''Georgetown University Forum'' is an American radio

talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...

. It is uploaded weekly to the

Public Radio Satellite System The Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS) is the interconnected satellite-distributed network managed by NPR (National Public Radio), and used by NPR, Public Radio Exchange (PRX), and American Public Media (APM), as well as independent public radio ...

as free content for

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

member stations, with additional availability to

Armed Forces Radio The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, AFN's broadcast operations, which i ...

and

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

. It has existed since 1947, and in the 1950s was briefly a television program on now-defunct

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...

Radio history

The first airdate was in 1947. Beginning in the mid-1970s it was hosted by Lillian Brown, a presidential makeup artist who had worked with every president from Eisenhower to Clinton. From 2009 to 2016 it was produced and hosted by Carole Sargent, the Director of the Office of Scholarly Publications who had previously been a faculty member in the English department. From 2016-2019 it was produced and hosted by Evan Barba and J.R. Osborn, both professors in the Communication, Culture, and Technology program at Georgetown University. In 2019 Sargent returned as producer and host, with continued production and content from Barba and Osborn, and Timothy Casey (C'07).

Television broadcast history

The series aired on Thursdays at 8pm ET from July 3, 1951. Beginning with the 1952 season, the series aired Sundays at 7pm ET. The show was a

public affairs program In broadcasting, public affairs radio or television programs focus on matters of politics and public policy. Among commercial broadcasters, such programs are often only to satisfy Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulatory expectations ...

hosted by Frank Blair, later a newscaster on NBC. The last show aired October 11, 1953. The television version of the show, produced at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in Washington, DC and distributed by DuMont, aired weekly. Most of the topics were political or related to current news events.Brooks, Tim & Marsh, Earle (1964). ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows'' (3rd ed.). New York: Ballantine. When the series was cancelled in 1953, DuMont replaced the series with local (non-network) programming.

Radio episode status

The radio archive is at the Gelardin New Media Center of

Lauinger Library The Joseph Mark Lauinger Library is the main library of Georgetown University and the center of the seven-library Georgetown University Library, Georgetown library system that includes 3.5 million volumes. It holds 1.7 million volumes on six floo ...

. The program is currently produced by the Director of the Office of Scholarly Publications (part of the Office of the Provost), and two professors in the Communication, Culture, and Technology program.

Television episode status

A single kinescope of the series survives at the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...

References

Bibliography

*David Weinstein, ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television'' (Philadelphia:

Temple University Press Temple University Press is a university press founded in 1969 that is part of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It is one of thirteen publishers to participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, a global library consortium approach t ...

, 2004) *Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'', Fourth edition (New York:

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...

, 1964)

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0324838, title=Georgetown University Forum
Lauinger Library archive
1951 American television series debuts 1953 American television series endings 1950s American television news shows Black-and-white American television shows DuMont Television Network original programming English-language television shows DuMont news programming