U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1961)

RADIO FOCUS/ideas Promotion OKI radios never die, they just turn up in contests. Three stations in different parts of the country — WGLI Babylon, N. Y., KBOM Bismarck, N. I)., and VVFLA TampaSt. Petersburg — each staged promotions to uncover the oldest radio in the area. WGLI came up with a set constructed in 1890. The radio still works and uses two different sets of batteries \n injured bird in the hand is worth many phone calls, a station in Seattle discovered. A KING engineer, working on Vaslion Island in Puget Sound, found a wounded hummingbird stretched out by the station's transmitter. He phoned the office on the mainland and asked for advice on caring for the bird. Deejay Jim Roberts broadcast the appeal and immediately the station was flooded with calls offering aid and sympathy. One woman, known as the "Bird Lady of Seattle," gave a prescription for keeping the animal alive: a solution of sugar water every 15 minutes. The engineer nursed the bird until a rescue party reached the island. The patient was turned over to the "Bird Lady," who makes a hobby of caring for birds. The station is still receiving calls on the health of the bird. Reports the "Bird Lady": It will be back on its wings very soon. ..." CKGM, Montreal campaigned an entire month on its news commentary program for a water system. WIBG, Philadelphia, which has already handed out $16,000 in contest prizes this year, decided to turn tables on its listeners. The station is offering to send a statement of 25 words or less to any listener who sends in a check for $10,000. Anyone who sends the station a fully equipped 1961 convertible will receive a best last line. ... A chicken in the pot of every KBIG Catalina, Cal., performer was the goal of a promotion staged by Chicken Delight restaurants, recently signed up as a sponsor. The company wanted all the station's personalities to sample its product before they sounded off about it on the air. But the restaurant chain had no outlet on Catalina. The solution: The company hired an airline and parachuted buckets of chicken to the station's mountain-top studios \c ccpting dates is l)i( k Spangler's hobby. As a result, the KORL I [onolulu deejay recently broadcast his program from a tank Idled with man-eating Tigei and Hammerhead sharks. An ex perienced skin-diver, Spanglei spent eight hours in the tank, equipped with a throat microphone. He had one (lose call when he scurried oul of the pool, pursued In the gleam ing white teeth of a 18-fool shark. Hundreds of spectators were attract ed to the promotion. . . . The dean of radio commentators. II. V. kaltenborn, has donated 8500 as the top prize in a national radio contest sponsored by American foundation for the Blind. Participating in the contest are college groups studying drama or radio writing. The objec t is to create the best half-hour program dealing with the problems and potentialities of blind persons. Deadline for submitting tapes is May 1, 1962. . . . More than half a million travelers arrive and leave New York every day and WCBS New York is going after these potential listeners before they reach the city. With the help of CBS network stations WCBS ran spot announcement in major cities around the country, asking travelers to tune to the station when they stayed in New York. Sample plug: "What happens when a married man from Boston travels to New York? Well, the first thing he does when he gets off the plane is to find a radio station that sounds as good as WEEI (Boston). Eventually he discovers WCBS— 880 in New York. And he's happy." . . . Last summer, radio led tv in total listeners for eight out of 13 weeks, according to Sindlinger and Co., media analysts. How many weeks will radio lead tv this summer? The Radio Advertising Bureau is offering $250 to the agency man or advertiser who comes closest to predicting the number of weeks radio will lead tv and the number of listeners in millions that radio draws over tv. Last year, radio's lead ranged from 400,000 during a July week to more than four million in September, according to Sindlinger and Co. Programing Radio continues to capitalize on its status as a local medium. Noteworthy programs delving into local problems and events were broadcast in these cities: Boston -Following the destruction by fire ol a 116-yeai old burlesque theatre, the "Old Howard," which was once the stomp ing ground ol man\ ol today's slais, YVBZ conducted telephone into views with some ol the entertainers who grew up on the statue ol the his torical theatre. I he piogiam lea tured Bud Abbott, Red Buttons, Phil Silvers and Bert Lain reminiscing about their early days in the "Old Howard." . . . St. Louis — The fust of a series of 12 documentaries exploring the social problems and progress in St. Louis was aired on KMOX. The initial program, tilled "The Big Lift," probed into the problems ol narcotics addiction. Actual case histories supplied by local police and interviews with drug addicts formed the basis of the documentary. . . . Cincinnati — WSA1 started a new program called "Open Mike" which features communii\ leaders discussing topics in the news In a recent program, Pepper Wilson manager of the Cincinnati Royals professional basketball team, discussed the college basketball betting scandal. Topics to be covered in the future include legalized gambling and the building of an underground garage in downtown Cincinnati. . . . Pittsburgh — For the past 12 years, a redevelopment project in suburban Pittsburgh has progressed only to the point of the demolition of the old buildings. KDKA decided to find out why the project was bogged clown and the result was a series of five broadcasts examining the situation. The programs probed into the conflict between public and private officials and offered possible solutions to stimulate construction in the area. Radio's ability to broadcast a news story as it happens was demonstrated by the coverage of a power failure in New York City and a $5 million fire in Aver, Mass. In N. Y., Radio Pulsebeat News, a new audio news service, sent two fully equipped mobile units into action when midtown Manhattan was blacked out by the power failure. Within 20 minutes, RPN was transmitting accounts of the blackout to its clients around the country. One of its reporters climbed 13 flights of steps in 90 degree temperature to record the conversation between U. S. RADIO/August 1961 37