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The Papers of Dr. Herman S. Hettinger
Processed by: John WoodSeptember, 1997
0.5 lin. ft
Herman S. Hettinger (1902-1972), American executive, legal advisor, academic, and author, had a long and varied career that frequently brought him into the business of radio broadcasting. Hettinger received a doctorate in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1933 and taught there for twelve years. He was chairman of the Wharton School's marketing department from 1940-1942. He conducted one of the nation's first radio listener studies in Philadelphia in 1928. He was active in listener research until 1938, serving as first research director of the National Association of Broadcasters, 1934-35 and represented the Association on the Technical Subcommittee of the Joint Committee on Radio Research, 1936-1937 and 1938. Between 1934 and 1950, Dr. Hettinger served as economic consultant to CBS, NBC and various station groups such as the Newspaper-Radio Committee, and individual stations. He was a special consultant to the broadcasting section of the Census of Business, 1935, and to the Federal Communications Commission, 1936-1937.
Dr. Hettinger published extensively on the economics of broadcasting. In 1933, he completed the first study of broadcasting economics, published by the University of Chicago Press, entitled, " A Decade of Radio Advertising". He also wrote, "Practical Radio Advertising", published by Prentice-Hall in 1938. He edited two issues of the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science regarding broadcasting, in 1935 and 1940. He also contributed to such professional journals as Harvard Business Review, Air Law Review, Chicago Journal of Business and the Journal of Marketing of the American Marketing Association.
The Papers of Dr. Herman S. Hettinger span the years 1941 to 1956, with the bulk of the material dating from 1950 to 1956 and contains undated material. The collection contains correspondence, memoranda, legal papers, handwritten notes, and table and charts relating to broadcast revenue for radio stations. The Papers contain one series:
Series I: Legal Cases
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Series I: Legal Cases
This series contains material relating to two legal cases in which Dr. Hettinger served as an advisor in the 1940s and 1950s. The material includes correspondence, memoranda, legal papers, handwritten notes, and table and charts.
Subseries I: The Newspaper-Radio HearingsThis subseries contains material from 1941 and also has undated material. These hearings considered the extent of cross-ownership between radio stations and newspapers, also referred to as association. It contains some correspondence, corss-examination material regarding trends in association, a memo regarding a presentation to the committee and a critical report on material presented in the Newspaper-Radio Hearings.
Subseries II: Agricultural Broadcasting Company tax caseThis subseries contains material from 1950-1956 and undated material. This series deals with a legal case in which the Agriculutral Broadcasting Company, owners of station WLS in Chicago among others, sought tax relief under section 722 of the Internal Revenue Code. The case appears to have centered around advertising revenue at WLS. the series contains correspondence including letters from and to Dr. Hettinger and other letters related to the case.
It also contains legal papers and notes such as memoranda, affidavits and outlines of legal arguments. Some of the printed material contains handwritten marginalia. The series contains handwritten notes with data on WLS broadcast revenue and an outline of points to be made and legal strategy in this case. It also contains raw data, tables and charts of relevance to the case, including much information comparing WLS to other comparable stations.
For further information, contact the Library of American Broadcasting.
labcast@umd.eduLibrary of American Broadcasting
University of Maryland, College Park
