Variety (April 1953)

Wednewlayy < April 15*. 1953 PfiaSwFr: l'l„,|ttt„ , .. . . . I . *** **** Citations: *514 >’53 Sliowmauagemeut Review ♦ 4 < MM » ♦! ♦ ♦♦♦ I f+ - 4 ♦ ♦ » ♦ »■ » ■ < 4 ♦ How to Run : A Radio Station ► / ♦ ♦ ♦»»»♦+♦ 4 444 » 4 4 4 4 I -4-+4- ♦ ♦ ♦♦ M f ♦ ♦ ♦ I 4 M ♦ 4 4+ 4 + 4 4 »44 + 4 Ht t MHIMH f 4 4 H ♦ • # M HI 4>fH ♦♦HU t WIP 9 Philadelphia WSB, Atlanta ' 7IP is one of those rare net- work affiliates in a major market that manage to function as a chain outlet, and yet maintain some of thie llavor and aggressiveness of a first-rate indie.-Although WIP has always been a good station, in the last few years Benedict Gimbel, Jr., has built it into an even better op- eration, spurred on by video com- petition. Gimbel realizes that nobody, but nobody can run a really successful radio station these days in a tough AM-TV multi-station community without topnotch programming, merchandising and promotion. And Gimbel and Murray Arnold his pro- gram Chief, have been operating a station that packs plenty of punch in each of these three vital depart- ments. WIP’s outstanding coverage of the critical Philly transit strike which tied up that town, is prime example of Gimbel-statkm’s re- sourcefulness, the kind of public service programming that radio can perform perhaps better than any other medium, given the opportu- nity. WIP scored areal beat right at the start of the emergency, as the only station to broadcast mass meeting of the Transport Workers Union at which unexpected strike vote was taken. Most Philadel- phians had been lulled into expec- tation of no-strike because’ late edition papers had headlined an 11th hour union-management agree- ment, and it was WIP’s pickup from the union hall that alerted the city to. the new crisis. . WIP was on the job every minute of the strike, covering every angle, with direct lines to TWU. head- quarters, City Hall and offices of American Arbitration AsSn. Roving reporters also covered car barns around, town to survey strikers atti- tudes. Then, as strike reached a climax, WIP carried direct reports of strike balloting on back-to-work proposal from arbitration head- quarters. When settlement was made, WIP devoted its facilities to getting transit workers back to work as fast as possible by broad- casting new work schedules and assignments to union membership. Another important WIP public service project was its “Report to the People” series which brought to the. mike each week on rotating ba'sis the City’s Mayor, D.A., Coun- cil members, and top department heads. Philadelphia scene also fur- nished springboard for series of novel shows featuring famous Phil- adelphians from all walks of life in the role of celebrity disk jockeys, spinning their favorite platters, in- terspersed with autobiographical reminiscences. With increasing importance of out-of-home radio audience, WIP developed unique feature called •‘Music-News-Sports Review,” slant- ed for maximum appeal to home- bound motorists at end of workday, without sacrificing appeal for in- home listeners. Reports on traffic conditions on major highways are integrated with the music, news and Sports. Station’s promotional heavy-artil- lery not only included usual, bar- rage of ads, posters, direct mail, but an offbeat tieup with Philly’s Central News Co. which got WIP posters on hundreds of newsstands fleet of news trucks, and even plugs on aprons of newsboys all over town. • Station’s merchandising setup was unusually thorough, and era ployed variety of techniques, in eluding calls on food brokers and buyers, direct mail, ads in food trade papers, and special merchan- dising crew to visit indie stores and supermarkets for placement of point-of-sale promotion and dis plays and to check up on sheL position of sponsors products, and distribution and sales. With its daily “Kitchen Kapers *hdw for housewives WIP wrapped uj> potent triple-play of program- ming, merchandising and promo- tion by making this series keystone ^ i* »1 . A -a a. _ . .Vi ** and by taking show on the road for maximum tieup with community organizations and local stores. WSB. ATLANTA I When you discover one of those radio stations that have most suc- cessfully developed ways and means for maintaining and strengthening their position in the face of tough TV competition, you’ll find in the background a sea- soned broadcasting showman. WSB is one of those stations, and the strategist of renewed AM success there is that soft-spoken veteran of Peachtree Street, massah Johnny Outler. , As overall manager of both a radio station and TV outlet, Outler during the first couple of years of this double-play operation found himself and his staff seduced by glamor and. novelty of video, and giving brush off to radio. But about a year ago, Outler. and his lieu- tenants, AM manager Frank Gaith- solid foundation. They created 18 new local shows. They adcjftd more news periods, hypoed them with multiple voices, integrated sound and music,' more taped ,material and remote*. At 11 p.m. across- the-board, they inserted block pro- gramming of news>with “Operation News,” half hour With a one-two- three lineup of ; five minutes of weather, and highway reports, 10 minutes of local* and world news, winding up with 15 minutes of news commentary Off-the network line. Because it allowe in programming,V surprising and pr eries. The listener S for instance that Atl listeners voice B made some ctive discov- ey revealed ta audiences wanted more classical music. So the station’s serious ; music quota was upped from five to 14 hours a week. "Give 'em, something they can’t get' anywhere .else,” was the WSB idea, and it paid off. As a re- sult of its rust-clcaqing campaign. dition .of superior radio service to the community. Demonstrating that radio can crusade with impact, and yet with- out tabloid sensationalism, WMCA Program Veepee Leon Goldstein sent an expert team of researchers and reporters with mobile equip- ment to investigate New York City’s notorious waterfront. They spent several months there and came back with a powerful docu- mentary on crime, racketeering, bossism, political and union cor- ruption on the docks. Their ma- terial was built into a hard-hitting series called “The . Waterfront Story.” The series was so potent that at one stage .of WMCA's investi- gations, a general strike, was threatened in an effort to call off the series. In fact, there reported- ly was a short, wildcat walkout by some of Anastasia’s mob In protest against tyMCA's revela- tions. Evidence uncovered by munities. Recordings of the broad- casts were released to other cities, with the cooperation of the Anti- Defamatfon League and the Nation- al Education Assn. Crusading in the public interest is not a now-and-then event at WMCA. The station has also crea- ted a continuing series for focus- sing public attention on other prob- lems of the-world’s largest city. It’s already produced a notable group of programs on Street Crime in New York, which has resulted in increased police protection on Manhattan’s West Side. Radio can stilj tell a documen- tary story better than television. The achievements of WMCA in this field should Inspire other stations to continue to employ one of the [^greatest techniques ever developed ”by American broadcasting—the documentary. +4 44 4 4 4444444444444 i ♦ 4 4 4 Showmanager Award FRANK STANTON WM. S. PAUEY Frank Stanton Wm. S. Paley This year's Showmanager Award, with its accompanying "Phi Beta 'Variety'" key citation, is a back-to-back parlay representing the top manage- ment team of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc.—Board Chairman William S. Paley and President Frank Stanton. For it was the season of 1952-53 that witnessed the fruits ■ of their collective ' thinking, courage and foresight. If, at the start, there were considerable misgivings over their decision to separate and oper- ate as distinct divisions CBS Radio and 'CBS Television; if, in the face of this de- cision, they stuck by their guns, as the opposition from within the organization and from without^ continued to mount; if many of the affiliated stations, agencies, and sponsors gravely questioned the wis- dom of separation—-the fact remains that the '52-'53 season emerged, coinciding with its 25th anniversary, as perhaps the most memoraEle year in CBS annais. ’ * 't* » •. As evidence of the wisdom of the "split blueprint/' as initially chartered by proxy Frank Stanton, this year saw CBS Television move into a new sphere of affluence and leadership (both'in terms of annual billings and audience acceptance); it was a year which saw ripen into a fullblown maturity its singularly effective programming formula of moderately-budgeted TV shows, with major, accent on situation comedy, exs distinct from the grand hoopla of hour-long^ star-studded productions. '.It was, too, a year that saw CBS-TV translate daytime video into'a sponsorship bonanza. < But while the impact of television could have obliterated much of network radio, and, in the swirl of events, CBS Radio could have largely lost its iden- tity to the new and glamorous medium, the Stanton-Paley precepts of com- plete divorcement of radio from television (a concept which only now is gain- ing increasing respect and attention in the industry's fight for survival of AM), effectively sounded the "Attention Must Be Paid" clarion call, keeping the CBS Radio programming-promotion-administrative standards high in a year of limited AM budgets. In a year of TV-happy sponsors, with radio fighting for its dignity and stature, and when too frequently ah "integrated" salesman was all to willing to settle for a video contract when an. AM pitch seemed all but lost, there was little quit or lethargy on Madison Avenue, N. Y., as CBS Radio put up the good fight and applied imagination, spirit and acumen to hold the micro- phone line against the enormous TV inroads. Contribution To Industry 44 4 4+4 4444444444 + 444 4 4 4 + WHAS 9 Louisville Vic Sholls projected himself as an industry leader during the past year, with he and his WHAS radio operation speaking out vigorously during the network'crisis of mid- 1952. Indeed, the story of WHAS in the past year is the story of a radio stations aggressive answer to an industry in crisis. For while panic and fear convulsed many operations, WHAS moved on many fronts—local as well as industry- wide—to restore a proper perspec- tive and sound programming and business practices to a medium still loaded with audience impact. ' WHAS maintained steadfastly its traditional standards of practice based on rigid adherence to the rate card, as well as. protection of the listener against dubious prod- ucts, offensive copy and other “ter- mites” that crawl out when a “fast buck” philosophy rules. Station’s “Moral Side of the News” show represented an out- standing community service. It was a courageous attempt to provide insight into contemporary events and issues; made for an “aware- ness” of the ethical Implications of the hews. The radio ^ industry as a whole owes a debt'of gratitude to Sholis for his 1952 “Save Radio* blue- print—a hard-hitting, realistic five- point approach for remedying abuses that projected the vet broad- caster into a new sphere of' in- fluence. er and AM program director Elmo Ellis, decided it was about time to give AM a healthy hypo. Outler called it “. . . removing the rust from radio programming.” The rust-removers set. to work to completely overhaul their AM operation, giving realistic and critical orice-over to everything from station-breaks to programs. They decided that just because something had been a certain way for years was no'reason for con- tinuing those stereotypes. They re- vamped the entire operation, with **We dare to be different!” as their battle-cry. They shook Up station’s schedule, and they shook up their listeners. They revised or discarded every sustaining show format, talked old- line sponsors into revising commer- cial features, abandoned old themfes realigned network attractions, polled listeners to determine their ideas, scripted shows that had been allowed to drift alorig ad-libbed, and gtartled housewives with jokes, recipes, riddles, contests and other gimmicks in station-breaks. But the renovation was more than just a gimmicking-up of the schedule After the rust was scrap- ^ +^ei^ Co - rebytttxop; WSB has bigger audiences—and 27 out of Atlanta’s 30 top-rated shows are WSB productions. All this was accomplished with- out extra expenditures; in fact, WSB-AM operated with even greater efficiency than before. WSB-credo is one that can be followed profitably by AM stations everywhere: “ingenuity is more im- portant than dollars.” Responsibility To Community 4 * 4444 ♦ 4 4 « MM4V 444 4 44 4 44 WMCA, Nciy York In broadcasting;, just as in other industries., tradition can be either a stimulus to continued develop- ment and fresh, creative achieve- ment, or it can he a comfortable excuse for resting oh previously- earned laurels. Over , the last dec- ade, WMCA has established a tra- dition of excellence in public ser- vice, but It has not coasted along on its reputation'. Again this year, th at to* WMCA was presented to the* New York State Crime Commission at its hearings. Another major contribution by WMCA to its community was its “Battle For The Schools” series. Concerned with unwarranted at- tacks against public education— such as had taken place in Pasa- dena and elsewhere—WMCA crea- ted these programs so that its lis- teners could recognize the sources of these attacks, and be intelli- gently Informed on methods of combatting them. The Nathan Strauss-owned indie assigned Mrs. Dorothy Dunbar Bromley to make a field 'survey with tape recorder in areas of Metropolitan New York where such attacks have occurred. Infor- mation she collected and material she recorded were checked with the National Education Assn, and the National Citizens Committee for the Public Schools, and then edited into programs which gave the complete story for each of the communities under attack. “Battle For The Schools” not only did a job of helping to stem know-nothing attacks on public education in the New York area, but It served other American com- t++444444t » 4 44444+4 + ♦ ♦ ♦t Outstanding { AM-TV Operation f + ♦♦♦ ♦ ♦ + I 444 4+44 444 + 4444* > WNBC-WNBT, N.Y. Effective—teamplay concept as demonstrated by veepee-general manager Ted Cott and program and operations chief Dick Pack projected the flagship stations of NBC into a preeminent local-level status during the 1952-53 season, as witness: Promotion-wise, WNBC-WNBT used everything from a sign on the NBC shoeshine man’s box to the biggest Douglas Leigh spectac- ular on Times Square, not to men- tion posters even in NBC elevators (with an annual audience poten- tial of 5,500,000), the “Phone Call from a Star” pre-recorded random calls to New Yorkers; cards plug- ging WNBC-WNBT shows inserted in more than 250,000 Simon & Schuster Pocketbooks, etc. Merchandising: Followed up its “Chain Lightning” (which account- ed for $1,000,000 of WNBC bill- ings), with its equally unique “NBC Quality Store” project link- ing more than ,7,000 indie grocers into the WNBC merchandising projects, and its current “Drug- store Network” comprised of 5,000 metropolitan area indie druggists. Programming: In its A1 Capp show 1 , which won critical acclaim last summer, WNBT demonstrated that local television can be as in- tellectually exciting and appealing as anything on the network. As a “television essay” it was built (Continued on page 36)