Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	Balk, Alfred, 1930-2010.
Title:	Alfred Balk Papers
Inclusive Dates:	1925-2010
Quantity:	19 linear ft.
Abstract:	Research material, writings, audiorecordings, periodicals, amassed by journalist, editor and radio scholar Alfred Balk over the course of his writing and teaching career.
Language:	English
Repository:	Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

Biographical History

Alfred Balk (1930-2010) was an American journalist, editor, and non-fiction author in several fields including radio and television history.

Born in Oskaloosa, Iowa on July 24, 1930, Alfred Balk graduated from Northwestern University with a BA and MA in journalism. He was feature editor and editor at large for the Saturday Review (1966-1969), editor of the Columbia Journalism Review (1969-1973) and founding editor of the World Press Review, where he worked from 1973 to 1986. Later in his career he served as managing editor of IEEE Spectrum, the magazine of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (1989-1991). In 1963 Balk and Alex Haley co-wrote "Black Merchants of Hate," an article on Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam; according to the New York Times, the article "was a major factor in Haley's future book, The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

In addition to his journalistic pursuits, he wrote for national magazines including the Saturday Evening Post and Harper's, was the author of several books, and taught at both Syracuse University and Columbia University.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Alfred Balk Papers consists of research files, most related to Balk's book The Rise of Radio; printed material (books, catalogs, newsletters, periodicals); recordings in various media (VHS tapes, audiocassettes, record albums) of classic radio and television programs and special broadcasts relating to the topic; oral history project interviews; and radio advertising premiums from Ovaltine, Wheaties, and other products.

The collection has received minimal processing, and the inventory which follows is a simple box listing.

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Arrangement of the Collection

The collection has been arranged according to the groupings given above, but within the groupings little other arrangement has been done. Folders for the most part retain the donor's original titles and ordering.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Related Material

A number of published books and monographs have been transferred to Rare Books or to the general circulating collection for cataloging. For a complete listing, please refer to the finding aids files, or search Libraries Search for the phrase "Gift of Alfred Balk."

Special Collections Research Center has extensive holdings in journalism and in radio and television history. Please refer to the SCRC Subject Index for a complete listing.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Associated Titles

Subjects

Genres and Forms

Occupations

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Alfred Balk Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Alfred Balk, 2010.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: PRB
Date: 16 Nov 2010
Revision history: 17 Apr 2014 - box numbers changed and inventory updated (MBD)

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Inventory

	Research files
		General
Box 1			"About the Collection" by Alfred Balk (typewritten manuscript)
			Interviews
Box 1				Transcripts and interview notes
Box 16-17				Source tapes (audiocassettes)
Box 1			Picture files
		For book, The Rise of Radio
Box 2			General
Box 2			End notes
Box 2			Introduction
Box 3			Chapters 1-23
Box 4			Chapters 24-34
Box 4			Archives/people to contact
Box 4			Radio's roots
Box 4			Pre-radio
Box 5			Embryo years
Box 6			Stations
Box 7			Networks
Box 7			Controversies
Box 8			Programs/stars
Box 9			Programs/stars (continued)
Box 10			Personalities
Box 10			Before the fall
Box 10			Networks/transition to TV
Box 10			Statistics
Box 10			Issues
Box 11			Issues (continued)
Box 11			Network anniversary commemorative publications
Box 12			Miscellaneous

	Printed material
		Books
Box 13			Barlow, William Voiceover: the making of Black radio, Temple University Press, 1999
Box 13			Barnouw, Erik, Media marathon, Duke University Press, 1996
Box 13			Barnouw, Erik, The image empire: A history of broadcasting in the United States volume 3, Oxford University Press, 1970
Box 13			Brokenshire, Norman, This is Norman Brokenshire: an unvarnished self-portrait, D. McKay Co., 1954
Box 13			Cohen, Hal L. ed. 1922 Montgomery Ward catalogue. Reprinted in its original form..., HC Publishers, 1969
Box 13			Cox, Jim, Frank and Anne Hummert's radio factory: the programs and personalities of broadcasting's most prolific producers, McFarland & Co., 2003
Box 13			Douglas, Alan, Radio manufacturers of the 1920s (3 vol.), Vestal Press 1991
Box 13			Douglas, Susan J., Inventing American broadcasting, 1899-1922, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987
Box 13			Greb, Gordon B., Charles Herrold, inventor of radio broadcasting, McFarland & Co., 2003
Box 13			Hilliard, Robert L., The quieted voice: the rise and demise of localism in American radio, Southern Illinois University Press, 2005
Box 13			Hilmes, Michele, Radio voices: American broadcasting, University of Minnesota Press, 1997
Box 13			Shayon, Robert Lewis, Odyssey in prime time: a life in twentieth century media, Waymark Press, 2001
Box 13			Slide, Anthony, Great radio personalities in historic photographs, Vestal Press, 1988
Box 13			Sterling, Christopher, Stay tuned: a concise history of American broadcasting, Wadsworth, 1990 - inscribed by author
Box 13			Terrace, Vincent, Radio program openings and closings, 1931-1972, McFarland & Co., 2003
Box 13			Tumbusch, Tom, Tomart's price guide to radio premium and cereal box collectibles, including comic character, pulp hero, and other premiums, Tomart Publications, 1991
Box 13			United States. Bureau of Human Nutrition, Aunt Sammy's radio recipes revised, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1931
Box 13			Weaver, Pat, The best seat in the house: the golden years in radio and television, Knopf, 1994
Box 13			Wertheim, Arthur Frank, Radio comedy, Oxford University Press, 1979
		Catalogs
Box 14			Miscellaneous
		Newsletters and other publications of broadcasting-related organizations and fan clubs
Box 14			Antique Radio Club of Illinois
Box 14			Antique Wireless Association
Box 14			California Historical Radio Society
Box 14			The Cinnamon Bear Brigade
Box 14			Friends of Vic and Sade
Box 14			Golden Radio Buffs of Maryland, Inc
Box 14			International Jack Benny Fan Club
Box 14			Library of American Broadcasting
Box 14			Media Heritage Archives
Box 14			Mid-Atlantic Antique Radio Club
Box 14			Museum of Broadcasting
Box 14			National Lum & Abner Society
Box 14			Old Time Radio Club
Box 14			Pittsburgh Antique Radio Society
Box 14			Radio and Television Museum Bowie, MD
Box 14			Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound
Box 14			Radio Historical Society of Colorado
Box 14			Society to Preserve and Encourage Radio Drama, Variety and Comedy
		Periodicals
Box 15			Billboard Jan 20, 1934
Box 15			Broadcasting Dec 9,1991
Box 15			Colliers Jul 5, 1947
Box 15			Hit Parader Apr 1943
Box 15			Model Fun Jul 1955
Box 15			Literary Digest 9/19/1925, 10/31/1925, 1/30/1926, 5/22/1926, 5/29/1926
Box 15			Look 2/1/1949, 1/2/1951
Box 15			Nostalgia Digest Spring 2010
Box 15			Popular Radio Sept 1922
Box 15			Radio Guide 11/30/1935, 11/20/1937
Box 15			Radio Digest 8/1/1930, June 1932 - cover only for 1932 issue
Box 15			Radio Mirror 12/1/1946
Box 15			Radio News Dec 1930
Box 15			Radio Romances Jun 1945
Box 15			Radio Stars Oct 1932
Box 15			Radio and Television Mirror 8/1/1948, 7/1/1949
Box 15			Radio Television Mirror Mar 1951
Box 15			Radio Topics Sept 1922
Box 15			Radio-TV Mirror Jan 1953
Box 15			Radioland May 1934
Box 15			Sheet Music Sept/Oct 1991, May/Jun 1995, Sept/Oct 1995, May/Jun 1996, Nov/Dec 1996, Sept/Oct 1997, Nov/Dec 1998
Box 15			Tower Radio Apr 1934
Box 15			Tune In Oct 1945
Box 15			WLS Weekly Mar 16, 1935

	Media
		Video cassettes
Box 16			Amos and Andy: Check and Double Check (1 VHS cassette)
		CDs and DVDs
Box 16			Bill and Seemah Idelson: REPS Showcase (June 2005) (1 compact disc)
Box 16			Bill Idelson's Memorial (Writers Guild Theatre, 2/21/2008) (1 compact disc)
Box 16			Cincinnati Radio: The Nation's Station (1921-1941) (3 compact discs)
Box 16			Cincinnati Radio: The War Years (1941-1945) (2 compact discs)
Box 16			From the Nation's Capital (George Washington University) (1 compact disc)
Box 16			Franklyn MacCormack, Vols. 1-3 (5 compact discs)
Box 16			The Poet Laureate of Radio: An Interview with Norman Corwin (1 DVD)
Box 16			Radio Classics: The Bickersons (1 compact disc)
Box 16			Radio Classics: Lum & Abner (1 compact disc)
		Phonograph records
Oversize 2			The Jack Benny Album
Oversize 2			Do It on the Radio
Oversize 2			Edward R. Murrow: A Reporter Remembers (Vol. 1: The War Years)
Oversize 2			Great Moments in Radio
Oversize 2			I Can Hear It Now/The Sixties
Oversize 2			Fibber McGee and Molly
Oversize 2			The Nostalgic Sounds and Voices of Old Time Radio
Oversize 2			Radio Plays the Plaza
Oversize 2			Remember the Golden Days of Radio (2 vol.)
Oversize 2			Vic and Sade
Oversize 2			When Radio Was King: Mr. District Attorney
		Audiocassettes, commercially produced
Box 16			America Before TV: A Day from the Golden Age of Radio (September 21, 1939) (12 audio cassettes)
Box 16			Baby Snooks (6 audio cassettes)
Box 16			The Best of Abbott and Costello (1 audio cassette)
Box 16			The Best of Fred Allen (2 audio cassettes)
Box 16			Comedy Classics: Abbot and Costello, Vol. 1 (1 audio cassette)
Box 16			Duffy's Tavern (6 audio cassettes)
Box 16			Golden Age of Comedy (1 audio cassette)
Box 16			Greatest Old-Time Radio Christmas Shows, Selected by Andy Williams: The Jack Benny Program (12/5/1954) (1 audio cassettes)
Box 16			Greatest Shows of the 20th Century, Selected by Walter Cronkite: The Life of Riley (6/19/1948) (2 audio cassettes)
Box 16			The Best of Groucho Marx (1 audio cassette)
Box 16			I Can Hear It Now, Featuring Edward R. Murrow: 30 Years of Audible History (1919-1949) (1 audio cassette)
Box 16			The Jack Benny Program (2 audio cassettes)
Box 16			Mercury Theatre On the Air: War of the Worlds and Dracula (2 audio cassettes)
Box 16			National Barn Dance (2 audio cassettes)
Box 16			Old Radio Classics: Radio Commercials (1 audio cassette)
Box 16			Old Time Radio's Greatest Shows (20 audio cassettes)
Box 16			Radio Reruns: CBS News Roundup: Pearl Harbor Attacked (12/7/1941)
Box 16			The Red Skelton Show (1 audio cassette)
		Audiocassettes, homemade
			Programs
Box 17				Abbott and Costello
Box 17				The Fred Allen Show
Box 17				Amos and Andy
Box 17				The Andrew Sisters
Box 17				Gene Autry
Box 17				Avalon
Box 17				Barn Dance
Box 17				Baby Snooks
Box 17				Jack Benny
Box 17				Edgar Bergen
Box 17				Milton Berle
Box 17				Best of the Big Band Singers
Box 17				Beulah
Box 17				The Bickersons
Box 16				Big Band Jam Sessions/Themes Like Old Times
Box 16				Billion Dollar Show
Box 17				Bob and Ray
Box 17				Burns and Allen
Box 17				Can You Top This?
Box 17				Judy Canova
Box 17				Eddie Cantor
Box 17				Jack Carson
Box 17				Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street
Box 17				Chase and Sanborn Hour
Box 17				Dr. I.Q.
Box 17				Dragnet
Box 17				Duffy's Tavern
Box 17				Jimmy Durante Show
Box 17				Easy Aces
Box 17				Good News of 1938
Box 17				Benny Goodman
Box 18				Grand Ole Opry
Box 18				Hawaii Calls
Box 18				Bob Hope Show
Box 18				I Love a Mystery
Box 18				Information Please
Box 18				George Jessel
Box 18				Spike Jones Spotlight
Box 18				Danny Kaye Show
Box 18				Lone Ranger
Box 18				Lum & Abner
Box 18				Lux Radio Theatre
Box 18				Majestic Theatre of the Air
Box 18				Manhattan Merry Go Round
Box 18				March of Time
Box 18				Martin and Lewis
Box 18				Maxwell House Showboat
Box 18				Glenn Miller
Box 18				Moon River
Box 18				Henry Morgan Show
Box 17				One Night Stand
Box 17				Our Miss Brooks
Box 17				Jack Paar Show
Box 17				Philco Radio Hall of Fame
Box 17				Red Ryder
Box 17				Red Skelton Show
Box 17				Kate Smith Show
Box 17				Texaco Star Theatre
Box 17				Town Hall Tonight
Box 17				Rudy Vallee Hour
Box 17				Victory Parade
Box 17				The Village Store
Box 17				Fred Waring
Box 17				Paul Whiteman Presents
Box 17				Ed Wynn
Box 17				Your Hit Parade
			Specials and commemorative, historical and anniversary broadcasts
Box 17				And Now a word from Our Sponsor
Box 17				Biography in Sound
Box 17				Frank Bresee KNUS
Box 17				Johnny Carson's Half Century of Comedy
Box 17				CBS at 50
Box 17				Command Performance
Box 17				Crowd Went Wild
Box 17				Destination Freedom
Box 17				GI Journal
Box 17				Golden Days of Radio
Box 17				Greek War Relief
Box 17				Guest Star
Box 17				Bob Hope Show Spoofs
Box 17				I Can Hear It Now
Box 17				Japanese Surrender, ABC
Box 17				H. V. Kaltenborn, News
Box 17				Jerome Kern Memorial
Box 17				KDKA
Box 17				KSAC Anniversary
Box 17				Mutual, Don Lee Dedication
Box 17				NBC 40th Anniversary
Box 17				On a Note of Triumph
Box 17				Radio Themes
Box 17				Radio's First 50 Years
Box 17				Radio's Superheroes at War
Box 17				This Was Radio
Box 17				USO Farewell Program
Box 17				Voices of Two Game [ESPN]
Box 17				World War II Chronicles
		Oral History Project
Box 16-17			Taped Interviews

	Radio advertising premiums
Oversize 1		Hafner 1010-13 wind-up train set (green/copper) premium from Coco Wheats premium, Happy Hank program circa 1945
Oversize 1		Enna Jettick Melodies songbook, Enna Jettick Shoes premium 1930
Oversize 1		Little Orphan Annie's Song, Ovaltine premium 1931
Oversize 1		Jack Armstrong Bombsight, Wheaties premium 1942
Oversize 1		Jack Armstrong Hike/O/Meter, Wheaties premium 1938
Oversize 1		Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooter Compass, Ralston premium 1936

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