The papers cover the period 1936-1967 and best document Bannister's position as NBC Vice President for Station Relations. Though there are some noteworthy speeches and articles which predate his tenure with NBC, there
is little coverage of his more than twenty years at WWJ. The papers consist of correspondence, memos, newsclippings, reports, drafts, photographs, tape and disc recordings, and related material. They are divided into seven groups: correspondence, writings, speeches and other remarks, NBC subject file, articles and newsclippings about Bannister, miscellany, and tape and disc recordings.
The CORRESPONDENCE is mostly from the 1950's and 1960's and is generally routine and personal in nature. Significant are letters from Robert A. Taft regarding the Marshall Plan, and from Lyndon B. Johnson regarding the Berlin Wall. Concerning NBC there is a noteworthy 1952 memo by Bannister to NBC President Sylvester Weaver setting forth Bannister's views on network-affiliate policy. Separate files of correspondence relate to Bannister's response to a complaint (originally directed to Niles Trammell) about singing commercials, 1949, and to his 1952 appointment as Vice President for Station Relations. A folder of letters and memos, 1952 and 1959-1962, concerning Leonard Bernstein, NBC programming, and network-station relations, are closed until September 1979. Throughout the correspondence several prominent individuals are represented; they include:
| Agronsky, Martin |
1958, August 8 |
| Codel, Martin |
1965, May 17 |
| Eisenhower, Dwight |
1952, August 20 |
| Ford, Gerald |
1965, September 2 |
| Hoover, J. Edgar |
1962, December 5 |
| Johnson, Lyndon B. |
1960, May 4 (copy) |
| Nevins, Allen |
1955, May 16 |
| Romney, George |
1962, December 18 (copy) |
| Taft, Robert A. |
1947, November 28 |
WRITINGS consist primarily of material relating to Bannister's autobiography. This includes correspondence, reviews and publicity, and background material. There is also a small number of articles by Bannister, 1948-1962, including “Static and Snow,” a satirical column he wrote for Broadcasting magazine under the pseudonym Awfrey Quincy, 1950. There are also humorous letters and poems, with related correspondence and miscellany. The series referred to as the Palmer House Letters were published in several newspapers and magazines. Chapter drafts of a book on the Prohibition era, which Bannister was working on at his death, make up the balance of this group.
The SPEECHES AND OTHER REMARKS provide a valuable source of information on Bannister's views and activities. Located here are drafts and typed copies of speeches delivered before a variety of groups, including two congressional committees, 1946-1967. There is correspondence and publicity material throughout. The NBC SUBJECT FILE is arranged in one alphabetical sequence primarily for Bannister's years as Vice President for Station Relations and as part-time consultant. There is, however, some material which dates from 1950. Extensively documented is Bannister's involvement in the full range of activities concerning affiliate relations, including negotiations for rate changes, promotion of new program concepts, program clearances, and the planning of affiliate conventions and other meetings. Particularly significant here is Bannister's role in relating network
policy to affiliates which took on major importance as television reduced the audience of radio affiliates. Noteworthy in this regard are the files on NBC's “Basic Economic Study,” affiliate conventions and meetings, and NBC executives. On new programming ideas, the folders on Stardust and Weekday are significant. The files for Today clearly evidence NBC President Sylvester Weaver's commitment to this show. Educational television is also an important file and reveals Bannister's continued personal interest. NBC involvement in the controversy over UHF-VHF television broadcasting is also significant and well-represented. There are copies of memos and correspondence between other NBC executives throughout the files; many are quite significant and document policy-making at NBC. Among the NBC executives represented are David C. Adams, William Fineschriber, Robert Kintner, David Sarnoff, Robert W. Sarnoff, Sylvester L. Weaver, Jr., and Frank K. White.
ARTICLES AND NEWSCLIPPINGS ABOUT BANNISTER are not extensive but do indicate the variety of his activities. The MISCELLANY contains many unidentified items which may have been written by Bannister: a poem, an essay, and a speech delivered by William J. Scripps. Other items include an undated script for a skit about NBC President Robert Kintner and an unidentified narrative regarding the University of Michigan's Television Hour on WWJ-TV, December 1950. Twenty-one tape and disc recordings have been sent to the Iconographic section. They include recordings of an interview of Bannister about Education of a Broadcaster, speeches and remarks, a Bannister interview of Eddie Cantor, and a recording of Bannister's obituary as it was broadcast over WWJ.
