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Page 1: The Works of Orrin Dunlap

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The Works of Orrin DunlapPublished online: 18 Nov 2009.

To cite this article: (1970) The Works of Orrin Dunlap, Communication Booknotes, 1:4, 4-6, DOI: 10.1080/10948007009489569

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Page 2: The Works of Orrin Dunlap

Booknotes 4

A Final Word

The last pages of this issue of BBB consist of a listing of Orrin E. Dunlap's books on radio-television (a feature suggested by Dr. L. W. Lichty of the Univer-sity of Wisconsin). Suggestions for similiar specialized listings are welcomed and will be run in future issues.

BBB now goes to over 60 different academic types across the country and we welcome suggestions for contents, new additions to our mailing list and other comments. Note the number of contributors mentioned in this issue--this is the only this service will work--so write me news you hear on new publications. Copies of the first three issues still available on request.

Christopher H. Sterling Department of Speech University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah 84112

The Works of Orrin Dunlap

On February 1, 1970, Orrin E. Dunlap died in New York City. As most readers of BBB are aware, Dunlap had spent his life in.the field of radio and had written at length on the subject in books and articles.

Dunlap was born in Niagra Falls, NY in 1896. He studied-in the East, receiving his B.S. from Colgate in 1920 and going on for some course work at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. Even before this education, however, Dunlap had entered the world of radio. He was a radio operator with the U.S. Navy during World War I and served at Naval Radio station NBD in Maine before signing on as chief operator of the Marconi apparatus on the S.S. Octorora in 1917. After the war he turned to writings and for the 18 years from 1922-1940 he served as radio editor of the New York Times. In that position he was able to observe the growth and development of both radio and television--and to gather material for the many books he wrote. In 1940 he signed on with RCA as manager of the firms information department, becoming Vice-President in charge of Advertising and Publicity in 1947 and holding that post until his retirement in 1960. He was 73 when he died last month.

The 13 books written by Dunlap from 1924 to 1964 are in many ways a history of broadcasting in themselves--although some are of more value today than others. BBB presents herewith an annotated bibliography of the books of Orrin E. Dunlap, listing his work in chronological order.

1. The Radio Manual. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1924. 258 pages. Dunlap's first book grew out of his early heyday experiences with the Times and the constant clamoring of amateurs for more how-to-do-it information on all aspects of radio. The author's aim was to present this technical information so that all could understand it. The first 16 pages offer a brief history of radio, the next 200 pages discuss all aspects of radio apparatus for amateurs, there are 20 pages on the radio laws of the time and a 15 page dictionary of terms.

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Page 3: The Works of Orrin Dunlap

Booknotes 5

2. The Story of Radio, New York: The Dial Press, 1927 (revised edition, 1935). This is a history of radio's development, concentrating almost totally on technical aspects. The 1927 edition had 189 pages, while the 1935 edition had 326, most of the difference being taken up by added chapters on television, short-wave, facsimile and a 35 page chapter on the difference between American and foreign radio. The revised edition had 32 pages of photographs. Indexed.

3. Advertising by Radio, New York: Ronald Press Co., 1929. 186 pages. This was the second book on broadcast advertising to be published (not counting a company publication of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.) and was the first of two Dunlap treatments of the subject. It is inter-esting cheifly as a view of radio advertising just at the start of major networks and the depression.

4. Radio in Advertises. New York: Harper, 1931. 383 pages. A far more lengthy and organized treatment of the subject, this was Dunlap's first book for the firm which published most of his output. The book analyses all aspects of radio programming and audiences and discusses ways for planning sponsored programs. There is brief mention of TV advertising and radio law affecting advertising.

5. The Outlook for Television. New York: Harper, 1932. 297 pages. This book is unique among Dunlap's output as it is a collection of his early television articles from the Times, and no other book he wrote came so directly from his newspaper work. The book contains five pages of photos, eight brief donations from famous people of the time on the potential role of TV, 20 pages of TV chronology and a two page list of TV stations operating in the U.S. as of mid-1932. Indexed.

6. Talking on the Radio., New York: Greenberg, 1936. About 220 pages. Subtitled "A practical guide for writing and broadcasting a speech," this was the second and last Dunlap practical "how-to" book published. It centers on political speechmaker's use of the medium, contains chapters on teaching by radio, laws and ethics, items for newsmen, and some practical "do's and don'ts."

7. Marconi: The Man and His Wireless. New York: Macmillan, 1938. 362 pages. This is one of Dunlap's most useful and important works and is one of about three standard english-language biographies of the Italian inventor. It was slightly revised in 1938 to include the facts of Marconi's death. 16 pages of photos and numerous annotations make the study even more useful. Indexed.

8. The Future of Television. New York: Harper, 1942 (revised edition s 1947). Ten years after his first book on the subject, Dunlap returned to the subject of television, this time writing a work devoted to commer-cial broadcasting rather than technical development. The first edition and the second differ only in slight detail; the latter being brought up to date in light of post-war developments in the medium then just under way. Second edition has 194 pages, includes a 10 page chronology of TV, and a list of 1947 TV stations. Bunlapvs first book after joining RCA staff, Indexed.

9. Radio's 100 Men of Science. New York: Harper, 1944. 294 pages. This is another one of Dunlap's valuable works dealing with radio history--in this case a collection of brief (2-3 pages each) biographies of major inventors having anything to do with radio-TV. Indexed.

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Booknotes - 6

10. Radar: What Radar Is and How It Works. New York: Harper, 1946 (revised 1948) This is the first of Dunlap's books dealing with an aspect of radio other than broadcasting. The book is a historyoof the methods of radar and its war-time development, and is also a non-technical description of the system. Eight pages of photoes, many diagrams, a glossary, and list of further readinrmaleaup the first edition's 208 pages. Indexed.

11. .....2sti_i_ndincrs..Undex uision. New York: Greenberg, 1948. 128 pages Dunlap's briefest work, this is a popular illustrated book on all aspects of TV, particularly questions of those considering TV set purchase. There is an 11 page glossary, a list of TV stations as of September 1948, and a list of further reading. Indexed.

12. 1121212p's Radio and Television Almanac. New York: Harpers, 1951. 211 pages. Another of Dunlap's more valuable works, this is a lengthy chronology of radio and TV up to late 1950. It is divided into eight periods, and contains appendices of FRC, FCC members, IRE, NAB, RMA and Television Broadcaster's Assoc. presidents and 32 pages of photos. Indexed. There is a strong RCA bias after 1940.

13.amakatlang asElza . New York: Harper, 1962 (revised edition, 1964). Written after his retirement, this brief (170 pages in 1st edition and over 200 pages in 2nd) book serves to sum up the development of radio with the potential of satellites, CATV and other "new systems. The first half of the book summarizes information in many of his earlier works. Many photos. Indexed.

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