support for the 150th anniversary activities, especially in con- 

 tracting for security for the America's Smithsonian exhibi- 

 tion, arranging escorts for the transportation of items in the 

 American's Smithsonian exhibition, and by providing 

 security during the Birthday Parry on the Mall 



providing security for Smithsonian facilities during the Mil- 

 lion Man March on Washington, October 16, 1995. The ex- 

 ceptional service provided by the security force on this 

 occasion was recognized at a ceremony conducted by 

 Secretary Heyman on December II. 



Smithsonian Press/ 

 Smithsonian Productions 



Daniel Goodwin, Director 



In an organizational change that holds great promise for fu- 

 ture ventures, the Office of Telecommunications (OTC) 

 merged with Smithsonian Institution Press to form Smith- 

 sonian Press/Smithsonian Productions. The new division com- 

 bines the Press's program of general-interest and specialized 

 academic publishing, classic recordings, historic videos, and 

 popular works with OTC's award-winning radio and 

 television broadcasts and video and audio productions. 



Smithsonian Press's publishing efforts this year focused on 

 the 150th anniversary, beginning with The Smithsonian: 150 

 Years of Adventure. Discovery, and Wonder from Smithsonian 

 Books and including the full-color exhibition catalogue 

 America's Smithsonian: Celebrating i$o Years. (A complete list of 

 books is given in Publications of the Smithsonian Institution 

 Press.) Smithsonian Contributions and Studies series released 

 eleven publications, including the Bibliography and Index of 

 Sirenia and Demostylia. The Book Development/ New Media 

 division created A Kids Guide to the Smithsonian and a new Officuil 

 Guide to the Smithsonian and copubhshed The Smithsonian Guide to 

 First Ladies. Smithsonian Collection of Recordings released Mean 

 Old World: The Blues from 1940 to 1994. which garnered the best 

 collection of reviews in Smithsonian Recordings' history and 

 gained a Grammy nomination for best notes. 



Smithsonian Productions 



Paul Johnson. Director 



Smithsonian Productions, formerly the Office of Telecom- 

 munications, continued to expand its leadership role in the 

 electronic media arena by developing a wide range of program- 

 ming in video, radio, and multimedia. These probers feature 

 Smithsonian activities and enable a larger audience to better 

 understand and experience what the Institution has to offer. 



Focusing on the 150th anniversary year, Smithsonian 

 Productions provided major assistance in the planning for 

 CBS television's Smithsonian Minutes and in the creation of 

 videos for fundraising. It coordinated the video production of 

 Smithsonian Voices, a section of the traveling exhibition 

 America's Smithsonian, which showcases the Institution's 

 exploration of American music. The office also spearheaded 

 the successful negotiations with Macmillan Digital to pro- 

 vide wide distribution of the America's Smithsonian CD- 

 ROM. For the 150th Birthday Party on the Mall, the office 

 created video packages for showing on the outdoor Jumbo- 

 trons, and coordinated thorough video documentation of the 

 weekend's activities. 



Smithsonian Productions produced a milestone radio series 

 for nationwide broadcast on public radio, premiering in 

 January 1996. Black Radio: Telling It Like It Was, hosted by 

 Lou Rawls, is the first radio series to trace the history of 

 African Americans on radio. Carried by over 150 stations, in- 

 cluding outlets in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San 

 Francisco, Philadelphia, and Washington DC, the series 

 received an unprecedented number of honors and awards, in- 

 cluding two 1996 Gold Medals from the New York Festivals 

 International Radio Competition. The historical audio 

 gathered for the series is available for further research at the 

 Archives of African American Music and Culture at Indiana 

 University, Bloomington. 



In another successful venture, the audio division of Smith- 

 sonian Productions created a series of Science at the Smithsonian 

 programs for nationwide radio broadcast and then packaged 

 them as audiobooks for the retail market. The series features 

 Smithsonian scientists and their work. Titles include The Tides 

 of Maine, Map of the Universe. Speaking with One Heart: The 

 Mayan Languages of Mexico, and Deadly Evolution: The Virulence 

 of Viruses. 



Smithsonian Productions released an election-year spe- 

 cial for broadcast on public radio nationwide. The Nixon- 

 Kennedy Debates, narrated by Sander Vanocur, featured 

 highlights of the history-making debates between the i960 

 candidates for President of the United States, Republican 

 Vice President Richard M. Nixon and Democratic Senator 

 John F. Kennedy. 



Two other Smithsonian Productions radio series, the multi- 

 ple award-winning Folk Masters from The Barns of Wolf Trap 

 and the popular_/azz Smithsonian continued their successful 

 runs on stations in the US and overseas. To complement the 

 ]azz series, the office collaborated with the Smithsonian Press 

 to create a CD product featuring the Smithsonian Jazz Master- 

 works Orchestra for the retail market. 



Smithsonian Productions worked intensively with Smith- 

 sonian Press and Lancit Media Productions, Ltd., a recognized 

 leader in creating quality children's TV programs, on further 

 development ol a Smithsonian-based television series geared 

 for 8- to 12-year-olds. As the year ended the series, entitled 

 Seekers, was being presented to several major broadcast net- 

 works for their consideration. 



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