Radio annual (1954)

Morning Radio Programming; A Pattern for AM Stations By SAM SLATE Program Manager WCBS, New York RADIO is anything but a static business and even though WCBS has been New York's top station for a long time we've made a number of program changes the past two years. Our first problem was to find a ''different" disc jockey for the 5:00 to 6:00 P.M. time slot. He had to be different as he'd be in direct competition with Martin Block and Art Ford, two long established performers. I interviewed talent and listened to audition discs from all parts of the United States for several weeks. Finally John Henry Faulk came to see me and I decided he was the ideal person for this time period. Faulk had an interesting background. He'd been a professor at the University of Texas, had two degrees and specialized in Americana and folk music. He had a decided Texas drawl, an ability to tell both folk and "tall tales," and a rather unusual viewpoint on everyday events. Johnny made his debut on December 17, 1951 and has become one of the station's best liked personalities. The next problem was our morning schedule. It was obvious there was too much talk and not enough music. It was my belief that having music by a personality, combined with news, would be proper programming. I suggested to General Manager Carl Ward that we cut Bill Leonard's "This Is New York" from 45 minutes to a half-hour. He agreed, and we put in a live musical show, that meant WCBS programming would be a half hour of talk and a half hour of music. In April, 1952, a leading singing star, song writer and entertainer made her bow on WCBS in the person of Joan Edwards, today rated the to^p morning show among the local network stations in the Metropolitan area. A short time later we were ready for another change. We still felt that there was still too much talk on the morning schedule. More music was wanted and so we brought in Bob Haymes in August, 1952. Haymes was programmed for the 8:15-9:00 A.M. spot, preceding "This Is New York." At the same time WCBS acquired an additional 25 minutes in the afternoon and we promptly filled it with author-lecturer, Emily Kimbrough. We next decided that the "Jack Sterling Show," on the air from 5:30-7:45 A.M. Monday thru Saturday, needed a "shot in the arm." In October, 1952, we added a 5 piece live musical unit, the Elliott Lawrence group, that gave the program live musical lead-ins for commercia.s and records, and which built the show materially. As the WCBS morning programming shapes up today, we have one hour and fifteen minutes more music in addition to live units. Joan Edwards and Bob Haymes are stars in their own right. They write their own music and sing as well. In the afternoon we have 50 minutes more music than was on the air prior to the fall of 1951. From a news standpoint, we have put in five minutes of news at 6:00, 6:30, 7:00, and 7:30 A.M., as well as at 5:00 P.M. In addition, our "Let's Find Out" program, a show that turns the snotlight of interest to New Yorkers every Sunday from 12:00 Noon to 12:30 P.M., has buill tremendous public service. Our "all-night show," which went on the air early this year, has increased list ener interest. We were fortunate in finding a sponsor in American Airlines. Taking a look at the comnetition we decided to put in semi-classical music and add five minutes of news every hour on the hour, running from midnight to 5:00 A.M. We are extremely careful about our selection of music. We are always trying to give our listeners the type of music we think they want. Our policy is to stay clear of novelty discs in the morning, play as many top ten and all time standards as possible and use the type of music that blends with Faulk's humor. 1079