Caught by a newspaper - Printable Version
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Caught by a newspaper - Doug Houston - 02-10-2011
I'm not nuts about publicity, and have managed to avoid it all along.
However, I was in a conversation with the local newspaper's editor the other day on some cause, and he said that he wanted to do a piece in his paper on me. there was no graceful way out of it, so I reluctantly consented.
He was interested, particularly, in a Television set that I have, and that became the topic of his interest. The set is an RCA TRK-12, which isn't exactly something you see at the meets, and it arrested his attention. It will be interesting just how he assembles the facts that he noted, and how i look in the article. As it is, I try to avoid mirrors, so I shudder to think how I'll come across in newsprint.
He didn't make me pay for a damaged camera lens!
Re: Caught by a newspaper - Ron Ramirez - 02-12-2011
Well, congratulations!
And guess what, Doug...I did a quick Web search, and the article is online!
http://www.thecitizenonline.com/Articles-i-2011-02-09-239979.113121-sub14472.113121-Television-circa-1939-different-than-circa-2011.html#123
(Note from admin: The original link no longer works. You can see the article in the link below, but no pictures: )
http://thecitizenonline.com/television-circa-1939-different-than-circa-2011/
I enjoyed reading it. And, other than the odd angle at which the photographer took the picture, that is a fine photo of you with your TRK-12.
Re: Caught by a newspaper - Doug Houston - 02-13-2011
Well, fer cryin' in the bucket!! Just try to keep a low profile, and now, I'm on the internet. I had no idea this thing would get distribution like that!
Good thing I was sitting down, now.
Some of the things were bit incorrect. I was drafted in 1952, and was in the active Army until 1954. THEN, into the reserves.
That was where I learned about broadcasting, and the equipment. i do have an RCA Broadcast console in my collection. I've had it working. I dunno if I could get a picture of it, and some of my recorders here, but I do like broadcast stuff.
I'm in mild shock.
Re: Caught by a newspaper - Uffda - 02-13-2011
Congratulations. Nice article. When is the autograph party? If Oprah calls, insist on first class airplane seats.
Fact checking in the media seems to have gone the way of the dodo. I have a framed platinum record with my sister credited. She never sang on it!
But they forgot to credit her on a different album so...
Re: Caught by a newspaper - Alan Douglas - 02-14-2011
Quote:Fact checking in the media seems to have gone the way of the dodo.
Except that the dodo was alive once.
Don't worry about the errors. There are enough typos and grammatical blips there, that a reader will know they didn't spend much time checking. It's a good read though, which is what counts.
Re: Caught by a newspaper - Texasrocker - 02-20-2011
Alan Douglas, Your an ICON in this hobby!! Never forget that! Mucho Congrats !!! Sincerely!, Tex
Re: Caught by a newspaper - Arran - 04-11-2011
That picture of the reporter in front of a house, is that Mr. Houston's house? If it is it must be transdimensionally transindental, as they would say on the British science fiction series Doctor Who, since it looks rather small from the outside.
With regard to the RCA TRK 12 I'm wondering how many of those sets are around that nobody knows about. Until now I did not know that Mr. Houston had one, but Mr Houston has many interesting things, and good taste in what he collects. There is one in Ottawa, Ontario in the museum of science and technology, that is the one that I saw in person in a glass case. I have seen photos of others posted online including the restoration of one.
Best Regards
Arran
Re: Caught by a newspaper - Doug Houston - 04-11-2011
No, it's not my place. I think it's David Fleet's; the editor.
Regarding the TRK-12's, there are around 30 of them surviving; and how many working; I dunno. Mine works.
I bought it on Radio Row, in downtown Manhattan, in 1954. I was in the Army at the time, and not far from discharge. I had it in the second floor barracks building where I had lived for a total of 21 months. It was in New Jersey, which looked directly across Raritan Bay, at Manhattan. The WNBT (Ch 4) antenna was (is?) atop the Empire State Building, so we were watching Channels 2 and 4 on it when I got it in the barracks building.
When I got it home, I re-capped the television chassis and the radio receiver chassis. They put a pretty nice 12 tube high fidelity receiver in with the TV chassis. It was a model where RCA pulled out all the stops.
I paid $35.00 for the set. I've seen them go for more than that since.
Re: Caught by a newspaper - Arran - 04-11-2011
Here is a private museum that has a pair of RCA TRK 12s, in Toronto I think:
http://www.mztv.com/newframe.asp?content=http://www.mztv.com/worldfairtvs/TRK12.html
Here is the new site: http://www.mztv.com/mz.asp
The fellow that owns them is Moses Znaimer, he used to be the president of the CHUM City TV broadcasting group, which has been taken over by CTV Globe Media, and has since gone downhill. He still owns the television museum however.
Regards
Arran
Re: Caught by a newspaper - Marsupial - 04-11-2011
Mr.Houston, congrats on a good article. I understand how stressful it can be to be under the projector, particularly knowing that we never know what the reporter will end up saying, being good intentions or not.
This is not a bad article, regardless of the typos. Hey, I speak french and noticed how badly it was written.
The article didn't have much more point than to talk about you and old radios, and it was done in a candid manner. I fail to understand the title he chose, there's no past/present radio comparison at all in the article.
Still, I liked the reading, and am happy of the tone they used.
I've personally had worst reporter experience than that. So, congrats on the way it all turned out, even if facts aren't very accurate.
Arran Wrote:There is one in Ottawa, Ontario in the museum of science and technology, that is the one that I saw in person in a glass case.Don't they have two? I remember seing a lucite and wood version of it. Maybe one was in picture and the other in a glass cage?
I was amazed about the lucite version... see trough electronics is so 1990s. LOL.
Re: Caught by a newspaper - Arran - 04-13-2011
Marsupial Wrote:Mr.Houston, congrats on a good article. I understand how stressful it can be to be under the projector, particularly knowing that we never know what the reporter will end up saying, being good intentions or not.
This is not a bad article, regardless of the typos. Hey, I speak french and noticed how badly it was written.
The article didn't have much more point than to talk about you and old radios, and it was done in a candid manner. I fail to understand the title he chose, there's no past/present radio comparison at all in the article.
Still, I liked the reading, and am happy of the tone they used.
I've personally had worst reporter experience than that. So, congrats on the way it all turned out, even if facts aren't very accurate.
Arran Wrote:There is one in Ottawa, Ontario in the museum of science and technology, that is the one that I saw in person in a glass case.Don't they have two? I remember seing a lucite and wood version of it. Maybe one was in picture and the other in a glass cage?
I was amazed about the lucite version... see trough electronics is so 1990s. LOL.
No, there is only one in the museum in Ottawa, and it is a normal TRK 12 that was purchased by Canada's National Research Council back when it was new. The one with the Lucite case and another normal TRK 12 are in the MZTV museum in Toronto, they operate the two sites I linked to, the first has pictures of the two sets in their 1939 World's Fair exhibit.
Regards
Arran