The papers of Harold Engel deal exclusively with educational broadcasting. Major emphasis is upon his connection with WHA radio and television. The papers are divided into six major categories. The first is personal; the next four are related to WHA: radio operations in general, radio service, television, and building plans. The final one consists of other radio and television material.
The PERSONAL material is that which concerns educational broadcasting but does not specifically pertain to WHA operations. Included here are articles by Engel, a report that Engel helped to draft for the Rocky Mountain Public Radio Council in 1937, and correspondence and printed items concerning his relationship to the Wisconsin Broadcasters' Association, State Radio Council, and the National Association of FM Broadcasters. There is also biographical data located here.
WHA RADIO, GENERAL contains a variety of information on WHA: early development, policy statements, staff (including Malcolm Hanson,
an early employee, [1] and articles and speeches by Harold B. McCarty, station director, 1931-1968), programs, plans for growth, correspondence of Engel with Wisconsin legislators, as well as articles about WHA. Unfortunately, there are only bits and pieces of information about each topic. The same is true for the section on WHA RADIO SERVICE. For the most part this section deals with the campaigns for a clear channel and FM. In both cases there is a significant amount of opposition correspondence, clippings, and other items. Notable is Engel's involvement in refuting charges by the Chicago Tribune (1938) that WHA was controlled by the “La Follette machine” (for which he received a letter of support from Hans V. Kaltenborn, November 5, 1938), as well as his opposition to a related attempt by commercial stations to have WHA taken off the air.
WHA TELEVISION consists primarily of correspondence (including a letter, April 9, 1953, from August Derleth to Mrs. Fred Risser), resolutions, and news clippings that deal with the campaign to establish educational television in Wisconsin in the early 1950s. Again, the opposition is represented; this time by material relating to the Wisconsin Committee on State-Owned, Tax-Supported Television. A facilities improvement proposal, 1958-1960, a bid for assignment of Channel 3 (then operated by WISC-TV), and articles on WHA-TV are also included.
The section on WHA RADIO AND TELEVISION, BUILDING PLANS is not very extensive considering Engel's part in the expansion of WHA's facilities. There is some documentation of his activity for a communication arts building, dating from the 1940s and 1950s, and information on building alterations, 1938-1954.
The section of OTHER RADIO AND TELEVISION MATERIALS, in addition to a volume of annual reports, 1938-1957, for the University of Wisconsin Radio-Television Committee, is limited to material relating to other Wisconsin stations in which Engel took interest as an educational broadcaster. Represented here is Engel's involvement with WLBL (a related state-owned station at Steven's Point, later Auburndale), the role that he played in the fight of WMVS-TV, Milwaukee Vocational School, against a takeover of its channel by a commercial station, 1953-1955, and the establishment of WUWM-FM, 1957-1964, the Milwaukee campus station of the University of Wisconsin.
