U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1961)

Q F n R m T RADIO radio. "We are still employing our regular pattern of farm interviews, market information and news directed to the farmer, all the while directing more thought to the young farmer and participating more with the FFA and other groups," says Leslie Kennon, vice president, K.WTO Springfield, Mo. "We have also enlarged our scope <>l markets to include all importanl quotations in livestock and grain in the middle west." And fay Gould, farm director of WOWO Fort Wayne, adds the following emphasis to the growing diversification in programming content and approach: " I wo types of changes have come into mil farm broadcasting. One type in program material and the other in program formal. Emphasis has been changed considerably from our former efforts to raise production of crops and livestock to the problems ol marketing and adjust This trio bids welcome to visitors to Everybody's Farm, owned and operated by WLW Cincinnati. L. to r.: George Logan, farm service director; Robert Miller, WLW's director of agricultural activities, and Jack Conner, manager of the farm. U. S. Sentate radio room is the scene of this farm broadcast by WGY Schenectady, N. Y. Station set up special two-way radio broadcast between these senators and four farmers in its home studios. Don Tuttle (r), WGY farm director, handles the Washington end of the discussion with Senators (I to r) Milton Young, William Proxmire, George Aiken and Allen Ellender. Northeast problems were aired. menl of quality and amount to demand. The re is also a considerable inc rease in the amount of time spent in explaining farm problems to nonfarm people and the problems ol non-farmers to the farmers. As with the extension service, farm broadcasting now includes an ever increasing amount of attention to suburban non-farm listeners. "Our farm broadcast format has evolved to parallel an apparent change in listening habits — shorter information segments (for example, four-minute rather than 15-minute markets), shorter interviews (maximum six minutes) and general agriculture information. Along this line, local, national and international news is now embodied within our farm broadcasts." Bill Hoeft, faun director of WTMJ Milwaukee, also states that "more consideration is being given to the non-farm listener in farm programming." Some stations report adjustments in programming to appeal to urban I isteners. "Our farm programming attempts to bring the urban listeners closer to the farmer, providing information to the urban listener which tends to acquaint him with the farmer's problems," declares Robert (Doc) Webster, farm director of WJTN Jamestown, N. Y. "We have not sacrificed the farm content in the program, but tend to present it in a manner that will be not only of interest to the farmer, but the urban listener as well. We are keeping interviews to a maximum of three minutes in an effort to keep the program fastmoving." Conway Robinson, farm director, WBAL Baltimore, underscores a similar point: "Farm programming — particularly in our eastern area — must include sufficient human and general interest material to attract the suburban 'farmer' since our socalled strictly agricultural listening area now is changing and to a large extent is assuming a more suburban appearance." The appeal to the distaff side is explained by Howard Heath, farm director, WPAG Ann Arbor, Mich. "We are aiming the commercial pitches more and more toward the woman of the house, knowing very little is ever spent without her con 20 U. S. RADIO • January 1961