The Press-Radio War

Stage one began very slowly, and the newspapers were not at all hostile toward broadcasting. In fact, they were helpful in promoting radio in the early 1920s. Initially, the stations were not seen as channels of news delivery, but as promotional devices for the newspapers that owned them. The prospect of wire service provision of news to radio upset some print journalists, and that led to the Associated Press issuing a notice to its members that AP news bulletins were not to be used for purposes of broadcasting. One event that led to conflict between the journalists was the 1924 Presidential Election.

Stage two, the entry of radio as a new medium was horrifying to the established news distribution source. Prior to radio news moved through wire services, through the newspapers to the people. The press started to fear that if radio started to provide news, then news could bypass the newspapers, thus shifting the flow of news throughout society. This started a fight for self-preservation on the part of newspapers, which could only be won if all journalists stood together. In April 1933 all three wire services agreed to stop providing radio with news bulletins. The anti-radio forces had finally gotten their wish. Broadcasters were now forced to find new ways of obtaining bulletins for their newscasts, and by the fall of 1933 CBS established a full news division, NBC followed on a smaller scale and the networks were more independent from print journalists for their news bulletins.

Stage three, print journalists had to find ways to prevent and limit the development of broadcasting. The "attack" on broadcasting took three forms, political lobbying, economic boycott, and legal action. At first it worked, only a few months after networks began broadcasting their own news, they appealed to the press to meet and negotiate a "peace agreement".

A meeting of newspaper publishers, network executives, and wire service representatives, held at the Biltmore Hotel in New York City in 1933, established the Biltmore Agreement. The meeting was called by CBS President William S. Paley with the purpose to end the long standing dispute as to news broadcasting. It stipulated that networks could air two five-minute newscasts a day, one in the morning after 9:30 A.M. and one in the evening after 9:00 p.m. so they would not compete with the primary hours of newspaper sales. No "hot off the wire" news was to be broadcast, and newscasts were not to have advertising support because this might detract from newspaper advertising. Newspaper publishers ensured that these provisions appeared in the Biltmore Agreement because they were the more powerful and wealthiest of the meeting participants.

The deal had barely been a few hours old when its intent began to be subverted. The newspaper publishers agreed to allow radio stations and networks to have commentators. Radio took advantage of this provision, and often these commentators became thinly disguised news reporters. NBC and CBS began their own news gathering activities. At NBC, one person gathered news simply by making telephone calls. Sometimes he scooped newspaper reporters because almost anyone would answer a call at NBC. In addition, he could reward news sources with highly prized tickets to NBC's top shows.

Independent broadcasters did not sign the agreement, leaving a big problem for the press, because only 150 of the 600 radio stations were network owned. Before long, news gathering agencies emerged to fill the vacancy of news sources. The most successful of these agencies was the Transradio Press Service, which had over 150 subscribers after only 9 months of operation. There was nothing the press could do and no legal justification for taking action against the agencies.[1]