NYPR History Notes

Mary Perot Nichols
(1927-1996)

Mary Perot Nichols, a former muck-raking columnist and city editor of The Village Voice, served two separate terms as head of WNYC, 1978-1980 and 1984-1990. Strong-willed with a no-nonsense approach to leadership, she advanced WNYC's independence from the City of New York through the creation of the WNYC Foundation after years of fiscal cutbacks.

While Nichols also launched new award-winning programming, and other major changes at WNYC, she is perhaps best known, unfortunately, for being sabotaged by Mayor Edward Koch over the issue of 'The John Hour,' This was WNYC's October 23,1979 broadcast of the names of men convicted of patronizing prostitutes.

Henry Allen, American - Early
African-American Serial

"Broadcast over WNYC from October 8 to November 12, [1944] Henry Allen, American was an early attempt to create an African-American serial. The title played off the name recognition of the popular white comedy The Aldrich Family with the teen hero Henry Aldrich. This black program followed Henry Allen, a black youth, and 'the pathos, humor, events...that Henry and his family are confronted with.' The series, like most dramatic black shows, could not find a sponsor, and aired only six times."

Source: Ryan, Ellett, Encyclopedia of Black Radio in the United States, 1921-1955, McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, 2012. pg. 80. Ellett cites WNYC Files at the New York Amsterdam News, November 25, 1944, p. 8B.
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Voices at the New York Public Library: Professor Laurence Tribe at the Celeste Bartos Forum in 1988.

Most WQXR Smokers Smoke Chesterfields

"There has been no appreciable decline from a year ago in the number of men or women smokers among either WQXR listening families or non-WQXR listening families, according to the fourth annual comparative survey of brand preferences made by Pulse, Incâ€¦These facts were evident in the latest WQXR studyâ€¦Chesterfield is still the leader in Metropolitan New York but has lost much ground in both sizes-apparently to filter-tip brands. However, filter-tips do not have as great acceptance among men as women smokers in the WQXR sample. With the exception of the long-established Pall Mall, king-size cigarettes have not made gains locally that they have nationally. Pall Mall made an astounding gain of 80.2 percent among WQXR men, ranking third to Camel."

Source: WQXR Press Release, "No Decline in Smokers Indicated in WQXR's Annual Cigarette Survey Although Women Show Preference for Filter Tip Brands," October 22, 1954.

Editor's note: The 1960 WQXR survey of listener smoking habits indicates the peak year for smoking was 1955 for men and 1956 for women before the number of smokers begins to gradually decline. At that time smokers were choosing between twenty-three different brands with eight of these brands having seventeen different sizes and filters to choose from.

We'd like to welcome our latest crew of interns: Sarah Davis is currently enrolled in the library science program at Pratt Institute and Karl McCool is currently attending the Moving Image Archives Program at NYU.
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LITTLE-KNOWN FACTS

WQXR - 'Long Reads' from WWII