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Milwaukee Journal Stations.Collection, 1922-1997.Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 203302.9 cubic ft. (59 boxes and 6,118 canisters of 16 mm film reels) |
ABSTRACT: This collection contains materials pertaining to the Milwaukee radio and television stations owned by The Journal Company (now Journal Communications Inc.). The paper records include scripts for editorials read on radio and television, audience surveys, photographs, promotional materials, scripts for newscasts, as well as materials pertaining to the personnel, the history of, and operation of the radio and television stations. The approximately 1.5 million feet of 16 mm news film is the original edited footage used on the air to illustrate news stories from 1950 to 1980. The collection includes footage of the Milwaukee Braves; the Civil Rights movement in Milwaukee during the 1960s; local businesses such as Allis-Chalmers, the Pabst, Schlitz, and Miller Breweries; and national and international politicians and celebrities who visited Milwaukee.
Information on selected subjects can be accessed on-line; for other topics, contact the Archives for more information.
ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: There are no access restrictions and the collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law. Researchers wishing to view any news film must make arrangements with the Archives prior to their visit.
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39). WTMJ-TV retains ownership of its copyright to all material in the collection. UWM is authorized to provide copies of the material for non-commercial, scholarly or educational purposes. Use of the news film by another commercial television stations requires prior written consent from WTMJ-TV and will be decided on a case by case basis.
SCOPE AND CONTENT: The Milwaukee Journal Stations collection is divided into seven series:
A. Milwaukee Newsreel Program, 1950-1955
B. Special Assignment Series, 1959-1969
C. Special Reports and Miscellaneous, 1948-1988
D. Daily Newscasts Rundowns, 1962-1980
A. The Milwaukee Newsreel Program ran from October 4, 1950 to February 2, 1955. The program was a weekly review of the past week's news and was broadcast on Wednesday nights. The Milwaukee Gas and Light Company sponsored the program from its beginning until May 1954; Wisconsin Ice and Coal took over the sponsorship of the program until it ended in February 1955. Information about missing programs is available in the case file. Contact the Archives for more information.
B. The Special Assignment Series was a news feature that looked at a specific topic in depth; many topics were divided into multi-part series. Special Assignments were two to five minutes in length and were shown at 6:25 p.m. Monday through Friday. This series began in May 1959 and ran until 1970. However, the Archives only has film and scripts for Special Assignments from May 1959 through December 1967. Information about Special Assignment scripts with no corresponding film is available in the case file. Contact the Archives for more information.
C. The footage shown on Daily Newscasts dates from 1964 to February 1980. This footage contains daily news stories as well as some sports stories; there are no weather forecasts. Series 6 includes rundowns which give the order of stories of each day's newscasts.
D. Special Reports are programs that examine topics in depth; these programs are longer in length than Special Assignments. Topics covered are alcoholism, divorce, traffic safety, and the 32nd Division.
ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY: The Journal Company was founded by Lucius Nieman in 1882 when he purchased a newspaper which became the Milwaukee Journal.
In 1924, The Journal Company, in partnership with Marquette University, owned and operated radio station WHAD. The Journal Company built complete remote control facilities and a modern studio in their plant at 4th and State Streets and purchased a license from the American Telephone and Telegraph Company for remote broadcasts. The station did regular remote broadcasts from the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the Hotel Wisconsin as well as band concerts from Washington Park and Little Symphony Concerts from the Milwaukee Turnverein.
In 1927, the Federal Radio Commission recommended that The Journal Company dissolve its partnership with Marquette University and purchase radio station WKAF, which they did. A new transmitter was built in Brookfield and WKAF became WTMJ radio.
In 1929, The Journal Company filed a lawsuit against the Federal Radio Commission for the destruction of WTMJ's service area. The Federal Radio Commission had assigned radio stations in Florida and Cleveland, Ohio to the same channel as WTMJ and had increased the evening power of a station in Maine, also on the same channel, which greatly disrupted the ability of people to clearly receive WTMJ's signal. This lawsuit was resolved in 1931. The station is now known as AM 620 WTMJ Newsradio.
The Journal Company applied for and was granted a permit by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1939 to construct an experimental FM transmitter. The transmitter, control rooms, studios, and workshop for the station, W9XAO, were located on the 22nd floor of the Wisconsin Tower at N. 6th Street and W. Wisconsin Avenue. The station went on the air on February 11, 1940 and was the first FM station west of the Alleghanies and one of the first five FM stations in the country. In April 1941, The Journal Company launched one of the first commercial FM stations in the country, W55M. By 1948, W55M had become WTMJ-FM and was the most powerful FM station in the United States thanks to its 50,000 watt transmitter in Richfield. However, The Journal Company suspended operation of WTMJ-FM on April 2, 1950 because of the lack of FM radio receivers, the reduction of broadcast hours, and competition from television. By 1958, FM radio was attracting more listeners and advertisers. WTMJ-FM went back on the air on June 1, 1959. The station would eventually change its call letters to WKTI-FM, which it still uses today.
Starting in April 1929, The Journal Company began experimenting with television and was granted a construction permit and license for station W9XD in September 1931. The Company's early experiments took place in the corner of the garage used to house the newspaper circulation trucks. The television laboratory was later relocated to the 25th floor penthouse of the Schroeder Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. Experiments on television as well as radio newspapers or facsimiles, were continued until 1938 when the licenses were allowed to expire.
In 1941, construction permits were received for an experimental television station, W9XMJ, and a television relay station, W9XCV. By late 1941, the station received permission to change its permit from experimental to commercial and the station became WMJT - the second commercial television license issued by the FCC. The development of television was delayed by World War II but progressed rapidly after the war. WTMJ-TV went on the air on December 3, 1947; it was the seventeenth television station in the country to go on the air, the first television station in Wisconsin, and the first commercial station in the Midwest.
The Journal Company is now known as Journal Communications, Inc.
COLLECTION CITATION:
For textual or photographic materials:
Milwaukee Journal Stations. Collection, 1922-1997. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 203. Wisconsin Historical Society. Milwaukee Area Research Center. UWM Libraries. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
For news film footage:
[Video] Courtesy of WTMJ-TV, the Wisconsin Historical Society & the UW-Milwaukee Archives.
Barbee, Lloyd A., 1925-2002. Papers. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 16 and Milwaukee Micro Collection 42)
Groppi, James., 1930- . Papers. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection EX and Milwaukee Tape 5)
Krueger, Jack., 1914-2000. Papers. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 205)
Milwaukee (Wis.). Mayor. Records of the Henry W. Maier administration. (Milwaukee Series 44 and Milwaukee Tape 1235A)
Milwaukee Urban League. Records. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection EZ, Milwaukee Micro Collection 20, and Milwaukee Tape 6)
Reuss, Henry S. Papers. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 112)
ACQUISITION: The paper records were donated to the Wisconsin Historical Society in the 1960s. The accession numbers for this material are: MCHC64-096, MCHC65-084, MCHC68-023, MCHC70-049, MCHC76-018 and MCHC67-144. The news film was donated by WTMJ-TV to the Wisconsin Historical Society in October 2001; the accession number for the film is M2004-163. Additional records and photographs were donated by WTMJ-TV in October 2003; the accession number for this material is M2004-164.
PROCESSING: The paper records dating from 1922 to 1969 were processed by Mary Huelsbeck in August 2002. Additional records and photographs were processed by Elspeth O'Vanin in the summer of 2004 and by Mary Huelsbeck in December 2005. The processing of the news film, and material directly relating to the news film, is ongoing. Contact the Archives for more information.
MARC RECORD SEARCH TERMS: The following terms were used in the online bibliographic MARC record to this collection:
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Last edited on Wednesday, July 18, 2007.
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