The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1944-02-08
OPERATES ON BIG SCALE

10 90 It's JOB, the Army Informa-
ton Branch - which, it should be
made clear, has nothing to do with
its Public Relations branch - has
probably the biggest and most
varied news, radio, magazine, movie
educational and research networks
ever put together. 1t operates with
only eight officers in Washington.
the staff of around 300 working
mainly in New York on news, in
New York and San Francisco on
radio, in Los Angeles on movies.
It's movie operation, headed by
Frank Capra, is about half the size
of Paramount's. 1t is responsible for
the Why We Fight" series OF
films that play such an important
part in letting American soldiers
and sailors know what the wars all
about.
Its radio network, under Lieu
tenant-Colonel T. H. A. Lewis,
broadcasts AZ program hours a week
hits every theater of operation by
standard or short-wave, and may be
rebroadcaSting by some Is Army
stations all over the world. Theo-
retically, there is one radio receiver
for every IL men going overseas,
but the number of sets in the pos
session of individual soldiers or ac-
quired by units in the field may
raise this ratio. It made 100000
transcriptionS for rebroadcast last
year, half decommercialized COM
mercial programs, half original G..
I. programs.
1t publishes weekly news map
for worldwide distribution to
American armed forces, to keep
them posted on progress of the war
1t has published a series of q
score or more of pocket guides, with
some editions going into the mil
lions, to acquaint soldiers of the
customs of the countries in which
they are serving.
1t publishes Yank, the Army pic
ture weekly, in dozen or more edi-
tons for every tneater of opera
ton.
ISSUES NEWSREEL SHORTS
1t issues the Army-Navy screen
magazine, a newsreel of short sub
jects, cartoons, news from war
fronts, news from home. This and
nearly all these other things, by
the way, go to Navy, Marine Corps
and Coast Guard forces, for the
Navy has no similar setup to the
Army's Information Branch.
1t services news, pictures and
features to the Stars and Stripes,
the overseas service newspaper
published daily in North Africa and
England, weekly elsewhere. Along
with more than a score of editions
of the Stars and Stripes, the 1900
camp newspapers in the United
States also get service.
1t telephotos news pictures to all
its publications, where possible.
It furnishes news for mimeograph-
ed news-letters for troops in the
front line. It has sports file to
Berne, Switzerland, for distribution
by the Red Cross to American pris-
oners Of war
It Is, in short, one whale of an
operation. And the job Of keeping
its product fair, impartial, unbiased,
is terrific.
In it's news headquarters in New
York there is desk for every the
alter of operation, to feed that war
area just the type Of news it wants.
Over the news room Is Lt.-Col.
Frank ForSberg, formerly of Street
and Smith. Under him is an edi-
torial board of three which passes
on all news, all features, to keep the
report unbiased. factual, free from
editorializing and prejudice.
If President Roosevelt makes a
speech, 1t must be reported, but
there must be criticism Of 1t from
the opposition before London or
Berlin or Tokyo beats us to the
punch. II Senator Barley speaks
for something, there must be equal
space to Senator Taft's reply.
These controversial, political sub.
jects can't be ignored. Men and
women in uniform want to know
about them and are entitled to know
about them. The Job the Army IN
formation Branch has cut out for
itself is to keep the people in serv-
ice informed about matters at home,
SO they won't come back to find 1t
a changed and sad new world.
But the job requires some expert
tight-rope walking, and 1t will be
only a miracle II both political par
ties feel they will have been dealt
with fairly. A better bet is that
both sides will raise cries Of preju-
dice and unfairness. and both sides
win raise cries Of prejudice and I'M
fairness, and both sides viii end up