Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr-Jun 1958)

DATELINES Newsworthy News Coverage by Radio and Tv CLEVELAND — When KYW-AM-TV newsman John Mahoney checked by long distance phone with the Beverly Hills police station following the Johnny Stompanato slaying April 4, he got an unexpected assist from Walter Winchell. Mr. Winchell, who went to the station when Lana Turner's daughter, Cheryl, was taken into custody, provided an on-the-spot report that newsman Mahoney took by beeper phone. The recording was repeated several times on the Cleveland stations and fed to other Westinghouse Broadcasting Co. outlets. CALIFORNIA — KOBY San Francisco staffers were on hand to alert the public when recent floods hit California. D.j. Ted Rogers was sent to Alviso to give on-thespot coverage, taping interviews with the mayor, Civil Defense director, Red Cross director and evacuees. The station also carried beeper phone reports from the Oakland Police Dept., which described flood conditions, road hazards, and safe roads for commuters to take home. KOBY made direct reports to WDOK Cleveland; KFBI Wichita, Kan., and WMPS Memphis, Tenn. Another to report to Broadcasting on its coverage of the flood was KONG Visalia. The station had a direct line from its studios to the office of Civil Defense in the Tulare County Courthouse so that it could verify information and give listeners an accurate description of what was going on. KONG also dispatched an airplane to fly over the flood area, sending back reports. WICHITA FALLS — When twin twisters hit this north Texas city, KWFT here gave on-the-spot coverage to listeners, the UP, 30 other radio stations and to CBS Radio for its World Tonight. The station was off the air 30 minutes when the twisters first touched ground near its transmitter site. In spite of this, Dave Dary, news director, managed to give complete coverage with beeper phone and eye witness reports, which were aired as soon as the station went back on the air. KWFT reports that it fed the UP in Dallas with the eye-witness accounts. PEORIA — Television cameras were nearly locked out of the Illinois state high school basketball finals, but last minute protests by WMBD-TV Peoria and cooperation by the National Press Photographer's Assn. resulted in limited access. The athletic association based its original position on a WMBD-TV contract for sponsorship of the two-day playoffs. WMBD-TV was offered film rights if it would pay the association a fee. It refused, demanding the same unrestricted picture coverage allowed newspaper photographers. With the help of the NPPA, WMBD-TV got the association to concede film rights to tv on a pool basis. UNSTINTJNGLY STEREO NBC's owned-and-operated Pittsburgh outlets, WAMP and WFMF (FM), have gone stark stereo — for five nights weekly. H. W. (Hank) Shepard, general manager of the outlets, explained, "We are first in our area and among only a few stations in the nation to program stereophonic music on an across-the-board basis." Using tapes, the stations last Monday began Rex Dale's Stereo Studio in the Monday-through-Thursday 10:30-1 1 p.m. period and the Friday 11:05midnight spot. It is expected that stereo discs will be used beginning in the fall. Stereo Fm-Mx on WASH (FM) Stereophonic broadcasts using the main fm channel and the multiplex sub-channel for legs of the signal have been started by WASH (FM) Washington. The station is using multiplex transmitting equipment manufactured by General Electric Labs. Robert T. Pritchard, GEL sales manager, said the multiplex gear is used in conjunction with existing station equipment. Everett Dillard, WASH general manager, said the tests proved conclusively that fm-mx offers the most practical method of producing stereo for general public listening. "LIVE" FROM COLUMBUS w AM*FM-CBS Central Ohio's most popular newscaster and public servant. Chet has been broadcasting each morning and evening for the same sponsor since 1945. Always in the top 10 programs, his morning show currently rates a 16.9 from Pulse. Like WBNS Radio itself, Chet Long's name is synonymous with community service. AM-FM-CBS wbns radio COLUMBUS, OHIO • Ask JOHN BLAIR Broadcasting April 14, 1958 • Page 73