Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1943)

AIRING THE NEW New radio programs worth reading about. No result figures as yet. Amusements BACK PAGE AND TOURIST NEWS When ice and snow blanket the Midwest, civilians cast longing glances at travel brochures from warmer climes. Shop windows in January feature light weight flannels, bathing suits and sun hats. Those who can make the break, pack golf clubs, tennis rackets, shorts and halters. Mecca for many of them is the Rio Grande Valley. To help these wintertime playtimers keep up with the news in the home town, participating sponsors on the KGBS daily show present items of interest and importance from the home state and the home town. Listed in each script are the names of states from which that day's broadcast is made up. Example: "Today we have news from Louisiana, North Dakota, Montana, etc." So that those on civilian furlough will relax to the utmost, all war and Washington news are eliminated entirely on this feature. Strictly Back Page and Tourist News, the newscast is made up entirely from Associated Press items and features domestic news exclusively. Daily, the Harlingen, Tex., show is introduced with the statement that ''BPScT news makes no attempt to cover the war situation." With the feature reserved for firms catering to tourist trade, promotion is also taken into the tourists' hang-outs. Placarded are all tourist camps, and into the box of every registrant at all Valley hotels goes an invitation to tune in. AIR FAX: First Broadcast: November 1, 1941. Broadcast Schedule: Daily, 4:00-4:15 P.M. Preceded By: Music. Followed By: Music. Sponsor: Snow White Laundry, Brownsville; Harlingen Municipal Golf Course; Palm Tavern, San Benito; L. W. Pratt, Real Estate, San Benito; Plaza Hotels, San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Dallas; Manhattan Cafe, Harlingen; Valley Amusement Center, Harlingen, Pearl Brewery, San Antonio. Station: KGBS, Harlingen, Tex. Power: 250 watts. Population: 59,668. COMMENT: Too frequently overlooked is the lighter side of the news. Especially in tourist centers, copy of this kind makes for good listening, and good listening adds up to increased sales for each and every sponsor. FinancK SWEET LAND OF LIBERTY Patriotism is the order of the day, and making its patriotic gesture over WFIL is the Land Title and Trust Co., Philadelphia, Pa. Primed with psychological ammunition for the home front is the inspirational half-hour of Sweet Land of Liberty. Woven together by emcee Jason Johnson on the weekly Sunday civilian pepper-upper are four features. In Riding the Rumors, current whispering campaigns are dramatized and exposed. Feature No. 2: Sixty Seconds Around the Clock. Tabulated is the distribution of War Bond sums in vital materials. In the third act, the curtain rises on a typical American who gives his opinions on questions of current events: Mr. America Speaks. Climaxing the efforts of Land Title and Trust to present the most effective use for the public's dollars are vivid flashes from the fighting front: Battle Stations. Showmanstunt : to arouse further interest in its program, sponsor places "rumor boxes" at bank entrances, exposes on the air rumors collected from those boxed. Available for each broadcast are 50 tickets from employees and company executives. AIR FAX: Program closes with a brief quoUtion with a background of hymnal music. First Broadcast: October 18, 1942. Broadcast Schedule: Sunday, 1:30-2:00 P.M. Sponsor: Land Title & Trust Co. Station: WFIL, Philadelphia, Pa. JANUARY, 1943 19