Max Jordan (later Father Placid Jordan - April 21, 1895 in Sanremo, Italy [1] - November 1977[2]) was a pioneering radio journalist for the NBC network in Europe in the 1930s. Later, he became a Benedictinemonk.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
He covered many important stories (and had many scoops) in the 1930s, when the medium of radio was still relatively new. His first report for NBC was on a 1931 speech by German President Paul von Hindenburg. Jordan also reported on the first Atlantic flight of the Hindenburg in 1936,[6] the Anschluss of Austria in 1938, the text of that year's Munich Agreement (giving Germany the ethnically-German regions of Czechoslovakia), the 1940 invasion of France,[3] and the 1945 surrender of Japan.[7]
Horten stated that part of Jordan's success was his networking with the governments of Germany, Austria, and Hungary, which provided NBC "privileged use" of their broadcasting facilities.[3]
During the war, he worked on NBC's religious shows, which included prayers, bible stories, and a series about military Chaplainship, Chaplain Jim.[3]