Date of Award

8-1990

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

History

First Advisor

Dr. Richard Barry Westin

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze WRVA's public service broadcasting from 1925 through 1945. The four criteria used in making selections from archival material at the University of Virginia and from other sources include: historical significance, importance of authorship, relationship to World War II, and broad topical significance emphasizing WRVA's public service broadcasting.

WRVA's public service broadcasting is defined as unsponored programming. Often produced at WRVA's expense, it readily separates into six subject areas: political and legislative, community service, religious, educational, agricultural, and war-related programming, and three program classifications: public service announcements, special one-time programs, and regular ongoing programs.

WRVA's public service broadcasting, in keeping with the station's motto "Service," was good business and an extension of the establishment which supported the Byrd Organization in Virginia. A discussion of WRVA's historical background, financial sacrifices, problems, complications, and controversial issues reveals that WRVA was a station with a heart.

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