Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1953)

A Drastic Answer To Labor Problems By Leo Kovner RAY TORIAN is general manager of KNOB (FM) Signal Hill, Calif. He is also owner, sales manager, account executive, chief engineer, copy writer, announcer, disc m.c, janitorial staff, the collection department and anything else one can name in a one-man radio station operation which grosses $6,000 to $7,000 annually. "Some operators might laugh because they couldn't even open their doors for that," he admits, "but it's all relative. I have no payroll or large expenses, so if I do $500 a month in sales, I'm OK." KNOB's story begins in 1947, when Mr. Torian and partner Jay Tapp, of T & T Measurements Co., Hollywood radio consulting engineer firm, with their own hands started building the transmitter building, upon FCC approval. In April 1949, KNOB went on the air, operating on a schedule which varied daily, according to the flow of business. The partners continued their engineering firm and most station duties fell on Mr. Torian. Finally, three years later, Mr. Torian bought out Mr. Tapp's interest in the station. At the same time, he sold his interest in T & T to Mr. Tapp and thereafter devoted full time to the station. All Music Station KNOB has a simple program format, music and more music. Program director Ray Torian schedules no newscasts. "Sure, I know my listeners will turn to other stations for the news. But I also know that afterwards they'll turn back to KNOB, where they know they'll find music," he says. Only interruptions to the music, outside of commercial spot announcements, are public service and special event interviews. Sometimes unforeseen events do interrupt the music. KNOB's transmitter building is in the rich oil fields near Long Beach. When a well across the street caught fire, announcer Ray Torian was able to give his listeners a vivid description of the scene from the front window. On another occasion, a crew drilling for oil 30 feet from the building made so much noise, he adopted the project and issued daily progress reports on the drilling to his listeners, as well as Page 80 • December 21, 1953 walking out the rear door for interviews with the drillers. But KNOB was primarily a music station from the start. In 1949, when most fm stations offered classical music, KNOB played dixieland, swing and popular music to establish its identity. Now, with many of his competitors gone, it features equal parts of popular and classical music. During its six hour daily, seven day weekly schedule, the station broadcasts popular music from 3 to 6 p.m.; dinner music from 6 to 7 p.m., and classics and serious music from 7 p.m. to sign-off at 9 p.m. The Long Beach public library prepares the classic program from its record library and permits sales manager Ray Torian to obtain sponsors, provided the sponsors are "in good taste." The greatest number of KNOB advertisers are local merchants, ranging from hot dog stands and Italian restaurants to department stores and automobile dealers. Of these, only one or two sponsor an entire program, with the rest of the station's revenue coming from participations and spot announcements. However, as program director, Ray Torian restricts spots to a maximum of one for every two records. With more than that, the station loses listeners and good will, he believes. In still another executive capacity, promotion director Torian uses several gimmicks to help sales manager Torian sell time. The station has given large electric clocks to advertisers, but more recently KNOB has started giving fm radio sets. This scheme is close to Mr. Torian's heart, as it stimulates advertising and increases his audience simultaneously. Fm is far from dead in the Los Angeles area, Mr. Torian states, and points to a survey earlier this year by Long Beach City College which indicated that 25% of Long Beach (1950 population, 250,000) set owners have fm. He can also point to KNOB Platter Party, all-request record program, where as disc m.c, he answers the telephone 25 to 50 times in a half hour. This proves, "Someone's out there listening," he says, massaging a weary ear. But most important, he can point to satisfied advertisers, As chief engineer, station owner-manager Ray Torian sets the control board of KNOB (FM) Signal Hill, Calif., for his daily six-hour stint as the station's disc m.c.-announcer. who readily admit to account executive Torian that spots on KNOB attract customers. The normal business day of the young station owner starts at 8:30 a.m., when he arrives at KNOB business office in Long Beach. There he spends an hour or so at his desk work, then as account executive goes out to visit his clients. After lunch, the station owner abandons his duties for a two-hour siesta, perhaps the most unusual managerial activity in American broadcasting. At 3 p.m., chief engineer Torian opens the station and as disc m.c, starts spinning records until 9 p.m., when KNOB signs off and the staff goes home. Relief Workers Mrs. Torian, whom Ray met after broadcasting a Red Cross blood donor plea, acts as music librarian and office worker. Most Sundays a college boy takes over the station while Mr. Torian enjoys a day off. What lies in the future for KNOB? For one thing, Mr. Torian has an application before the FCC for an am station on Signal Hill. If it is granted, at first he plans to operate the two stations simultaneously, keeping the same all-music programming, later splitting operations of the fm and the am stations. Of course, this would mean the end of one-man operation, Ray Torian realizes, as he would have to increase his staff. As to the future of fm generally, he believes it's good. "We estimate almost 5,000 fm sets are added each month to our market. And the current hi-fi interest is helping us expand, because it is primarily fm. Now that the big manufacturers and the advertising agencies have had a look at the business fm is pulling, they're very interested," he says dryly. Multiplexing (playing two or three separate programs from one transmitter and on one broadcasting band) is also important in Mr. Torian's view of the future. "This allows stations to realize income from other sources — subcarriers — while programming their regular shows to the public. Broadcasting • Telecasting