NBC Goes to War

James Cassidy

Description

The diary of radio correspondent James Cassidy presents a unique view of World War II as this reporter followed the Allied armies into Nazi Germany.James Joseph Cassidy was one of 362 American journalists accredited to cover the European Theater of Operations between June 7, 1944, and the war's end. Radio was relatively new, and World War II was its first war. Among the difficulties facing historians examining radio reporters during that period is that many potential primary documents-their live broadcasts-were not recorded. In NBC Goes to War, Cassidy's censored scripts alongside his personal diary capture a front-line view during some of the nastiest fighting in World War II as told by a seasoned NBC reporter.James Cassidy was ambitious and young, and his coverage of World War II for the NBC radio network notched some notable firsts, including being the first to broadcast live from German soil and arranging the broadcast of a live Jewish religious service from inside Nazi Germany while incoming mortar and artillery shells fell 200 yards away. His diary describes how he gathered news, how it was censored, and how it was sent from the battle zone to the United States. As radio had no pictures, reporters quickly developed a descriptive visual style to augment dry facts. All of Cassidy's stories, from the panic he felt while being targeted by German planes to his shock at the deaths of colleagues, he told with grace and a reporter's lean and engaging prose.Providing valuable eyewitness material not previously available to historians, NBC Goes to War tells a "bottom-up" narrative that provides insight into war as fought and chronicled by ordinary men and women. Cassidy skillfully placed listeners alongside him in the ruins of Aachen, on icy back roads crawling with spies, and in a Belgian bar where a little girl wailed "Les Amricains partent!" when Allied troops retreated to safety, leaving the town open to German re-occupation. With a journalistic eye for detail, NBC Goes to War unforgettably portrays life in the press corps. This newly uncovered perspective also helps balance the CBS-heavy radio scholarship about the war, which has always focused heavily on Edward R. Murrow and his "Murrow's Boys."

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• News
• Memoir
• World War II
• Reportage
• Media

Informations

• Publié par: Fordham University Press
• Date de parution: 29 mars 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780823299348
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 7 Mo

Extrait

NBC Goes to War

World War II: The Global, Human, and Ethical Dimension G. Kurt Piehler,series editor

NBC Goes to War

The Diary of Radio Correspondent James Cassidy from London to the Bulge

James Cassidy Edited by Michael S. Sweeney

Fordham University Press | New York 2022

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Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Names: Cassidy, James, 1916–2004. | Sweeney, Michael S., editor. Title: NBC goes to war : the diary of radio correspondent James Cassidy from London to the Bulge / James Cassidy ; edited by Michael S Sweeney. Other titles: Diary of radio correspondent James Cassidy from London to the Bulge Description: First edition. | New York : Fordham University Press, 2022. | Series: World War II: the global, human, and ethical dimension | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2021054453 | ISBN 9780823299324 (hardback) | ISBN 9780823299331 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Cassidy, James, 1916–2004—Diaries. | World War, 1939–1945—Press coverage—Europe. | World War, 1939–1945—Europe—Journalists. | World War, 1939–1945—Personal narratives, America. | War correspondents—Biography. | World War, 1939–1945—Radio broadcasting and the war. Classification: LCC D799.U6 C37 2022 | DDC 384.54092 [B]—dc23/eng/20211105 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021054453 Printed in the United States of America

24 23 22 5 4 3 2 1

First edition

Contents

Foreword by Michael S. Sweeney List of Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Army Terms

Introduction

1.July 24 through August 3, 1944

2.August 4 through August 23, 1944

3.August 24 through September 14, 1944

4.September 16 through October 13, 1944

5.October 14 through November 30, 1944

6.December 1 through December 31, 1944

Text of James Cassidy Broadcasts, December 21 through 29, 1944

Appendix: Significant American Correspondents Mentioned in Text

Acknowledgments Notes Index

vii ix

1

2

4

7

1

3

5

7

6

105

134

165

183

189 191 201

Foreword

Michael S. Sweeney

James Cassidy arrived in London in July 1944 as an accredited war corre spondent for regional radio station WLW in Cincinnati. His duties were expanded with assignment by NBC to cover the Canadian First Army in Normandy and later the U.S. First Army, whose action he covered from the liberation of Paris to the Battle of the Bulge. His diary is an account of those months. Cassidy earlier had an extensive part in working out with the BBC a new system of international broadcasts especially “tailored” to the interests of the large Midwest audience served by WLW. Following the success of the broadcasts from England, similar arrangements were made by Cassidy with China, Australia, Canada, Turkey, Switzerland, Sweden, and the USSR. After the war Cassidy joined Hill and Knowlton, international public relations firm, of which he became president in 1971. He later joined BurstonMarsteller as vice chairman, retiring in 1981. He lived with his wife, Rita, in Southbury, Connecticut.

Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Army Terms

ABSIE

AEF network

AP

APO B&B BBC

BOAC

C47

CBC CP ETO/ETOUSA EWT

FFI

GI

The American Broadcasting Station in Europe. Londonbased radio run by the Office of War Information and the BBC. It broadcast in 1944–45 to counter Nazi propaganda. Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme. A London station run jointly by British, Canadian, and American radio services. It provided news and entertainment for Allied troops in Europe from June 7, 1944, until July 28, 1945. Associated Press. World’s largest newsgathering service. Army Post Office. Cocktail made of Benedictine and brandy. British Broadcasting Corporation. Wellrespected public service network centered in Broadcasting House. British Overseas Airways Corporation. Stateowned airline that continued commercial service during World War II. Military airliner used primarily to transport soldiers and cargo. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Command post. European Theater of Operations, United States Army. Eastern War Time. Equivalent to Eastern Daylight Time. American clocks followed Daylight Time yearround during the war. French Forces of the Interior. French resistance fighters. “Government issue.” Nickname for an American soldier.