Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1954)

Tri-State* radio listeners laugh their heartiest with this lovable old-timer, at the wit and mirth he sends their way, as . . . "GRANDPAPPY GREENUP" . . . stars in his own hit show: . . "GRANDPAPPY JAMBOREE" Monday through Saturdays 8:15 to 8:30 A.M. RADIO WWKO 1420 kc ALL DIALS ASHLAND, KENTUCKY "Covers the Tri-State like the sun" *Tri-State: Ironton-Portsmouth, Ohio, plus Huntington-Kenova, West Virginia, plus Ashland-Catlettburg, Kentucky, make the U. S. 84th Market. **Sorry, sold for one year to an appliance dealer, call your nearest W. S. Grant man for adjacencies, or write: Charles F. Trivette, President OPEN MIKE WAIT Ratings EDITOR: ... In the Oct. 4 issue of B»T you feature Our Respects to Robert O. Miller of Radio Station WAIT. Bob Miller of WAIT is a good friend of mine. However, that should not interfere with calling to your attention the statement, "The station has enjoyed a boost of an average of 3.5 in ratings (according to Pulse Surveys)." This statement is not true. It is entirely out of line. WAIT's average rating is 0.8. This figure was taken from the May -June, 1954 Pulse of Chicago. It might be that they had an increase of 3.5% in their share of audience or even ratings, but they did not have an increase of 3.5 in ratings. The trade press so often quotes these rating figures very loosely. Oftentimes, they quote share of audience as a rating. They take percentage of increases and quote them as ratings. These figures are the life-blood of radio stations. Many hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent by stations for Pulse figures, Hooper figures, Nielsen figures, etc. ... I believe that editorial content should be factual in this respect. John T. Carey Commercial Manager WIND Chicago EDITOR: . . . We compared our station ratings as shown by The Pulse reports of March-April 1954 with those of the July-August 1954 report, between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. We added all the point increases, deducted from that the total of point decreases and found a net increase, for the average day used by Pulse, of 3.5. It was simple arithmetic — with no projections, allowances or any of the other machinations so frequently used to create the appearance of an enhanced rating. . . Robert O. Miller Managing Director WAIT Chicago, III. 'Broadcastingtown' Approved EDITOR: Congratulations on your "Broadcastingtown" editorial [B*T, Oct. 18]. So good is this item we would like to run it in the local paper as an ad. If you say, we will be happy to give credit to B*T. Keep up the good work, and for us old heads in radio, we need folks like you giving us as many plus stories as you can. . . . Jim Ownsby, President and General Manager WJXN Jackson, Miss. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Permission granted, with pleasure.] 'Natural Mortality' EDITOR: Recently there has been some talk explaining away as a matter of "natural mortality" the failure of many tv stations to make a go of it. See how many newspapers have folded or combined, we are told, or how many magazines annually bite the dust, the implication being, perhaps, that the gears of an industrial version of "natural selection" or "survival of the fittest" are inexplicably grinding down the inferior of the breed among tv broadcasters. Such explanations ignore one elemental fact — that more than 75% of the tv stations that turned in their CPs were of one kind — uhf; further, that uhf was put in the hands of broadcasters with the approval of an agency of the government, and that the same manufacturers who produce uhf broadcasting equipment continue to promote vhf-only receivers as their featured line. Perhaps there are no readily apparent solutions to tv's economic problems, but we should at least realize that glib explanations of "natural mortality" ignor the industry's biggest problem, namely, the status of uhf tv. PFC John T. Browne US53214438 Hq & Hq Co. 505th MP Bn Presidio of San Francisco, Calif. Jivaro Jibarish EDITOR: As an old head hunter let me protest against the misspelling of our tribe on page 98, Oct. 11 issue. The spelling of course should be Jivaros and not as listed Jibaros. As you can see, I am determined to get ahead one way or another. Peter Goelet New York, N. Y. EDITOR: ... I believe that Mr. Herts was referring to the head hunters of east Ecuador called Jivaros, not "Jibaros." Also, could you please inform me as to what ruins they visited. T. V. Kirkland Chi Phi House Chapel Hill, N. C. [EDITOR'S NOTE: B^T's head editor was away that week on a hunting trip. Mr. Herts identified the ruin site as Pachacamac (his spelling, not guaranteed by B>T).] Proud EDITOR: Many, many thanks for the very nice article you printed relative to the "Adventures" of my company. It was a very interesting and well laid out article. . . . Although stories of mine have appeared in many other magazines (throughout the world) I believe that your own Oct. 11 issue is one I'm more proud to be in than all the others. . . . Kenneth Herts American Productions Lima, Peru Nice Comment EDITOR: Thanks ever so much for sending me the reprints of the article which appeared in B«T Aug. 30. We have had many very nice comments about the story and appreciate the way you handled it. Paul S. Patterson Director of Advertising Florida Citrus Commission Lakeland, Fla. Mutual Sentiment EDITOR: I've been writing the story of MBS for almost the full score of years we've been operating . . . but I honestly doubt that in all those years I've ever provided quite so objective, quite so informative a picture of MBS as you did [B»T, Sept. 27]. . . . Robert A. Schmid Administrative Vice President Mutual Broadcasting System New York City Page 18 • October 25, 1954 Broadcasting • Telecasting