Newswise — "These photographs are truly amazing!" says Meredith Stanton, Senior Journalism major at the University of Maryland. Stanton just helped finish cataloging the Don West Broadcasting and Cable Photo Archives housed at the Library of American Broadcasting (LAB) in Hornbake Library on campus. "It was extremely interesting to see these historical photographs and take part in preserving them for future use," she says.
The archives consist of at least 250,000 photos covering 1931 to the present and includes a significant number of photographs documenting broadcast coverage of the United States space program. The collection came to the LAB in 2002 - a donation from Broadcasting and Cable Magazine. It is the largest collection of its kind in the country. "The fact that we are already privileged to house the Papers of Sol Taishoff, founder and Editor-in- Chief of Broadcasting and Cable until his death in 1982, means we have two important, complementary collections under the same roof," says LAB Curator Chuck Howell. "Together, they give a detailed record of the inner workings of this extremely influential publication."
But there was a problem. The Broadcasting and Cable collection (as donated) was poorly cataloged and had to be put into some kind of order so that researchers could work with it productively. The LAB did not have the resources to do that by itself. Enter Journalism Professor Douglas Gomery and his "Research of History and Operations in Electronic Media" class.
Over three semesters, Gomery and LAB Research Specialist Michael Henry worked with a total of 66 students to document and catalog every photo in the Broadcasting archives. "I can't think of a better way to learn about broadcast history and document preservation," says Professor Gomery.
Danielle Moen is an American Studies major who also took the class during the Spring, 2005 semester. "Personally, I was struck by seeing so many women in executive positions, and how that number has grown over the years," she says. " I don't think you can gain a true appreciation for these changes by simply reading a textbook, or discussing them in class. By working on this project, I think I've certainly developed a greater interest in the history of American broadcasting."
The photos read like a who's who of anyone associated with radio and TV over nearly three-quarters of a century. "Everyone from Gracie Allen to Ephraim Zimbalist, Jr.; Marconi to (Peter) Jennings," says Gomery. In fact, this semester's class found pictures of Jennings smoking soon after it was revealed the long-time ABC News anchor was suffering from lung cancer.
LAB Curator Chuck Howell has nothing but praise for the work Gomery's classes have done. "It would have taken us years and years to do what Douglas' students have accomplished in three semesters. They are all "honorary archivists" in my book," says Howell.
Researchers will be able to work online with the Broadcasting and Cable photo catalog later this summer. A partial listing of who is in the Broadcasting and Cable photo archives is already online and will be updated based on the work done by students over the spring, 2005 semester.
On the web at: http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/culture/release.cfm?ArticleID=1055
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