U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1960)

PROGRAM SERVICES preview showings. The jiackage consists of 25 one-minute capsules a week. • Trand Associates, a comparatively recent entry, is packaging five-minute talk and interviewshows. Its first show. Celebrity Talk (Maggi McNeills), is reported on about .S02 U. S. stations plus 180 outlets of the Armed Forces Radio Service. Among other Trand shows are This Is Zsa Zsa (Zsa Zsa Galior), Decorating Today (Virginia Graham), Ladies First (.\nila Colby and Ilka Chase) , Time Remembered (^Vestbrook Van Voorhis) and \'eu<s Analysis of the Week in Review (John Cameron Swayze) . • Nemrac Recordings is producing a children's show, Flight Into Fantasy, as well as a comedy show, McNaughton & McGonagle. While the himior series comprises short takes of one minute and 30 seconds in length, the moppet production hopes to buck the ca])sule trend and is being offered in 30-minute segments. • Public Affairs Radio Inc., formed this year, is an independent company that intends to produce and distribute news and public affairs programs to radio stations throughout the coimtry. The first production is a 15-minute survey of business and finance that will be recorded in New York's financial district. It will be available to stations for Saturday or Sunday broadcast. 'Big Sound' In "The Big Sound" library being distributed by Richard H. Ullman Inc. of Buffalo, N. Y., and New York, two new features are being added to this year-old package. One is Memo to Maiy, a letters to the lovelorn series, and the other is a contest of the month, syndicated pro motion ideas. ^\'ilh the "Big Sound" in its second year, it is being heard in over 200 markets. Stars International, Hollywood, is the producer; Ullman (lisiril)utes it in the United States and All-Canada Ltd. north of the border. The second-year production patkage includes nuisical Ijridges, modern sound effects, one-liners (anecdotes), show-stoppers (spoof on station executives) and jockey shorts (light material for disc jockeys). In addition, some of the key features of the first-year package will be continued. These include open-end station l)reaks, time and temperature iniroductions, thoughts for today, l)asel)ail and footI)all promotion spots, weather introductions and (omments. Stars , In ail "Big Sound" material, the voices are those of Hollywood and show business stars. A station that subscribes receives an initial package of 12 discs; each month it then receives five discs and four tapes. The first-year series covers 11,82.S promotion tracks, using the voices of 127 stars. Cost of the "Big Sound" is based on a vveekly fee and ranges, according to the size of the market, from S15 to S200. Major markets are on a one-year contract and smaller locales on a two-year pact. Lang-Worth Feature Programs Inc., New York, is producing a package called "Sjjecial Selling Season Shorties," which offers 397 selections for year-round use. The idea behind this package is to offer a showcase for a commercial by providing short arrangements of standard and popular musical selections. The length of the "shorties" vary from 35 seconds to two minutes. The package comprises 350 standards for use during holiday seasons throughout the year as well as 47 Christmas tunes. RCA Syndicated Programs is readying distribution ot the fiveminute sports show called Jackie R()hi)iso)i's Sports Shots, featuring I lie former baseball star. Ihe show is a five-a-week series that will cover all si)!)rts, presenting news interpretation, guests and interviews. The company also is talking about producing a new fivc-minuie series on medical advice and news. This, too, Avould be a five-a-week show. The moiuiily "Informacasi" service is being made available by Program l")cvclo];)ment R: Research Corp.. a division of Photography Pid)lishing Corp., and Zang Golobe, vice president of Select Station Representatives Inc., New York. The researched material is prepared in script form of al)out one minute in length. Each script is categorized by subject matter so that it can be arranged in a binder that is provided. Subjects covered include a wide range of topics — auto care, cooking, gardening, health, money management and household hints, among others. The "Informacast" service offers a Iiasic library of 250 scripts, which is augmented by 50 new ones each month. There are bonus "Informacasts" during the year to cover special events. A leather-covered binder with dividers for the separate categories is also part of the basic service, which is made available on an exclusive basis to one station in its primary area. Suggested Service A suggested way in which stations can use the "Informacasi" service is by having, for example, a local drug chain sponsor the health scripts or a hardware store taking the gardening hints. Subscription rates for the service are based on U. S. Census population figures. According to the rate card, the cost varies from a low of $20 a month in cities of under 50,000 pop 38 U. S. RADIO February 1960