Five Seconds to Air: An Historical Essay on Passionist Electronic Media—Radio and Television
by Father Rob Carbonneau, C.P.
In 2004 Father Michael Salvagna, C.P. asked me to investigate the history of the Passionist television ministry. Digging through seven aisles of accumulated Passionist documentation at the archives in Union City, New Jersey and having informal discussions with various people led me to conclude that the real story is about Passionist electronic media-the combined ministry of Passionist radio and television. The following essay, which is part of a larger historical inquiry, introduces three key individuals who have shaped Passionist electronic media.
Beyond the scope of my study was the history of Passionist print media as seen in The Sign Magazine published between 1921-1982; the 1956 Passionist vocation movie Modern Crusaders; and the wide range of Passionist-affiliated audio/visual material produced over the last decade.
To understand the history of Passionist electronic media in the wider context of Catholic religious broadcasting read Dale Francis, "The Press and Communications." in The American Apostolate edited by Leo Richard Ward, C.S.C. (Westminster, MD: The Newman Press, 1952), 278-285; Robert W. McChesney, "Crusade Against Mammon: Father Harney, WLWL, and the Debate Over Radio in the 1930s." Journalism History 14 (Winter 1987): 118-130; Tona J. Hanagen, Redeeming the Dial: Radio, Religion & Popular Culture in America (Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2002).
Father Fidelis Rice, C.P.
Father Mark Connolly
Father George Nolan, C.P.
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