Audiovisual Materials

This series consists of 16mm films, 3/4" videotape cassettes, 35mm film elements, and 1/2" VHS videotape cassettes. The bulk of the series is 16mm film. Employee Training films includes films from the 1920s to the 1940s depicting how Western Union wanted its telegraph operators to do their jobs, how to work accurately and efficiently in order to maintain speed of operation, detailed operation of complex telegraphic equipment, and more recent sales and customer service employee incentive films. Public Relations/Promotional Films, circa 1929-1980s, includes consumer awareness segments from NBC's "Today" show and WNBC-TV in New York featuring Betty Furness reporting on Mailgram, Telegram, and Money Transfer; and numerous films and videos which emphasize Western Union's wide variety of services, its modernity, and ability to keep up with the changing communications field. Heavily featured are films from the 1970s and 1980s on Westar, the first telecommunications satellite (launched in 1974), and its influence on Western Union service. Several films and videos depict early facsimile machines in the 1940s and 1950s, and two films depict underwater cable laying operations. Television Commercials, circa 1974-1991, emphasize the ease of use of the company's services, the firms modernity and competitive edge in the telecommunications market; the return of the singing telegram in the 1980s; videoconferencing; satellite communications; and several recent Spanish language commercials. Acquired Films, circa 1946-1989, includes several videotape copies of the 20th Century Fox production of WESTERN UNION [1941], films produced outside Western Union using Western Union footage or mention Western Union or its products, and depictions of various aspects of the history of telegraphy. Films Documenting Corporate Activities, circa 1928-1994, contains films made at the building site of Western Union's old New York headquarters during construction; videotapes of various company executives addressing employees on the company's financial situation, restructuring plans, and consequences of the AT&T divestiture in the 1980s; short compilation videos looking back nostalgically at the history of Western Union through archival photographs and footage; films depicting office operations; and a parody of Gone with the Wind about the corporate buyout of Western Union in 1994. The microfilm contains selected reels for Board of Directors Meetings, Executive Committee Minutes, and Subsidiaries. See Series 3: Executive Records, 1848-1987 for additional materials regarding these executive functions.