March Resumed

This Thursday night at 8 o'clock Eastern Standard Time--and regularly at the same hour on succeeding Thursdays--THE MARCH OF TIME will return to the air. Its purpose: to dramatize for the ear and the imagination of the U.S. radio audience the sound, voice and drama of events that today are shaking the world--a thing which it has not been possible to do over the air since war began.

The last time that the MARCH OF TIME was heard was in 1939, in a pre-war world. In a decade of confused and strident changes it dramatized episodes of mankind's disjointed hopes, disgusts and the comedy of the time. Always edited and produced by TIME, although at certain periods co-sponsored by Wrigley, Remington Rand and Servel (Electrolux), it developed a new radio technique since employed by many another radio program. The summer of 1939 ended it as it ended a decade.

When the editors of TIME decided last month to resume the MARCH OF TIME, they recognized that it would have new problems and new opportunities in dramatizing the news of the world at war. In general since war began, radio has provided news reports and news comments but broadcasters have barred all dramatizations of controversial subjects (including war and politics) and all impersonations of important people. Without these two things M.O.T. could not resume. But National Broadcasting Co., recognizing the importance and value of the program and trusting in the journalistic responsibility of TIME'S editors, agreed to make a special exception for the MARCH OF TIME. NBC also relaxed its rule on recordings to allow M.O.T. to use recordings, not only of sound effects (such as falling bombs) but of music, singing and speaking voices where necessary.

With these special opportunities MARCH OF TIME will resume its peculiar function of giving auditors the sense of being on the scene of great events. One of TIME'S managing editors took direct charge of preparing the script. Part of TIME'S staff and all of TIME'S newsgathering resources were placed at his disposal to give a coherent story of the events of a stirring new decade.

The new MARCH OF TIME will be solely sponsored as well as produced by the editors of TIME, will have only a brief, simple commercial announcement. It will also be broadcast over in stations of NBC's Blue network (for a complete list of stations see announcement on p. 99)--twice as many stations as ever before.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.