The American Forum of the Air
Encyclopedia
The American Forum of the Air, hosted by Theodore Granik (1907–1970), was a public affairs
panel discussion program, the first series of its kind on radio. It aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System
and NBC
from 1934 to 1956. Notable guests, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt
(before he was president
, journalist
Dorothy Thompson
, New York mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia, U.S. Senators Harry Truman and Robert Taft
, discussed a wide range of topics, from the New Deal
to fascism
. The series won a Peabody Award
in 1940.
The program's origins can be traced back to 1928 when Brooklyn-born Granik was a law student employed by Gimbels department store
, which then had its own radio station, WGBS
. While writing copy for the station and doing sports reporting, Granik started his own program, Law for the Layman. When Gimbel's station was sold to William Randolph Hearst
in 1932, Granik continued doing his panel discussions on New York's WOR
. The program attracted national attention with a prohibition
debate in which the Woman's Christian Temperance Union
's Ella A. Boole
made the startling claim that drunken Congressmen were wandering through "underground passages" to go from their offices to Washington speakeasies.
The program became The Mutual Forum Hour when the Mutual network was launched in 1934. After Granik opened his law office in Washington, D.C.
, he moved the program there in 1937 with a title change to The American Forum of the Air. Within the rigid format, opening remarks by the debating opponents led to the panel discussion, followed by Q&A with the audience and closing summaries.
Transcripts were published in the Congressional Record
, and the debates often sparked activity in Congress. The series moved to television
in 1949, continuing on NBC Radio until March 11, 1956.
Theodore Granik's granddaughter Debra Granik
won the Sundance Film Festival
Dramatic Directing Award for her first feature film, Down to the Bone
(2004).
Public affairs (broadcasting)
Public affairs, a broadcasting industry term, refers to television programs which focuses on matters of politics and public policy. Among commercial broadcasters, such programs are often only to satisfy Federal Communications Commission regulatory expectations and are not scheduled in prime time...
panel discussion program, the first series of its kind on radio. It aired on the Mutual Broadcasting System
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...
and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
from 1934 to 1956. Notable guests, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
(before he was president
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
Dorothy Thompson
Dorothy Thompson
Dorothy Thompson was an American journalist and radio broadcaster, who in 1939 was recognized by Time magazine as the second most influential women in America next to Eleanor Roosevelt...
, New York mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia, U.S. Senators Harry Truman and Robert Taft
Robert Taft
Robert Alphonso Taft , of the Taft political family of Cincinnati, was a Republican United States Senator and a prominent conservative statesman...
, discussed a wide range of topics, from the New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
to fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
. The series won a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
in 1940.
The program's origins can be traced back to 1928 when Brooklyn-born Granik was a law student employed by Gimbels department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
, which then had its own radio station, WGBS
WINS (AM)
WINS , known on-air as "Ten-Ten Wins", is a radio station in New York City, owned by CBS Radio. WINS's studios are in the combined CBS Radio facility at 345 Hudson Street in the TriBeCa section of Manhattan, and transmitting towers in Lyndhurst, New Jersey.WINS is one of the nation's oldest...
. While writing copy for the station and doing sports reporting, Granik started his own program, Law for the Layman. When Gimbel's station was sold to William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
in 1932, Granik continued doing his panel discussions on New York's WOR
WOR (AM)
WOR is a class A , AM radio station located in New York, New York, U.S., operating on 710 kHz. The station has a talk format and has been owned by Buckley Broadcasting since 1987, after the station was sold by RKO. The station has conservative, or right-of-center hosts.Its call letters have no...
. The program attracted national attention with a prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
debate in which the Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union was the first mass organization among women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far-reaching reform strategies based on applied Christianity." Originally organized on December 23, 1873, in...
's Ella A. Boole
Ella A. Boole
Ella Alexander Boole was a American temperance leader. She served as head of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union from 1931 to 1947.-Biography:...
made the startling claim that drunken Congressmen were wandering through "underground passages" to go from their offices to Washington speakeasies.
The program became The Mutual Forum Hour when the Mutual network was launched in 1934. After Granik opened his law office in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, he moved the program there in 1937 with a title change to The American Forum of the Air. Within the rigid format, opening remarks by the debating opponents led to the panel discussion, followed by Q&A with the audience and closing summaries.
Transcripts were published in the Congressional Record
Congressional Record
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks...
, and the debates often sparked activity in Congress. The series moved to television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
in 1949, continuing on NBC Radio until March 11, 1956.
Theodore Granik's granddaughter Debra Granik
Debra Granik
Debra Granik is an American independent film director. She has won a series of awards at the Sundance Film Festival, including Best Short in 1998 for Snake Feed , the Dramatic Directing Award in 2004 for her first feature-length film, Down to the Bone Debra Granik (born February 6, 1963) is an...
won the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
Dramatic Directing Award for her first feature film, Down to the Bone
Down to the Bone (film)
Down to the Bone is a 2005 independent film drama, starring Vera Farmiga, who received a "Best Actress" award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association for the role...
(2004).