The National Association of Educational Broadcasters — the institutional matrix for McLuhan's first formal use of "the medium is the message" and the writing of Understanding Media. Through the US Office of Education, the NAEB financed McLuhan's "Project 69," which became Understanding Media (1960) ; Harry Skornia was his key contact across the period. A sparse, largely documentary entity — Cameron has traced the full history (and the 1959 McLuhan–Skornia correspondence) on his blog.
Across the dialogues
Names the institutional origin of "the medium is the message" and Understanding Media
McLuhan first stated "the medium is the message" in May 1958 — at a UBC radio conference, then days later at the NAEB conference in Washington, co-sponsored by the Office of Education.
"I believe it was May of 1958 at a radio conference at UBC. And then later that same month, he went to an NAEB-sponsored conference in Washington, D.C."
Understanding Media (1960) was the publication of McLuhan's "Project 69," financed by the US Office of Education through the NAEB.
"When McLuhan did what he called Understanding Media in 1960, which was the publication of his Project 69. That was financed by the United States Office of Education through the NAEB."
McLuhan proposed The Gutenberg Galaxy as a preface to Project 69; the two works were developed in tandem, roughly 1958–1964.
"He proposed that Gutenberg Galaxy be used as a kind of preface to Project 69."
Turns from funding channel into antagonist — the organization's grant form is where the study of media as such gets narrowed to one adjective, and the narrowing is dated, sourced, and costed for the first time
Before the NAEB is a funding channel it is a correspondence — two years of letters with its head, which is what gives the organization standing to set the project's terms rather than merely pay for it.
"McLuhan... in 1958, 1959, was writing back and forth with Harry Skornia, who was the head of the NAEB, National Association of Educational Broadcasters."
The money originates in a defense appropriation, not an education budget — the NAEB is a pass-through for Cold War research funds, and "new media" is the appropriation's category before it is ever McLuhan's subject.
"there's money available in this new defense app just passed by Congress to study new media in education, so we should get some of that money."
The grant form is where the compromise is executed — not an argument lost but a box filled in, and the NAEB's paperwork is what fixes a single adjective on a project about media as such.
"okay, I give up what they want or what you want. That's impossible, but I'll just leave that in the background and you can, on your application, you can just put in new media. And that's what they did."
Connections
The NAEB, through the US Office of Education, financed McLuhan's "Project 69" — which became Understanding Media (1960).
Written in connection with the proposed NAEB-funded research project; available in the NAEB archive files online.
Skornia ran the NAEB channel that financed Project 69 (Understanding Media) from 1958; the "Grammars of Media" paper was written for him.