Variety (April 1953)

WediicB<fay» April I5t 195$ 1 SHAWM AMGlMfiHT 39 ♦ ♦ > M I 'MW HHMtm»MM M»MMMMM Ii m > MM I MM M 4+ MM 4+4 M +»4 "M 4-4> M 444 4 4 M 4+444444444- 444-+4444+4+4»4 444 > 4»444^ Citations: ’52 -’53 Showmanagemeiit Review t »4 4 M M 44< * M 44 M MM 44 M M 4 4 » f 4 M 444 444+4-+ M -4 4 +4444 4 + 4++4»++4444444 44444444 444444 4 44 444- ? (Continued from page. 36) nature, electronics and time, is a Kind of TV Rover Boys story, with Landsberg and companions climb- ing mountains, camping out in snowbound tents, improvising new technical rigs, and finally having to call on aid of the U, S. Marines, There was not enough, time be- tween the initial. AEC okay for the project and dhe date ol the bomb blast for the telephone company to install the necessary relay in long stretch between Las Vegas and L. A. But Landsberg said it could be done, and he and his KTLA crew set out to do it them- selves in time for target date. For 10 days, engineers and cameramen worked with practically no sleep, setting up relay points and porta- ble transmitters at remote moun- tain points. For power, they used generators and storage batteries, Major hurdle was one* snow-capped mountain peak that was vital to the relay system, but couldn't be scaled, so Landsberg and AEC ar- ranged for Marine Corps helicopter to fly in equipment and technicians to top of the mountain. Six days after the start of instal- lation, the relay was working, and KTLA crews in Nevada managed to get first pictures through from Yucca Flat to L. A. But there was still a flock of other technical kinks to be worked out, technical gambles to be - risked. Special filters had to be rigged up for camera lenses, and protective devices for equipment. But no one knew for sure that the first effects of the blast might not Jknock equip- ment out completely. Success and impact on American viewers of this first coast-to-coast telecast of atomic explosion, is now history, and KTLA originated the program and fed it to th^ee networks. 4+444 4 4 4 4 4 M M^ ♦ 444 MM 4 , . Outstanding Farm Station ■ tH 1 4 t ♦ ♦ 44 4 + ♦ M M 4 M m m KFRE, Fresno 9 Cal. Down, in the San Joaquin Val- ley that KFRE serves, farming is big business, and the business of broadcasting is necessarily greatly concerned with farming. Fresno County is the richest agricultural country in the nation, and on the west side of the Valley the aver- age ranch runs to 3,000 acres. To do a real job for these fabulous farmers who raise so much of the country's fruits, vegetables and cotton, this 60,000-watt CBS outlet has developed an outstanding farm program service.* Starting out back in '50 with only one quarter-hour farm show a day, KFRE’s farm department* has grown to its present stature, and a crop of 75 minutes daily of agri- cultural features, all sponsored. Wally Erickson, news and farm di- rector, and farm reporter Paul Nel- son together put on more farm broadcasts than any other station in the state, more than the other four Fresno radio stations com- bined. To give listeners the latest farm know-how info, all of the county farm advisor specialists in the KFRE area are assigned regular five-minute spots on the station. A roving mobile unit is used to record on-the-spot interviews and reports from valley ranches, and farm director Erickson also covers major agricultural conventions add fairs not only in California, but often out of the state.* Backing up the farm program- ming is a heavy promotion cam- paign: that includes monthly col- umn in the "California Farmer/’ the state's leading farm journal, and space in the "Farm Bureau News." Like quite a few other alert stations, KFRE this year has also noted the trend towards more sym- phonic music, proving that coun- try-style musical tastes don’t al- ways run to jug bands and geetars. ♦4 + 444 M 4444 MMMMM 4 + FM Station Operation t -4+4+4 MfrMM 4 +4 444 4 4 44 4 WGBH, Boston FM, that onetime wonder child of broadcasting, orphaned by the TV boom and now so neglected, received a much-needed shot in the arm this year, and it was a brand-new station, and a non-com- mercial one at that, which sup- plied xpuch of the adrenalin. In its first year of operation WGBH, a project of Lowell Institute Co- operative Broadcasting Council, demonstrated that a Frequency Modulation station effectively managed and imaginatively pro- grammed can build substantial place for itself in a large TV-AM city, and that a group of varied educational organizations can get together and cooperatively develop an important broadcasting opera T tion. WGBH describes itself as "an experiment in liberal, addlt edu- cation by radio extending the re- sources of the university, the con- servatory, the museum and the symphony orchestra far' beyond the campus, the classroom, the gal- lery and the concert hall," That this experiment proved so fruitful in so short a time is in large meas- ure due to certain principles which guide operation of the station:. Respect for the listener, for the content of the programs, and those who present the programs; the radio audience is constituted of many special publics, is not an undifferentiated mass; programs should encourage thoughtful and attentive listening, not serve as background . for other activities; radio should concentrate on’ serv- ices which it can perform better than TV; non-commercial educa- tional broadcasting supplements rather than competes \yith com- mercial broadcasting ., . And non- commercial educational broadcast- ing need not be dull! Unlike some commercial sta- tions, WGBH brought to its spe- cial audiences not just teasing samples of intellectual radio fare, but good talk, good music, good , ideas as staple diet in rich and re- warding abundance. It took its microphones and recording ma- chines right into the classrooms of Harvard Univqjsity, Boston Uni- versity, Tufts College, Northeast- ern University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and broadcast regularly actual college courses, including regular courses in Humanities, in Social- Sciences, in Natural fSciences; plus special courses developed for; radio. Out- standing public lectures and for- ums like Harvard Godkin Lec- tures, Harvard Summer' School Conference, Harvard Charles Eliot Norton Lectures, and* M.I.T. Hu- manities Lectures were also aired. WGBH’s. musical programming was also outstanding; not just re- cordings but a wealth of live full- length concerts and recitals by such groups as Budapest String Quartet,. New England Conserva- tory Chorus and Orchestra, Juilll- ard String Quartet and year-round series of broadcasts by Boston Symphony Orchestra, including four concerts from the Berkshire - Festival at Tanglewood. Few non-commercial broadcast- ers realize importance of promo- tion; but WGBH manager Parker. Wheatley did. He promoted the new station with all the resources of educational community in Bos- ton, and also enlisted active aid of radio retailers and wholesale ra- dio distributors in the area. > ♦ ♦ ♦ 44 4 M ♦ t tt 444 4 ttt 4 44444444444+4444 44 4 44 4 M M M 44 4 MM M M 444 4 4 4 4444 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 + 4444 4 444 4 4 4 444444 44 + 4 + 4444444444 + 444444444+ X • ’52 *’53 Showiuanagement Review 44 4 ♦ M 4 4 44444 44 4 44 4 44 4 4 ‘4444 4 4 4 4 4444 4 4444444444 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 444444 44444 4 4444 *4 4 4444 4 4 4 44 4 M 4 4444 4 4 44 4 4444 4 4444 44444 4 44444 4 , 4 4 44 ^ (Continued from page ^38) cased in a miniature replica sug- gesting Fort Knox decoration,- be- speaks, a year of feverish activity , in merchandising-promotion. The KDLA staffers Integrated them- selves into the activities of some 67 civic, veteran, community, fra- ternal and church organizations, and the station’s Festival Parade won the plaudits of the Duluth Chamber of Commerce, WBNS-TV, Columbus, O.— Around the calendar, abound the clock, WBNS-TV has maintained a consistent schedule of presenting, and, in turn, promoting a variety of features, both commercial and public service, backed by solid production and promotion worthy of any metropolitan operation. Its "Look to Lazarus" shopping trip via TV, was merchandising of the highest order. Similarly in "Aunt Fran,” designed for the "little folks," in "Final Decision" Panel quiz, and in other variegated pro- gramming endeavors, showmanship was the keynote. 1952 was a good year for a good operation. WSYR, Syracuse—Station puts emphasis on public service and came up with some commendable efforts, including a campaign for inhalators for parks, a continuous 30-hour pitch on behalf of the Community Chest drive; a con- Woman of the Year Running unopposed on platform of a Westinghouse i every home and. a frost-fre America, an amateur.politicie by the name of Betty Fumes romped in by a landslide i the Chicago conventions. The Furness gal, openin and closing refrigerator doori was as familiar a sight on th TV screens of the nation dui *ng both conventions as an of the candidates, , and sh Probably won more friend and influenced more peopl than some of'em. It was more, though, tha Just a virtuoso endurance pei iormance. It was also one c the best video sales Jobs of th year. Miss B. not only dii played her staying powers, bi also proved again that one -< f he u best ways to sell on T is by demonstrating the proc !ng thfc-jrttfch.“ N 1 - • certed campaign to replenish the city's blood bank and a get-out- the-vote assist. Station's "Opera- tions Windfall," designed to .co- operate with the U. S. Army in raising morale of troops at Camp Drum, N. Y., Was an outstanding public service contribution. WNOX, Knoxville—This Scripps- HoWard radio station didn't take its listeners for granted. To bring home to its audience the station's programming fare, WNOX was right on the ball promotion-wise, not only on behalf of its programs, but for the products advertised on the station. WNEB, Worcester, Mass.—This 250-watt station has consistently been rated by Hooper as one of the top indies.. That it has achieved this status "without gimmicks, gadg- ets or Godfrey,” without money shows or contests, speaks well in- deed for an operation in competi- tion with a 50 kw network station, with two 5 kw and a 1 kw. And it has more, local business than two of the remaining three Worcester net - affiliated stations combined. WCBS-TV, New York—Craig Lawrence’s key Gotham operation made daytime television its No. 1 showmanagement problem during the past year and parlayed it into a local programming-local profit har- vest. Daytime strategy was based on the station’s "Twelve Plan" (subsequently copied by other operations) involving programming, promotion, potential and profits (with the accent on attracting femme viewers), and the "full steam ahead" agenda established the Station’s unquestioned stature in the video ken. WNKB-WTAM, Cleveland—Ham Shea’s first year of operation at the NBC o&o station in-Cleveland left s Jmprint on the community. For aea succeeded in taking the sta- on out of its longtime lethargy id runner-up status and gave both ie AM and TV operations a new- •und importance in the commu- ty. His "Morning Bandwagon" yo-hbur radio show, backed by 17 ire musicians; his AM* public serv- e endeavors, including bringing )th sides of the meat* cutters’ rike onto a common platform; ie TV v Steel Series" and the cur- mt "Life In Cleveland" series in operation With Life maga^ine all ifl^Cr the" Shea ®\tfmahsMp and anagerlal capacities. Following on the same path, Shea is headed for major industry recognition. WLIB, New* York—The WLIB progress has been slow, steady and dogged, but the station has been carving a niche for itself out of the jungle , of duplication, overlap- ping, and cutthroat competition existing in the New York radio sphere. The task has not been an easy one. The new management inherited a tangled, obscure, un- Blue Grass Opera WAVE-TV, Louisville, was convinced that hot everybody Wanted hillbilly music or west- ern films. So during the past year the station has been prov- ing there is a large grass roots audience ready and waiting for TV opera. In cooperation with the Univ. of Louisville school of Music, WAVE-TV has been telecasting 30-minute versions of such favorites as "La Boheme," "Traviata," "Hansel and Gretel," etc., sung in Eng- lish, with the casts made up of local singers, radio performers and music students. And in the process it proved .that opera can not only be good music but good theatre as well. directed veritable Tower of Babel speaking nine languages, 12 dia- lects and a crazy-quilt pattern program schedule. But in carrying out the policy of the new manage- ment the station has dedicated it- self to providing a radio service for the Negro community; of pro- viding a radio service for the mil- lions of New Yorkers of Jewish .descent whose principal language is English. CKOK, Hamilton, Ont. — With Hamilton, one of the major mar- kets in Canada, feeling the impact of Buffalo television from across the border and with some 25% penetration of radio homes by TV, radio stations were presented with a challenge. CKOK met it effec- tively with its audience and sales promotion. ' * WNEW, New York—If there were any doubts as to WNEW entrench- ing itself in the community broad- cast pattern with its , music-news format 7 /a ’.feat 'enhanced Yijr the ih’dieY identity in the most Sat- urated market in the world) it be-" came a fait accompli during the past season when, despite the exodus of some topflight adminis- trative-performer talent, the station continued to exercise its same* im- pact in terms of audience and billings. WINS, New York—Through its "Voters Forum," WINS provided a distinctly different and metropoli- tan area-aimed service that en- tailed coverage of the Republican and Democratic conventions in Chicago. In the .highly competitive New York market, WINS stacked up its own three-man staff against; the network vanguards of hundreds and turned in a sock job, just as, between the conventions and the election, it hammered away on the political front to get out the vote and translated it into a fine public service achievement. •> 9 WGAR, Cleveland—For contin- ued all-round participation in the | community’s life, this station can- not be overlooked. Its constant effort has carved for itself a de- cided niche in Northern Ohio, with last year’s binaural experiments highlighting, a management’s pro- gram of already vast lustre. r WGN-TV, Chicago—Once again station justified its ranking as one of the standout sports Channels in America, with an enviable roster of events^and citations as it knocked off consistently high ratings. In Jack Brickhouse, WGN-TV has one of the nation’s top television sports- casters. WAZL, Hazleton, Pa.: Vic Diehm is a veritable fireball when it comes to promotion work, as was reflected b£ the station’s multiple activities during the past year, topped by an educational exhibit which won the plaudits of churchmen, civic lead- ers, .newspapers and sponsors alike. In "Cactus Jane" (Cathy Briese), Station has a sock personality and program, and her Christmas benefit party Is still being talked about. WICC, Bridgeport—As Connec- ticut’s only 24-hour broadcaster, WICC alerted itself to the indus- trywise nighttime radio rap, evolv- ing its own plan of variegated sun- down-to-sunup programming that's paying off commercially an^ with increased audietice reaction;.. Sta- tion, Relayed its participation In. the five-day Barnura Festival and | Parade into one of the year’s sock promotions. KFBM (AM and TV), San Diego —KFBM’s "Editorial Page," con- ducted by the station’s executive director, Paul W. White (ex-CBS), devoted to an expression of its own opinions on local, state, na- tional or global matters, distin- guished itself in 1952. Notably out- standing was the station’s Christ- mas editorial involving rent con- trols and the portents of some tragic aftermaths for the crowded area of San Diego. Station’s fight for controls, at a time when all seemed lost, succeeded in quash- ing the profit-hungry landlords. "Editorial Page" challenged a po- tential injustice—and won. WNYC, New York—The Munici- pal Broadcasting System’s station again clinched its position as the nation’s major non - commercial operation. One of Dean Acheson’s last letters as Secretary of State was to laud the station for its con- tinuing contribution to interna- tional understanding through its UN broadcasts. The multiple pro- grams of significant cultural and educational, value brought it ah unprecedented volume of mail— three times the 1950 load. Director Seymour Siegel and his staff can take a bow for a job well done. Frisco Flareup If too many radio stations were letting one of AM's most potent vehicles—the documen- tary—fall into discard, KCBS, the Arthur Hull Haves-man- aged outlet in San Francisco, like that same net's WBBM Chicago, .was not among them. KCB& News department gave the documentary treatment to tense Bay Area racial flareup; and made it a powerful and important broadcast. When a Negro family moved into Hollingwood, a suburban community just across the bay from San Francisco, violence broke out and attempts were made to force the Negroes to move from the community. * KCBS sent its mobile record- ing unit into the neighbor- hood; taped interviews with the major participants In the episode, and wrapped it up into, a .meaningful. jtmd ?!<*, qufeht prbgfym* ’.ddjtyia "Roll-*. logwood, USA. ■ * ’ * *' 1