Why has WGBH had such an impact? Five views

Fred Barzyk: “I have asked several long time producers at WGBH to take a crack at the question of ‘Why does WGBH, a local public TV station in Boston, have such an impressive impact on media, culture and innovation?’ What follows are several responses to the question.”

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The Make-Believe Clubhouse

The Make-Believe Clubhouse seems, on reflection, to have been a magical experience for many of us. One of the children who guested on the show at about aged 7 still remembers it as magical to this day.

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Going Public (1964-1970)

This entry is part 7 of 12 in the series The Michael Ambrosino Collection

From Michael Ambrosino: I’ve never considered myself an intellectual; my memory and thought processes are just not good enough for true intellectual work. I do, however, have an insatiable curiosity and enjoy the world of ideas.

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In a World All Its Own (1955)

From John Nadeau — 3/2007 When we did simulcasts on radio and TV, my station break announcement sounded like this: “This is the Lowell Institute Cooperative Broadcasting Council…WGBH-FM at 89.7 megacycles and WGBH-TV, channel 2, in Boston.” I joined the staff of WGBH-FM-TV in 1955. The two stations identified themselves as “noncommercial and educational” because…

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The Lowell Council Ditty (1949)

From Larry Creshkoff [This is] a song from the past. It’s sung to the tune of "There is nothing like a dame" (from South Pacific) and was performed for the first (and only) time at the Christmas party of the Lowell Institute Cooperative Broadcasting Council staff in the library of the building at 28 Newbury…

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The 1961 WGBH Fire

From Don Hallock In the early morning hours of October 14, 1961, a raging fire at the 84 Massachusetts Avenue studios of WGBH completely destroyed the facility. WGBH FM and TV were located in the second and third floors of a three story roller former skating rink. The fire, which began in the studio-A area,…

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Quo vadis WGBH (1946-2000)

From Don Hallock: It may surprise you to know how many places the station has called home. WGBH’s origins were in a converted skating rink on the second floor of 84 Mass. Ave. and the office spaces on the third, were the first home of WGBH from 1955 to 1961.

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A Viable Alternative to the “Vast Wasteland”

From Larry Creshkoff — 2000 In his piece, One Way to Run a Railroad, Ray Wilding-White observes that WGBH “…was made a reality with hairpins and bailing-wire by the heroic efforts of a bunch of dedicated, overworked and underpaid young maniacs who hardly knew a microphone from a zebra when they started on radio and…

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One Way to Run a Railroad (1946-59)

From Ray Wilding-White: The station was made reality by a bunch of dedicated, overworked and underpaid young maniacs who hardly knew a microphone from a zebra when they started on radio. I know. I was there.

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