Scope and Content Note
The television master books in the NBC Collection date from July 7, 1936 through April 12, 1991. The television master books described in this finding aid cover the years from July 7, 1936 – February 5, 1971.
The NBC Television Master Books offers a unique look into the specific programming history of the oldest major broadcasting network in the United States. The master books contain the official written record of everything broadcast for the entire broadcast day from the WNBT/WNBC television station. This documentation consists of daily program logs, program scripts, commercial scripts, advertising copy, news copy, telecast reports, and in some instances, master music sheets, which list the musical contents of programs.
A researcher can utilize the master books to locate scripts for various anthology series and television movies or to verify contestants and contestant prizes on various games shows. Researchers can study the script changes and notes for early NBC news programs or read the advertising copy for a particular product.
The eventual digitization of the complete collection of NBC Television Master Books will open up an old resource to new discoveries and research.