Register of the Stanford Listening Post records
Finding aid prepared by Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 1999
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Stanford Listening Post records
Date (inclusive): 1940-1945
Collection Number: 40001
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
32 manuscript boxes, 1 envelope
(13.4 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Correspondence, transcripts of radio broadcasts, study papers, notes, and card indexes, relating to radio broadcasts from
east and southeast Asia
Creator:
Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace
Creator:
Stanford Listening Post
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1940.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Stanford Listening Post Records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Historical Note
The Stanford Listening Post was established in the Archives Division of the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace
in 1940 for the purpose of recording and studying radio broadcasts from the Far East. The Rockefeller Foundation granted $8,250
to cover the costs of equipment, supplies, and salaries for receiving, recording, and transcribing trans-Pacific broadcasts.
Recording began in mid-September 1940 and continued to the end of May 1941 when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
established listening posts throughout the country for round-the-clock monitoring of foreign broadcasts. The Stanford post
recorded foreign broadcasts for the FCC from 1941 to 1943 and transmitted American broadcasts of the United States Office
of War Information (OWI) to the Far East from 1942 to 1945.
The Stanford Listening Post used two short-wave receivers, an RME 69 and a highly selective HRO. During the last few weeks
of the experiment, a Hallicrafter commercial type receiver was used in place of the RME. Two rhombic antennas provided directional
reception from east-west and north-south. Two standard office Ediphones recorded the broadcasts. Only transmissions in English
were recorded in the beginning, although test recordings of other languages were made. News and news commentator programs
in English from three stations were recorded regularly--Tokyo, Japan; Chungking, China; and Saigon, French Indo-China. Occasional
recordings were made from Hsinking, Manchukuo; Shanghai, China; and Sydney, Australia.
After broadcasts were recorded on Ediphone wax cylinders, a single typed copy was made of the transcript with text double
spaced. There were several checks for accuracy. After the final checking, transcripts were duplicated and sent to a selected
list of persons and libraries interested in Pacific affairs.
The staff of the Stanford Listening Post included Inez G. Richardson, who was director, Richard Beckett, Pauline Hamm, Maria
Hoge, Rosemary Johansson, Kay Kitagawa, Margaret Lintner, Helene von Damm, and Ann Van Wagenen.
(Source:
Annual Report of the Chairman, 1940-41. Hoover Library on War, Revolution, and Peace).
Scope and Contents
This collection contains correspondence, transcripts of radio broadcasts, study papers, notes, and card indexes, relating
to radio broadcasts from east and southeast Asia, 1940-1945. Includes transcripts of foreign broadcasts received by the Stanford
Listening Post, September 1940 to May 1941, and transcripts of foreign broadcasts received by Stanford on behalf of the U.S.
Office of War Information (OWI) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), June 1941 to June 1943. Includes transcripts
of broadcasts originating with the OWI and transmitted from Stanford by short-wave radio to the Far East. Also includes correspondence,
drafts of study papers, outlines and plans, notes, and broadcast transcripts of a project to study and compare the propaganda
methods of China and Japan as revealed in their radio broadcasts.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1939-1945 -- Propaganda
Propaganda
Radio broadcasting -- East Asia
World War, 1939-1945 -- East Asia
United States. Office of War Information
Card Indexes
Scope and Contents note
Three card files consisting of a list of subscribers to the Stanford Listening Post transcripts, a reference file to general
information used by Stanford Listening Post staff, and a subject index to the Stanford Listening Post transcripts (citations
are to the Tokyo-to-America broadcasts unless otherwise stated). Each file is arranged alphabetically by subject.
box 1
List of subscribers to transcripts
box 1
Subject index to transcripts (citations are to Tokyo-to-America broadcasts unless otherwise stated)
box 2
Reference file to information on important persons in the news, foreign words and idioms, and foreign newspapers
Correspondence
1941
1959
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence relating to subscription of the Stanford Listening Post transcripts, arranged chronologically.
box 3
Correspondence relating to subscriptions to Stanford Listening Post transcripts
Transcripts of Broadcasts Received
1940-1943
Scope and Contents note
Transcripts of foreign broadcasts received by the Stanford Listening Post, September 1940 to May 1941, and transcripts of
foreign broadcasts received by Stanford on behalf of the U.S. Office of War Information (OWI) and the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), June 1941 to June 1943. Folders include draft translations as well as final transcripts. Arrangement is
alphabetical by transmitting city and there-under chronological. The transcripts of the Tokyo broadcasts are divided into
three groups--broadcasts intended for the Americas, broadcasts intended for Asia, and broadcasts received by Stanford on behalf
of OWI and FCC.
box 3
Chungking
September 15, 1940-February 28, 1941
box 4
Chungking
March 1, 1941-May 15, 1941
box 5
Chungking
May 16, 1941-May 31, 1941
box 5
Chungking, (second copy)
March 1941-April 1941
box 5
Chungking, (OWI-FCC)
July 1941-August 1941
box 5
Hsinking (Manchukuo), (OWI-FCC)
August 1941
box 5
Saigon
September 15, 1940-October 15, 1940
box 6
Saigon
October 16, 1940-February 28, 1941
box 7
Saigon
March 1, 1941-May 15, 1941
box 8
Saigon
May 16, 1941-May 30, 1941
box 8
Saigon, (OWI-FCC)
August 1941
box 8
Sydney
February 1, 1941-May 31, 1941
box 8
Tokyo-America
September 15, 1940-September 30, 1940
box 9
Tokyo-America
October 1, 1940-December 31, 1940
box 10
Tokyo-America
January 1, 1941-March 31, 1941
box 11
Tokyo-America
April 1, 1941-May 30, 1941
box 11
Tokyo-Asia
September 15, 1940-November 30, 1940
box 12
Tokyo-Asia
December 1, 1940-May 31, 1941
box 12
Tokyo, (OWI-FCC)
June 1941-September 1941
box 13
Tokyo, (OWI-FCC)
August 1941-September 1941
box 13
Thailand, (OWI-FCC)
September 1942-February 1943
box 14
Thailand, (OWI-FCC)
March 1943-June 1943
box 14
Miscellaneous transcripts (Stanford Listening Post)
Transcripts of OWI Broadcasts Transmitted
1942-1945
Scope and Contents note
Transcripts of broadcasts originating with the Office of War Information (OWI) and transmitted from Stanford by short-wave
radio to the Far East. Arranged alphabetically by names of the OWI news services and there-under chronologically. The OWI
news services included the
Chinese News (sometimes called the
Chinese Dialect News or
Dialect News),
Japan-Formosa News, and
Thai News.
box 15
Chinese News,
August 1942-March 1943
box 16
Chinese News,
April 1943-September 1943
box 17
Chinese News,
October 1943-March 1944
box 18
Chinese News,
April 1944-September 1944
box 19
Chinese News,
October 1944-November 1944 and January 1945-April 1945
box 20
Chinese News,and miscellaneous broadcasts
May 1945-August 1945
box 20
Japan-Formosa News,
May 1945-August 1945
box 21
Thai News,
May 1942-June 1943
Project to Analyse Foreign Broadcasts Received by Stanford Listening Post
1940-1942
Scope and Contents note
Correspondence, drafts of study papers, outlines and plans, notes, and broadcast transcripts of a project to study and compare
the propaganda methods of China and Japan as revealed in their radio broadcasts. The final report was not completed, but the
records contain drafts of some chapters, notes and copies of Stanford Listening Post broadcast transcripts arranged by subject.
box 22
Project correspondence
1942
box 22
Project report--outlines, introduction to Chungking chapter, resume of propaganda content
box 22
Comparison of Chungking and Tokyo broadcasts
box 22
Quantitative tables comparing broadcast references to subjects
box 22
Tabulated analysis of references to leaders
Subject arrangement of transcripts
1940-1942
box 22
French Indo-China relations
box 22
Government control of economics
box 22
Government development of economics
box 23
Shanghai, international settlement
box 23
Transportation and communications
box 23
War (Chungking broadcasts only)
French Indo-China and Thailand
box 26
Culture, education, and research
box 26
Dutch East India relations
box 27
War (Tokyo broadcasts only)
box 28
Placating American public opinion
Miscellaneous project notes
envelope A
1 photo of staff members of the Stanford Listening Post.
1940
