Edmund Albert Chester Sr. (June 22, 1897 – October 14, 1973) was an American television executive and journalist. He served as a vice president and executive at the CBS radio and television networks during the 1940s. As Director of Latin American Relations he collaborated with the Department of State to develop CBS's La Cadena de las Americas radio network in support of Pan-Americanism during World War II.Dissonant Divas In Chicana Music: The Limits of La Onda Deborah R. Vargas. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2012 pp. 152 -157 Edmund Chester and "La Cadena De Las Americas" on google.books.com He also served as a highly respected journalist and Bureau Chief for Latin America at Associated Press and Vice President at La Prensa Asociada in the 1930s.Time, June 1, 1942Time, March 2, 1942Time, November 11, 1940The New York Times, October 16, 1973, pg. 46Current Biographical Yearbook Volume 2. H. W. Wilson Co. New York, 1941 p. 148 Edmund A. Chester CBS Director of Foreign Broadcasting - biography on books.google He was awarded the Carlos Manuel de Cespedes National Order of Merit by the government of Cuba in recognition of his efforts to foster greater understanding between the peoples of Cuba and the United States of America.Beyond the Black and White TV: Asian and Latin American Spectacle in Cold War America. Han, Benjamin M. Rutgers University Press, 2022 p. 78 La Cadena de las Americas, Edmund Chester, William S. Paley and the Carlos Manuel De Cespedes National Order of Merit on Google Books
Biography During the course of a journalistic career which ranged over two decades, he assumed a central role in the development of a viable international radio transmission network linking the United States of America with the developing nations of South America and Central America for the CBS network from 1940 through 1949.The New York Times, May 4, 1948, pg. 50 As Director of Short Wave Broadcasts for CBS he supervised the creation of this vast shortwave service which was widely known throughout South America as the Network of the Americas (La Cadena de las Americas).In All His Glory: the Life And Times of William S. Paley. Salley Bedell Smith. Random House. New York, 2002 See Chapter 18 William S. Paley, CBS, Edmund A. Chester on books.google
Associated Press Prior to accepting William S. Paley's invitation to join the CBS network, Edmund Chester served as a journalist in Latin America for the Associated Press for twenty years.Daytona Beach Morning Journal - "Edmund Chester Batista Aid Awaiting Word From His Boss" January 3, 1959 on Google Books He first joined the Associated Press in 1930 in Louisville, Kentucky after leaving his position at the Louisville Courier-Journal.The New York Times - "Obituary: "Edmund Chester, 75, Ex-Directorate C.B.S.", October 16, 1973 p. 46 on nytimes.com During this time he reported on several historic events including: the Lima Pan American Conference in 1938, the catastrophic earthquake in Chile during 1939 and the Havana Pan American Conference in 1940. In later years he emerged as the executive director for Associated Press' Latin America Department and Vice President of Associated Press' Latin American subsidiary La Presnes Asociada.
CBS network After joining CBS in 1940, Chester assumed the post of Vice President of the Columbia Broadcasting System and assisted William S. Paley, Paul White and high level diplomats from South America in the development of the intricate broadcast standards which would serve as the foundations for this vital information link during the turbulent World War II era. He also collaborated with his counterparts in Europe during the post World War II era in order to coordinate the creation of new technical broadcast standards and the expansion of the broadcast network which linked the two continents.As It Happened- a Memoir. Paley, William S. Doubleday Books 1979 ISBN 0-385-14639-6 on Google Books
His endeavors were not limited to the technical development of CBS' worldwide broadcasting capabilities. As CBS' Director of Latin American Relations Mr. Chester worked in concert with the Department of State, the United States Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (OCIAA) and Voice of America while supervising the development of news and cultural programming for live broadcasts to North America and Latin America from the CBS broadcast studios in New York City.Time - Radio: La Cadena, June 1, 1942 William S. Paley, La Cadena de las Americas on Content.time.com These imaginative cultural initiatives served to foster benevolent diplomatic relations and high level cultural exchanges throughout South America as part of President Franklin Roosevelt's support for Pan-Americanism and cultural diplomacy during the 1940s.Dissonant Divas In Chicana Music: The Limits of La Onda Deborah R. Vargas. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2012 p. 152-157 Edmund Chester, CBS, Franklin Roosevelt and "La Cadena De Las Americas" on google.books.com Popular programs such as Viva America showcased professional musical talent of the highest caliber in live concert while preserving cultural authenticity and were supervised by the Department of State and the Office of Inter-American Affairs during the tenure of Nelson Rockefeller.The New York Times, January 8, 1941, pg. 18The New York Times, January 1, 1942, pg. 27The New York Times, January 18, 1942, pg. 27The New York Times, May 10, 1942, pg. sm10The New York Times, February 28, 1943, pg. X9The New York Times June 9, 1946, pg. 49The New York Times, November 5, 1983, pg. 34
Chester presented prominent musicians from both North America and South America for extended appearances on these broadcasts. Included among these performing artists were Alfredo Antonini (American (orchestral conductor)); Juan Arvizu (Mexican "Tenor with the Silken Voice");The New York Times, May 5, 1941, pg. 32 Nestor Mesta Chaires (Mexican tenor aka "El Gitano De Mexico");The New York Times, April 23, 1944, pg. x5 Eva Garza (Mexican songstress);The New York Times, January 23, 1944, pg. x9The Strachwitz Frontera collection of Mexican and Mexican American Recordings- Eva Garza Biography on frontera.library.ucla.eduDissonant Divas in Chicana Music: The Limits of La Onda Deborah R. Vargas. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2012 p. 155-157 Eva Garza and Viva America on google.books.com Terig Tucci (Argentine composer/arranger); John Serry, Sr. (American concert accordionist/composer), Elsa Miranda (Puerto Rican vocalist),Billboard - Banana E.T. Proves Good Eating for Elsa Miranda Billboard, February 2, 1946, p. 4 Elsa Miranda and the radio show Viva America on books.google.com the Los Panchos Trio, Manuolita Arriola (1946)Photograph of Manolita Arriola and Nestor Chayres for "Viva America" 1946 CBS on Getty Images and members of the CBS Pan American Orchestra.Media Sound & Culture in Latin America. Editors: Bronfman, Alejanda & Wood, Andrew Grant. University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, 2012, Pg. 49 books.google.com See pg. 49 By recruiting some of the best entertainment talent from throughout the hemisphere, Chester hoped to present an image of the American people as soulful romantics rather than mere "cogs in the national industrial machine", while also providing accurate and timely news programming.
As World War II evolved, the shortwave broadcasts which were transmitted over Chester's La Cadena de Las Americas grew in popularity and scope throughout Latin America. Initially broadcasts only lasted for seven hours each day. By 1945, Chester successfully developed the network to broadcast high quality entertainment and news programming over 114 affiliated radio stations in twenty Latin American nations.Dissonant Divas In Chicana Music: The Limits of La Onda Deborah R. Vargas. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2012 p. 153 Edmund Chester and "La Cadena De Las Americas" on google.books.com
In 1945, Chester also emerged as a Producer for the CBS broadcast of "Program of the Three Americas" which showcased the music of such noted American composers as: Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern and Richard Rodgers on the La Cadena de Las Americas network. The broadcast illustrated Chester's collaboration with Alfredo Antonini (Conductor), Wendell Adams (Director) and Harry Kramer (Commentator)."It's a Grand Night For Singing: Excerpt from a radio program" -excerpt from Program of the Three Americas, Edmund Chester Producer, Alfredo Antonini Conductor, Wendel Adams Director, Harry Cramer commentator on Worldcat.orgEdmund A. Chester on World Cat.org
In later years, Mr. Chester emerged as the director of news, special events and sports for the CBS Television Network (1948). During this period he assumed a central role in coordinating the integration of the vast CBS radio network with the evolving television division.The New York Times, July 3, 1948, pg. 26The New York Times, July 1, 1949, pg. 38The Origins of Television News In America - The Visualizers of CBS in the 1940s Mike Conway. Peter Lang Publishing. New York. 2009. p. 255 Edmund Chester - CBS Television Director of News on books.googleRadio Daily Volume 44 Radio Daily Corporation, 1948 Edmund Chester named to direct CBS News Special Events on books.googleAs It Happened: A Memoir William S. Paley. Doubleday, New York. 1979 p. 375 Edmund Chester - Director of CBS News on books.google
In 1949, Chester also collaborated with one of the original Murrow Boys Larry LeSueur, the media advisor Lyman Bryson and Benjamin V. Cohen (United Nations Assistant Secretary General) in another journalistic endeavor for CBS. In the course of supervising historic live television coverage of the proceedings of the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Security Council from Lake Success, New York on the broadcast series "United Nations in Action" in November 1949, Mr. Chester demonstrated a commitment to the professional standards for excellence in broadcasting which served as the hallmark of the entire CBS network for decades to come.The New York Times, November 4, 1949, pg. 50United Nations in Action: Photograph of Edmund Chester, Larry LaSueur, Lyman Bryson at the interim headquarters of the UN General Assembly Lake Success, NY, March 8,1949 ongettyimages.com"United Nations In Action" on peabodyawards.com"The United Nations Headquarters in Long Island's Lake Success" First Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly in 1947 at Lake Success, Security Council Meetings on untappedcitites.com The series of broadcasts was honored with the George Foster Peabody Award for Television News in 1949.
As a new decade began, Chester collaborated once again with leading journalists at CBS Radio including: Edward R. Murrow and Eric Sevareid in a discussion of the major news developments of the year on the broadcast "Challenge of the 50's Years of Crisis" in 1951.Photograph "Challenge of the 50s: Years of Crisis" showing participants Edward R. Murrow, Eric Sevareid, Edmund Chester & others at CBS in 1951
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