Talking Radio: An Oral History of American Radio in the Television Age

An Oral History of American Radio in the Television Age

Michael C. Keith

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781000161380
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Media Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

Includes interviews with such well known personalities as Walter Cronkite, Dick Clark, Steve Allen, Art Linkletter, Paul Harvey, Howard K. Smith, Ed McMahon, Bruce Morrow, as well as more than fifty other individuals who were or continue to be actively involved in radio.

Part I

The War Ends and the Picture Begins

1

The Quiet After and Before

Radio’s Victory and Short Peace

Of the horizon to the zenith’s height,
The locks of the approaching storm.

—Percy Bysshe Shelley

Radio was king of the hill in 1946. It had been the country’s top form of home entertainment for nearly a quarter of a century, and it looked pretty certain that this would remain the case during the next quarter-century as well. In fact, things were looking pretty good on all fronts of the great American dream in the year following World War II With victory’s trophy in one hand and a laurel branch in the other, Americans believed the good life lay ahead for the taking, and it seemed inevitable that radio would serve as a central element in this rosy future. Few anticipated that the magic medium, as it was referred to with equal amounts of awe and affection, would soon face a life-altering, if not life-threatening, crisis.

David Sarnoff’s proclamation at the New York World’s Fair seven years earlier that the age of television had arrived did little to inspire concern that radio would soon be in any kind of jeopardy of losing its lofty status as living room centerpiece—or altar. In fact, in distinct counterpoint, the CBS network broadcast a play the same year by dramatist Norman Corwin, called Seems Radio Is Here to Stay, that made an equally strong pronouncement of its own, one that was heard in millions of homes unequipped with a “picture” machine.

The years between 1939 and 1946found radio at the apogee of its value and popularity in U.S. society. The war had been good for the medium. Its credibility among listeners had ascended to new heights as it became the first place to go for news and information about the battle-fronts. It also continued to serve in the escapist role it had perfected during the Depression. The airwaves were rich with programs intended to take the listener away from the grim realities of global conflict.

Crowning the eventful decade was the Federal Communications Commission’s action designed to guarantee that the public broadcast spectrum would remain a place where justice and equanimity would reside. The Fairness Doctrine—the “jewel in the tiara of public service,” as one commissioner enthusiastically called it—was implemented in 1949. It seemed a fitting finale to one of the most robust eras in radio’s service to the country and the world.

What follows is a discussion concerning the state of the audio medium as the nation prepared to enter a phase of unparalleled prosperity and the new age of “sightradio”—television. Throughout the book, each chapter’s conversation is prefaced by the author and followed by the comments and observations of contributors.

Charles Howell: The end of World War II saw radio reach its zenith. The positive role played by radio during the war as a disseminator of serious wartime information as well as entertainment for the weary war worker boosted its stock with both the government and the public. Audio-equipment manufacturers had grown rich on government contracts, and, as the result of a tax loophole, the medium itself had been permitted to write off the cost of so-called goodwill or brand advertising. Although this windfall seemed close to being eliminated by those concerned with “war profiteering,” the government ultimately realized it needed radio’s help more than it needed the money to be gained from closing the loophole. This money, which would have been subject to excess-profit taxation, fattened the coffers of network radio nearly to the bulging point.

Irving Fang: Indeed, the radio industry emerged from World War II stronger than ever. CBS and NBC radio shows dominated the broadcast entertainment business. The news departments plus the news commentators of ABC and Mutual were the sources of news and opinion for millions of Americans trying to cope during strange and uncertain times. Entertainment provided an escape from a world that seemed no less dangerous after the war than it did during wartime. At CBS William Paley spent the money needed to raid NBC of its top show-business talent. Meanwhile the manufacturing sectors were busy retooling to turn out the radios that people had been unable to buy during wartime. Now, unlike the Depression years, average folk had money in their pockets to buy receivers, which they considered not luxury items but rather necessities. In fact, one set in the parlor was no longer enough in many homes. Kitchens needed radios, too, especially when commentators talked during dinnertime. With factories preparing for peacetime, assembly lines poured forth an immense variety of goods. Because customers had the cash to purchase these products, advertisers filled the radio airwaves with tuneful sales jingles and spoken messages. Life was good.

Bruce Mims: Favorable economic conditions emerged at the conclusion of the war. Amid the prosperity, the Federal Communications Commission authorized the construction of many new, small-market, daytime-only stations. This enabled AM to evolve into a more localized communication service. Development of FM, which had been curtailed during the war, languished, although there would be a rush for licenses. As the forties drew to a close, the introduction of network television broadcasting portended the demise of network radio, but in the years immediately following the war, this was not an all-consuming concern.

Stanley Hubbard: The years following the war were good ones for radio. It was still at its peak, and there were radio stations in each large city and a few in smaller towns. As Bruce notes, this period marked the beginning of the opening up of the radio spectrum by the FCC. What I mean by that is the power of the big stations was diluted by the manner in which the commission allocated licenses for new stations. For example, back in 1945, here in Minneapolis/St. Paul where I live, there were only six or seven radio stations. Our station, KSTP, was the big NBC affiliate. WCCO was the CBS affiliate. These two stations dominated the market, much as the NBC and CBS television stations did at the beginning of the TV era. The other stations in town were WTCN, WDGY, WLOL, and WMIN. In many ways radio was like television today with the big network stations and then the independents. It obviously was a good time for established radio outlets.

Robert Mounty: Stan is right. Things were very solid for radio stations after the war. The atmosphere was quite positive, and there was continued growth that would last for a few more years.

Marvin Bensman: Certainly the FCC was intent on fostering the growth of the medium, especially in areas previously neglected. After the war, the commission took two actions that had a striking effect on the radio industry. First, it reduced the required minimum distance between two stations on the same AM frequency and, at the same time, authorized construction of daytime-only AM stations on frequencies formerly largely reserved for use of “clear-channel” or fifty-thousand-watt AM stations. Second, it opened a substantial band of frequencies for FM, or frequency-modulation, broadcasting—and implied strongly that there was a probability that within a few years all radio broadcasting would be shifted to FM. The result was a tremendous increase in the number of both FM and AM stations. The number of AM stations increased from approximately 940 in December 1945 to nearly 2400 in autumn 1952. In addition, FM stations, of which only half a dozen operated on an experimental basis in 1945, increased to approximately 650 in autumn 1952. At the same time, power increases were granted to many AM stations—increases that had been impossible during the freeze on equipment during the war. Some 650 to 700 stations were authorized to operate as daytimers. Things were moving.

LeRoy Bannerman: Nineteen forty-six and 1947 were profitable years for network radio. So it was decided that radio earnings should finance the development of television. By network officials it was deemed good strategy, for such sums could be considered business losses and as such partially absorbed as a tax write-off. Nobody realized that the radio networks were indeed financing their own burial.

John Kittross: Interestingly, despite the prosperity enjoyed by radio, the number of listeners actually went down during the years immediately following the war. The radio networks still reigned, however. They controlled the medium’s programming schedule. There was tremendous growth in the sheer number of radio stations. Of course, this increased competition to a new level. Many prominent programmers, such as Storer, McLendon, and Storz, spent a great deal of time thinking about how to counter the networks’ dominance. This led to format specialization and formula radio and the emergence of local radio.

True Boardman: In 1947, the bottom line still governed management’s behavior in radio. The average station failed to provide enough cultural and educational programs. Profit was at the core of this deficiency. Actually, back then the networks provided far better public-service schedules than did local stations. Of course, many of these public-service programs were aired at poor times; that is, in time slots with few listeners. Of concern to me at the time was the fact that the radio networks programmed more and more shows containing violence. There was an overemphasis on evil doings and foul deeds in programs. You know, as I recall, there wasn’t a whole lot of freedom of speech either. The bosses kept those with opinions off the air. Liberal voices were being lost to the air. There was not a lot of balance. The conservatives controlled the microphones even back then. Within a year or two of the war’s end, I recall thinking that television would be a problem for radio and that those financially flush AM broadcasters should not be given first stab at the new TV frequencies or, for that matter, the new FM frequencies. I genuinely feared a monopoly of the airwaves, and I abhorred such a notion. It was my hope that more educational facilities would be born as a result of the new broadcast services. At the time, I was also concerned with what seemed the growing ineffectualness of the FCC. I believed that it simply was not working enough on behalf of the people. Far too many licenses were being granted, renewed, or transferred, and an abundance of evidence showed that the public interest had not been served. Back then it seemed to me a good argument that public-service radio was becoming less public and less service oriented.

Newton Minow: I’m not sure I concur with True. During those pre-television years, I think radio was much more socially important than it is today and much more attuned to the obligations of public service. I think the medium was working hard at being a solid citizen as the specter of TV closed in.

Ed McMahon: Yes, in my view, radio was working hard to meet its public-service agenda. The medium was enjoying its golden reverie, having been so vital in reporting World War II and its aftermath. There was a lot of good radio back then.

Art Linkletter: Ed is right, I believe. Surely in comparison to what it does today, radio focused in a very positive way on home and family. Good people imparting solid American values dominated the radio landscape after the war. Ozzie and Harriet and House Party, fairly typical of the programs offered, were quite popular.

Peter Orlik: It was a fruitful time in many areas of audio technology, too. For instance, the clumsy seventy-eight-rpm disk was replaced, as was the wire recorder. The postwar years brought improved recording techniques that had actually been a product of wartime research. This led to the loosening of the network bans on transcribed programs, thereby increasing produc...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Also by Michael C. Keith
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Cast of Contributors
• Part I. The War Ends and the Picture Begins
• Part II. The Second Coming of Radio
• Part III. The Times and Bands Are A-Changin’
• Part IV. Into the New Millennium
• Index
• About the Author