DETROIT, Aug. 25, 1945 — Highlight of the WWJ silver anniversary show Monday (August 20) was probably the public realization for the first time that radio has come of age sufficiently to establish a real continuity of tradition. This was embodied in the veritable dynasty of the Scripps family association with the station.
Two generations were present, William E. Scripps, president of The Detroit News, and his grandson, William J. Scripps, who was general manager of WWJ until entering the armed forces. Interest actually dated back still another generation to the late James E. Scripps, father of William E. Scripps, and founder of The News, who, together with his son, provided the funds to establish an experimental wireless station here in 1902.
BILLBOARDSeptember 01, 1945
Thomas E. Clark, pioneer wireless inventor, who built and developed this station, resulting in the ultimate establishment of WWJ in 1920, was especially honored at the broadcast and at the party in the Book Cadillac Hotel which followed.
Clark’s showbiz experience takes the pioneer history of radio still further back to the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893, when he was in charge of the General Electric exhibit. Clark there was intrigued by the operations of Nikola Tesla in early wireless, and returned to GE, headquarters to begin his own experiments.
Entertainment program at the party following the broadcast included a 35 minute sketch roasting every well-known station character, with Joe Gentile, of CKLW, in the lead role. Event was attended by station staff, press and radio figures of the town, and their guests, crowding the grand ballroom of the hotel. END
___
(Information and news source: Billboard; September 01, 1945)
WXYZ First Case History; Serials It Breeds and Feeds to Nets
___
DETROIT, Jan. 8, 1945 — The story of radio here is that of a highly heterogeneous metropolitan area of 2,500,000 population, war-swollen by 500,000 additional newcomers, which is served by seven radio stations.
That number, seven, is just about right for a major market, allowing full outlets for existing networks, giving an adequate selection of programs from local stations for listener, and most important, allowing each station to develop an individualized operating personality without too bitter competition.
Habitual Dial Twister
THE BILLBOARDJanuary 13, 1945
While there is a following for each station, most notably in the case of the smaller stations with their foreign-language listeners, the typical Detroiter is an habitual dial shifter.
He’s ready to listen to a program that interests him but he won’t stick with that one station if the following programs fail to please. This has had the desirable effect of keeping program directors ulcerized and on their toes, and not allowing dull periods to be carried by highlight shows. Stations know they lose their listeners fast to some other local station for any program that doesn’t have drawing power.
The average Detroiter, following personalities and programs rather than stations, feels that his favorite local shows are just about as good as their network counterparts, excepting the top-drawing stars.
His confidence in home -town radio is confirmed by his knowledge of the local contribution to the nets, such as The Detroit Symphony and The Lone Ranger, and he’s used to thinking in big terms of Detroit production in any field.
This atmosphere has generally proved stimulating to station ops because it is a challenge to produce their best for local radio. Because each station has a relatively successful standard of operation in a boom market, even apart from being able to sell all the time they have under wartime conditions, the individual niche in the area occupied by each station requires detailed analysis.
WXYZ True Regional Key
WXYZ, 5,000-watt Blue Network outlet, is also the key station of the Michigan Radio Network — a true regional or State network, which even conducts its promotion as a unit. This station takes top rank locally for originating network shows, and during the past year has fed six shows, totaling four and a quarter hours a week, to the net.
These are topped by The Lone Ranger, three evening half hours weekly, and include Green Hornet, one half hour; Service Serenade, one quarter hour; Pages of Melody (Larry Page), five quarter hours, and two Ford broadcasts, Greenfield Village Chapel, one half hour Sunday evenings, and a quarter hour of Early American Dance Music Saturday nights.
The station is on the air from 6:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., starting an hour later on Sunday and feeds the MRN (Mutual Radio Network) from 8 a.m. till 12:30 am. The network and the station are closely intertwined with its famed serial.
Depression -Born “Lone Ranger”
The going was tough during the depression, after WXYZ left Columbia in 1932. A program that would have enough appeal to build up the station was sought and, at staff conferences, the idea was worked out that it must be a Western, it must appeal to children by eliminating love stuff, but still have an adult appeal. Localization to one part of the country was ruled out to broaden appeal. Story conferences of all department heads were held.
Fran Striker, now script editor, was brought from Buffalo as original writer for the program which became The Lone Ranger. It became a valuable property of the King-Trendle Broadcasting Corporation, owners of the station. Sustaining for the first few months, it was sold to Gordon Baking Company, who also put it on Philadelphia and New York stations. Promotion campaign was widespread and 87 companies were signed up to put out novelties and other items tied up with The Ranger or the famous “Hi -Yo, Silver!” Transcriptions were sold to about 125 stations, and a screen serial was released in 1937 -’38, which was reported as the top grossing serial of all time. A less successful serial followed. The Ranger is said to be the only radio show that became successful as a comic strip and at a premium price. Nineteen books, selling from $2 to two-bits have been published, and two monthly comic books now run 800,000 copies.
General Mills Brings Net Switch
When General Mills became the principal sponsor, the program switched from Mutual to Blue. Today its survey rating is reported the highest it has ever been at this time of year. It is the oldest evening serial -dramatic program on the air, now starting its 13th year. On January 30 it will total 1,872 uninterrupted broadcasts.
The show is being merchandised today thru the familiar special licenses for use of the name, sponsor tie-ups, and thru personal appearances during the past two years in circuses, rodeos and special events. Some of these have set all-time records and it is estimated at least 2,000,000 have seen the Ranger in person.
Audience Adult in Part
The Ranger audience is 55 per cent adult today. It is a prime favorite for the 5 to 14 age group, and begins to get them again in a “second generation” of fans from about age 27 up.
Meanwhile, the firm has been building other serials to follow: The Green Hornet, recently a network show, has its own comic strip like The Ranger;Ned Jordan, Federal Ace, tailored to follow along after Hornet, and Challenge of the Yukon, which aims to develop for radio a dog personality, like the famed Rin -Tin -Tin did for the films.
While the station was being built from the program side, it was strengthened in February, 1933, by the formation of MRN, with seven up -State stations strategically spotted to cover Michigan. But the State, with a widely diversified population, offers a good test market, and is often so used, with MRN’s single contract offering obvious advantages. END
(Information and news source: Billboard; January 13, 1945)
DETROIT (October 4, 1947) — Detroit Board of Education’s FM station WDTR, who’s opening is tentatively scheduled for November 1, is intended to supplement commercial radio and increase co-operation between education board authorities and aircasters, rather than offer competition.
For at least 11-years Detroit commercial stations each have carried one program weekly produced by the board. They welcome educational activities — in contrast to the cold reception given them in many cities.
Billboard, October 11, 1947
The standing of Detroit educational radio is indicated by the award of merit last year, by the National School Broadcast Conference, to Mrs. Kathleen Nicoles Laride, Detroit supervisor of radio education.
WDTR’s schedule calls for three hours or more of programming a day, five days a week, with the station going off the air while education shows are carried by any other station.
Of the 16 programs logged for WDTR nearly all are locally originated. However, it will also carry the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) series ‘School Of The Air,’ each day, with a direct wire hook-up from WJR, local CBS outlet. In addition, special transcribed shows will be presented. END
(Information and news source: Billboard; October 11, 1947).
DETROIT, Feb. 28.— Brief new programs to bring the problems of national defense home to listeners and tie in with support for the armed services are being started on WWJ. Tendency is to work the new trend out experimentally and in small bits, rather than in pretentious programs, thereby minimizing upsets to existing schedules.
BillboardMarch 7, 1942
Series of letters received from men in the service, sent to relatives, is being presented dally in a program by Ty Tyson, Man in the Service. Listener response appears strong on this program.
Further service tie-ups starts March 10, when Paul Williams goes on four-times a-week as Victory Reporter. Program is being scripted to cover brief human interest and oddity stories from the services, and limited to a five-minute spot at present.
Third program, Defend Detroit, goes on for 10 minutes five afternoons a week, and is worked out with local CCD officials to plug the immediate need of the day. One authority is built up for each day’s broadcasts and the entire five are brought in on Fridays for a half-hour studio show, not broadcast, but staged as a round table of the week’s progress in civilian defense. END
(Information and news source: Billboard; March 7, 1942).
Ty Tyson, WWJ radio broadcaster, pictured here, ’40s wartime.
From the MCRFB radio news scrapbook: 1942
Socony, General Mills Sponsor Games on WWJ
Ty Tyson, Detroit Tigers broadcaster, 1927
DETROIT, Feb. 28.— Harry Bannister, manager of WWJ, on Wednesday signed contracts with Socony-Vacuum Oil Company and General Mills as joint sponsors for direct broadcasts of all local Detroit Tigers baseball games, plus reconstructed broadcasts, based on direct-wire reports, of all out-of-town games. Sponsors are the same as last year, and carry on despite the auto situation, which has hit sponsors in this town hard.
New contract marks some kind of a record for Ty Tyson, who has broadcast games for WWJ for every season beginning in 1927, and will repeat for the 16th year. END
(Information and news source: Billboard; March 7, 1942).
DETROIT (May 26, 1945) — Check of all major local stations indicates that emphasis on local programming is continuation of fairly long-time trend. In general, it has been something the stations has been doing for the last three years.Typically, WWJ has increased programming cost heavily in last two years, and WWJ has had a 73-piece symphony orchestra sponsored by a cut-rate department store for the two and a half years in a full hour Saturday night show with barely any mention of the sponsor.
THE BILLBOARDJune 2, 1945
Trend is definitely continuing, with new developments, both commercial and sustaining, tending away from the all-platter shows, except in post-midnight and early-a.m. hours, where they appear to have a permanent useful place. WWJ for the last year has done a job with Nurses In Action, dramatizing the nurse recruiting campaign, and Victory Matinee, devoted each Wednesday afternoon to a different war effort cause and using the full talent resources of the station. Another show of typical operations here is Tenth Floor, Please, sponsored by a department store, which dramatizes the story of products sold on this floor.
In the last year, WJR pioneered in inter-station contacts for ideas, sending out five teams of station men, paired from different departments — typically the commercial manager and the program director — on one-week junkets around the country to inspect station operations in other cities.
Recently a swing quartet from the Motor Bar was put on the air for 15 minutes at 9:45 — at a cost of $65.00 daily — chiefly to break into the general soap opera schedule with something that wasn’t transcriptions, until change of schedule forced its abandonment.
Check on inter-station cooperation indicate this is largely by letter elsewhere. WXYZ, typically, reports frequent interchange of ideas, and requests for info on how the station has solved particular problems — such as what they do on department store programs. Most of these correspondence come from stations of the affiliated Blue. Station has made a practice of working closely on production with clients and agencies, in contrast to WJR, where the station typically done its own particular show packaging and then offered the product for sale.
Recorded programs on WXYZ have been reduced some 50 per cent in the past year — chiefly in favor taking net shows, rather than local production, in which the station was already strong, originating at least three week serials — notably Lone Ranger. Another trend toward better programming here is the move away from short records in favor of the larger disks with a full 15-minutes of music, or re-broadcasts.
The move toward better programming emphasis appears concentrated in smaller towns, typified by Michigan Radio Network, which has heavily moved this way within the past three months. END
(Information and news source: Billboard; June 2, 1945).
WJLB Tries Sports To Reach Audience – Big on Bowlers
DETROIT (December 11) — WJLB, 250-watt Detroit station, is making an aggressive bid for the thousands of sport fans among Detroit listeners, including the newcomers brought here by war industries.
Catering to bowlers exclusively, a sport that threatened local motion picture theaters during the past few seasons, according to statements of theater operators — is Ten Pin Topics. The show is aired for fifteen minutes at 5:45 P.M. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, just when most bowlers are getting home or driving home. The latter catch the show on their car radios, for Detroit’s working population moves by car. Show is run by Harold Kahl, bowling editor of The Detroit Times. It give unusual local scores and highlights the hundreds of amateur leagues in the city. One leading bowler, such as the first Detroit woman to score 300, is interviewed on each show.
Two fifteen-minute daily shows hit all other sports fans, with heavy emphasis — about 60 per cent — on horse racing. Morning show at 11:45 is called Scratch Time and headlights track news and little other sports news. Evening show at 5:45 gives complete track results, plus any other seasonal sports. Both are handled by Phil Roberts, formerly a Chicago sports announcer.
Billboard, December 18, 1943
Most unusual feature of the WJLB sports angling, however, is a series of 15 to 20 daily spots, irregularly spaced, by Roberts, giving any immediate sports news, with fresh broadcasts of every track report in particular. Roberts breaks into every program except two — Uncle Nick’s Kiddie’s Hour and Ladies’ Matinee, a symphonic program, where the sports flashes would be obviously unsuitable. Some of the spots come in the breaks between shows, but as many break right into a program.
The sports announcements are never race tips but but legitimate news and are handled that way. Station simply feels that the great mass of war workers are sports fans and that they’ll win them to WJLB by keeping them informed on what goes on in the athletic field.
Stations in other parts of the country has tried the idea without too much success, but it’s a private service in Detroit, where hundreds of war plants have their radios turned on for the men and women all throughout the 24 hour day. END
___
(Information and news source: Billboard; December 18, 1943)
A MCRFB Note: Missed any of of our previously featured ‘WAY-BACK DETROIT RADIO PAGES on Motor City Radio Flashbacks? Here’s what we’ve cataloged on the website thus far, to date, you’ll find them ALL HERE.
Army Air Show Sold In Detroit; One Newspaper Plus Every Detroit Radio Station Breaks Records for 20-Day Military Shindig
DETROIT (July 1, 1944) — The consistent, but most important use of radio by the army was the major factor in building an all-time record attendance for the Army Air Show. Turnstile clicked 2,100,000 in the 20 days ended Sunday (June 25). Show was sponsored by The Detroit Times and received general space there, naturally, but as The Times itself commented, it was just “not publicized” by the other newspapers. Practically all credit therefore for the large attendance goes to radio.
Pvt. (film actor) John Payne in Army uniform, 1943.
The show, staged five miles from town at the municipal airport, had a mile of exhibits under tent of Detroit-made (military) war products. Covered stage at the center of midway was used for on-the-ground shows and for the series of programs aired.
The Army Air Show set a record of three shows fed to national networks, three fed to regional networks and 52 local stations shows. Originating stations for the network shows were WXYZ, feeding the Blue and the Michigan Radio Net, and, WWJ, feeding the NBC-RED.
Local stations taking the shows were WJLB, WJBK, WJR, and CKLW. One show each was also fed to WTOL, Toledo, and to WCAR and WHK, Cleveland.
How Variety Shows Pull Best
Most consistent air show were Victory Varieties, opening five days in advance of the show on WJLB and broadcast through the entire run of the show. Program was variety with patriotic angles. Features of this, as of every practically show aired, was a combination of standard radio entertainment, with the casts of the radio station making the daily trip, via police escort, to the exhibit.
Billboard, July 8, 1944
Among guest artists were Lt. William Holden and Pvt. John Payne, Hollywood stars; “Skeets” Gallagher, Benny Baker, and Gloria Humphrey, of Good Night, Ladies; Russell Swann, noted magician, and Norman H. Birnkrant, general counsel for the National Association of Theatrical Agents.
Numerous shows were not broadcast because of lack of air time. These were broadcast over the show’s P.A. system to all tents.
Reopening of the shows, which was closed four days because of a blow-down of fourteen big tents, was plugged by 35 spot announcements over various local stations.
Top accolades for the success of the radio program go to two former radio men, Lt. Col. J. Gordon Lloyd, and Staff Sgt. Arthur Sutton, assigned to the public relations office of the Sixth Service Command, Detroit Command, Detroit office. Lloyd was formerly account executive at WJZ, Blue Network, New York. Sutton was formerly production man and continuity writer at CKLW, WXYZ and WWJ, Detroit. END
(Information and news source, The Billboard; July 8, 1944).
ARMY’S AIR DISPLAY AGAIN SHOW DETROIT AS WEEK-END TOWN
DETROIT (July 1, 1944) — The Army Air Show, which featured a mile of tent exhibits of war products made in Detroit, closed a twenty-day span Sunday with attendance of 2, 100,000. Admission was free, but a check was made by General Motors and Ford Motor Company, principal exhibitors.
Sunday crowd reached about 300,000, second only to the opening Sunday, June 4, when it hit about 500,000. Mid-week attendance was down.
The factor points to a moral to shows playing in Detroit for the duration at least. The Motor City has become a 100 per cent weekend town, with amusements generally starving about four days a week, followed by turn-away crowds on weekends. END
(Information and news source, The Billboard; July 8, 1944).
DETROIT (June 25) —WXYZ goes formally into the business of selling space, as well as time July 1, when it unveils a new Translux sign, said to be the world’s largest measuring 90 by 7 feet, atop the Maccabees Building.
Space on the sign has been sold to 12 participating sponsors on one year contracts, in advance of opening —
Hickory Oil Company, Philco Distributors, Michigan Consolidated Gas Company, DeSoto-Plymouth Dealers’ Association, Altes Brewing Company, Gordon Baking Company, Monroe Auto Equipment, Robert Hutton & Company, Pilgrim Laundry, Bronte Champagne & Wines, Felix Rhymes and Maccabees Building.
The sign will carry commercials, public service messages, and promotions for WXYZ, in addition to time, temperature and weather information and news flashes. END
(Information and news source: Billboard; July 2, 1949).
Detroit Swings To “Ingenious Substitutes” For Solutions In Wartime WWJ, WJBK, CKLW
DETROIT (May 29) — Despite the fact that the Motor City usually figures as the No. 1 manpower headache in the country, local radio stations are not too badly off in connection with announcing, sales and technical personnel. Several have resorted to ingenious substitutes or policies to meet the situation.
In the background is the fact that Detroit attracts labor in all fields, and this goes for radio stations as well, by its glamour as an alleged high-standard learning center. There has never been a surplus of station jobs available, jobs so far has not exceeded demand.
Billboard, June 5, 1943
Generally typical is the set-up at WWJ, NBC station, and the only one to turn to female announcers — they now have two femme gabbers and one girl newscaster. Reaction from the public has been favorable, according to Edwin K. Wheeler, assistant manager. However, the station is not committed to femmes unless they have to — they hired two more male announcers in the past two weeks. It is figured that the leaving of ladies on the staff will help if and when the femmes take over all the way. This may happen in a few months with the drafts of fathers, into which class most of the announcers now fall.
Fertile Sources Closed
The commercial staff of WWJ has not been touched by the draft yet, but has only three men, since most of the selling is done by the net anyway. They expect to lose two of the three, by August 1, and will probably get along with the remaining salesmen.
On the engineering side, WWJ has been able to meet the loss of men without difficulty so far, by drawing in skilled men from other fields. One source, now closed, was the smallest station, but with WMC rulings on job freezes particularly effective in this “essential” industry and especially in the Detroit labor region, this avenue appears about closed without extraordinary special exemptions in an emergency case.
WWJ got one good technical man who was formerly a radio serviceman, despite the shortage of serviceman in this city. Another replacement was formerly a radio “ham” operating his own station. These sources are about exhausted now.
WJBK, typical of the smaller stations, has lost two salesmen and three announcers, with another set to go in a week. They are having their salesmen double-up, and are getting by in the commercial department. So far, enough new announcers have been forthcoming to meet the situation, but the station is using five woman as monitors on foreign-language programs, covering 13 different languages.
Draft Free Breaks
The technical staff has not been touched at WJBK. Although there has been no deliberate policy, N. W. Hopkins commented that “We never figured that a handicap should be discriminated against if a man has the technical ability.” The result is a large proportion of F-4 men and the willingness now to employ any more they can get. In addition, WJBK has some technical men with pre-Pearl Harbor dependents, who has so far been draft exempt.
At CKLW, the situation is peculiar in that the station has studios in Detroit, but has its transmitter and other studios in Windsor, Ontario, and comes under Canadian regulations. The technical staff has been little affected as yet, according to Richard E. Jones, sales promotions manager, who said that “Canadian regulations have evidently given considerable thought to the requirements of the broadcast industry. It looks as though they were a little more liberal in granting deferments where an industry is of public importance.”
The station has lost two salesmen, four engineers and four announcers. The sales situation is being met by older men, and Jones commented that “We will probably have to expect a trend toward the employment of older men than has been usual in radio.”
Public Against Gals
On announcers, sentiment at CKLW appears to be rather against the use of women announcers. This is based on a study of public reactions to the use of females at other stations, Jones said, though it may, in part, be due to unfamiliarity. CKLW, meanwhile, will try to get by with present announcers doubling up on duties.
Up until the past few weeks, local stations were able to attract staffmen from other cities, both small and large, with good scales of pay in effect here. A new type of difficulty recently became critical when one station lost an announcer from Chicago who preferred to go back to free-lancing there, when he was unable to get rooms to house his wife and family in Detroit after six months of trying. END
(Information and news source: Billboard; June 5, 1943).
DETROIT,October 30 — A new full scale tie-in on news coverage between WJBK, flag station of Fort Industry Corporation, and the Detroit Times, Hearst-owned daily, was completed Monday, October 18, with a schedule of hourly news broadcasts — on the hour — at the station covering 24 hours of the day. The program is being interjected into the various shows on the air, chiefly the two Jack The Bellboy shows, the Joe Gentile and Ralph Binge three-hour morning stint, and Bob Murphy’s two daily jockey shows.
Actual newscast will originate in the Times office,where a special broadcasting booth has been installed adjoining the newsroom. Both United and Associated Press wires as well as the paper’s own local coverage will be available to WJBK under the new set-up. This will give WJBK, which has no network affiliation despite rumors of changes, a closer newspaper tie-in than any other local station except WWJ, which is owned by the Detroit News, the only other afternoon newspaper edition in Detroit. END
(Information and news source: Billboard;October 30, 1948).
From the old MCRFB RADIO scrapbook: 1945
DETROIT, Aug. 25, 1945 — Highlight of the WWJ silver anniversary show Monday (August 20) was probably the public realization for the first time that radio has come of age sufficiently to establish a real continuity of tradition. This was embodied in the veritable dynasty of the Scripps family association with the station. 
