Radio Programming in Action
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Radio Programming in Action Realities and Opportunities Edited by Sherril W. Taylor Vice President for Radio, National Association of Broadcasters d 4 411f Radio Programming in Action Realities and Opportunities Edited by SHERRIL W. TAYLOR BACHRACH National Association of Broadcasters FABIAN Creative programming deserves much of the credit for radio's renewed power and pros- Photo: perity. This collection, based on the 1966 program- ming seminars of the NAB, presents original viewpoints by men responsible for program- ming in all sections of the country. About the author... The 27 contributors are top professionals, some of the most inventive, perceptive, coura- SHERRIL W. TAYLOR is vice president for radio of geous men in the industry. Most of them faced the National Association of Broadcasters. He has the "TV crisis" head on—and emerged masters worked for nearly 20 years in various phases of the of new, audience-holding principles and tech- medium. niques. In this straightforward, down-to-earth He began his broadcasting career with station book, they describe how they grappled with KSL, Salt Lake City, after graduating from the Uni- individual problems and discuss the medium versity of Missouri, School of Journalism, in 1947. as awhole, what it is today, what it could be. In 1951, he joined the Columbia Broadcasting Sys- Markets of many types are represented— tem as director of sales promotion and advertising small and large, urban and agricultural, high, for the Columbia Pacific Network and KNX, Holly- middle, low income. Thus, these selected ar- wood. Two years later he was named director of ticles provide a broad view and an unusual sales promotion of CBS Radio Spot Sales, New opportunity to inspect in depth some of the York, and in 1955 became director of sales promo- striking characteristics of post-TV era pro- tion and advertising for the CBS Radio Network. gramming for specialized audiences. In 1956 he joined the Radio Advertising Bureau, Separate sections cover: news and public New York, as vice president and director of sales service, FM, sports, and modern, "beautiful" administration, remaining there until he became and country music. radio-television senior group head for J. Walter These are professionals speaking to profes- Thompson, Chicago, with the duties of contact, sionals, but what they have to say is so re- supervision and direction of the broadcast adver- tising program. Before joining NAB, he was pres- vealing and so readable, that no one with an ident of Taylor-Nodland, Ltd., a company produc- interest in the medium will want to miss it. ing and owning syndicated radio and television programs. A resident of Bethesda, Maryland, Mr. Taylor is Communication Arts Books married and has three children. HASTINGS HOUSE, PUBLISHERS Communication Arts Books 151 East 50th Street, New York 10022 HASTINGS HOUSE, PUBLISHERS 151 East 50th Street, New York 10022 k. Other Communication Arts Books RADIO BROADCASTING: An Introduction to the Sound Medium Edited by Robert L. Hilliard, Federal Communications Commission This is the first basic text on the principles and techniques of modern radio broadcasting. Here, five broadcasting educators with extensive practical expe- rience explain and discuss their fields of specialization: management and pro- gramming, operating and studio facilities, producing and directing, writing, and performing. A practical introduction, useful as a_reference or a refresher. 192 pages, 61/3"x 9¼", illustrations, sample scripts, notes, bibliog., index. Text edition (paper) $4.40; cloth $6.95 THE TECHNIQUE OF THE SOUND STUDIO By Alec Nisbett, British Broadcasting Corporation "This is an excellent book, very readable and one to be recommended to those -who are seriously interested in using radio as atruly effective medium of corn- munication."—NA EB Journal. "Applied to television sound, especially in live, tape and news film, this book can be of great practical benefit to the vast com- plex of TV personnel."—Television Quarterly. 272 pages, 5/12 "x 8 /12 ", 103 illustrations, glossary, index. $10.50 AUDIO CONTROL HANDBOOK For Radio and TV Broadcasting By Robert S. Oringel, Voice of America "Here in clear, non-technical language is acomplete, step-by-step explanation of every phase of audio control .. excellent diagrams and many photographs supplement the well thought-out text .. Without reservation, Oringel's book can be recommended to everyone interested in the audio field, from the student to the seasoned professional as well as the inquisitive layman and the responsible executive."—Journal of the SMPTE. 160 pages, 83A" x 10", 135 illustrations, glossary, index. $6.95 WRITING FOR TELEVISION AND RADIO, Second Edition By Robert L. Hilliard, Federal Communications Commission An updated edition of this highly praised text adopted by nearly 100 colleges and universities. "A realistic 'bread and butter' book on 'bread and butter' writ- ing for television as acraft."—Harry J. Skornia, AV Communication Review. "A 'must' for teachers at any level desiring to introduce students to the peculiar problems of writing for the broadcasting media."—Speech Teacher. 320 pages, 65/a"x 9 /34 ", review questions, sample scripts, index. $6.95 Write for acomplete catalogue of Communication Arts Books HASTINGS HOUSE, PUBLISHERS 151 East 50th Street New York 10022 Radio Programming in Action Realities and Opportunities Edited by Sherril W. Taylor Vice President for Radio, National Association of Broadcasters COMMUNICATION ARTS BOOKS HASTINGS HOUSE, Publishers • New York 10022 Copyright C) 1967, by Hastings House, Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. Published simultaneously in Canada by Saunders, of Toronto, Ltd. Don Mills, Ontario Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 67-21431 Printed in the United States of America Radio Programming in Action . ...pm...Mar ........ , . .., Mi. 1 • . el:al. Millie le. In I e e • e 1 e , • •ara a : ... I. •r • nerd» Ili et. Me Mr le —. le 1 re 01. • ••• CONTENTS Preface 9 PART ONE: NEWS AND PUBLIC SERVICE Modern Radio's Major Role—Large Markets 13 I. Merrill M. Ash Radio News Director, KIRO, Seattle, Washington 15 2. Dominic R. Quinn Program Director, WEE! Radio, Boston, Massachusetts 23 3. Paul B. Marion Vice President and Managing Director, WBT Radio, Charlotte, North Carolina 27 4. Vern Mueller Program Director, KPOJ Radio, Portland, Oregon 36 5. Jim Bormann, News Director, WCCO Radio, Minneapolis, Minn. 42 6 RADIO PROGRAMMING IN ACTION PART TWO: NEWS AND PUBLIC SERVICE Modem Radio's Major Role—Small Markets 47 6. Richard Jackson President, WBEC, Pittsfield, Massachusetts 49 7. John H. Lemme General Manager, Radio ICLTF, Little Falls, Minnesota 56 8. Julian Haas President, KAGH, Crossett, Arkansas 62 9. John H. Hurlbut President, WVMC, Mt. Carmel, Illinois 67 IO. George J. Volger General Manager, KWPC, Muscatine, Iowa 74 PART THREE: MODERN MUSIC 8t t1. John R. Barrett Station Manager, ICRLA, Pasadena, California 83 I2. Perry B. Bascom General Manager, WBZ Radio, Boston, Massachusetts 89 13. Danny Williams Program Manager, WKY, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 93 PART FOUR: COUNTRY MUSIC 99 14. Dan McKinnon President, KSON, San Diego, California 10I 15. George G. Dubinetz Vice President and General Manager, WJJD, Chicago, Illinois 104 16. R. E. "Bob" Thomlinson General Manager, KTAR, Eugene, Oregon 112 17. Dale Peterson General Manager, KGBS Radio, Los Angeles, California 116 18. Jerry Glaser Director, Country Music Association 120 Contents 7 PART FIVE: "BEAUTIFUL" MUSIC 125 19. F. Geer Parkinson Vice President and Station Manager, WRYT, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 127 20. Wally Nelskog President and General Manager, KIXI, Seattle, Washington 131 21. Gil Bond General Sales Manager, KIXI, Seattle, Washington 133 PART SIX: FM RADIO 137 22. Lynn A. Christian General Manager, WPIX-FM, New York, New York 139 23. Robert Bruton Program Director, WFAA Radio, Dallas, Texas 146 24. Everett B. Cobb General Manager, KNEV, Reno, Nevada 149 PART SEVEN: THE SPORTS BONANZA 153 25. Bob Cheyne Sports Publicity Director, University of Arkansas 155 26. Bert S. West Vice President and General Manager, KVI, Seattle, Washington 162 27. Allan Newman Program Director, KSFO, San Francisco, California 171 Index 175 , PREFACE BROADCASTERS all over the United States are filled with confidence and enthusiasm about the future of radio. The next five to ten years promise to be atime of dynamic growth and development, surpass- mg the prophecies of even the most optimistic among us. In fact, radio has already crossed the threshold of this great growth period. This optimism is due in no small part to new creativity in radio—new uses of the art and imagery of sound. In the decade since its crucial, but as it turned out, artificial, encounter with television, radio has been building the foundations for amajor transition .. .a change of character and personality that is only now becoming apparent. Broadcasters have probed into the metaphysics of radio, asking themselves, "What can radio do best?" It was this introspection that marked the beginning of what Arthur Hull Hayes of CBS Radio has called "the newest mass me- dium." The music-and-news format, the uniquely personal disc jockey, and such latter-day innovations as talk and open-mike pro- I0 RADIO PROGRAMMING IN ACTION grams recaptured and then far outstripped the big audiences of radio's so-called heyday. The emergence of substantial, authorita- tive news operations brought to the medium apermanent, daily im- portance in the lives of Americans. Listening habits changed, too: listening became an individual rather than afamily activity; tune-in peaks shifted to new hours; and, with the debut of the transistor, radio became pocket-sized and truly portable. In short, radio began to offer anew, steadily more personal service to its audience, and they accepted it overwhelmingly. Tomorrow's radio programming will continue to be directed towards large but specialized audiences. Stations will take on clearly defined personalities as they cater to the information needs and en- tertainment tastes of one or more specific social groups.