Broadcasting (Jan - Mar 1950)

Robert L. Fidlar, commercial nager for WIOD Miami, Fla., 3 completed 20 years in the radio lustry. He started with WBOW rre Haute, Ind., as announceriter in 1929, moving to WKZO .lamazoo, Mich, two years later. : served WHIO Dayton Ohio as announcer and continuity writer til 1943 when he assumed prom management duties at WIOD. was named commercial manr of WIOD in 1946. l|WEWS(TV) Cleveland celeiated its second birthday Dec. 17. ation began telecasting to about C sets, most of them in dealers' lowrooms, and now reaches an sjdience of more than 120,000 reof more than 70 people is headed by James C. Hanrahan, vice president of Scripps-Howard Radio Inc., owner of WEWS. ► First birthday of WWNI(FM) Wabash, Ind., was celebrated Dec. 20. ► A special anniversary program Dec. 24 marked the completion of ten years of broadcasting by |ELEBRATING their 25th wedding anniversary at New York's Stork Club are i>|r. and Mrs. William J. Wagner (center). Mr. Wagner is general manager of e Alaska Broadcasting System. With them are Roy Smith (I), account exj;utive for Alaska Spot Sales, and Charles (Bud) Soden, Alaska Network sales manager. AST COMMAND APRS Series Concluded Swan song of one of Armed j orces Radio Service's most ambitus project was sung last month j'l'hen Command Performance tranfc'iibed its 415th and final live :iiow. On hand to help it bow out jere Danny Kaye, Dorothy Shay 'jnd Ken Carpenter. ; 3 Started seven and one-half years Ijgo during the war as a temporary Lorale measure for soldiers over;|'3as, program was cancelled when :i FRS budget was recently cut by ^1 153,000 by the Secretary of Dej'jnse. An estimated audience of tyQx 95% million soldiers and civilims weekly had been hearing the ' rogram which was transcribed ^'efore an audience in the Vine ijjtreet Playhouse, Hollywood. Past performances will be reissued and |thers reassembled for distribution M AFRS outlets. Eight other service radio shows lequiring outside talent also were liminated as result of budget slash, 'hey included : Redd Harper Holly ')ood Roundup; G. I. Jive; Jill's \oke Box; Mail Call; Chiquita; Personal Album; Lucky Grab Bag ind Bob Carleton Show. Only two ve shows, Solitary Singer and Vords & Music, both done by serv;e personnel, will continue to be Iranscribed by AFRS. 'Mr. KOA' Retires CLARENCE C. MOORE, known as "Mr. KOA" throughout the Rocky Mountain region, retired from the staff of KOA Denver Dec. 31 after 21 years with the station and NBC, the last 15 years as KOA program director. Mr. Moore will enter private business. On Dec. 30 — Mr. Moore's last day at KOA — staif members with more than 10 years service gathered in General Manager Lloyd E. Yoder's office to bid the radio veteran farewell and to present him with a set of luggage. Racine Grant REVISED initial decision was is■sued by FCC last week reaffirming earlier action to grant a new station on 1460 kc with 500 w day at Racine, Wis., to Belle City Broadcasting Co., associated in ownership with WMIL Milwaukee [Broadcasting, Oct. 24, 1949]. New initial ruling further denied as in default the competitive bid of Metropolitan Broadcasting Co. for 500 w daytime on 1470 kc at Milwaukee, not considered in the earlier action. Metropolitan failed to present evidence at hearing, FCC found. KVFD Ft. Dodge, Iowa. ► Ralph J. Mathewson, transmitter engineer for WEEI Boston, is the first member of the station's staif to be awarded a beret symbolizing 25 years service with WEEI. ► Silver anniversary was celebrated by KTHS Hot Springs, Ark. Dec. 20. WKYW'S HOLIDAY Records Xmas Day Schedule WKYW Louisville became a oneman station for six continuous hours on Christmas Day. Thanks to a new wide tape recorder, the entire station staff from executive to salesman, enjoyed the holiday at home with the exception of Chief Engineer Nolan Pontrich who stayed at the controls. All that Mr. Pontrich had to do, according to WKYK, was simply patch in the recorder and let the machine play six hours of continuous programming with time-out for only one reel change. Entire Christmas Day schedule was recorded in advance by using the machine developed by Louis Anderson, vice president, Point-Of-Sale Inc., Louisville, who designed it primarily for continuous music in airplanes and trains. It permits up to six hours of programming on one roll of tape. While the machine allows three program channels to be recorded simultaneously, WKYW used two channels to produce a day's programming, complete with time signals, call letter announcements and commercials. According to the station, Mr. Anderson, tape recorder specialist, is working with the program department on modifying the machine to meet radio broadcast needs. WKYN says Mr. Anderson estimates the machine could be put into commercial production, priced at under $1,000. Mr. Pontrich (center), with Program Director Dave Wilburn (I) observing, operates console. Mr. Anderson turns a dial of his six channel recorder. On top is the portable type playback used. VARIATION of "local boy makes good" theme was recounted in Fremont, Neb., Dec. 23 when Bill Baldwin, KFGT station manager, received a birthday cake on occasion of station's tenth anniversary. Mr. Baldwin started as an engineer-announcer in 1939 when the station began broadcasting as KORN. In 1946, after returning from service with Armed Forces Radio networks in South Pacific (he was chief engineer at WVTR Tokyo), he assumed managership. Call letters were changed from KORN to KFGT last March when Walker Newspapers Inc. bought the station from Inland Broadcasting Co. Mr. Baldwin accepts cake, adorned with replica of station tower, from Pat Jensen, script-writer. Ra-Tel for WPTR RA-TEL Representatives Inc., New York, has been appointed national representative for the 50 kw WPTR Albany, N. Y. The appointment became effective Jan. 1, according to Fred R. Ripley, general manager of the station. 'ROADCASTING • Telecasting BASKET FULL Two Games Aired Together A NEW idea in broadcasting basketball— a sort of "two for the price of one" arrangement — has been originated in Philadelphia by Sports Broadcast Network. Starting last Saturday (Jan. 7), Sports Broadcast arranged to have announcer-engineer teams airing two games at the same time. Covering Temple, Villanova, Penn, St. Joseph's and La Salle games for the current season, the network inaugurated the service by covering the Temple-Syracuse and La Salle-Bowling Green games from Convention Hall and the Penn-Lafayette and Villanova-Valparaiso contests from the Palestra. Programs from both spots were fed into WPEN Philadelphia. At a master control panel in WPEN, a sports announcer monitored the games, shifting back and forth from one game to the other as the play waxed and waned. Broadcasts of this type also are scheduled for Jan. 14 and 28 and Feb. 18. Jack Rensel, network general manager, helped develop the idea. January 9, 1950 • Page 69