U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1961)

RADIO FOCUS/ideas PUBLIC SERVICE Promotion From catching criminals to aiding orphans to improving the flow of mail, radio stations throughout the land respond to the call ol public service. Raising money for needy causes and assisting worthwhile campaigns comprise the bulk of the public activities. In Philadelphia, WIP received a call from a group of employees at the Philadelphia office of Erwin Wasey, Ruthrauff S: Ryan. The group had collected a small amount of money among themselves and they wanted to buy radio time to help raise money for the Schaeffer girls of Levittown— seven little girls, aged three months to seven years— who were orphaned by the tragic loss of both parents within a threemonth period. WIP told the callers to keep their money, the station would do it for nothing. The station set in motion the "Seven Sister's Fund." During a two week series of announcements the station raised $5,370.41. Among the contributors: the office of the mayor of Philadelphia, the crew of the U.S.S. Norris, and the employees of the city's traffic office. In a span of four hours— without the help of any other media— KORL Honolulu raised $5,000 to send the Hawaii Little League team to Williamsport, Pa. for the Little League World Series. . . . The mail carriers Nationwide Improved Mail Service received a helping hand from WHK Cleveland in its efforts to expedite the flow of mail. The station aired announcements— recorded by the city's postmaster Joseph Franzurging listeners to mail early in the day. ... In Grand Rapids, Mich., WOOD helped police snag a hit-andrun driver. Upon learning of the hit-and-run accident, in which one boy was killed and another seriously injured, the station sent a mobile unit to the scene and within minutes the story was on the air. A short time later, the identity of the driver was learned and the station broadcast a complete description of the fugitive and continued to do so through the night. A local resident picked up a hitch-hiker answering the description and promptly noti fied the state police, who in turn apprehended the man. I he state police gave credit to WOOD loi the quick capture ol the fugitive, Programing The extensive scope of public service programing carried on radio si a i ions was brought into focus in a brochure, "Broadcasting in Virginia," recently released by the Virginia Assn. of Broadcasters. Tabulalion of questionnaires received from most of the 102 radio and 11 television stations in the state reveals that broadcasting outlets aired more than 303,000 non-commercial announcements in the interest of public service during a six-month period. This was an average of about 11,500 announcements per week. Heading the list of topics covered were higbway safety, fire prevention, civil defense, CARE, public schools, and go-tochurch announcements. Something for every one— from housewives to dogs— was the theme of recent public service programing throughout the country. In Hartford, WINF initiated a program aimed to an audience that the station feels has been neglected in recent years: children. The Friendly Forest is the title of its new series for children. . . . For sufferers of hay fever in the New York City area, WOR has reinstituted its daily allergy reports. The reports include interviews with allergy specialists and provide the daily pollen count. In addition, the station is offering to its listeners the booklet, "Asthma, Hay Fever and Other Allergies." . . . WGMS Washington is offering a service to one specialized audience that is guaranteed never to buy an advertised product. For the third consecutive year, WGMS broadcast, during one Saturday in August "Dog Days," a program of music and commentary directed at the canine population of Washington. During n> lermission, James Thurber read an essay about some of his best friends. Among the musical selections heard on the show were: Chopin's Dog Waltz, the Yale Bulldog song, the bark of Cerberus from Act II of Gluck's Orfeo and Eur dice, and Moussorgsky's Song of the Flea. . . . Noteworthy public service programs focusing on local and national programs concerned with social and political problems crowded the air acioss the ci)Uiiu\. both W.MCA New York and KMPC Hollywood devoted programs to tlx problems of juvenile delinquency. When a special committee of the House of Representatives toured some ol the slum neighborhoods in New York, WMCA took its microphones along and recorded interviews with gang leaders, parents, youth workers and police officials at the scene. The tapes formed the basis for a spe c ial report on youth crime. In Hollywood, KMPC presented a special report, Gang Warfare in a Big City — Why? Three months of research were poured into the program, which featured recorded interviews from youths in slums, alleys, back streets, pool halls and jails. ... In Boston, WBZ ran a two-part documentary analysis of how America's image is viewed in foreign lands. The program, Hoxv Others See Us, featured interviews from American and European government officials, European citizens, literary figures, and American military personnel stationed overseas. According to the station, digging up material for the program took three months, 15,000 Continued on page 50 .IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII KFAL RADIO FULTON, MISSOURI DOMINANT FARM RADIO SERVICE 76 hours of farm radio a week . . . Interesting, pertinent and factual information and programming for farmers. "Smack in The Middle" of the Crossroads of the Nation! Dominating a vast moving audience, travelers, and vacationers going everywhere all year long ... On U.S. 40, and U.S. 50— both transcontinental highways, and on U.S. 54 Chicago to the Southwest. From Border to Border in Missouri, KFAL RADIO reaches the great autoradio, and portable-radio audience, with news, information and entertainment. Are you represented here? Represented by John E. Pearson Co. KFAL RADIO Tel: Midway 2-3341 Fulton, Missouri 900 Kilocycles 1000 Watts iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ U. S. RADIO/ September 1961 43