Editing Radio documentary (section)

=== 1940s in American Radio Documentary ===
An important moment in the establishment of the radio documentary as a widely used and discussed format is the expansion of portable audio recording devices. In 1945, sound archivist and radio producer, [[Tony Schwartz (sound archivist)|Tony Schwartz]] began to use portable audio recording equipment to collect the sounds of his neighborhood in New York City to share on his WNYC radio show; his features ran for 30 years and grew to include the sounds of daily life recorded by and mailed to him from people around the world.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Suisman|first=David|year=2012|title=Listening to the City|url=http://www.folkways.si.edu/magazine-fall-winter-2012-listening-city/sounds/music/article/smithsonian|journal=Smithsonian Folkways Magazine}}</ref> This style of sharing true-life sound bytes would remain in public radio documentary.

In 1946, one of the most pivotal developments in the spread and stylization of radio documentary was the creation of the CBS Documentary Unit. It was the first sector of a major media network dedicated to this format of radio. The unit was "'devoted exclusively to the production of programs dealing with major domestic and international issues and involving extraordinary research and preparation'".<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Radio Utopia: Postwar Audio Documentary in the Public Interest|last=Ehrlich|first=Matthew C.|publisher=University of Illinois Press|year=2011|pages=46–70}}</ref> Not only did the content deviate from programming that favors advertisers, the style deviated from the standard, creating a well-known format. The style of reporting for the CBS features was adopted and melded by ABC and NBC networks. The format included extensive interviews to gain multiple perspectives on an issue, adherence to journalistic ethics, and often a call to action; the programming was usually released as multiple segments and at peak times.<ref name=":1" /> Examples of these first documentary projects include CBS' 1946 war feature, ''The Empty Noose'',<ref name=":2" /> and ABC's 1949 program, ''V.D., A Conspiracy of Silence'',<ref name=":1" /> addressing the lack of public attention to venereal disease.