Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1956)

STACKS OF Smokestacks have always been a symbol of activity in our Ohio River Valley. They came to us first aboard the picturesque sternwheelers that opened this region to phenomenal growth. They stayed to multiply and multiply above busy mills and factories whose industrial worth today — in the HuntingtonCharleston heart alone — exceeds one billion dollars! Nowhere in America is there such a panorama of business under full steam as in the 100-plus counties served by the four-state span of WSAZ-TV. Here live nearly a million families with annual buying power close to four billion dollars — a symbol of booming productivity making this America's 23rd TV market. Your advertising cuts a smart bow wave when you consign it to WSAZ-TV, only TV station covering the whole area. Any Katz office can write the ticket. HUNTINGTON-CHARLESTON, W. VA Affiliated with Radio Stations WSAZ, Huntington & WGKV, Charleston LAWRENCE H. ROGERS, PRESIDENT Represented by The Katz Agency our respects to MORTIMER WADHAMS HALL A LIKING for pioneering seems to be the spirit which leads Mort Hall into new and different ways of doing business, programming and promotion in radio. But his associates in the profession hardly called it that three years ago when he disposed of a going television operation to concentrate on developing an independent radio property, KLAC Los Angeles, when radio had hit the tv doldrums and some even said the older aural medium was on its death bed. If it was, Mr. Hall quickly breathed new life into the "corpse." President and general manager of KLAC, Mr. Hall became sole owner of the station last August following purchase of the property from his mother. Since KLAC-TV (now KCOP [TV] Los Angeles) was sold to the Copley Press in 1953 and Mr. Hall started devoting his managerial attention fully to KLAC, the radio station has increased its gross 2Vi times and its net income five times. As further evidence of his faith in the aural sales medium and predicting a "tremendous resurgence" soon for fm, Mr. Hall plans to file application with FCC for a new fm station which would be developed for greater public service as aggressively as KLAC. Mr. Hall began exercising his pioneer spirit in the building of KLAC as a community institution as early as 1950 when he first joined the station. Within a year he originated the use of name vocal groups such as the Modernaires and Pied Pipers for singing station breaks and claims to be first in this policy. Later he originated the use of full 24-piece bands backing choral groups for station breaks as well as star names. In 1952 Mr. Hall initiated the "Big Five" disc jockey format of music-news-sports which now is a copyrighted feature. "This quickly gave KLAC a distinctive personality," he recalls. Mr. Hall feels that by making radio personal and giving one's station a glamorous personality, "radio can do a good sales job for the advertiser even more effectively and be more acceptable and enjoyed by the listener." The flexibility of spot on radio, especially with a "Big Five" format sold on a first-come, first-serve basis and by which no single sponsor can "sew-up exclusively" the air personality, assures the advertiser of a wider variety of audience and full exposure, he contends. Mr. Hall promotes his radio station with the same enthusiasm with which he programs it. "The two go together," he says, spending up to $3,600 weekly for advertising in other media and promotion to prove his point. Since 1952 KLAC has staged an annual all-star charity benefit in the Hollywood Bowl and even Mr. Hall buys his own ticket. It's an annual sell-out crowd of over 20,000 people. For five years, too, KLAC has staged its annual "Christmas in July" trade promotion, giving gifts in mid-summer instead of December for greater emphasis. Similarly, for four years the station has tendered its annual industry party about Thanksgiving time and dubbed it "KLACsgiving," flying in. agency time-buyers by chartered plane from San Francisco. KLAC also has a "Salute to a City" copyrighted feature devised by Mr. Hall for tie-in promotion for a week with each of the communities in the area. The newest idea is a change in program policy to "30 top tunes and memories too," widely publicized by full-page advertisements in daily newspapers. Mort Hall was born in New York City July 21, 1924, to Mr. and Mrs. Richard B. W. Hall. His mother (Mrs. Rudolph Sonneborn) uses Dorothy Schiff as her professional name. She is publisher of the New York Post. Mr. Hall attended Brooks School, North Andover, Mass., and studied mechanical engineering at Carnegie Tech. He entered the Army Signal Corps in January 1944 and later was assigned to public relations at the New York port of embarkation. He was released as a sergeant in 1946, when he joined the Post as copyboy. For two years he worked in all departments of the paper. He started in the railroad business in 1948 with the Southern Pacific "but figuring bond discounts just wasn't my meat," he recalls. He returned to the Post in 1949 as business manager and the next year joined KLAC. He became business manager in 1951 and president and general manager in 1953. Mr. Hall married actress Diana Lynn earlier this month. His favorite hobbies are "monitoring Diana's performances on tv" and sailing his 67-ft. ketch Viajero out of Newport-Balboa, Calif. Page 22 • December 31, 1956 Broadcasting Telecasting