Date: May 10 2001 at 13:34:30
Name: Don Norton
Location: Tulsa, Auto & Ozone Haven
How did you find TTM?
Comments:
Some interesting details about Herb Morrison's pioneering recorded broadcast
of the 1937 Hindenburg dirigible disaster have appeared in, of all places,
the April issue of "American Philatelist" Magazine (for you clods out there,
a "philatelist" is a stamp collector--and "I are one"). With the kind permission
of the American Philatelic Society's editorial staff, I excerpt the following:
"Morrison was only 22 years old when he began working as a reporter for radio
station WLS in Chicago. At that time, radio stations viewed their mission
as providing live broadcasts, and even though recording technology was well
established, stations would not use it. This severely handicapped the initiative
of reporters. Live coverage of news events could only be accomplished through
specially strung telephone lines, which required as much as two weeks lead
time for the arrangements. The only other acceptable technique was for a
reporter to cover the event personally, take notes, return to the station,
write up the story, and read it before the microphone.
"Morrison had a better idea. He would cover the event using portable recording
equipment and take the recording back to the station for later broadcast.
He proposed that he travel to Lakehurst, New Jersey, and record the landing
of the Hindenburg on its first anniversary flight. He would interview some
of the prominent Chicagoans on board and return with the rcording for later
airing.
"The proposal was initially rejected by Lenox Lord, then president and station
manager. However, (it was reconsideed; time was critical and preparations
hastily made). Morrison and his sound engineer, Charlie Nehlson, gathered
up the portable equipment (weighing 87 pounds) and took off.
"The Hindenburg was due to arrive at dawn on May 6 but a storm forced a delay
until 7 o'clock in the evening. The airship had already made nine crossings
of the Atlantic, so this flight was not considered an important event and
onlookers at the airfield consisted mostly of relatives and friends of the
passengers. Morrison and Nehlson were accommodated in a small office inside
a hangar, where they set up the sound equipment. The office had an exterior
door and Herb could, by extending the microphone cable, stand outside and
have a clear view of the landing.
"As he was describing how the crew was securing the Hindenburg an explosion
took place, and Morrison's surprise and horror were caught perfectly by the
recorder. The explosion shook the hangar and the equipment, leaving a gouge
in the record. Nehlson found that he had to guide the stylus by hand, and
since dirt and dust were falling from the ceiling, he also had to shield
the platter with his body, preventing him from witnessing the disaster.
"A crowd had gathered as Morrison continued with his account and when an
elderly lady near him fainted, he caught her around the waist. Another spectator
relieved him of his burden and Morrison's 'I'm sorry, lady," can be heard
on the recording. Since recordings can be stopped and started, Morrison took
a pause long enough to rush out to the scene and rescue a man who had been
severely burned. The man he saved was to live another twenty years. Of the
ninety-seven passengers and crew aboard the flight, sixty-five survived.
Morrison continued his recording and was able to interview many of the survivors,
one of whom was a ship's steward who had just been dispatched by a passenger
to collect his laundry when the Hindenburg exploded. The steward survived
by jumping from the flaming wreckage and, during the interview, he still
clung to the package of laundry.
"The recording session lasted for one and a half hours, with 42 minutes of
Morrison's commentary and filled two records.....Back in Chicago, a short
period of frustration ensued while the management debated whether they should
break with tradition and air the recording instead of a live report. (Finally)
the entire recording was aired three different times (by NBC).
"Morrison worked for the broadcast media in Chicago, Milwaukee, and New York
City, and later directed radio shows, including the Arthur Godfrey Show.
He built Pittsburgh statioin WTAE-TV's news section and then joined West
Virginia University's staff as a radio-television specialist. He was technical
advisor for the filming of the movie "Hindenburg." Morrison died in Morgantown,
West Virginia, in 1989.
NOTE: I have omitted the author's report that Morrison and Nehlson were chased
back to Chicago by agents sent by the German consular staff stationed at
Lakehurst, fearful of an embarrassment for the Third Reich. If anyone's
interested, I'll put that in later.
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