Radio showmanship (Jan-Dec 1949)

Record Details:

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At this point another announcer picks it up and announces that Neighborhood News is sponsored locally by "your Buick dealer, Sweat Motor Company and now here is your reporter Miss Beulah Glover." Miss Glover begins with one of the most important items and continues through for six minutes. Then the announcer picks up again and gives a oneminute commercial about the showrooms of the New Buick and features of the new models together with special services given by the company. Then he says: "Now back to your Neighborhood News reporter." Miss Glover then gives another item of special attention, announces meetings, gives accounts of sick folk, births, and so on, then fashion notes and household hints and if a birthday, a birthday greeting against a background of music which includes the song "Happy Birthday." As she stops speaking the music fills out the time. The announcer gives a short commercial and the weather report and closes with "Listen again tomorrow for Neighborhood News sponsored by your Buick dealer, the Sweat Motor Company and if you have a bit of news send it to this station, care of Neighborhood News." This program seems to have popular appeal and draws more comment than any on WALD. One wife complains that her husband never lets her talk during dinner because he wants to listen to this program and another housewife says she always takes her desert in the living room where the radio is located. Another says she takes her radio in the kitchen to hear the program while preparing dinner and still another says she rushes from the washing machine as soon as she hears the first announcement. In a town the size of Walterboro gathering this daily news is not always easy as there are not many telephones throughout the county. But much of the success of benefit church and club affairs has been accredited to the program with its constant reminders, always in different forms, and the revenue and good will derived are not brushed lightly aside by their contributors. Off the Air . . . "There are two words for the problems facing AM broadcasting today — FM and television." Such is the prevailing sentiment in a large part of the country these days. A student of classical logic, however, will question the above on its two unproved premises: (1) Are these problems, and (2) Are they facing AM stations? We've all seen reams of debate on these issues. Some of it, has been authoritative, coming from leaders in the field. A lot of it has come from the layman, as it were, the guy who speaks by virtue of owning one type of set or another. Unfortunately, too much of the controversy we have seen has been prejudiced. What we'd like to get are authoritative comments from people who are in positions to know and have no axe to grind. Specifically what we're interested in learning is this. Are AM, FM and Television mutually exclusive industries? Does the existence of a strong television industry preclude AM and FM? Or, will broadcasting realign itself to conform to a different pattern? What form must this pattern take? And where will the major changes take place; in scheduling, programming, or somewhere else? To try to get some insight into this matter, we are asking our readers — advertisers, who furnish the wherewithal regardless of the medium, agency men, who by occupation associate with all three, and station management and personnel who know, better than anyone else, their own limitations — to write us, giving their opinions. Of course, no one can foretell exactly what's going to happen in the future. All we want is your informed guess. Your status in the industry we feel will furnish a high enough degree of probability, to make the guess pretty accurate. Won't you jot down your thoughts and send them to us today. Thanks. .. . The Staff DECEMBER, 1949 13