Gallery: Broadcasting Museum spotlights trailblazers of Estonian radio
From Estonia's earliest radio hosts to its first woman announcer, a new exhibition in Türi celebrates ten people who shaped the early days of Estonian broadcasting.
Titled "100 years, 100 People: The Founders," the exhibition is the first in a planned series by the Estonian Broadcasting Museum.
Museum director and exhibition curator Juhan Sihver said the early days of broadcasting depended on a small group of people who often wore many hats.
"Back then, there weren't many people working in broadcasting," Sihver said. "Everyone did a little of everything."
Among those featured are broadcasting board chair Aleksander Tamm, who also worked as an announcer and director, Felix Moor, Estonia's first salaried reporter, editor and host, and Erika Veidebaum, the country's first woman announcer.
The exhibition also honors children's program author and editor Pilvi Toomendi, later known as Pilvi Üllaste.
"They all played a vital role in the early days of broadcasting," Sihver said. "Without them, Estonian broadcasting wouldn't be what it is today."
The exhibition features a photograph of Aleksander Tamm, nicknamed the "Golden Voice," sourced from the Estonian Literary Museum. The image shows him standing at a studio microphone secured using not the usual elastic cord, but twine.
"Broadcasting had to get on with its work, and it made do with whatever it had available," Sihver quipped.
The first installment in the "100 years, 100 People" exhibition series will remain open at the Estonian Broadcasting Museum through the end of October.
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Editor: Annika Remmel, Aili Vahtla
