Donald J. Flamm (December 11, 1899 – Feb 15, 1998)[1][2] was an American radio pioneer. He worked for the Shubert Brothers and for such stars as Al Jolson and Milton Berle.[3] He owned numerous radio stations beginning with New York City’s WMCA, and is credited with founding ABSIE (American Broadcasting Station in Europe), the precursor of the Voice of America.
Early lifeedit
Flamm was born in Pittsburgh but attended New York City schools.[3]
Career in broadcastingedit
From a young age, Flamm was very active in the New York cultural scene. He produced plays and published a book of poems (1926). When radio station WMCA began operating in February 1925, Flamm produced much of the on-air content. Flamm is listed as the owner of WMCA from 1926. During the embryonic age of radio broadcasting, Flamm and WMCA were involved in many pioneering activities and controversies. WMCA was one of the nation’s leading radio broadcasting stations.
In December 1940, well-connected investors forced Donald Flamm to sell WMCA to industrialist Edward J. Noble for $850,000, which was about $400,000 less than its market value and the offer Flamm had previously refused from the president’s son, Elliott Roosevelt. Noble told Flamm that he would get his station “no matter what” or his Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license would be taken away. Noble had just left office as Undersecretary of Commerce. He was a friend of top White House aide Thomas Corcoran, and the purchase was handled by former FCC chief counsel William Dempsey, who shared offices with Corcoran. Later investigation showed that Flamm had succeeded in reaching President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s attention and that the president’s aide, General Edwin Watson had asked the FCC to intervene; however, Thomas Corcoran had then countermanded Watson’s order.[4]
Flamm disputed the transaction and filed suit against Noble. The sale resulted in a Congressional investigation, an FCC investigation, and lawsuits that reached the New York Supreme Court by 1949. Flamm was eventually paid a settlement but did not get WMCA back. Noble had sold the station in 1943 to Nathan Straus, former Federal Housing Authority administrator, for $1,250,000 in order to found the “Blue Network,” which became the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The Congressional investigation of the FCC absolved Noble, but drew a blistering dissent from the Republican minority. In 1944, lawyer John J. Sirica resigned as chief counsel to the Select Committee in protest of the handling of the case.[5]
Donald Flamm was then offered a broadcasting job at the Office of War Information, operating radio stations for the U.S. troops in Europe. This network, called ABSIE or the American Broadcast Station in Europe, is regarded as the forerunner of the Voice of America, which is why Flamm is sometimes mentioned as the founder of VOA.
After the WMCA lawsuits, Flamm went back into private broadcasting and at various times owned a number of radio stations. In 1960, he purchased WMMM-AM Westport, Connecticut, which expanded with FM station WDJF (his initials) in 1970. He also owned WPAT and WPAT-FM in Paterson, New Jersey at one time. He sold the Westport stations in the 1980s.[6]
Donald Flamm was very prominent in Jewish circles. He was an Honorary Life Member of the National Commission of the Anti-Defamation League, and endowed the Donald Flamm chair of communications of the ADL. In 1939, he was involved in a controversy with radio priest Father Coughlin after Flamm took Coughlin's anti-semitic broadcasts off WMCA.[3]
Flamm retired to Palm Beach, Florida, where he died 15 February 1998.
Referencesedit
^Who's who in World Jewry. United States: Pitman Publishing Corporation. 1972. p. 260. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
^"Donald Flamm, 98, Radio Broadcaster". The New York Times. 21 February 1998. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
^United States. Congress. House. Select Committee to Investigate the Federal Communications Commission, U. S. Govt. print. off., 1944. Study and Investigation of the Federal Communications Commission: Investigation of radio station WMCA and miscellaneous matters, July 25 – Dec. 16, 1944
^House Select Committee to Investigate the Federal Communications Commission, Final Report and Minority Report
^WMMM – The History of Westport Conn Radio, including History of WMMM, Flamm Biography
December 11, 2023
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages The neutrality of this article is disputed Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met April 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia s quality standards The specific problem is lack of compliance with Manual of Style for biographies Please help improve this article if you can April 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Donald Jason Flamm news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Donald J Flamm December 11 1899 Feb 15 1998 1 2 was an American radio pioneer He worked for the Shubert Brothers and for such stars as Al Jolson and Milton Berle 3 He owned numerous radio stations beginning with New York City s WMCA and is credited with founding ABSIE American Broadcasting Station in Europe the precursor of the Voice of America Early life editFlamm was born in Pittsburgh but attended New York City schools 3 Career in broadcasting editFrom a young age Flamm was very active in the New York cultural scene He produced plays and published a book of poems 1926 When radio station WMCA began operating in February 1925 Flamm produced much of the on air content Flamm is listed as the owner of WMCA from 1926 During the embryonic age of radio broadcasting Flamm and WMCA were involved in many pioneering activities and controversies WMCA was one of the nation s leading radio broadcasting stations In December 1940 well connected investors forced Donald Flamm to sell WMCA to industrialist Edward J Noble for 850 000 which was about 400 000 less than its market value and the offer Flamm had previously refused from the president s son Elliott Roosevelt Noble told Flamm that he would get his station no matter what or his Federal Communications Commission FCC license would be taken away Noble had just left office as Undersecretary of Commerce He was a friend of top White House aide Thomas Corcoran and the purchase was handled by former FCC chief counsel William Dempsey who shared offices with Corcoran Later investigation showed that Flamm had succeeded in reaching President Franklin D Roosevelt s attention and that the president s aide General Edwin Watson had asked the FCC to intervene however Thomas Corcoran had then countermanded Watson s order 4 Flamm disputed the transaction and filed suit against Noble The sale resulted in a Congressional investigation an FCC investigation and lawsuits that reached the New York Supreme Court by 1949 Flamm was eventually paid a settlement but did not get WMCA back Noble had sold the station in 1943 to Nathan Straus former Federal Housing Authority administrator for 1 250 000 in order to found the Blue Network which became the American Broadcasting Company ABC The Congressional investigation of the FCC absolved Noble but drew a blistering dissent from the Republican minority In 1944 lawyer John J Sirica resigned as chief counsel to the Select Committee in protest of the handling of the case 5 Donald Flamm was then offered a broadcasting job at the Office of War Information operating radio stations for the U S troops in Europe This network called ABSIE or the American Broadcast Station in Europe is regarded as the forerunner of the Voice of America which is why Flamm is sometimes mentioned as the founder of VOA After the WMCA lawsuits Flamm went back into private broadcasting and at various times owned a number of radio stations In 1960 he purchased WMMM AM Westport Connecticut which expanded with FM station WDJF his initials in 1970 He also owned WPAT and WPAT FM in Paterson New Jersey at one time He sold the Westport stations in the 1980s 6 Donald Flamm was very prominent in Jewish circles He was an Honorary Life Member of the National Commission of the Anti Defamation League and endowed the Donald Flamm chair of communications of the ADL In 1939 he was involved in a controversy with radio priest Father Coughlin after Flamm took Coughlin s anti semitic broadcasts off WMCA 3 Flamm retired to Palm Beach Florida where he died 15 February 1998 References edit Who s who in World Jewry United States Pitman Publishing Corporation 1972 p 260 Retrieved 14 October 2022 Donald Flamm 98 Radio Broadcaster The New York Times 21 February 1998 Retrieved 14 October 2022 a b c New York Times obituary 21 February 1998 United States Congress House Select Committee to Investigate the Federal Communications Commission U S Govt print off 1944 Study and Investigation of the Federal Communications Commission Investigation of radio station WMCA and miscellaneous matters July 25 Dec 16 1944 House Select Committee to Investigate the Federal Communications Commission Final Report and Minority Report WMMM The History of Westport Conn Radio including History of WMMM Flamm Biography Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Donald Jason Flamm amp oldid 1137174961, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
