Radio showmanship (Sept 1940-May 1941)

Record Details:

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dr\ New Slaat on Ne^rs Re-writing News Releases Into Folksy Patter Pays, Writes TDD WILLIAMS, Advertising Manager, Atwood Coffee Co. Three and a half years ago it was my privilege to introduce a new kind of morning newscast on Twin City radio station WTCN. When this idea was first proposed, seasoned radio men shook their heads tolerantly. Agency men pronounced it clever but unworkable. Only the faith of the sponsor made it possible. Since that initial program, roughly 1,000 mornings ago, my home and social life has been reduced to shambles because after due experimenting, it was found that I required a minimum of two-and-a-half hours of preparation to prepare copy for the air. Inasmuch as we sound off at 7:45 A.M. six days each week, I must be in the studio promptly at five. At this point the question naturally rises: "Why this lengthy preparation?" In our case, it was borne of necessity. And now its success precludes any thought of letdown. Our necessity was occasioned by the fact that two other Twin City stations had wellestablished morning news programs. Our sponsor wanted a similar program. Ergo: We would have to capture some of the other fellow's audience by doing tricks; being unusual. Prior to presentation of the idea, we spent months iu analyzing news programs. After T 1 1 e rough idea was blocked out, we spent more days cutting test transcriptions. Station authorities, agenq representative! and the sponsor went into one huddle after another. From these conferences came reams of su^ Finally, it wai decided that the tune had come to give the publu i chance to approve or (I We w enl on the air. the premise ()f the whole program is to make it a in a sf>uf>tr. What do we mean by that? Just this: A newspaper contains more than the latest bulletins from Washington and abroad. A daily paper, in addition to straight news, has feature stories, an editorial page, letters to the editor, a "woman's page," sports, comics and advertisements. So does this program. While news continues to be the high light of the quarter-hour, approximately 20% of the time is allocated to these other features. More important, we bear down heavily on local news. We have demonstrated that the average listener would rather know that neighbor Joe Doakes had an accident and was sent to the hospital with a broken leg, or that sixteen families were driven from a nearby tenement into the night by a fire, than the latest didos of the Axis Powers. Further than that, and the reason for my hours of preparation, is that this program is completely rewritten for radio presentation. Not one line is used "as is" from the newspaper or teletype. Take the average newspaper story of an accident: Joe Smith, 69 Oomph Avenue, and Bill Jones, 432 Blah Street, were injured when their cars collided at the intersection of Main and Broadway at 2 A.M. Now, if you were telling me about that accident, you wouldn't use that kind of language. Not by a jugfull. It's visual copy, written for the eye and not for the ear. Yet nine newscasters out of ten will read a story like this verbatim and believe that listeners are going to follow word for word. Not according to our experience. Our version would be informal, conveisa tional. Something like this : "They certainly had a beaner of a smashup at Broadway and Main this morning. About two o'clock, Jo*. Smith, who lives at 69 Oomph Avenue, bunod up Co the intersection. So did Bill loins of AM Bl.ih Street. Came then the crash. Residents rOI s)y hUnki .iround were startled out of their llmnbow by the sound of the collision. An amhnl.ime from Mercy hospital was called, and both \ minis were taken away. Doctor* »«y both .ire in serious condition, but will pull through." 12 RADIO SHOWMANSHIP