Steve Hoffman
11-19-2006, 05:50 PM
Those of you who know me know what a fan I am of early archive broadcasting news airchecks. I delight in listening to the old CBS news transcriptions of WWII and earlier. One of the best voices of that era was the late Robert Trout who broadcast most of his career on the Columbia Broadcasting System. At the very end of his life he did a series of radio reminiscences for National Public Radio about his career, world events old and new. His mind undimmed at the age of 91, it's fascinating listening to him talk about what is happening now in the world and how it's part of our shared history. One can get chills realizing that this same voice was on the air in 1933 when
Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his first talk on radio as president and Bob Trout who introduced him named the broadcasts "Fireside Chats". I mean, that's living broadcast history.
At any rate, Trout died in his sleep in November of 2000 but he worked right until October of that year and was sharp witted at the end.
I spent the afternoon on this NPR web page, listening to Bob Trout, then and now:
http://www.npr.org/news/specials/001113.trout.html
If you are so inclined, give a listen. The thrill of hearing a CBS broadcast aircheck from 1938 that must have amazed people back then still amazes me now; to hear the voice of William L. Shirer broadcasting live from Nazi Germany and how hard it must have been to accomplish that and what it must have meant to the newly formed news division of CBS. When Robert Trout in the New York CBS news room introduces Shirer on "World News Roundup" (still on CBS radio today) and you hear through the shortwave phasing:
"This is Berlin, Germany calling America. This is William L. Shirer calling Columbia, New York. The Germans have just marched into to Austria......"
Wow. We take it all for granted today.
Well, I love listening to this type of material. And to have the man himself as the narrator is the icing on the cake.
Try it.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his first talk on radio as president and Bob Trout who introduced him named the broadcasts "Fireside Chats". I mean, that's living broadcast history.
At any rate, Trout died in his sleep in November of 2000 but he worked right until October of that year and was sharp witted at the end.
I spent the afternoon on this NPR web page, listening to Bob Trout, then and now:
http://www.npr.org/news/specials/001113.trout.html
If you are so inclined, give a listen. The thrill of hearing a CBS broadcast aircheck from 1938 that must have amazed people back then still amazes me now; to hear the voice of William L. Shirer broadcasting live from Nazi Germany and how hard it must have been to accomplish that and what it must have meant to the newly formed news division of CBS. When Robert Trout in the New York CBS news room introduces Shirer on "World News Roundup" (still on CBS radio today) and you hear through the shortwave phasing:
"This is Berlin, Germany calling America. This is William L. Shirer calling Columbia, New York. The Germans have just marched into to Austria......"
Wow. We take it all for granted today.
Well, I love listening to this type of material. And to have the man himself as the narrator is the icing on the cake.
Try it.