Group W (the Westinghouse Broadcasting Co.) audio tapes
Collection
0492-MMC
The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, owned several radio and television stations across the United States. In the mid-1960s, the company's news operations expanded, including Washington and foreign bureaus, as several Group W radio stations switched to an all-news format. The Washington bureau produced the approximately 2,100 audio tapes in the Group W collection consisting of national news feeds, programs, and interviews. These provide a comprehensive look at worldwide events delivered over the radio from 1957-1982. It includes voice cuts and speeches from politicians and activists during national and international events such as the Civil Rights movement, the Cold War and the Space Race, the Vietnam War, the anti-war movement, and the Watergate crisis.
This collection is open to the public. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.
Digital surrogates may be provided in accordance with Special Collections and University Archives duplication policy.
Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs unless otherwise specified. It is the researcher's responsibility to secure permission to publish materials from the appropriate copyright holder.
2100 Tape Reels
Westinghouse Broadcasting Company was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation, which owned several TV and radio stations in the U.S. They began their own radio news bureau, based in Washington, D.C., in 1957. The company, renamed Group W in 1963, became known for its commitment to news and public affairs. This included successful all-news radio stations in three major markets. According to the Encyclopedia of Radio , "Although not first with the format, Group W was the first to make it a lasting success in major markets."
Despite being among the leading radio stations in their cities, the three all-news stations were only marginally profitable. The Washington staff of 20 correspondents – comparable in size to the bureaus of the major networks – became too costly to maintain. In late 1975, Group W dismissed seven correspondents from its Washington bureau and began negotiating with outside services for news coverage. Those seven reporters had been assigned full‐time to cover the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Judiciary, the State Department, the Pentagon and other institutions of government. Sid Davis, who managed the bureau, continued to cover the White House.
The Washington news bureau closed in the 1980s and by the late 1990s, a series of mergers and acquisitions resulted in the complete disappearance of Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W into other broadcast operations.
This collection contains audiovisual materials. Digital copies must be used. If no copy exists, one must be made prior to use. If you would like to access these materials, please contact us prior to your visit.
In 1982 the Broadcast Pioneers Library, in the building of the National Association of Broadcasters in Washington, D.C., took possession of the tapes. The Broadcast Pioneers Library moved to the University of Maryland in late 1994.
A selection of tapes from this collection have been digitized and are available in the Group W (Westinghouse Broadcasting Company) audio tapes in Digital Collections.
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives