Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

Ha©©!!* Over 60,000 producing oil wells help make West Texas Television Network's Triple Market the richest TV buy in the oil patch. i i reaching over sets! KDUB-TV LUBBOCK, TEXAS K PARTV ABILENE SWEETWATER KEDY-TY BIG SPRING, TEXAS 4 t i t J i 1 1 (NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES: THE 8RANHAM COMPANY PrwJdent and Gen. Mgr., W. D. "DUB" ROGERS Notional Soli Mgr. E. A. "Bun" Howtt STATIONS DATELINES Newsworthy News Coverage by Radio and Tv Radio-tv newsmen, favored over print competitors by the Sunday morning break on Sputnik II Nov. 3, followed through by turning up new angles throughout the week. To supplement reports and recorded Sputnik signals, stations all over the country kept telephone and shortwave circuits to Moscow busy with broadcast interviews. This is how some of them handled developments on the new Red launching: FORT WAYNE — When the President gave his network speech Thursday night, WOWO Fort Wayne, Ind., was ready with follow-up commentary by rocket expert and Eisenhower critic Norman Baker. Taped remarks by the editorial writer of Missiles & Rockets magazine were fed to all Westinghouse Broadcasting Co. stations. In Fort Wayne for a speech before the local section of the American Rocket Society (which he founded as an Indiana Tech. College student), Mr. Baker also was heard Wednesday in a half-hour interview by WOWO newsmen Frank Goerg, Hal Cessna and Bud Stone. Both radio appearances preceded his speech before the society. ST. LOUIS — Joining the early morning moonwatch, cameraman Larry Johnson of KTVI (TV) St. Louis came up with films of Sputnik II which were used on news shows that evening by KTVI and ABC-TV (see picture). He got the historic shots at 5:50 a.m. from the roof of a downtown building, using a six-inch lens, and filming the bulletshaped satellite the full two minutes it was visible. MOSCOW — The total space picture evolved last week from a multitude of direct reports from Moscow by enterprising stations. Bill Clark of WERI Westerly, R. I., following up a Canadian station's report that Moscow planned a Moon flight soon, got a denial by shortwave Tuesday from a Radio Moscow announcer. Mr. Clark's report was carried twice on MBS newscasts. Richard Johnson of CFCF Montreal earlier had been told by a Radio Moscow newsman that the first Soviet Moon rockets would feature ape passengers. Any plans for a Soviet trip to the Moon also were discounted in a telephone interview by Ray Camay of KIOA Des Moines with Nikolai Kuznetzoff, editor of the Soviet news agency, Tass. An early-week report that there was an apparatus in the Red satellite to catapult the dog, Laika, back to Earth was turned up by Fred Anderson, news director of WHYE Roanoke, in a telephone call to Radio Moscow. Mr. Andreson's source, wary lest the story be discounted (as it was later), would identify himself only as "George." The dog at that time was going by the name, "Curly." Newscaster. Johnnie Rayburn of WEEK-AM-TV Peoria, 111., talked to Radio Moscow early in the week and got details on the launching achievement. BOSTON, PITTSBURGH and CLEVELAND — Westinghouse Broadcasting Co. stations — WBZ WBZA Boston Springfield, KDKAAM-TV Pittsburgh and KYW-AM-TV Cleveland — carried the exclusive report DINNERTIME viewers saw Sputnik II Wednesday on ABC-TV's John Daly and the News by means of film shot at dawn that day in St. Louis and picked up by ABC Chicago. Wednesday of an eyewitness who was nearly burned by a mysterious object that has been seea over the U. S. recently. Westinghouse correspondent Streeter Stuart was the first newsman to talk with James Stokes, a staff member of the Upper Air Research Center at Alamogordo, N. M. Mr. Stokes and two companions claimed they were close enough to feel its heat, which they compared to that of a sunlamp. The interview was conducted from the WBC Boston news bureau. MIAMI — Cameraman Bob Brumfield of WTVJ (TV) Miami, brought back both a fugitive from police and film footage documenting the chase Thursday afternoon. A mother who had stolen her baby away from its quarters at the State Welfare Bureau of Miami was the object of a police dragnet across the city for two hours. She was spotted at one point by a Welfare Bureau worker, who stumbled and fell. But when Mr. Brumfield encountered the mother, he retained his poise, telling her, "I'm with the police. You'll have to come with me." She surrendered and with the baby was led to the nearest squad car. Mr. Brumfield filmed the apprehension at 5:30 p.m. and rushed the footage back to WTVJ studios for record-time processing and use on the 6:30 news show. WASN'T KIDDING Reporter Bob Keim of WADS Ansonia. Conn., had a close call "on the air" while recording his new program series, Report From Europe, during a recent Crusade for Freedom observation tour of Radio Free Europe. While he was taping a broadcast at the German-Czech border a shot rang out. On the recording, to be aired tomorrow (Tuesday) Mr. Keim is heard to say, "Ladies and gentlemen — that was a shot that just rang out, and I'm not kidding." German border guards stood ready with loaded, cocked rifles, but no further incident took place and no protest was made. 82 Novembe- 11, 1957 Broadcasting