TELEVISION AND RADIO

-In the U.S. In the U.S. Jews have played a major role in the development of television and radio as they have in other entertainment industries. They have been well represented in all executive and technical aspects of the industry, as well as among performers. As in motion pictures, one factor encouraging their participation was the development of a new field at a time when Jews were available to enter it, and for which they had a penchant. It was not encrusted with fixed traditions and prejudice. In an era when discrimination blocked opportunity for Jews in many other fields, broadcasting had room for those with individual ability and original ideas and initiative. In the early days of the development of broadcasting, Jewish inventors, experimenters, and promoters already played significant roles. As early as 1877 emile berliner patented a telephone receiver which produced a clear sound and extended the range of communications. This was the forerunner of the microphone and was purchased by the Bell Telephone Company, which engaged Berliner for three years as the company's chief instrument inspector. Berliner also made important inventions for the gramophone, replacing the cylinder with a flat disc made of hardened rubber material that could be produced cheaply in large quantities. The Berliner gramophone was developed into the Victor Talking Machine.   Jews held key positions in the emergence and shaping of the three major U.S. networks. david sarnoff started the first U.S. radio chain, the National Broadcasting Company, in 1926 as a service of the Radio Corporation of America. He became president of RCA in 1930. When he retired in 1970, he was succeeded by his son Robert, who had earlier served as president of NBC. Comparable in influence and competitive to NBC is the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) which was founded under the presidency of william s. paley two years after NBC was organized. Both NBC and CBS pioneered in the introduction of television – black-and-white and later color. The third major network, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), was an outgrowth of the NBC network. It was bought out by United Paramount Theater, and Leonard H. Goldenson became its president. Apart from the heads of the major networks, many Jews worked at all levels in the organizations as well as in the smaller networks, educational services, local stations, etc. Many Jews came to the fore as radio and television stars. Such stars as al jolson , Ed Wynn, eddie cantor , Jack Benny, groucho marx , Milton Berle, and Sid Caesar became top entertainment figures in the new media, and personalities such as walter winchell , David Susskind, and leonard bernstein became household names. In addition, there were popular Jewish situation comedies, notably "The Goldbergs," in which Gertrude Berg starred for years. Producers such as David Wolper achieved great influence. Many Jewish communities sponsored their own regular shows which brought local and general Jewish news, reports from Israel, and Jewish music. Another feature in towns with large Jewish populations was the presentation of programs in Yiddish (such as on the New York station WEVD, owned by the Jewish Daily Forward) and sometimes in Hebrew. As part of their responsibility, radio and television outlets devoted part of their time to public service programs, some of which have been religious. In this framework Jewish organizations shared time with representatives of other religions. NBC and ABC worked with the Jewish Theological Seminary to present programs of interest to both the Jewish community and to non-Jews ("The Eternal Light," "Frontiers of Faith") and CBS worked with the New York Board of Rabbis (similar arrangements were made with rabbis in other major towns). The American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, and other Jewish organizations maintained relationships with the broadcasting media within the scope of their areas of interest. By the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st, Jews had assimilated into the television and radio industries as the companies became part of larger corporations. At one point, when the Disney Corporation owned ABC, its president was michael eisner . At CBS, leslie moonves , a Jew, held the reigns and at NBC jeff zucker was in the second-highest post at the network. On radio, one personality who emerged was howard stern , who, saying he was fighting censorship, moved his controversial programs to Sirius satellite radio, avoiding governmental oversight. In Latin America, where the emphasis was more on independent stations than on networks, Jews played a small role in broadcasting of Jewish interest. The type of programming, however, was such that many communities were able to sponsor regular programs in Spanish, Portuguese, and Yiddish. -In Europe In Europe, regular Jewish broadcasts were directed mainly to Jewish audiences abroad and not to the domestic Jewish population. In fact, these broadcasts could rarely be heard in the countries of origin, their main object being the projection of a particular line of thought or political policy in other regions. The Hebrew Service of the BBC ("Kol London") continued daily for 19 years, from 1949 to 1968. Its main purpose was the projection of British political thought and culture. It was beamed not only to Israel and the Middle East but also to Eastern Europe. A daily Yiddish broadcast from Bucharest, Romania, to the United States covered current affairs and news and often included matters of specifically Jewish interest. During the period of the Six-Day War, Moscow started broadcasting in Hebrew and Yiddish (15 minutes each). This daily broadcast was listed as transmitted by "Radio Station Peace and Progress." It was beamed to Israel and devoted to promoting official Russian policy on the Middle East. The Yiddish broadcasts were almost the same as those in Hebrew. Radio Birobidjan also sent out a broadcast in Yiddish, but it could hardly be heard outside its area. It had practically no Jewish content, except for occasional reviews of new editions of sovetish heymland (the Yiddish monthly published in Moscow) and occasional interviews with Jewish workers in the territory's industry and agriculture on their achievements. Jewish records were also played. The French Overseas Radio directed its daily Yiddish broadcasts to Eastern Europe. It contained a daily news bulletin and a commentary on current affairs. All the broadcasts mentioned fell into the category of foreign or external broadcasting. Jewish communities in Europe had few special programs, either on radio or television, devoted entirely to Jewish affairs or matters of Jewish interest. Only now and again was a program of specifically Jewish interest presented, and then it usually came under the heading of "religious broadcasting." One of the best known was a regular program over the French television network. In Britain, there were very few Jewish names among the radio or television "personalities" appearing regularly before a camera or a microphone. Among those better known was the actor David Kossoff and the compere David Jacobs. Jews who reached important positions in radio or television were engaged mainly in scriptwriting, production, and administration. John Jacobs (David's brother) became head of drama at Anglia Television in 1964. In the field of current affairs, Jeremy Isaacs became known for his work on programs like "This Week" (Rediffusion) and "Panorama" (BBC). Elkan Allan, writer and producer, was head of entertainment of Rediffusion   Television from 1962 to 1965. Cyril Bennett (d. 1977) became controller of programs at London Weekend Television and Brian Tessler director and program controller of ABC Television. Among the prominent administrators were Lord (Sidney) Bernstein, chairman of Granada Television Ltd., Sir Lew Grade, joint managing director of Associated Television Ltd., and Bernard Delfont, TV executive and impresario. (Erwin Bienenstok) For Israel, see israel , State of: Cultural Life (Radio; Television). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: T. Levitan, Jews in American Life (1969), 96–99, 199–203, 245–46; IGYB (1950– ); G. Wigoder, in: Gazette, International Journal for Mass Communication Studies, 7 no. 1 (1961), 129–36; EIV, supplement vol. (1967), cols. 446–48; Givton, in: European Broadcasting Union Review, 93 B (Sept. 1965).