Title: Martin Codel Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1902-1973

Creator:

• Codel, Martin, 1902-1973

Call Number: U.S. Mss 103AF

Quantity: 4.2 c.f. (6 archives boxes and 7 separate volumes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of Codel, a pioneer reporter and writer on broadcasting, consisting of newspaper clippings and various trade publications published and edited by Codel. Bound of scrapbooks are newspaper articles written for the Consolidated Press Association, North American Newspaper Alliance, and Radio News Bureau.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0103af

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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.

The Martin Codel Collection consists of bound and unbound trade journals and clipping scrapbooks relating to the history and development of the radio and television broadcasting industry. It includes bound Yearbooks of Broadcasting magazine for the years 1961-1962 and 1964. Also included are paper-bound copies of Television Factbook, Nos. 26-35 and 37-38, 1958-1969, which was published by Television Digest. There are also 3 volumes of the paperbound AM-FM Radio Station Directory, 1960-1962, and the CATV Log for 1967. Volumes 58-64 in the collection are clipping scrapbooks. Volume 58, 1926-1928, contains clippings of syndicated columns, most of which are bylined “Robert Mack,” a pseudonym of Codel's and later Sol Taishoff, a co-owner with Codel of Broadcasting. Volume 59, which overlaps the dates of volume 58, consists of clippings that appear to be exclusively from one particular newspaper of journal. Volumes 60-64 run in a basically chronological order from 1927-1941 and contain clippings of articles written by Codel for a variety of newspapers and magazines. There is also one folder of miscellaneous clippings found loose in the Scrapbooks.

Also in the collection originally were bound copies of Broadcasting magazine and of Television Digest. These were transferred to the holdings of the University of Wisconsin Libraries and as a result the volume numbers 1-23 and 26-39 originally assigned to these publications are now unassigned numbers in the Codel collection.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Martin Codel, Washington, D.C., December 1969.

Processing Information

Processed by Steven Hensen, December 17, 1969.

	Broadcasting magazine Yearbook
Box   1 Volume   24	1961-1962
Box   1 Volume   25	1964
	Television Factbook
Box   2 Volume   40	No. 26, 1958
Box   2 Volume   41	No. 27, 1958
Box   2 Volume   42	No. 28, 1959
Box   2 Volume   43	No. 29, 1959
Box   2 Volume   44	No. 30, 1960
Box   2 Volume   45	No. 31, 1960
Box   3 Volume   46	No. 32, 1961
Box   3 Volume   47	No. 33, 1962-1963
Box   4 Volume   48	No. 34, 1964
Box   4 Volume   49	No. 35, 1965
Box   5 Volume   50	No. 37, 1967 (services volume)
Box   5 Volume   51	No. 37, 1967 (stations volume)
Box   5 Volume   52	No. 38, 1968-1969 (services volume)
Box   6 Volume   53	No. 38, 1968-1969 (stations volume)
	AM-FM Radio Station Directory
Box   6 Volume   54	1960
Box   6 Volume   55	1961
Box   6 Volume   56	1962
Box   6 Volume   57	CATV Log, 1967
Box   6 Folder   1	Miscellaneous loose clippings
	Clippings Scrapbooks
Volume   58	1926 Nov. - 1928 Dec.
Volume   59	1927 May - 1928 July?
Volume   60	1927 Feb. - 1928 Jan.
Volume   61	1929? Jan. - 1931 June?
Volume   62	, 1931 June - 1933 Dec. (plus misc. , 1930)
Volume   63	1934 Jan. - 1936 Dec.
Volume   64	1937 Jan. - 1941 Feb.