U. S. Radio (Oct 1957-Dec 1958)

9 Before the home team plays its game, the Washington Senator fans enjoy meeting lovely Miss Washington, sponsored by WWDC In its annual contest. no hillbillv aiul no lowdoun blues." In |)ro<^r;Hnining its music, W'PEN Philadelphia, I'a., builds the format around its j)ersonalities. In hiring its m.c.'s, the station uses three criteria: their ability to entertain, to sell products and move merchandise, and to perform before live audiences. As part of its personality concept, "WPEX in 1951 built a restaurant-studio on the first floor of its building. This is used for nighttime progranmung. From 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. every night, shows are progranuned with live studio audiences. At AVMIX Mt. \'ernon, 111, the emphasis on the d.j. is slightly different. Here, a full-time nuisic lil)rarian and not the d.j. determines the nuisic to be played on any given program. The personality is encouraged, however, to provide ideas in Ijuilding individual programs. The musical content at WMIX is based on a "balance between vocal and instrumental nimibers; between various types and styles of vocalists or groups, and between moods created by instnunental music." While many stations program for the general audience, an equal niuiiber slant their format at a jjarticular Today stations such as KSON San Diego, Calif., are ready to go anywhere for a news beat. Helicopters are a part of many radio stations' mobile set ups. segment, the questionnaire survey shows. WHTN Huntington, W. Va., programs its music for the adult audience. It plays current favorites with a melody interspersed with old standards, some of which have modern arrangements. And \V.\Xr) Canton, O., programs for the homemaker between the ages of 25 and 55. The station uses disc jockeys, women as well as men, but between the musical selections adds news and hints about homemaking. These vignettes are limited to one minute in length and may range from fashion news to the latest methods in dia])ering the baby. WING Dayton, O., offers programs to all "mature listeners," and steers away from "an overwhelming appeal to teenagers." "Radio for grown-ups of all ages" is the slogan of WGAR Cleveland, O., whi( h offers a balanced schedule of classical and popular music, l)ut does not emphasize rock 'n roll. WSB Atlanta caters to an adult audience by progranuning 90 percent of its nuisi( for mature listeners. The station intersperses its music with conversation and talk during the evening hours. -And WQXI Atlanta also appeals to the adult audience by presenting a variety of music, ranging from old to very new. Record Survey WGTO Cypress Gardens, Fla., programs a variety of music from top tunes to standards. It surveys record stores in its area twice weekly and catalogs the top tunes. The sales of albums and re-releases are also included and are programmed as they appear on the survey. After years of trial-and-error production, KALL Salt Lake City, U., has come up with a format called "New Sound." It is based on the idea of a fast-paced flow of popular music. Many stations, keenly aware of the variance in audience composition at different times of the day, have adopted dual personalities. KSON San Diego, Calif., for example, programs the top 50 tunes plus newcomers during the daytime, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. In the evening, KSON introduced a new format called "San Diego After Dark," aimed more at the adult audience. It features music that people can relax by, using an 24 U. S. RADIO May 195f