Radio showmanship (Sept 1940-May 1941)

Tobaccos CROSSROADS VARIETIES From its beginning, one and a half years ago, semi-hillbilly Crossroads Varieties seemed to have been tailor-made for sponsor Garrett's Snuff. On trial for a four-week period, the program averaged 250 letters daily on a contest cash offer. Since that time, about 50 letters per day. Result: Sponsor bought the program for 52 weeks, moved entire show, six musicians, to home office (Memphis, Tenn.). Program now originates there, is transcribed and broadcast over Birmingham station WBRC. In addition to radio program, cast tours Garrett's Snuff sales area and plays show dates in surrounding towns, averaging 500 attendance per performance. AIR FAX: Show originated and produced by WBRC's J. M. Connolly, uses popular, hymn, western, old, and hillbilly numbers. Features the Two Loves, brothers, who play the guitar and sing. Broadcast Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 12:45-1:00 Preceded By: The Old Stanbacker. Followed By: One O'Clock News. Competition: News; Irving Millers Orch. (NBC). Sponsor: American Snuff Co. (Garrett's Snuff). Station: WBRC, Birmingham, Alabama. Power: 5,000. Population: 259,678. Agency: Simon 8C Gwynn, Inc., Memphis, Tenn. COMMENT: Simply a story of the right sponsor with the right program for the right audience. LONG RUNS Time will tell! The stories of riadio programs with a past. Broadcast Schedule: Monday thru Saturday 7:00 7:45 A.M. Followed By: Today's News. Competition: Cowboy Ramblers, News, Music. Sponsor: W. A. Green Department Store and 14 others (including 3 grocery products, 3 schools, 2 clothing manufacturers ) . Station: WFAA, Dallas, Texas. Power: 50,000 watts. Population: 260,475 (1930). COMMENT: Early morning programs of this type (either live talent or transcriptions) are part of almost every station's program schedule. What lifts this show above average is consistency. Since it went on the air ten (10) years ago, it has never varied its broadcast schedule. Early Bird is just as much a part of Dallas morning life as coffee and toast. Department Stores WHOA BILL CLUB Bullocks, Inc., one of Los Angeles' better department stores, began sponsoring this program way back in September, 1931. From the sponsor, no "Whoa" since the program was first aired nine (9) years ago. It's strictly a good will bulider appealing to children under ten. Since program's start, approximately 400,000 membership buttons have been distributed. AIR FAX: Programs are ad-libbed and interspersed with recordings. Uncle Whoa Bill reads birthday notices and tells original stories. One night each week a puppet show is aired, and another night, a child drama group presents a serial. Broadcast Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 5:30-6:00 P.M. Preceded By: Gateway to Music. Followed By: News. Competition: News, Drama, Concert Music. Sponsor: Bullocks, Inc. Station: KFAC, Los Angeles, Calif. Power: 1,000. Population: 1,496,177 (1940). Agency: Dana Jones Co., Los Angeles. COMMENT: Far-sighted Bullocks, Inc. believes in reaching customers when they are young. The reaching is effectively accomplished by following the old radio truism, "People like to hear their names on the air." Department Stores EARLY BIRD A 45-minute participating feature that has been a WFAA fixture for the past ten (10) years. Sponsors, 14 of them, range from work and sports clothing (Big Smith Manufacturing Co.) to macaroni (Skinner Manufacturing Company). Program is station's most consistent mail puller. AIR FAX: A popular musical "wake-up" show (weather reports, time, etc.) with Karl Lambertz's 12-piece orchestra the top attraction. Comedy furnished by peppery Jimmie Jefferies. All talk ad-libbed except commercials, with gags usually leading into plugs. Gasoline THE FACTFINDER Walk into the Detroit public library almost any day and the chances are you'll find scholarly, industrious Dick Osgood browsing through scores of profound treatises. For the past five (5) years, Dick has written, delivered, and conducted his own research for Hi-Speed Gasoline's highlyinformative program, The Factfinder. Conceived by WXYZ's Harry Sutton, Jr., aired for the first time in July, 1935, The Factfinder has become so much a part of Detroit academic life that copies of the broadcast's SEPTEMBER, 1940 31