Martin Codel, pioneer reporter and writer in the field of radio and television, was born in Duluth, Minnesota on May 8, 1902, the son of Maurice and Sarah Codel. He received his AB from the University of Michigan in 1924 and did post-graduate work at Michigan in 1924 to 1925. His career began in 1917 as a reporter for the Duluth News-Tribune. From 1918 to 1921 he was a reporter for the Hibbing (Minn.) Tribune. He was the University of Michigan correspondent for the Detroit Journal from 1921 to 1922 and for the Detroit News from 1922 to 1925. After leaving the University of Michigan, Mr. Codel worked for the Associated Press in New York from 1925-1926, and for the U.S. Daily in Washington, D. C. from 1926 to 1928. From 1928 to 1930, he worked for the North American Newspaper Alliance. In 1930 he organized the Radio News Bureau and served as its manager. During this period (1926-mid 1930's) he wrote a daily radio column that appeared in a number of newspapers across the country. In 1931 he founded the trade journal Broadcasting and served as publisher of that magazine until 1944. In 1943 he founded Television Digest and served as publisher until 1959 when he sold out his interest. In 1943 he also held the post as director of information for the Mediterranean Area Red Cross. In 1960 he did a survey for RCA on African TV potential; in 1961 to 1962, a similar survey for Time-Life on European-Latin American TV; and in 1963, a survey of Asian TV, also for Time-Life. He is an advisory committee member of the Institute for Education by Radio and TV at Ohio State University. He is the author of Radio and Its Future published in 1930.
