U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1959)

In the Big, Rich Southwest . . . KWFT Wichita Falls, Texas delivers NCS NO. 2 CIRCULATION Based on NCS ^2 weekly daytime circulation (108,300 homes), KWFT delivers the 73rd market in the U.S. Includes 77 counties with over $ 1 '/) billion total retail sales (Consumer Markets, 1958). AT LOWEST COST PER 1000 PLUS BONUS COVERAGE . . . in KWFT's gigantic '/2 mv/m area: 1,201,407 total households; nearly $5 billion total retail sales! H-R See your H " n representative or Clarke Brown man WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS BEN LUDY Pres. & Gen. Mgr. 5 K W at 620 Day & Night the Cieoige H. Gril)l)in, president of Young & Rubicam Inc., took the copywriter's road to the top, with brief side trips into retailing and journalism. His position at Young & Rubicam makes him an important person in the eyes of the radio industry, for the agency ranks as one of the biggest users of the sound medium. At present, it is estimated that Y&R l)ills about $14 million in radio, putting it among the top five radio agencies. A native of Nashville, Mich., Mr. Gribbin studied journalism at the University of Wisconsin and Stanford University, from which he was oraduated. He soon turned his efforts to copywriting, however, with the J. L. Hudson department store in Detroit. He subsequently served in a similar capacity at the May Co., Bamberger's and R. H. Macy & Co. Y&R Copywriter It was also as a copywriter that Mr. Gribbin first joined Y&R. The year was 1935. In 1943, he was made a copy supervisor, only to have his career interrupted by Army service. Rising from the rank of private to captain, he was assigned to the office of the Under Secretary of War. Mr. Gribbin returned to Y & R after the war, and was promoted to vice president and head of radio-tv commercials. In this capacity, he THIS MONTH: GEORGE H. GRIBBIN President, Young & Rubicam Inc. His Agency Amonq Top Five Radio Spenders was in on radio planning for every client that could use it. By 1954, he had been appointed copy director Avith responsibility over print, radio and tv copy. In 1956, Mr. Gribbin was elected a senior vice president. He was promoted to the presidency in October 1958, succeeding Sigxird S. Larmon, who continues as chairman of the board and chief executive officer. Radio's Role As one of the major media, Mr. Gribbin declares, radio will always perform its important service to the advertising industry and to the manufacturer. Its role as a broadcaster of news and cultural entertainment to the public, however, should not be overlooked, he says. As part of his many other activities, Mr. Gribbin is a member of an advisory board of the Manufacturers Trust Co., New York, and a member of the public relations advisory committee to the United Hospital Fund of New York. He is also a member of the Union League Club. Mr. Gribbin was born in 1907. He now is a resident of Greenwich, Conn., and is the father of five children. Considered an omniverous reader and an ardent lover of music, he is also known to enjo\ puttering around the family farm in Massachusetts. • • • 20 U. S. RADIO • March 1959