From Akron to the internet

[wantneeda]

A time line of A.A. communication



The ways A.A's carry the message has changed over the years. The message hasn't.


1935: Bill W. & Dr. Bob meet face to face in Akron.


1939: The Big Book is published, carrying the message in print.


1939: First public service message about the Big Book appears in a New York Times ad, "Have You an Alcoholic Problem?"


1941: NBC begins a 13-part syndicated radio program called Is Alcohol a Problem in Your Home?


1941: Saturday Evening Post publishes Jack Alexander's article about AA.


1944: The AA Grapevine begins monthly publication as AA's meeting in print.


1945: Paramount Pictures releases the movie The Lost Weekend, based on the novel by Charles Jackson.


1946: Marty Mann explains alcoholism and AA on the radio show We The People. First Aussie meeting takes place in Sydney.


1947: First transatlantic telephone call is received by The Alcoholic Foundation from an Army hospital in Germany.


1948: An AA member explains principles of the program on Hi, Jinx, a morning radio show on WNBC.


1949: CBS radio broadcasts a 10 episode drama about an alcoholic who finds AA. GSO is deluged with inquiries.


1953: HAAM, an international fellowship of AA ham radio operators, is established.


1953: Art Linkletter interviews a masked woman member of AA on his TV show.


1954: The Grapevine asks for the signals of amateur radio operators who would like to communicate via the airwaves.


1956: An all-AA TV program, Mr. Hope, an actual closed meeting of masked AA members, debuts in Detroit. AA HQ in Detroit is besieged by telephone calls and letters from people wanting more information.


1956: Bill W. and Eve M. from general service are anonymous guests on the popular radio show Martha Deane on WOR.


1960: Broadcast of a radio show called Alcoholism - The Problem and the Hope, featuring Marty Mann and a GSO staff member.


1962: The Betty Furness radio program features a show on international AA.


1963: The movie Days of Wine and Roses is previewed by GSO staffers before its release.


l963: WNBC begins broadcasting an AA radio program called Ask an Alcoholic.


1966: AA creates a 60-second TV spot for distribution by public information committees.


1966: Five groups in two states hold the first telephone conference-call meeting.


1970: KUAT in Tucson, AZ, launches AA-of-the-Air, a radio show for homebound AAs.


1973: David Suskind interviews 5 women AAs on his TV show.


1976: Members of AA, Al-Anon, and Alateen are interviewed on the John Gentry Radio Show on WGCH in Greenwich, CT.


1979: The 29th General Service Conference views and approves Alcoholics Anonymous - An Inside View, a 28-minute color film produced by AA.


1980s: First AA bulletin boards, online meetings, and chat rooms appear.


1986: Q-Link, one of the first online AA groups, begins meeting, growing to 200 members nationwide in two years.


1988: GSO begins compiling a list of online AA groups.


1989: ABC-TV broadcasts My Name is Bill W. 1990s: TDD (text telephone) technology helps hard-of-hearing AAs talk with other AAs.


1990: Kansas Area public information establishes AA Message of the Day, a telephone service featuring daily readings from the "Twelve and Twelve."


1990: Connecticut's public radio show, Open Air New England, puts open AA meetings on the air.


1992: Thirteen 1-hour AA meetings airing 3 times a week are broadcast on cable TV stations in Portland, OR.


1995: Online Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous (OIAA) is established.


2002: The Queensland Young People in AA Convention is netcast worldwide from Australia.


2002: Online AA reps meet, hoping to establish a service conference for AA in cyberspace.


From the AA Grapevine with addition.


2003-2004: Today there are literally thousands of Cyberspace Recovery sites and domains, AA chats, bulletin boards and meetings, a number of which are live voice meetings regularly scheduled 24 hours around the clock, and in many languages and countries other than the US.



Ref - http://www.barefootsworld.net/aacommtimeline.html

[BikerBill8]

Thank's for the history on that. Great post.

[Chy]

That was great to see! It's a keeper!

...make sure you put that link in "Links and Resources"

[PlanoTexican]

What a history indeed!