TOP STREAM 32Kbps (10Khz)

The Fourth Chime, NBC Radio, November 24, 1944 (29:17)

. . . The fourth chime rings only when news is breaking of world importance . . .

Description by Uncle Ricky

This NBC Radio News program was originally broadcast on November 24, 1944 and discovered on a transcription disc years later at WTIC in Hartford, Connecticut. Media Preservation Foundation contributed this rare recording to REELRADIO from their WTIC Collection.

It features the honor roll of NBC commentators and war correspondents of the era: Don Goddard, Robert McCormick, Max Jordan, H.V. Kaltenborn, John Vandercook, Robert St. John, Louis Lochner, W.W. Chaplain, Morgan Beatty, Stanley Richardson, John McBane, and Max Hill.

Unlike most of what you'll hear on broadcast news today, these literate reporters were fiercely pro-American, and that sentiment is reflected in their commentary. It's also unusual to hear dramatic re-creations of some of their personal recollections of history. This is a fascinating feature for baby boomers, media students, and all those with an interest in World War II history.

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