The broad scope of the Craney materials, coupled with the rapidly expanding nature of the radio and television technologies makes this a complex collection. In order to facilitate research it has been arranged in four major subgroups: the Edmund B. Craney Subgroup, the Stations Subgroup, the Advertising and Promotional Subgroup, and the Broadcasting Associations Subgroup. The EDMUND B. CRANEY SUBGROUP is composed of Craney's general correspondence files and his subject files. This core material spans several decades and has been kept together to maintain continuity. In this core section Craney's long-time association with Burton K. Wheeler, his business relationships with NBC and the FCC, and his correspondence with broadcasters throughout the country document the growth of the industry from 1922-1979. The STATIONS SUBGROUP includes a diverse collection of materials that deal with Craney's stations and the Z Bar and XL Networks. Correspondence, program and political-campaign contracts, yearbook reports, and subject files characterize the operations of each. In programming, the Z Bar Network's Montana Booster campaign, Montana Radio Forum, and the 1950 award-winning KXLJ Legislative Highlights coverage are of particular interest. The ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL SUBGROUP contains correspondence, yearbook reports, and subject files that provide a complete view of the growth of Craney's broadcasting business. Craney formed sales and promotional organizations for his Montana and Pacific Northwest stations and like other broadcasters he hired station representatives such as Gene Furgason, Tracy Moore, and Wythe Walker to secure national accounts. Subject files contain promotional materials on the Pacific Northwest Playground publication and on the Parade of Products campaigns. In 1947, 1953, and 1954 the XL stations received Billboard awards for radio promotion. The last section is the BROADCASTING ASSOCIATIONS SUBGROUP. It includes records of the trade organization NAB and of numerous radio and television lobbying associations that Craney either organized or directed. Also documented is Craney's leadership in the Montana Association of Broadcasters and his involvement in the NAB management's handling of the ASCAP copyright controversy during the late 1930s. Correspondence with NAB officers and attorneys deals with key issues and Craney's subsequent resignation from NAB in 1941. Correspondence, organizational material, and subject files outline the aims and membership of the various groups opposed to ASCAP. This subgroup also contains correspondence between Craney and his attorneys (especially Fanney Litvin ), FCC officials, broadcasters, and politicians that documents Craney's influence on the growing television industry and illuminates the relationship between Congress and the FCC. Processing Note: During the processing of this collection it was not always possible to group materials on similar subjects together. For example, ASCAP and FCC subject files are located both in the core section and in pertinent other subgroups. Craney created his own files (32-1, 32-2, 34-6, 36-1, 36-2, 47-10, 193-1, 246-10, 248-2) and bound Translator Volumes that contain correspondence and Bulletin materials. Where related records are located in more than one area, cross references to individuals and organizations direct the researcher to all connections.