U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1959)

MEDIA IN PITTSBURGH MEGATOWN Total Households 1,331,600 Newspaper 'A' 317,000 Newspaper 'B' 282,000 Newspaper 214,000 Radio Homes 1,300,000 Tv Homes 1 ,224,200 Reader's Digest 250,099 Look 163,442 Ladies' Home Journal 143,375 Life 139,301 Saturday Evening Post 118,497 Source: Sales Management (1959) ARF (1959). Compiled by Westinghouse Broadcasting Co. percentage of population living in MSA's "varies violently" from state to state. "In Massachusetts," Mr. Covington says, "98 percent of the population lives in SMSA's, i)ut in other aicas, such as North and South Carolina, 60 per cent of the population— or 3,600,000 people — live outside SMSA's." To illustrate the point, Mr. Covington declares that within a month when the city limits of Charlotte are extended, it will have a city population of 200,000. "Although this is not large as U.S. cities go, Charlotte actually has more people within a radius of 75 miles (2,216,600) than live in a similar radius in Atlanta, Minneapolis, New Orleans or Kansas City." Supporting this Total Market Concept, Mr. Covington states that WBT studied two phenomena that he feels justify this view — the flow f customers from the area into the city and the flow of salesmen out of the city into the area. "A study of 16,000 charge accounts, doctor bills, airline reservations and other evidence of area citizens using Charlotte facilities proves that one out of every three customers' comes from outside the SMSA. The percentage ranges from 20 percent to almost 50 percent in some department stores. It is about one-third for airline reservations. At seven performances of the 'Icecapades' in the Charlotte Coliseum, 60 percent of the customers came from outside the SMSA. "As for outflow, Charlotte-based salesmen of wholesale grocers regularly travel 35 miles outside of the city. Salesmen of Charlotte wholesale druggists regularly travel 75 counties outside the city." III. Media Challenge The challenge to media that the Megatown and Total Market concepts represent is enormous. Can radio, for example, effectively serve the various area communities with local news and information? Certainly, air media have the greatest opportunity because of their natural values. For example, WBC states that 50 daily newspapers in the Pittsburgh Megatown include Pittsburgh stations in their daily program logs. At the same time, according to WBC, Pittsburgh newspapers have circulations that are more closely tied to the central city. For example, according to 1957 statistics, WBC says there are 1,300,000 radio homes in the Pittsburgh Megatown. Newspaper A circulation is 317,000 homes; newspaper B, 282,000, and newspaper C, 214,000. Although total radio homes actually cannot be compared with newspaper circulation, the spread between the two represents the difference in potential. But what stations that attempt to cover the Total Market and Mega town area must prove is: Are their operations geared in a way that they serve the interests and tastes of the people in this giant complex? Among the things WBT has been doing is to interpret local news events from outlying communities in terms of the "Charlotte-centered area." And Westinghouse, cognizant of broadcasting's role, has undertaken stejis "to initiate, recognize and endorse Megatown and the responsibilities it entails." • • • U. S. RADIO • November 1959 37