Susan Douglas
Appearances
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From “On the Media” ’s “Divided Dial”: “Fishing in the Night”
The networks had what were called shortwave listening posts in New York. Susan Douglas again. And they had people who were fluent in foreign languages monitoring international shortwave broadcasts.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From “On the Media” ’s “Divided Dial”: “Fishing in the Night”
They began to transmit entertainment programming via shortwave to the troops. Susan Douglas again. And this was so important during holidays like Christmas and New Year's when there you are, freezing and alone and scared.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From “On the Media” ’s “Divided Dial”: “Fishing in the Night”
The lower layers of the ionosphere, which are about 45 to 75 miles above the Earth's surface, they're like a huge sponge during the day, and they absorb the signals that pass through them.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From “On the Media” ’s “Divided Dial”: “Fishing in the Night”
But at night, when the sun sets, these layers disappear, and the ones above them, they combine to form a dense layer, and it acts like a mirror to sky waves.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From “On the Media” ’s “Divided Dial”: “Fishing in the Night”
They had a map on the wall with map tacks. And every time they reeled in a station, they would put a map tack on where that broadcast emanated from. Was it Kansas City? Was it Washington, D.C.? Wherever it was.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From “On the Media” ’s “Divided Dial”: “Fishing in the Night”
They were kicked down to the waves that were thought utterly worthless, short waves.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From “On the Media” ’s “Divided Dial”: “Fishing in the Night”
They were getting really far. They were getting stations in Australia, New Zealand, or stations in England and France.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
From “On the Media” ’s “Divided Dial”: “Fishing in the Night”
Amateurs reported spanning distances as great as 10,000 miles, which was unthinkable. Australia and New Zealand were described in the fall of 1923 as a bedlam of Yankee signals.