue of Broadcasting. NAB FM Executive Committee, Transit Radio. 26 Wolfe, 514. 27 See Jennifer Hyland Wang, ‘The case of the radio-active housewife’: relocating radio in the age of television, in: Michele Hilmes and Jason Loviglio (eds) The Radio Reader: essays in the cultural history of radio (New York, Routledge, 2002) and Chapter Five of Alexander Russo, Points on the Dial: radio, space, attention (Durham, NC, Duke University Press, forthcoming). 28 How Terrific is Transitradio? An Analysis of an Important New Advertising Medium, Sponsor, September 1948, 84. 29 Rodecker, 52–58. 30 How Terrific is Transitradio?, 88. For an extensive discussion of ‘functional music’ like that offered by Muzak, see Keith Jones, Music in factories: a twentieth-century technique for control of the productive self, Social & Cultural Geography, 6(5) (2005), 723–44; Marek Korcyznski and Keith Jones, Instrumental music? The social origins of broadcast music in British factories, Popular Music 25 (2006), 145–164; Joseph Lanza, Elevator Music: a surreal history of Muzak, easy listening, and other moodsong (New York, St. Martin's Press, 1994). 31 How Terrific is Transitradio?, 84; NAB FM Executive Committee, Transit Radio, 6. Transit Radio utilized the services of Muzak to provide programming until the controversy surrounding forced listening caused the company to not renew its contracts with the company. Palmer, Letter to Justin Miller, Disc Company to Drop CTC Radio Contract, The Washington Post, January 19, 1950, 6. 32 NAB FM Executive Committee, Transit Radio, 1. 33 For example in St. Louis, Class A time, from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. weekdays cost $22 for a single announcement. Class B time 6:00–6:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. weekdays and 6:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday cost $14. Class C time 6:30 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Saturday and Sunday cost $10. Discounts up to 25% off those rates were available with the purchase of multiple announcements. Ibid. Transit Radio Handbook for Affiliates, cited in Rodecker, 61, and How Terrific is Transitradio? 84, 88. For a discussion of the difference between daytime and night-time radio audience addresses and costs for advertisers as a general radio practice, see Michele Hilmes, Radio Voices: American broadcastingr, 1922–1952 (Minneapolis, MN, University of Minnesota Press, 1997), 138–139. 34 Pollack et al. v. Public Utilities Commission of the District of Columbia et al., 89 U.S. App. D.C. 94; 191 F. 2d 450; 1951 Lexis 3457, 1951. 35 Supreme Court of the United States, Transcript of Record For Franklin S. Pollack and Guy Martin v. Public Utilities Commission of the District of Columbia, Exhibit 10, 1951 Records and Briefs, Library of Congress Law Library, Washington, DC, 159–172. 36 Rodecker, 65. 37 See for example Hilmes, Radio Voices, and Jennifer Hyland Wang, Convenient fictions: the construction of the daytime broadcast audience, 1927–1960. Ph.D. dissertation (University of Wisconsin–Madison, 2006). 38 This addressed one of advertising's most difficult dilemmas, determining how exposure to the advertising message influenced consumer desire. On the indeterminate relationship between advertising and sales, see Michael Schudson, Advertising, The Uneasy Persuasion: its dubious impact on American society (New York, Basic Books, 1984), 14–44. 39 Administrative Committee of the Continuing Study of Transportation Advertising, The Continuing Study of Transportation Advertising (New York, Advertising Research Foundation, Inc., 1950), 11. 40 FM Broadcasting to Transit Field Opens New Medium to Advertising, Tea and Coffee Trade Journal, December 1948, 42, 44. 41 NAB FM Executive Committee, Transit Radio, 18. 42 Anna McCarthy's cultural history of out of home television traces how postwar department stores used closed circuit system in their stores as a type of point of purchase display. Whether playing a prerecorded film or a live demonstration, storecasting acted to draw potential shoppers in to engage with a product. McCarthy, 68. Likewise, Lizabeth Cohen notes how African-American consumers valued chain stores because of this anonymity. Lizabeth Cohen, Making a New Deal: industrial workers in Chicago, 1919–1939 (New York, Cambridge University Press, 1990), 152–154. 43 Rodecker, 80. NAB FM Executive Committee, Transit Radio, 18, 28–29. For example, household product giants Lever Brothers and Procter and Gamble both signed on as Transit Radio Clients. Arthur Stringer, Letter to John Elwood, August 3, 1949, Box 113 Folder 3, Papers of Justin Miller, Files of the National Association of Broadcasters State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. 44 Rodecker, 71–73, 80–81. 45 Bus Rides to Music: Multi Million FM Advertising Potential, Broadcasting, February 23, 1948, 17; How Terrific is Transitradio?, 90, Seek to Install FM in Washington Street Cars, Buses, Heinl Radio News Service, February 11, 1948, 4; Ed Keys, Transit FM: Bright Future Predicted by Taft, Broadcasting-Telecasting, October 4, 1948, 23, 66. In addition to these features, there were also repeated announcements in FM and Television, Sponsor, Broadcasting, Radio-Daily, and Radio-Electronics. For example, Agencies Feel that NAB should spread the gospel about radio's ‘captive audience’, Sponsor, April 11, 1949, 82; Capital Radio Music Buses Increased; Time 35% Sold, Heinl Radio-Television News Service, February, 16, 1949, 4; Despite Yowls, Test Shows Capital Favors Transit Radio 9–1, Heinl Radio-Television News Service, February 9, 1949, 7–9; Over 500 Advertisers Using New ‘Captive Audience’ Medium for Direct Results, Sponsor, July 18, 1949, 72; P.S. How Terrific is Transitradio?, Sponsor, January 17, 1949, 15; Spot News Notes: Transitcasting and Storecasting, FM and Television, October 1948, 22; Transit Radio Sponsors, FM and Television, July 1949, 22; Transitcasting in Boston Area, FM and Television, June 1949, 22; Transitradio and Storecasting Attacked, Sponsor, January 17, 1949, 2; Washington, DC Buses to Inaugurate Transit Radio Monday, Heinl Radio and Television News Service, February 2, 1949, 12. 46 Markets of the Move: Transit Radio, Currently in 19 Areas, Piles Up Exceptional Results, Sponsor, February 27, 1950, 30–31. 47 JWT News, Fanny Farmer Candy Shops—Running Two Test Campaigns—One in Transit Radio, Records of the J. Walter Thomson Advertising Agency (Durham, NC, Duke University Special Collections Library, 1949), 1; JWT News, Transit Radio—FM—A New and Adaptable Medium, Records of the J. Walter Thomson Advertising Agency (Durham, NC, Duke University Special Collections Library, 1949), 2. 48 JWT News, Swift & Company—Tests Transit Radio in Houston, ed. Records of the J. Walter Thomson Advertising Agency (Durham, NC, Duke University Special Collections Library, 1949), 1; P.S. How Terrific is Transitradio?, 15. 49 P.S. How Terrific is Transitradio?, 15; Transit Radio Adds 128 New Sponsors, Sponsor, November 7, 1949, 1. 50 Dick Bruner, Transit Radio Installations in 18 Cities Attract National Advertisers; 100 Other Markets Pending, Printer's Ink, November 19, 1949, 118. 51 Rodecker, 20–29. Information regarding the installation of Transit Radio in Washington, DC, were drawn from NAB FM Executive Committee, Transit Radio, Rodecker, coverage in The Washington Post, and testimony in the various court cases. 52 Editorial, Musical Fares, The Washington Post, January 25, 1949, 12. 53 Charles Davis, Yes, You Still Can Stop the Bus But You Can’t Stop the Music, The Washington Post, February 6, 1949, M17. However, also in the paper were Transit Columnist Bill Gold's regular feature ‘The District Line.’ Gold's readers used the installation as a jumping off point for jokes about Capital Transit's service, advertising and radio in general, and urban life in general. See for example Bill Gold, The District Line: Here's What to Expect From ‘Transit Radio’, The Washington Post, January 15, 1949, B14; Bill Gold, The District Line: Radios Illegal, Except When They’re Legal, The Washington Post, January 18, 1949, B14; Bill Gold, The District Line: Transit Radio Brings on Capital Trance, The Washington Post 1949, B10. 54 Editors Note, Transit Radio Poll, B4. 55 For a sample of the early letters against, see Claude Palmer, Letter to the Editor: Transit Radios, The Washington Post, January 29, 1949, 6; Rice, Letter to the Editor: Transit Radios, The Washington Post, January 28, 1949, 24; Robert Sporn, Letter to the Editor: Transit Radios, The Washington Post, January 25, 1949, 12; H. I. Arnett, Letter to the Editor: Transit Radios, The Washington Post, February 28, 1949, 8; Irate Passenger, Letter to the Editor: Transit Radios, The Washington Post, July 14, 1949, 10; G. A. Sullivan, Letter to the Editor: Transit Radios, The Washington Post, February 17, 1949, 12. For letters in support, see David Freilicoff, Letter to the Editor: Transit Radios, The Washington Post, February 6, 1949, B4; E. Gilleran, Letter to the Editor: Transit Radios, The Washington Post, February 18, 1949, 22. 56 Edward G. Doody and Co., Transit Customers and Transit Radio, 1949, Pamphlet 3582, Library of American Broadcasting, College Park, MD, Transit Radio, Tide, Volume 23, November 4, 1949, 54, cited in Rodecker, 87. 57 PUC to Hear Pros, Cons of Transit Radios, The Washington Post, September 20, 1949, 16. According to The Washington Post, 507 people had contacted the PUC by phone and letter to voice their opinion on transitcasting; 371 opposed it, 136 were in favor. There were 255 signatures on three petitions for Transit Radio as well as the endorsement of a variety of community organizations. Edward Ryan, Post Poll to Record Attitude of Public on Buss, Trolley Radio, The Washington Post, November 3, 1949, 1. 58 Josophine Ripley, Clang, Clang … Off the Trolley, Christian Science Monitor, October 27, 1949, 10; Edward Ryan, ‘Twas ‘Anvil Chorus’ vs. ‘Let Band Play On’ As 300 Jam Transit Broadcast Hearing, The Washington Post, October 28, 1949, 1. 59 Radio Month: Transit Radio, Radio Electronics, January 1950, 9, Ryan, ‘Twas ‘Anvil Chorus’, 1. 60 Street-Car Radio Booed as ‘Immoral’ in Capital, The New York Times, October 28, 1949, 16. 61 Edward Ryan, Video Option Included in Transit Radio Pact; Broadcast Fracas Muted as Lawyers Move In, The Washington Post, October 29, 1949, 1; Transit Music Hearing May End Today, The Washington Post, October 31, 1949, B1. Transit Radio opponents called on Dr. Winfred Overholser who argued that ‘Continual annoyance by something he can’t very well help may be a feature in causing someone to suffer physically.’ By the fourth day, the Commission was actively denying the motions of Franklin Pollack, a Justice Department attorney opposed to transitcasting. Final Hearing Blasts Fired At Streetcar and Bus Radio, The Washington Post, November 2, 1949, 17; Radio While You Ride, Sponsor, November 21, 1949, 70; Edward Ryan, Transit Radio Sweet and Low, Engineer Claims at Hearing, The Washington Post, November 1, 1949, 1. Much of this national press coverage also addressed the decision of the Grand Central Terminal Management to broadcast music and commercials in the station. Associated Press, Street-Car Radio Booed, 16, No Hiding Place, Time, October 17, 1949, 75; Quiet Please!, Time, January 2, 1950, 15; Radio While You Ride, 70. 62 Loft Chain Faces Loss of Blue Eagle, The New York Times, November 30, 1933, 1; Coded Concerns Receive Serial Eagles Within Week, The Washington Post, March 7, 1934, 2; Gary, 199; Civil Liberties Aide Named, The New York Times, August 9, 1963, 8. 63 See for example, Edith K. Gould Wed in Floral Setting, The New York Times, October 13, 1946, 57; Marie McNair, Guy Martins Entertain, The Washington Post, October 12, 1947, S1; Obituary of Edith Gould Martin, The Washington Post, August 27, 2004, B6. 64 G. Myron Gwinner Co., Survey of Operators Regarding Transit Radio, September 1949, Pamphlet 5721, Library of American Broadcasting, College Park, MD, Edward G. Doody and Co., Attitudes of Capital Transit Company Operators toward Transit Radio, October 1949, Pamphlet 5720, Library of American Broadcasting, College Park, MD. 65 Capital Radio Music Buses Increased; Time 35% Sold, 4, Edward G. Doody and Co., Transit Customers and Transit Radio. Among the antagonistic comments was one quoted in Newsweek as stating ‘I there are objections … it is not doubt [from] the same individuals who went into a tizzy when we discarded cardboard tickets for metal slugs … who had the vapors when we discarded the old parallel-seat cars … and who predicted dire consequences for locking us in a steel container at both ends.’ The Sound and the Fury, Newsweek, November 7, 1950, 54. Also John Connaughton President of the Federation of Citizens Associations went several rounds with Seeling when the former insinuated that anyone whose nerves were strained by the broadcasts was too ill to be permitted to roam the streets. Ryan, ‘Twas ‘Anvil Chorus’, 1. The Post rejected arguments that only a small portion of riders objected arguing that ‘the rider is still being commercialized without his consent.’ Editorial, Facing the Music, The Washington Post, October 27, 1949, 10. 66 Edward Ryan, 55.8% in Balloting Say ‘No’ to Streetcar and Bus Radio, The Washington Post, November 13, 1949, M1; Edward Ryan, How’ll You Mark Sunday Post Ballot on Radio in Trolleys?, The Washington Post, November 5, 1949, 1, Ryan, Post Poll to Record Attitude, 1. 67 Edward Ryan, Transit Radio Approved By D.C. Utilities Commission, The Washington Post, December 20, 1949, 1. 68 Letter writing to the Post had increased around the time of the hearings. The Washington Post noted ‘Even an overdose of the Christmas spite does not warrant such a generous gilding of the lily. Probably there are a great many persons, as most of the samplings show, who enjoy transit radio or do not actively object to it. But among those who resent being made a captive audience for commercials the programs tend to create very bad will indeed.’ The Editors of The Washington Post, Forced Listening, Christian Science Monitor, December 21, 1949, 16. 69 Vera Adams, Letter to the Editor: Forced Listening, The Washington Post, December 24, 1949, 6. 70 Edward Merat, Letter to the Editor: Forced Listening, The Washington Post, December 29, 1949, 10. 71 For examples of further letters see, Warren Blanding, Letter to the Editor: Captive Audiences, The Washington Post, January 5, 1950, 5; James Burton, Letter to the Editor: Transit Neuroses, The Washington Post, January 22, 1950, B4; R.V.A., Letter to the Editor: Transit Neuroses, The Washington Post, January 25, 1950, 10. 72 Claude Palmer, Letter to Justin Miller, January 21, 1950, National Association of Broadcasters Records, 1938–1982, Box 113, Folder 3, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. 73 Justin Miller, Letter to Members of the NAB Board of Directors, January 25, 1950, National Association of Broadcasters Records, 1938–1982, Box 113, Folder 3, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. 74 Justin Miller, Letter to C. L. Thomas, February 24, 1950, National Association of Broadcasters Records, 1938–1982, Box 113, Folder 3, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. 75 Justin Miller, Letter to Claude Palmer, June 22, 1951, National Association of Broadcasters Records, 1938–1982, Box 113, Folder 3, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. 76 The Talk of the Town: Notes and Comment, The New Yorker, December 10, 1949, 29; Ross's Rumpus, Newsweek, January 2, 1950, 45; Quiet Please!, Time, January 2, 1950. 77 However, the letter ended on an optimistic note by describing the eventual conditioning of people to aural distraction but to remember ‘for advertising, there is in truth no such thing as a completely free audience!’ Grey Advertising Agency, Grey Matters, February 15,1950, National Association of Broadcasters Records, 1938–1982, Box 113, Folder 3, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. 78 Gail J Hupper, The Rise of an Academic Doctorate in Law: Origins Through World War II, Boston College Law School Faculty Papers, 196, March 20, 2007, http://lsr.nellco.org/bc/bclsfp/papers/196, 58. 79 Notes: Transit Radio, Journal of the Federal Communications Bar Association, 11 (1950), 48–50. 80 Carl Layton Shipley, Some constitutional aspects of Transit Radio, Journal of the Federal Communications Bar Association, 11 (1950), 161. 81 FCC Asked to Void License of Transit Radio Broadcaster, The Washington Post, February 11, 1950, B1; Lawyer Hired to Fight Use of Transit Music, The Washington Post, January 30, 1950, B1; PUC Rejects Rehearing on Transit Radio, The Washington Post, February 16, 1950, B13; Riders’ Unite Seeks CTC Injunction, The Washington Post, February 9, 1950, 2. 82 Franklin S. Pollack and Guy Martin, Formal Petition of Franklin S. Pollack and Guy Martin with Regard to Transit Radio, February 10, 1950, WWDC-FM Station File, General Records of the Federal Communications Commission, Record Group 550/17/4/4, National Archives, College Park, MD, Notes: Transit Radio, Journal of the Federal Communications Bar Association, 11 (1950), 49. 83 Transit Radio, Inc., Washington Transit Radio, Inc., Capital Broadcasting Company, Opposition to Complaint of Frank S. Pollack, March 7, 1950, WWDC-FM Station File, General Records of the Federal Communications Commission, Record Group 550/17/4/4, National Archives, College Park, MD, 3. 84 Transit Riders Association, Protest Regarding Application of Capital broadcasting Company for Renewal of FM Broadcast License, August 8, 1952, WWDC-FM Station File, General Records of the Federal Communications Commission, Record Group 550/17/4/4, National Archives, College Park, MD, In August 1952, when those two years were up, the Transit Riders Association again petitioned the FCC for status to contest WWDC's renewal hearing but in a split ruling the Commission ruled that they were not a ‘party in interest’ with standing to contest the renewal. Here T. J. Slowie wrote that the necessity for a smoothly functioning administrate procedure, one that was not ham strung by any group that may object to content on a given station, meant that the Commission took a position that interests were largely, though not solely, constituted by being subject to electrical interference or economic imperilment. Slowie encouraged active feedback but insisted this was not the venue for objections to be aired. For the FCC, the Transit Riders Association's position as a member of the audience meant that they could not have any special standing distinct from other audience members. Federal Communications Commission, Memorandum Opinion and Order Regarding Application of Capital broadcasting Company for Renewal of FM Broadcast License, August 20, 1952, WWDC-FM Station File, General Records of the Federal Communications Commission, Record Group 550/17/4/4, National Archives, College Park, MD. 85 Joseph Paull, Transit Radio Wins in Court, Suites by Foes Are Dismissed, The Washington Post, June 2, 1950, 1; Riders to Fight Decision on Transit Radio, The Washington Post, June 3, 1950, 11. At this point Rodecker ends, predicting long-term success for Transit Radio, in part due to increased publicity generated by the case resulting in attracting advertisers. Rodecker, 99–104. As the cases entered the courts, the trade press developed various conspiracy theories about the objectors blaming newspapers and other unknown parties. For example, one June 1951 article in FM-TV wondered, ‘Some fifty members of the Washington Transit Rides Association won a round in their battle against transitcasting. No one seems to know who has been financing the high-power legal talent that has helped to make such an issue of this minority opinion.’ Spot News Notes: Juke Boxes in Jeopardy, FM-TV, June 1951, 7. Likewise, the journal concluded in September 1952, ‘It's obvious that there's some kind of private skullduggery behind the substantial amount of money and legal effort that have been expended in opposition to transitcasting. The source of this support has not been disclosed publicly, but it's obvious that is has not come from the public.’ Spot News Notes: FM Transitcasting, FM-TV, September 1952, 8. 86 Pollack v. PUC, 10–11. 87 The court argued that sound reproduction created previously unforeseen possibilities for commercial exploitation the creation of ‘unavertible’ aural commercials. The decision cited Transit Radio's own advertising which touted a ‘guaranteed audience’ as well as expert testimony by an expert in the physics of sound who argued that ‘the ear hears plainly at its low sound level what the meter does not detect at its high sound level.’ Thus, the court noted a distinction between pure decibel level and the process of hearing. Associated Press, Appeal Court Casts out Buscasts, Christian Science Monitor, June 2, 1951, 1; Bard, The Right to an ‘Unannoyed Journey’, 163; Don Olesen, Court Bans Commercials on Transit Broadcasts, The Washington Post, June 2, 1951, 1; Pollack v. PUC, 22 n. 3. 88 Pollack v. PUC, 13–14. 89 Joseph Paull, High Court to Get CTC Appeal, The Washington Post, July 10, 1951, B1. In an interesting change of tactics, Transit Radio and the PUC argued that bus service represented a ‘common carrier’ service of which the public has no Constitutional right. Therefore, listening as a requirement to using that service would not abridge any of the public's freedoms. Transit Brief Calls Radio Private Act, The Washington Post, February 9, 1952, B1. Justice William Douglas addressed the comparison between advertising placards and transitcasting. Paul Segal, the attorney representing those opposed to the service responded signs don’t have the ability to ‘compel you to look at them.’ High Court Finally Tunes In On Transit Radio Controversy, The Washington Post, March 4, 1952, 15. 90 Constitutional Law—Transit Radio, Journal of the Federal Communications Bar Association, 12 (1951–1952), 276–277. 91 Associated Press, Supreme Court Upsets Ban on Rosselini Film, Christian Science Monitor, May 26, 1952, 14; High Court Upholds D.C. TransitRadio Broadcasts, The Washington Post, May 27, 1952, 1; PUC v. Pollack, Headnote 7. 92 PUC v. Pollack, CK PAGE. 93 Ibid, 30, Travel Tunes, Newsweek, June 9, 1952, 30. 94 PUC v. Pollack, 26. 95 Editorial, Freedom to Experiment, The Washington Post, May 28, 1952, 12. 96 This was particularly damaging because the company was structured to use local advertisers to pay for costs and national to provide the profits. He Who Rises … Must Listen, Business Week, May 31, 1952, 31; Privacy Regained, Time, June 1, 1953, 71; Transit Radio … Gets the Death Blow in Cincinnati and Washington as Result of Public Pressure, Lagging Advertising, Business Week, June 6, 1953, 46–47; Wayward Bus Radio, Newsweek, June 1, 1953, 35. 97 Music to Stop on D.C. Busses, Streetcars, The Washington Post, May 16, 1953, 27. As one The Washington Post reporter noted upon the announcement of Transit Radio's demise, ‘Nobody knew just how widespread the feeling against transit radio was and some advertisers hesitated to bait the unknown factor.’ Sonia Stein, When Transit Radio Leaves the Air May 31, Will Silence Be Protested as Was Sound?, The Washington Post, May 19, 1953, 35. 98 However, in one tantalizing counter example, the Montgomery County Maryland Board of Education recently came under attack by parents and consumer's groups and reversed its decision to contract with BusRadio. In eerie similarity to its predecessor, BusRadio equips school buses with a satellite radio service that features demographically tailored and content reviewed programming in return for access to the captive audience of school children that is served ‘positive’ and ‘age-appropriate’ advertisements. In another parallel to Transit Radio's support from civil defense officials, BusRadio offers a ‘panic button’ for emergencies. The company claims the music ‘calms’ the children on the way to and from school; although evidentially it did just the opposite to a group of parents who successfully petitioned to have the school district end its year-long trial. Daniel de Vise, School Bus Radio Service No Music to Some Parents’ Ears, The Washington Post, December 11, 2008, B1. 99 William Urricho, Historicizing Media in Transition, in David Thorburn and Henry Jenkins (eds) Rethinking Media Change: the aesthetics of transition (Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, 2003), 31. 100 Transit Radio Fights for Its Life, Sponsor, June 18, 1951, 75.