FOURTEEN CASE STUDiES 1N RADIO STATION
MANAGEMENT BASED ON ACTUAL STATION PROBLEMS

Tim-sis for .‘he Degiee of M. A.
feiiCHiC-AN STATE UNWERSITY
Robefi'HunfBaker

1966

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ABSTRACT

FOURTEEN CASE STUDIES IN
RADIO STATION MANAGEMENT BASED ON
ACTUAL STATION PROBLEMS

by Robert Hunt Baker

This thesis, utilizing the case study technique
developed at the Harvard Business School. presents fourteen
original cases in radio station management. These cases
were gathered through personal consultation between the
author and various management officials and station personnel
in radio stations in the Mid-West region of the United
States. Cases contained herein are intended for individual
and classroom use only.

Case one cites the many problems involved when it
becomes necessary to decide whether to retain or dismiss a
staff member. Case two presents the antithesis of case one:
how to keep a valuable employee from leaving the station.

In case three. the owner of a broadcast station must decide
how to program the outlet. Case four asks the question:
Can news be influenced by Sponsor pressure? Case five
discusses the pros and cons of editorializing. How to
profitably sell FM is discussed in case six. Case seven

examines the comparative advantages and disadvantages of

automated music versus music which is programmed live from
a station. In case eight, a station is faced with the
prospect of having too many sponsors and too many commercials.
Case nine deals with a suggested promotion campaign and its
effect on station personnel. Case ten examines in depth a
problem confronting a telephone call—in program. In case
eleven, station officials must attempt to reach a decision
with regard to a union problem. Case twelve involves the
implementation of a union contract. Case thirteen deals
with a promotion campaign that was bought by a sponsor and
cancelled before it was completed. Case fourteen indicates
some of the problems a manager may confront if he becomes
active in community affairs.

Also included in the thesis is a brief discussion
of the case method itself, its history, its applicability
for use in broadcasting, and the methodology used in pre-
paring the case histories. In addition, there is an examin-
ation of possible areas of future exploration for those
persons who might wish to develop further case studies in the

field of broadcast management.

FOURTEEN CASE STUDIES IN
RADIO STATION MANAGEMENT BASED ON

ACTUAL STATION PROBLEMS

BY

Robert Hunt Baker

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Television and Radio h

[Luigi] mi. I, mg

1966 K ,' é ,
«£96 )2!“ CM

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Acknowledgement of grateful appreciation is made to
Professor Leo Martin, Chairman of the Department of Television
and Radio at Michigan State University, who spent numerous
hours reading, criticizing, evaluating, editing, and advis—
ing in connection with this thesis. Professor Martin was
most graCious in the giving of his time, his efforts, and his
continued support without which this thesis would not have
beon possible. Appreciation is extended to each of the
radio station officials who contributed their time and
sxperiences to provide case studies for this thesis; these
men provided friendship and support as well to this author.
The author wishes to thank Mr. Alfred Grosby, Vice-President
of Group One Radio in Akron, Ohio, for providing freely of
his time and kncwledge during the years the author was
assQCiated with Group One. Mr. Grosby's unselfish desire
to guide and teach the author yielded invaluable background
material for this thesis. Appreciation is expressed also
to the broadcasting faculty at Kent State University in
Kent. Ohio for the continued support and guidance through
undergraduate school: these men contributed a very real part
of this theSis by providing the author with important

theoretical concepts in the field of broadcasting.

ii

While many persons contributed to this thesis, the
final responsibility for all parts rests solely with the

author.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page
I. INTRODUCTION 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
II. DISCUSSION OF METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . 10
III. CASES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The Gunn Battle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

The Personnel Approach . . . . . . . . . 25

Format, Format, Who's Got the Format? . . 33

The Broken Glasses . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Top Level Decision . . . . . . . . . . . 53

The Answer for FM . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Wanted: Dead or Alive . . . . . . . . . 69

Sweet Smell of Success? . . . . . . . . . 77

The Art of Promotion . . . . . . . . . . 83
Fluoridation and The Phone Club . . . . . 98

The Union Shop . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Wanted: One Production Engineer . . . . 104

The Remote Affair . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Conflict of Interest . . . . . . . . . . 118

IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . 124
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

iv

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

The case method of instruction has been in use since
the latter part of the eighteenth century. In 1788, the
Medical Society of New Haven, Connecticut, issued its first
volume of proceedings entitled "Cases and Observations by
the Medical Society of New Haven City." The purpose of this
volume was to advance the knowledge of medicine through case
histories and clinical observations. The book was a fore-
runner of the case study as we know it today.1

Almost one hundred years later, the case method was
brought into the field of law by Christopher Langdell.
Professor Langdell used the case method for teaching purposes
in his classes in the Common Law at the Harvard Law School.
By 1909, the Langdell method had been accepted and adopted
in whole or in part by a majority of the law schools in this
country.

The Harvard Business School borrowed the case study
method from the law school. The first use of cases as a

basis for the teaching of business was in 1908 under Edwin F.

 

lD. Henryetta Sperle, The Case Method Technique in

Professional Training (New York: Bureau of Publications,
Teachers College, Columbia University, 1933), p. 7.

 

21bid., pp. 1—2.

Say, the first Dean of the Harvard Business School. Within
several years after its inception in the curricula of business.
fifteen businessmen took part in a course which utilized the
case method. These men provided cases from their own business
experience for discussion.3
When Professor Gay resigned as Dean of the Harvard
Business School in 1919, he was replaced by Wallace B. Donham,
a lawyer with wide business experience. Dean Donham's back-
ground in law and his practical experience in business told
him that the case method was a sound approach for instruction
in the classroom. It was Dean Donham who provided the pioneer-
1mg efforts necessary to make a success of the case study
method in the field of business.4
Under Donham's administration, field work was begun
to gather new cases and to update what few existing cases
there were in the files at Harvard. In addition, the number
cf ccurses making use of case studies was expanded. Full
time research assistants were hired to write up existing
cases and to research new ones.5 From 1908 until 1942, many
of the business courses at Harvard University became discussion
courses utilizing the case study method.

Similar changes were taking place at other universities

 

3Malcolm P. McNair and Anita C. Hersum, The Case
Method at the Harvard Business School (New York: McGraw—Hill
Book Company, 1954), p. 25.

432.152.. p. vii.

51bid., p. 26.

as lecture courses were transformed into participation courses.
Fields other than business found the case study method could
enhance student learning. Soon, the case study method.was
being used in such widely diverse fields as law, medicine,
sociology, psychology, and education.6 Today, new efforts
are underway to expand the case study method to fields hereto-
fore untouched.
What is the case method? What are its advantages?
What are its disadvantages? These questions are frequently
asked by people who wish to know more about the method.
The case method, as now employed in classroom use,
typically is a record of . . . [an] issue which
.agtually has been faced by . . . executives, to-
gether with surrounding facts, opinions, and pre-
judices upon which executive decisions have to
depend. These real and particularized cases are
presented to students for considered analysis,
open discussion, and final decision as to the
type of action which should be taken.7
Rather than being given general hypotheses and
theories to criticize, students are handed the specific facts
of a case. These are the raw materials out of which decisions
have to be reached in life. They are the materials out of
which students can realistically and usefully draw conclusions.8

The case method does not give students the answers

to problems faced in "real-life" situations. Answers are not

 

6Sperle, op. cit., pp. 1-15.

7McNair and Hersum, op. cit., p. 6.

8Ibid., p. 7.

even provided with the cases. In fact, there are no right

or wrong answers 0

Cases generally involve highly debatable alternative
courses of action, as is true for the day-to—day
business problems they typify. Indeed, experienced
businessmen frequently demonstrate their ability to
solve an identical problem successfully in different
ways. The cases thus do not necessarily lead to a
single "right" answer upon which the class and the
instructor are expected to reach unanimous agreement.
In fact, some of the decisions most conducive to

the development of penetrating analysis and balanced
judgment may at first leave the student with a feeling
of frustration, since no uniformity of class opinion
may have resulted. The purpose of the case has been
served if it provokes intelligent discussion, inde-
pendent thinking, and progress toward the ability

to make sound, well-considered decisions.

All the facts of a case may not be presented expli-
citly when the case is written: many facts may be left out
altogether. Frequently a case will present only

the presumed facts, opinions, and points of view held
by one or more of the people involved, and hence
leaves those discussing the case with only the infor-
mation that the persons in the actual situation
possessed at the time. The student must recognize
that just such severe limitations as to factual

data and as to the time available for the decision—
making process commonly characterize the actions

of businessmen in general.

To be certain, if a student is not spoon-fed with
facts and information which he is to accept blandly as "truth,"

he may develop anxiety and confusion. Most students experience

just such emotions when first exposed to the case method.

 

9Lynn L. Bollinger and John S. Day, Management of
Jew EnterprisengA Casebook of Problems on the Establishment
and Operation of New Businesses (Homewood, Illinois: Richard
D. Irwin, Inc., 1954), p. 3.

lolbid.

Nonetheless, these feelings soon give way to deep interest

on the part of the student. At last he has something tangible,
something requiring original thinking and effort in order to
come to a solution. The case method leads the student to

make the effort required to come to a solution for the problem
at hand. Indeed, one of the outstanding effects of the case
system is to put upon the student the burden of independent
thinking.11

The primary objective of the case method of instruc-
tion "is for the student to place himself realistically in
the position of the top administrator and to develop a
capacity to determine what can be done to produce success-
ful results in situations where managerial action can be
decisive."12 The student, when studying a case problem,
acts somewhat in the manner of an engineer of a train which
is approaching a switchyard. In the switchyard there are
rany tracks, all of which are open to the train upon the
operation of the proper switches. The engineer must make
the deCision as to which track his train shall travel.

Like the engineer, the student attacking a case
problem is faced with alternatives which are equally attrac-
tive. It is his decision, backed by reason, as to which
alternative is best for him.

It is necessary to inject a note of caution here.

While the student may act as an engineer, he is not, in fact,

 

llMcNair and Hersum, op. cit., p. 13.

12Bollinger and Day, op. cit., p. l.

really in the same situation. He is not responsible for
implementing his decisions when he acts at being an engineer.
The case method is an acting situation. The student can be
given the facts of a problem and he may very well come to a
decision on the basis of those facts. But this decision is
not the same as if the student were actually responsible
for his decision. "It is too much to expect that anything
except experience can be exactly like experience.”13
This is not to say that the case method is ineffec-
tive. It is as effective as it might be; certainly, it is
more effective than any other known method of instruction
in providing the student a wealth of relative experience.
Through the study of case problems, the student can accumu—
late the background information necessary for responsible
decisions in "real-life" situations. He is led to an active
consideration of a tremendous number of diverse and related
real situations which it would take him a lifetime of
. . 14

experience to encounter on his own.

It is one of the great strengths of the case approach

that by its emphasis on the process of business

decision-making, it forces this needed synthesis of

a variety of social disciplines. The student is

placed in the position of the businessman who must

act, who must before he acts weighs the bearing on

his problem of a variety of different considerations,

both short-run and long-run in character, but who

must in any event make a decision and implement it.
The distinguishing characteristic of the case method

 

l3McNair and Hersum, op. cit., p. 14.

”121$

in the classroom is the extent to which the responsi-
bility for this analytical sifting of pros and cons
and for arriving at a definite decision is under-
taken by the student himself.15

Abraham Flexner, a doctor who used case studies in
the field of medicine, said that in the classroom the case
study method is invaluable for it develops the friction,
competition, and interest which are powerful stimulants to
creative thinking. It was Flexner's opinion that the case
method was economical for it "brings considerable [classroom]

members in touch with fertile teachers, at a minimum expendi-

ture of time and energy."16

Indeed, the classroom teacher must reorient his
teaching methods when he attempts to make use of the case
method. The teacher must realize that the purpose of the

method is not to teach truths, but to teach students to think

in the presence of new situations.17

Teaching by the case method is class discussion of
possibilities, probabilities, and expedients--the
possibilities of the combinations of very intricate
facts, the probabilities of human reactions, and the
expedients most likely to bring about the responses
in others that lead to a definite end. Such dis-
cussion rests on the nice balancing of probable re-
sults; and in this balancing a teacher has little to
contribute except a broader appreciation of the
springs of human action than his pupils are likely
to have developed and perhaps a greater knowledge

of economic theory and its applications to contem-
porary business.l

 

15Ibid., p. viii.

l6Sperle, op. cit., p. 7.

l7McNair and Hersum, op. cit., p. 3.

lsIbig., p. 4.

There are, to be certain, several drawbacks inherent
in the use of the case method. Fundamentally, the method has
none of the conspicuous advantages of teaching accepted
truths.

As a method, it is crude and clumsy in execution;

it is inefficient in that no scale of accomplishment
can be established and empirically applied: it lacks
the technical excellence ordinarily associated with
good teaching and the finished art of the pedagogues.
Nevertheless, the use of cases as the basis of teach-
ing presumes a confidence in the [method]

It is not easy for students to accept the challenge
of responsible activity in the face of realistic situations.
Nor is it always easy for teachers to preserve the needed
open-mindedness toward their students' contributions.
"Nevertheless, the very existence of the assumption, implicit
in the case system, that students are in a position to, and
will exert themselves to think with a lively independence
toward a useful end in itself provides a real stimulus."20
Misused, the case method can become a nightmare. If the
instructor attempts to impose his own decisions on his
students, he can confuse and bore them. If the students
will not accept the case method, it will fail them miserably.
If, however, the case method is used correctly, it is the
next best thing to actual experience. Thus, it is invaluable.

To date, there have been few cases gathered for use

in television and radio courses. One thesis has been completed

 

19Ibid., p. 2.

ZOij—dol po 7.

at Michigan State University utilizing the case studies in
radio and television;21 several others are, at the current
time, in the preparation stages. In all the cases collected
at Harvard, there are but seven which deal directly with

22 In addition, the

matters relating to broadcasting.
National Association of Broadcasters has gathered several
other cases which have been used in their regional meetings.
These are not generally available for other uses.2

It can be said, therefore, that there is a lack of
cases available to the student of broadcasting who wishes to
employ the case method, to the educator who wishes to use
the case method in his classroom, and to the researcher who
can glean valuable information from case studies. This

thesis will help fill the void in providing fourteen addition-

al case studies for use in the study of broadcast management.

 

21Richard Alvin Egli, "Eleven Case Studies in
Broadcasting Management Based on Actual Station Problems"
(unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Television and
Radio, Michigan State University, 1965).

221bid., p. 7.

23Ibid., p. 8.

CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION OF METHODOLOGY

The purpose of this thesis is to provide cases in
the field of broadcasting management for use by individuals
or groups in the classroom. Recognizing that so few cases
are available in the field of broadcasting, this author has
attempted to provide cases in many areas of station operation
rather than concentrate on one or two areas. Contained in
this thesis are cases dealing with problems in the areas of
personnel, sales, production, union—relations, news, pro—
gramming, FM, music, promotion, and community relations.

At the outset, the author divided radio management
problems into four general areas of sales, personnel, pro-
gramming, and engineering. It was thought that these areas
provided a structure around which case studies could be
grouped. It was hoped that cases could be found which
involved each of these areas.

Station managers at several radio stations were
contacted and asked to submit to interviews with the author.
No more than two managers in any one given market were
interviewed. Generally, markets of different size in
several states were selected. This was done so that case
problems obtained would not be too homogeneous in terms

of market background, station treatment of problems, etc.

10

11

Each manager contacted by the author was then
interviewed. During the initial stages of the interview,
the author explained the purpose of the thesis and defined
the case study method. It was often necessary to use an
example of a case study in radio broadcasting to allow the
manager to understand how the case method could be applied
to everyday radio station operation.

It was made explicitly clear to each station
official interviewed that all information received in the
interview would be confidential and would not be used with-
out his expressed written permission.

Rather than attempting to have one manager supply
a case in engineering or sales, the author suggested that
the manager discuss any problem he felt would make a good
case study. This would allow the manager to discuss anything
of importance to him and would, perhaps, suggest more
original, complex problems. It was found that this was,
indeed, the case.

During each interview, the author took extensive
notes on the problem as outlined by the manager. It was
often necessary to ask a manager for clarification and
elaboration. It was always necessary to guide him by
asking leading questions.

Without exception, each manager who was contacted
submitted to the interview and gave of his time and knowledge.

Most of the managers contributed far more information than

12

they were asked to give and all of them desired to further
broadcasting by helping the author. Knowing that they must
remain anonymous throughout this thesis, these men, nonethe-
less, contributed all that they would have if there had been
some form of recognition connected with the interview. The
author can only acknowledge his grateful appreciation to
each official interviewed.

After each interview, the author read the notes
obtained in an attempt to categorize the problem in one of
the four areas of management considerations. Then the first
draft of each case was prepared. The notes were expanded and
reworked so that the station and market from which the case
had been obtained would be protected.

Each case thus prepared was submitted to the
author's advisor who read it and suggested changes and
corrections. If the initial editing required that the case
be resubmitted, it was rewritten and turned in for final
approval.

As final approval was granted for each case, the
completed case was then sent to the manager who had provided
its data in the interview. With each case went a letter of
appreciation to the manager and a release form which indicated
that the case had been approved for publication in this

thesis and would be restricted to educational use.24

 

4See appendix for copies of these forms.

13

As mentioned previously, each case in the thesis is
disguised as to its actual market, station, and personnel.

Each is a fictionalized story which contains factual informa—
tion on a problem encountered in the operations of a commercial
radio station.

No solution is given for any case presented herein.
The case method dictates that solutions not be given. Possible
alternatives are offered for consideration but these are
weighted equally and should not suggest one "right" or “best"
answer. Indeed, there is no "right” or "best" answer for
any case.

The decision that is made in regard to a case problem
is not the important consideration. What is important is the
vast number of considerations which must be taken into account
in order to arrive at a decision. The reasoning leading to
the decision is of primary importance.

Each case is designed to provide learning on the
part of the student or students making use of it. Each is
constructed so as to provide some background about station
operation, market information, etc. connected with the problem.
By its very nature, however, the case is incomplete. It is
limited to the information available to the manager who
suggested the case. The reader must supply additional ideas
and suggest additional solutions. It is in this manner
that the case will stimulate group discussion and result

in ideas far transcending those which have been put on paper.

l4 -

This will open up new problems heretofore unencountered in
the case. Students will learn and profit from studying the
case in this manner. It is in this usage that the case method

is invaluable as a teaching and learning device.

CHAPTER I II

CASES

THE GUNN BATTLE

Maybe it had been a mistake from the very beginning.
Perhaps Tommy Gunn should never have been hired. But he had
been, and he had caused the station varying degrees of trouble
ever since. Now, six years later, the whole situation was
coming to a head. Gordon Bossun had been over the problem
many times in his mind. Just that morning, he had called a
meeting with his boss, Saul Zussman (the owner of Press
Broadcasting Corporation), and Bob Edwards, station program
director. The entire four-hour session was spent discussing
one man-—Tommy Gunn. The details of Gunn's case had been
clarified and amplified, then rehashed again and again, but
no decisions had been made.

As general manager of KDDD and Vice President of
Press Broadcasting, Bossun knew the decision was his alone.
He recognized this and was revolted at the thought. He
shook his head in disgust. "Dammitl" If he'd just been
here six years ago, Gunn probably would not have been hired
in the first place. Or, if he had, he would have lasted
about one week. But now, after six full years as KDDD's
top personality, things weren't that easy. It would be
difficult to explain any possible action to either of two
very important groups of people-—the station staff and the

general public.

16

17

"0k, ok—-let's go over it once more," thought
Bossun. "Maybe it'll clear up this time through and you
can make a decision."

He thought back: Tommy Gunn was hired by Bob
Edwards in the summer of 1959. He had come from a small
station in a midwestern community of 35,000 people. Gunn
had been the top disc jockey in that area. Actually, that
wasn't much to achieve considering that the station had
been virtually without competition and Gunn held down the
morning drive-time slot, the best of the day. It was little
wonder he was a powerhouse with his talent. He was a natural
on the air. The manager of the station where he had been
employed had described him in a letter as "witty. smooth,
poised on the air, with tight production—~a real showman.”

It was the following paragraph of that letter that
had given the warning of the consequences of Gunn's employment.
It had said: "Tommy Gunn has been most difficult to work
with. He is completely self-centered and always out for
himself. We've been forced to threaten him with his job
twice for actions off the air, in the community."

Of course, Bob Edwards, who had been responsible for
the hiring and firing of station personnel at that time, had
been in a Spot. Ratings at KDDD had been going down steadily
in the 7 PM to midnight slot for months. They were so low
in the summer of 1959 that Zussman had once said it would
have been better to sign off the station than take such a

beating.

18

The trouble was, there had been no reason for the
drop in points. KDDD's programming had been unchanged for
two years prior to the decline in audience. The station was
playing ”hard rock" aimed at attracting the area teenagers.
The evening disc jockey wasn't outstanding, but he had been
with KDDD for four years and had built up a large following.
Just prior to the drop in audience share, KDDD had begun
several new promotions designed to put more life into the
evening show. Edwards had scheduled "oldies but goodies"
from 10 PM to 11 PM each night, and at 8:30, KDDD featured
live, on-the-air voice reports from high school correspondents
reporting on their school's social and athletic events. In
addition, "Teen Club News," a bulletin board of upcoming
events of interest to the teen agers, was featured for several
minutes each hour during the evening.

"Perhaps these changes came too late, mused Bossun.
"The sound had become stagnant after two years, and the kids,
searching for something new, turned their dials to the other
top forty station in town."

KCCC, Bossun knew, was more of a "screamer."
The station didn't believe in personalities as such; rather,
they had an on—the—air staff that was smooth, fast-paced, and
"screamed” time, temperature and record information at the
audience.

KDDD, on the other hand, operated on the theory

that people were intelligent and didn't like to be talked

19

down to. Thus, the on—the-air staff of KDDD was made up of
men who were personalities in their own right. These were
men who played rock and roll, to be sure, but along with the
top forty they said something important.

Regardless of what the differences were between
KDDD and KCCC, KDDD needed something to bring back the
audience that had once been theirs. Edwards had been of
the opinion that a new night—time personality was needed.
He had been looking for a staff member when Tommy Gunn's
audition tape was received. After listening to the tape,
Edwards was convinced that Gunn was just the man to help
bolster the slumping ratings. He could be greati And a
natural on-the-air salesman.

"So I don't blame Edwards, I guess, thought Bossun.
"I probably would have hired Gunn too. I just wish it was
still Bob's job to dismiss him." It wasn't, and Bossun knew
it. He knew that when Zussman had expanded the station's
staff a year ago, he had been hired as the first general
manager. As general manager, he inherited many of the
responsibilities for which Edwards had been accountable.
This freed the program director to concentrate on the on—
the—air sound of the station.

Edwards had been right about Gunn's ability to
bolster points, though. The ratings began to climb shortly

after Gunn was put on the air, and they kept coming up.

Every time a new survey was taken, the story was the same.

20

KDDD again increased its lead in the evenings. In the most
recent Hooper, Gunn had managed to pull over fifty percent
of the audience in a four—station market even with strong
personalities at two of the three competing stations.

Within six months after Gunn joined KDDD, his show
was practically sold out. Sponsors liked Gunn, for he did
a good job in selling their products. Any product advertised
on "The Tommy Gunn Show" was sure to be bought by hoards of
teen—agers. Even those Skeptical sponsors who seldom used
radio had testified to Gunn's fantastic ability to influence
sales. It was little wonder his show was sold out.

But what about those negative comments in the letter
from Gunn's former manager? There had been ample warning in
the sentence: "We've been forced to threaten him with his
job twice for actions off the air, in the community."

Bossun had no way of knowing what kinds of actions
the former manager had reference to, but he could guess.

"And I'll bet I'm pretty darn close, too," he thought. He
knew what Gunn had done since coming to KDDD.

Within nine months after he had been hired, Gunn
had been involved in a morals scandal with a sixteen year
old girl. It had taken a lot of doing to keep that story
out of the papers. Even without press coverage, many people
in the town knew about it.

The problem was that so many people in the community

thought Tommy Gunn was the entire station. His actions were

21

thought to represent those of the rest of the staff. When
he was in trouble, his actions reflected negatively on the
station's community image.

Several times over the six year period, Gunn had
been questioned by the police for drunken driving. One
summer night, he had almost been killed in a head—on col-
lision. He had spent six months in the hOSpital recovering.
When he finally returned to work, Edwards had warned him
that he had had his final fling. He would have to settle
down and work to create a better community image or he would
lose his job.

Gunn had calmed down for a while. As a matter of
fact, it was almost a year before he caused any further
trouble. Then, just last week, news had reached Bossun
about Gunn's latest escapade. This was of a different
nature and did not make great community news, but from the
station's standpoint, it was very serious.

Ted Evans, a salesman, came to Bossun's office
early one morning to report the incident. He was fuming.
Evans had recently acquired the Honda Cycle Club account
for KDDD. As part of its initial advertising campaign, the
Club was conducting a contest to determine which of two KDDD
disc jockies could influence sales the most. The two disc
jockies taking part in the contest were Tommy Gunn, and the
new all—night man, Jimmy Robin.

According to the rules of the contest, both Gunn and

{\J
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Robin were to ad lib a specified number of Honda commercials
during their programs. These commercials were scheduled on
the log and were run six times during the 11 PM to 12 midnight
portion of "The Tommy Gunn Show" and six times during the

12 midnight to 1 AM segment of "The Jimmy Robin Show.” The
disc jockey who persuaded the most people to go into the

Honda Cycle Club and say that ”Tommy Gunn (or Jimmy Robin)

sent me,‘ was to win a free Honda motorcycle.
It was common knowledge around KDDD that Tommy Gunn
wanted that motorcycle in the worst way. As a matter of fact,
he wanted it so much that he took the station's logs down
to Honda Cycle Club and showed Bartsch, the manager, what he
called "discrepancies" in the way that KDDD was handling the
contest. Gunn's "discrepancies" involved the fact that KDDD
was running more spots during the Robin show than it was
during the Gunn program. Gunn claimed Robin was ad libbing
unauthorized spots not paid for by Honda Cycle Club. This
claim was later proved false.

Gunn further stated that while all spots were supposed

to be ad libbed live, they were, in fact, ad libbed on a

 

cartridge. This had been done so the disc jockey wouldn't
have to worry about ad libbing the Spot while he was on the
air. Gunn claimed the Spots weren't as effective when pre—
taped ahead of time. KDDD countered that while the spots

were indeed ad libbed on a cartridge, they were more effective

than if they had been presented live, as special production

23

techniques and sound effects could be used and some prior
thought could go into the ad libbed message. If a mistake
were made during the recording, it could be redone. On the
air live ad libbing didn't allow this possibility.

"Bartsch was so mad he cancelled on the spot," Evans
had said. "He said if we were treating our employees in a
manner even suggesting unfair treatment among them, he wanted
no part of it. Further, he didn't like our putting his spots
on cartridges even if they did sound better that way. He
thought that he should have received prior notification of
it in writing. It all came down to the fact that he thought
it was in the best interests of the Honda Cycle Club to move
his business to KCCC. So he cancelled, effective immediately."

Bossun had thought ahead. Bartsch might talk to
other local businessmen and more spot cancellations could be
forthcoming. Or maybe the other advertisers wouldn't believe
Bartsch——after all, Gunn did a good selling job on the air
for the products he advertised. Why should other advertisers
care about Gunn's relationships at the station as long as he
produced sales for them? Perhaps Bartsch wasn't like other
businessmen in his attitudes. Was it worth the chance of
waiting to see if further cancellations occurred?

What to do? Bossun knew the alternatives. Gunn
could be fired or retained. There were no other solutions
possible. He swayed between the two choices.

If Gunn were fired, would many of his sponsors drop

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24

off? How about the ratings? Would they drop back to where
they were before he came? And what about the rest of the
staff? Even though many of them didn't like Gunn, they
recognized his ability as a disc jockey and respected him.
Either firing or retaining Gunn could undermine station
morale. If he were fired, the staff might think management
was conducting a purge. If he were retained, they would think
he had gotten away with losing a good account.

Another thing to consider was the extensive promotion
that KDDD had done to build up Gunn's name and his show. If
he were fired, all the money and effort put into his promotion
would have to be scrapped. The station would have to start
from scratch with the new disc jockey.

The new disc jockey. That was the next problem. If
Gunn were fired, could Bossun find a man who could hold the
teen—agers as Tommy had?

Bossun thought about retaining Gunn. He could talk
to him again-—warn him that this was definitely the last
straw; then set down strict conditions for his future behavior.
This would keep the air staff continuity that Bossun so
desperately desired. But the rest of the staff might re-
sent "the extra chance" if it were given to Gunn. There
was also the distinct possibility that within months, Gunn
might be back to his old tricks of destroying confidence in
the station and creating a bad image by his own childish acts.

Bossun shook his head. He honestly didn't know what

to do.

THE PERSONNEL APPROACH

Al Eastman had a definite theory of personnel manage—
ment. This theory had been developed as an undergraduate
at a major university on the West Coast. When the young
college graduate went to work for Westdim Broadcasting
Incorporated in 1952, he hardly dreamed that he would be
able to put his theory into actual practice so soon. But
in 1956, when Westdim bought a small daytimer in a mid-
western city of 300,000, Eastman suddenly found himself the
general manager.

As the other two Westdim stations in the chain were
both "top forty" outlets, and since there was only one "rocker"
in the four-station market, the company decided to program
rock and roll on its new outlet. The facility they bought
had been a good music station and the decision was made by
top company officials that all air personnel should be fired
and a completely new staff recruited for the "new sound."

The job of finding an air staff belonged to Al Eastman.

Eastman knew that personnel could be recruited from
one or more of several places. First, air men might be
"stolen" from competition in the area. Secondly, experienced
personnel could be recruited from outside the market. Third.
the staff might be built from young people—-those who had some

years of experience in broadcasting and who showed great

25

26

potential. Recent college graduates with some prior ex-
perience in the business could be included in this group.
Eastman favored the third method. A basic reason
was that salaries would be lower for people with less ex-
perience. This was important to Westdim Broadcasting.

"Spend only what is necessary to get a good sound,‘ was the
word from his boss. "Don't bring in high school kids for

disc jockies but don't hire people from major metropolitan
stations either. We've got to be careful of costs for a
while until we get this station in the black."

As a manager, Eastman recognized the difficulty of
his position. It was important to get the best people for
the money. They would not have many years of experience
behind them, but they would make up for this in desire and
in being willing to advance fast as Westdim Broadcasting
expanded to new markets. There were great opportunities for
advancement in a company that believed in internal promotions
to fill management positions in new outlets.

Eastman thought about his market. It was a large,
industrial city of 300,000 located only forty miles away
from a major metropolitan area of over 1.5 million. There
were four AM stations in the market, only one of which was
currently playing "top forty." This station was number one
according to all surveys, but Westdim thought they could
overtake the competition by smart programming and management

decisions.

27

The second-rated station was a good music facility:
the third played albums interspersed with network shows from
CBS. Eastman's station had been fourth-rated, programming a
hodge-podge of top forty, country music, and jazz.

Eastman recalled his theory of personnel management
from his college days. He remembered how he had once said
to a professor that if one couldn't compete salary-wise, he
would have to make it up by offering the prospective employee
something else such as opportunities for rapid advancement,
pensions, and other fringe benefits. Westdim could offer
employees just such inducements.

He began making phone calls to some of his friends in
smaller markets throughout the country. Within a month,
Eastman had his air staff. Each man he hired was under 30.
Each was a hard worker with an average of 3-5 years of
experience. Most of them had graduated from college and all
ten believed they were in broadcasting to stay. They were
ambitious and interested in opportunities for promotion. For
most of them, this market represented a big stepping stone
up the ladder of success. They realized that if they worked
together they could build a virtual radio giant in the market.
To be sure, their salaries would be low at first, but as they
gained experience and as the station came into the black on
bank statements, they felt they would advance. After a
couple of years, salaries should be compatible with those

being paid in other stations within the market. And the

28

experience they would be getting in a medium-sized market
would be invaluable training for later steps to bigger
markets or moves into management in smaller cities.

Eastman's theory worked out surprisingly well.
After three years, he had a highly-trained, professional
air staff which had banded itself into a hard—hitting com—
mercial package. The station was not number one, but it
was a powerful advertising vehicle to reach the teen—age
population of the area.

Actually, the latest Hooper showed the station to be
a strong number two, gaining a few points each month, but
still a long way from overtaking the front-running "rocker."
Eastman's original staff was still basically intact, except
for the addition of a new morning disc jockey three years
ago. The men had stayed with the company because the company
had wanted them to stay. They had been given raises twice
a year, and most of them held some kind of title, in addition
to their on-the-air duties. The mid-morning man, for example,
was also the music director; the afternoon man was the pro-
duction director. Outside the station, "record hops" were
plentiful and a staff member could make up to $100 a week
in addition to his salary by doing "hops." And there was
still the possibility of being promoted to a better position
in a new outlet with the company.

Now, seven years after he had been transferred into

the city as manager, Al Eastman sat at his desk looking over

29

a sales contract and thinking back to his college days.

"That personnel theory worked,’ he mused, '”but I wonder
what would happen if I'd have to replace part of my staff
now? I couldn't hire an amateur again, for he wouldn't

fit in with the rest of the staff. It's ok to do that if

the whole staff is amateur, but when one man has considerably
less experience than the rest of the group, he could easily
sound out of place."

There was another problem involved, too. Although
his station's personnel were as qualified and, in most cases,
experienced as those people in the larger market forty miles
to the north, they were not paid as well. There was a new
station just opening in the larger market and this station
would require a complete staff. How could he hope to compete
salary-wise for people? He couldn't, and he knew it.

Just then, Eastman's thoughts were interrupted by a
knock on his door. "Come in," Eastman said.

It was Johnny Clark and he wanted to talk to him in
private for a minute. Clark had been with the station since
Westdim took it over and he and Eastman had become quite
close friends. Clark had developed into an outstanding
disc jockey and a good team man. He was active in community
affairs and was well known and respected by people at the
station and in the community.

"Close the door and come in," said Eastman. "Have a

chair. Now, what's on your mind?"

30

"Well, Al, I just wanted to see you a moment to tell
you that Len McMannes has been after me for three weeks now
to go to work for him at his Florida station. He sent me
plane tickets last weekend and I flew down to take a look
at the set—up. I really haven't made a decision yet, but
since I've always been able to talk to you, I thought it
was only fair to let you know."

"Oh brother," thought Eastman. "I must be psychic.
I no sooner think about a potential problem then it walks
through the door." Out loud he said, "Well, John, I appre-
ciate your telling me. I respect you for that. May I ask
you what kind of an offer Len made you?”

"Actually it was nothing special—~pretty much the
same salary. Oh, a little more, I guess. I'd do the morning
drive slot and be in charge of station production."

"That's all?" asked Eastman.

"That's it," replied John. "I'm supposed to let him
know Within the week. He's got an opening the first of next
month."

And that's how the half-hour session with Johnny
Clark went. Very friendly and straight forward. Clark ad—
mitted the Florida climate had a lot to do with his contem—
plation of the move. He and his wife had lived in the South
when they were first married and they liked the thought of
g01ng back.

Eastman suddenly felt very tired. He thought

31

about the predicament the station would be in. Clark had
been with Westdim Broadcasting for seven years. His salary
was above average for the market and not too far below the
average for the larger market forty miles away. If he left,
Westdim wouldn't allow Eastman that kind of money for a new
man. The home office had said that a high initial salary
didn't build loyalties. Company policy was based on the
belief that it was better to start a man off low with pro-
mises of increases and advancements as he went along. But
if a salary were set too low, Eastman would not be able to
get the right man for the job.

As Eastman saw it, there were several alternatives:
1). He might try to keep Clark at the station, and thus,
stand in the way of his advancement. 2). He could attempt
not to influence Clark in his decision at all or he could
let him go with McMannes and create a problem of getting a
replacement for him. 3). He could recommend Clark's transfer
to another Westdim outlet where the climate was more suited
to his tastes or there might be other advantages more to his
liking. This, of course, could be easily accomplished, but
it really wouldn't solve the problem. He would still have
to find a replacement.

Eastman knew that Clark had the potential to be a
good program director, but the program directorship was
filled at the present time. He knew Westdim would go along
with a small increase in salary for Clark, but did Clark

really want this? Eastman didn't think so.

He turned in his chair to look out the window. He
was rapidly developing a headache. But he had to face this
problem, headache or no headache. It was not likely that
it would resolve itself without decision and action on

Eastman's part.

FORMAT, FORMAT, WHO'S GOT THE FORMAT?

The five Mercury Broadcasting officials entered the
narrow, sound—proofed conference room and took seats around
the big mahogany table. First to be seated was Jeffery
Walton, president of Mercury. Robert Greenberger, the vice
president of the company, sat down next to Walton. Ed Paul,
national program director, followed Greenberger and sat
opposite him across the table. Al Greens and Arman Jantz,
recently appointed station manager and program director
respectively of the newest Mercury property, took seats at
opposite ends of the table.

Each of the five knew why the meeting had been
called. Each knew that before he left that conference
room, a decision would have to be made on the overall pro—
gramming format for the new station which Mercury had ac—
quired less than a month ago.

Jeffery Walton spoke first: "Gentlemen, I'm glad
you could all be in attendance this morning. We have a most
important decision to reach today--a decision which will
ultimately affect each of us in some way. By the end of this
meeting, we must have a recommendation for a format for our
new broadcast property. The importance of being right in
our choice of a format cannot be overstressed. This station

cost us too much in time, effort and money for us to be wrong.

33

34

"I think it would be best if this meeting were con—
ducted informally with each of you making contributions to
the discussion and weighing consequences as we go along.

Ed Paul will give us some pertinent background information
to start us off. Ed . . . ."

Ed Paul shuffled some papers in front of him. "As
you all know, Mercury Broadcasting last month made the biggest
purchase in terms of dollars and market size, in our fifteen
year history. This property, a one—thousand-watt radio
station, was obtained for $900,000 from Wilmington Evans
Broadcasting House. In buying WXXX, we are entering compe—
tition in one of the top thirty markets in this country.
It's a Southern market of approximately l.9 million people.
I'll try to give you a few pertinent facts that will be
necessary for background information.

"First of all, let's talk about population distri—
bution. Of the 1.9 million people, 1.2 million live in the
metropolitan area. The rest live in surrounding suburbs.
Thirty percent of the population is white—collar; the rest,
blue-collar. This latter group is primarily made up of
workers in several large textile factories and those who
are employed in manufacturing.

"With regard to competition, there are ten radio
stations, including ours, which are currently serving the
market. I have some sheets prepared on the outlets giving

you a general idea of what our competition programs and how

35

they stack up rating—wise."

Ed Paul reached into his brief case and selected a
manila folder. From this, he distributed a set of papers
to each of the men seated at the table. (For a copy of these
handouts, please see pages 41 through 44,)

"As you can see, we are currently the seventh-rated
station in the market. The number one station, which, by the
way, seems to be glued to that spot, is a group—owned, good
music outlet, with a heavy emphasis on news.

"The second and third rated stations, as you might

expect, are rockers, Ed Paul continued. "Neither emphasize
news too heavily, although the independent does a passable

job with it. The chief difference in the two stations is
their air personalities. Number two has the personalities;
number three, the button—pushers.

"Number four in the market is a CBS—affiliated good-
music station, which, believe it or not, has been successful
in emphasizing the net. Also, they're the sports powerhouse,
carrying pro football, basketball, and baseball.

”The fifth rated station is the outlet to watch at
the moment. Owned by XOX Broadcasting, the station has been
programming background music all day almost like an FM
outlet. They had been doing pretty badly in the ratings
until about nine months ago when they traded formats. They're

strong on R & B now and have done quite well with it. In

nine months, they jumped three notches in the Hooper and

36

they're not far from taking over the fourth position. I
talked to their sales manager last week and he said their
billings have increased120%.since the switch. Incidentally,
XOX uses Mutual for most of their news. They do very little
with local originations.

"Nothing exciting about number six. It's an inde-
pendently-owned NBC affiliate which is programming standards
and a little religious music. They try hard on the local
news but for some reason they just don't come across.
Facility-wise, this is the second best in the area, close
behind Group-Six's property. This outlet is the only one
in town that makes use of a traffic-copter.

”Number seven is our property which we'll discuss
at length in a minute. Number eight is owned by Amerax
Broadcasting. It programs talk shows interspersed with pop-
standards. The station is weak on news, strong on person-
alities. It's also overcommercialized, by the way. That
could be part of their problem.

"Number nine is an ethnic station all the way, and
number ten mixes classical, good-listen, country, and R & B.
No news to speak of. You can see why they're tenth."

A number of laughs went up from around the table.
Paul reached for the glass of water in front of him. "Any
questions so far? Yes, Al?"

"At one point in here, Ed, you mentioned facilities.

How do we stack up in that department?"

37

"We're about in the middle, so far as I can determine,
said Paul, replacing his glass of water. "We have a good
physical plant with regard to the building, but the equipment
is pretty old. No out-of-station stuff at all. Everything is
anchored down or too bulky to be portable. The transmitter
is new and the tower is in good shape. Consoles and other
gear are operative but not the newest by a long shot.

"Our one main advantage is our band position. We're
on the low end at 640 and that's the lowest in town. The
position has obvious marketing advantages as well as driving
our 1000 watts further than if we were at the high end of the
band. But, in all, I'd say we were about in the middle,
facility-wise°

"Any other questions?"

Jeffery Walton leaned forward in his chair: "How
about the billings? Do those follow the ratings?"

Ed Paul considered the question carefully before he
answered. "Generally speaking, yes. Group-Six has been
dominant with both points and dollars for a long time. The
two rockers continually spurt back and forth, always remain-
ing somewhere within the number two and three positions.
J.J.'s station cuts the rate card more than it should and
more than it needs to. Consequently, their gross billing
is less than their position indicates it should be. The
CBS station has a high billing, perhaps due to the fact
that their staff requirements are less as they plug in the

net so much.

38

"If you remember, I said XOX's outlet, the new R & B
giant, has increased itskflJJijfi;lZO% in nine months. This
is true, but it's deceptive. I would imagine that there's
been a lot of initial bargain offers to get clients onto
the R & B bandwagon. Also, I know for a fact that their
rates are lower to begin with than most stations in this
market--certainly lower than they should be for number five."

"Is there any reason for that?" asked Robert Greenberger.

"The only reason I can think of is that they're going
slow with the new sound-—don't want to promise more than they
can offer. Also, they've been so low for so long, that I
don't think they know what rate structure to use. They're
probably in the process of drawing up a new card now, as
they've taken on an increasingly big audience lately.

"If there are no more questions, let's talk about
what our station is doing now. To begin with, we're number
seven in a ten-station market. That should give us some
indication that something is wrong right there. Furthermore,
we've been number seven for four consecutive years, with
virtually no change in programming over that time. Arman,
do you have a question?"

"Yes. Yes, I do. Exactly what kind of a programming
policy did Wilmington-Evans put into effect? What did they
format?"

"Well," said Paul, scratching his head, "that's hard

to answer, because in the two weeks of monitoring the station,

39

I'm not sure there was a programming policy at all. The
station is sort of a hodge-podge of everything: a little
rock, a little country, a few standards, and virtually no
news to speak of. At night, it's purely middle-of-the—road.
That's the only time we're purely anything.

"I will say this-—the only reason we've got a seven
rating at all is due to our air staff. Most of them are
older men with a solid background of easy—going radio. You
know, the true personality types, the kinds that say something
when they open their mouths.

"The sales staff is something else again. Half of
them have had experience selling rockers; the other half is
used to selling blocks of time. With a group like that, I
don't know how the station brought in the business it did.
Most of the station's billing, as I see it, comes from
national sales, which are, for some unexplained reason,
stronger than they should be for a station as low as we are.

"That's about the extent of our facts as we know
them at this time. It's our job now to come up with a
workable format for our property. Any ideas?"

Arman Jantz dropped his pencil on the table and
sighed loudly. "Well,” he said, "my first impression upon
looking at that format sheet you passed out, is that there's
no station in the market playing hard country music. With
this, a Southern market, there's bound to be support for it,

if it's done right."

40

"Sorry to interrupt you, Arman, said Al Greens,
"but there's a rumor floating around that the NBC outlet is
about to be switched to a total country format. I can't
find any firsthand evidence that a switch is imminent, but
the rumor still keeps cropping up. If they do go country,
and we decide to do the same, there'd be real problems trying
to justify it, to say nothing of trying to sell it. I hate
to think of that possibility."
”I think I know how we can find out," said Ed Paul.
”I have some close friends in the area, one of whom is the
music director at the station. He's been there for four
years, so he's probably in the know if a switch is imminent.
I don't think he'll mind telling me because he's leaving
on the tenth of next month for a job in Chicagou I'll call
him-“
”Good idea, Ed." Jeffery Walton was getting up from
the table. “This seems like a logical spot to break for
lunch. Take an hour off and think about our situation.
Country music, of course, is one of our considerations.
Whether this rumor is true or not certainly affects this.
But there are some other avenues we could travel, too.
I've personally been thinking about an old-time radio for-
mat, somewhat along the lines of WJR in Detroit, if you're
familiar with that. It's proved saleable in many markets and

there's no one else doing it here. Ed also suggested auto—

mation. This would cut our overhead, allowing us to sell

41

cheaper than the competition. Another idea is to plug into
ABC which isn't now represented in the market. There are

a lot of other ideas and we're going to have to consider
each carefully. Think about it over lunch and we'll meet
back here at 2:00 PM."

The five men got up from the table, put papers into
brief cases and walked out of the conference room. The
morning session had been grueling, but the worst was yet to
come. Each of the five knew the choice of a format meant

the difference between success and failure, profit and loss.

42

Ed Paul—-Handout P. l
MARKET: Large, Southern, population 1.9 million
COMPETITION: Ten AM radio stations
RATINGS FROM JAN.-FEB- HOOPER-PULSE SURVEYS:
1). 50,000 watts. Owned by Group-Six Broadcasting. On the
air 24—hours a day. Music format: pop-standard (100%).
Special programming: college football, basketball, local
race track results. Bill Victor interviews the stars twice
daily. Don Hoffman is director of lO—man news department.
5-ninute news on hour and half-hour. Six 15-minute casts
per day. 60-minute news block at 6 PM. NUmber one rating
for two years according to Pulse. Strongly identifiable air

personalities.

2). 10,000 watts. Owned by J. J. Broadcasting. On the air
24-hours a day. Music format: contemporary (100%). Editor—
ializes occasionally. Ed Baker is director of 3—man news
department. 5—minute news at 55 past the hour; headlines

on the half-hour. Strongly identifiable air personalities.
Nuvber two rating for past three months (switching places

with #3) .

3). 5,000 watts. Independent. On the air 24-hours a day.
Music format: contemporary (100%). Editorializes occasion-
ally. Special programming: "Instant Requests," call-in
requests on all DJ shows 5:30 AM.- 1:00 AM.Monday-Saturday.
Alan Nelson is director of 5-man news department. Special
equipment: 1 mobile unit for traffic reports, accidents,

etc. S-minute news on the hour. Number three ratings for

43

Ed Paul——Handout P. 2
past three months (switching places with #2). This station
had been a strong number two for one year prior to last

Hooper.

4). 5,CCO watts. CBS affiliate. Independent. On the air
24-hours a day. Music format: pop—standard (80%), contem-
porary (20%}. Special programming: "Arthur Godfrey Time,"
“Aft Linkletter's Houseparty," "Dimension," etc. Tom Francis
editorials heard twice daily. Pro football in season, plus
pro basketball, and pro baseball. Jim Rooney is director

of 6-mar news department. 5-minute news on the hour and
half-hour. Expanded casts at 8 AM, 12 Noon, 6 PM, and 11 PM.

Special equipment: helicopter for traffic reports. Number

four rating for one year.

5). 1,000 watts. Mutual affiliate. Owned by XOX Broad—
casting. On the air 24-hours a day. Music format: rhythm

& blues (75%), contemporary (15%), jazz (10%). Special pro-
gramming: high school football and basketball in season. Bill
Williams is director of 3-man news department. 5-minute news
on the hour: 2-minute local news on half-hour. Strongly ident-
ifiable air personalities. This station was number eight in

the market until a format switch nine months ago.

6). 10,000 watts. NBC affiliate. Independent. On the air
from 5.AM - 1 AM daily. Music format: standard (95%),
sacred (5%). Special programming: Traffic reports during

rush hours. NBC "Mbnitor" on weekends. Network regularly

44
Ed Paul--Handout P.

scheduled programs. Richard Paisley is director of 6-man news
department. NBC news on the hour, followed by 5-minutes of
local news. This station had been number five in the market
for four years until nine months ago when it slipped to number

six.
7). MERCURY BROADCASTING ACQUISITION. . .

8). 5,000 watts. Owned by Amerax Broadcasting. On the air
from 6 AM to Midnight. Music format: pop—standard (60%),
talk (40%). Special programming: "Listener's Choice"--
audience call-in talk program 6 AM - 9 AM Monday through

Saturday: ”Town Forum,‘ interview panel with civic officials,
business leaders, etc. 10 PM - 11 PM Monday through Friday:
"Phone Club”--recipes, household hints, etc. Mbnday through
Friday 11:30 AM. Ted Niarhous is director of 4 man news de-
partment. News on the hour and half-hour.' This station had

been number seven for over a year until the last HDopers, when

it was edged out slightly.

9). 250 watts. Independent. On the air from 6 AM - 11 PM.
Music format: Spanish (90%), standard (10%). Jan Bowen is
director of 2-man news department. News at 7 AM, 11 AM, 3 PM,
5:45 PM, 10:45 PM. This station has been number nine for

four years.

10). 250 watts. Independent. On the air from 6 AM - Sunset.
NMsic format: classical (35%), conservative (35%), country
(20), rhythm & blues (10%). Gordon Kirkland is director of
3-man news department. News every hour on-the-hour. This

station has been number ten for four years.

3

THE BROKEN GLASSES

Chet Roberts came whistling up the walk to the station.
It had definitely been a good day for the young salesman. Not
only had he lined up three prospective buyers for a special
news package, but he had also been able to land a sixteen—
week renewal on the Baylor Optical account.

Baylor Optical was more important to Chet than any
other account on the station. It had been a hard account to
obtain in the first place. For years, the company had spent
its entire advertising appropriation in the local newspaper.
When it had finally been persuaded to go into radio in 1960,
it bought only the top two stations, both of which were teen—
oriented. Chet's station, the only good—music, adult-
oriented station in town, had long been after the lucrative
Baylor account, but Baylor refused to spend money on the
last-rated station in a four-station market, preferring
instead to spend its money on sheer numbers.

And Baylor got what it paid for. It had large num—
bers of people listening to its spots, but few results were
obtained: few sales resulted. And the reason? It was
appealing to the wrong market. Teen agers didn't buy the
majority of eye glasses in the community. Adults did, and

adults listened to the fourth-rated station in town.

45

46

As soon as Baylor realized that, it began to adver—
tise sparingly on Chet's station. At first, Chet had been
able to get the company to allocate only $35 a week, but
within eighteen months after first coming on the air, Baylor
was spending $125 a week with Chet. That figure, Chet re-
flected, represented sixty per cent of the entire radio
advertising budget per week for Baylor.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Chet was saying to him—
self as he went into the station.

"Boy, I can see that you're in a rare mood this
afternoon, Mr. Roberts." It was Mary, the new receptionist,
who broke into Chet's thoughts.

"I sure am, Mary," Chet laughed. "Things couldn't
be better. Say, got any messages for me?"

"Yes. Mr. Wise wants you to see him before you get
involved in something else. And your wife called."

"0k. Thank you, Mary. Buzz Bernie Wise and tell
him I'll be right up. I'll call my wife later."

Chet picked up his mail and an afternoon paper from
Mary's desk and walked down the hall to Bernie Wise's office.
Bernie Wise was the station manager, a native of the city who
had been in the broadcasting business twenty-five years. He
was a knowledgeable man, well versed in all fields of the
business. He had a particular knack for recognizing trouble
before it occurred and doing something to avoid it.

Wise was on the phone when Chet entered the office.

The manager saw him, and waved him to a seat. Chet took the

47

overstuffed, red leather chair in front of the desk. Wise
was ending the call as quickly as possible. "Sure, Sam.
Right. 0k, Sam. Listen, I'll keep you posted, alright?

And you keep after that prospect. He'll come around in time,
ok? Alright, Sam. Bye."

"Sorry, Chet. Sam Arnold on the phone. Where have
you been, out on the Baylor account?"

Chet smiled. "Sure have! And they signed for another
sixteen weeks, too."

"Good!" Bernie was pleased. "Not so good, though,
is what concerns Baylor in the morning paper. Don't suppose
you've seen it, have you?"

Chet admitted he hadn't. "I usually look it over
quickly in the office before I make my rounds, but this
morning some things came up and I didn't get around to it.
What's up?"

"Well, maybe something and maybe nothing. I don't
really know. Take a look at this article and tell me what

you think.’ He pushed a piece of newspaper copy across the

desk at Chet.
Chet took his glasses from his coat pocket and scanned
the article:

A west (city) woman is listed in fair condition
at St. Thomas's hospital, the victim of a freak
accident yesterday. Mrs. C. H. Lemen, 53, of 1027
Woodlawn Avenue, told police she was walking in the
400-block of west Market street when a passing car
flipped up a rock which hit her in the head. The
rock smashed the woman's glasses, forcing particles
of glass into her eyes and face.

48

Authorities at St. Thomas say Mrs. Lemen is suf-
fering from severe contusions of the face and fore-
head. Doctors report that the woman may lose sight
in her left eye permanently.

The woman's husband, Charles, said his wife's
glasses were supposedly shatterproof and were bought
from a leading optical company in town. He said he
is inquiring into the possibility of a lawsuit against
the firm.

Chet looked up. "And I suppose this woman bought her
glasses from Baylor Optical?"

”Right," said the manager. "Soon as I read this, I
got on the phone and did a little checking. Baylor Optical
sold her the glasses. You know what this could mean, don't
you?"

"Well, I've got a good idea," answered Chet truth-
fully, "but spell it out for me."

"0k. Our news staff is on this story now, as are
all the other stations in town. No mention of Baylor Optical.
So far, so good. But here's the bad part. I talked to Bill
Victor, our lawyer, and he says from what he knows of this
situation, the woman's got a case. And according to Bill,
the stakes could be high."

Chet was puzzled. "So I understand all this, but
exactly where does the station come in?"

"Alright," said Bernie, getting up from his desk
and staring out the window. He suddenly turned toward
Chet. "Alright, let's suppose for a moment that this Lemen
guy does file a hefty suit against Baylor. It's going to be

top news all over the area, right? The paper will be sure to

49

make a big deal about it. They'll blow it sky high and say
a lot of unnecessary junk like 'suppose it was your kid's
glasses that shattered,‘ or something like that. Anyway,
it'll be big news, regardless.

"Now, in all likelihood, the two rockers won't use
the story. Baylor is their client and they may say 'it's
our policy not to say anything on the air that's derogatory
about one of our clients'. The third station has never had
Baylor dollars on its air and so they'll romp with this like
the paper will. That leaves us.

”As you know, we've always prided ourselves on our
news image. We give the community 'all the news that is
news', if you'll pardon the cliché. Even if the story would
hurt us, we've always had a policy to use it, whenever it's
hard news. The policy has been sound and we've never had
any trouble with it so far. Of course, we've never run
into anything like this before, either.

"I don't think I have to tell you what would happen
if we used Baylor's name on the air in conjunction with a
libel suit as part of a news story. . . ."

"No," agreed Chet, "you don't have to tell me. I
know that bunch. They'd cancel-—and they'd cancel quick."

"Precisely! And that's something we can't have
happen. We need the billing they bring in. Baylor is one
of our biggest accounts. To lose them would hurt us
considerably.” Bernie Wise sat back down at his desk and

put his head in his hands. "Got any ideas?"

50

Chet wasn't too sure of himself now, but he began in
earnest. "Well, first off, do we really have a problem? I
mean, as yet there's no suit and Baylor hasn't been mentioned
publicly. . . ."

Wise looked up at Chet. "Yes, I know,” he said. "I
know they haven't. But it's my opinion we're going to have
a problem very shortly. If Victor thinks that woman has a
case, she's got a case. Victor hasn't been wrong yet."

There was silence for a moment. Then the manager
reached for his phone. "Let me get Harold Leary in on this.
HOld on a second." He dialed two digits. "Harold? Bernie.
Listen, can you come up for a few minutes on this Baylor
thing? Chet Roberts and I are talking about it now. Right.
Come on up now."

Harold Leary was the news director of the station.
It had been he, more than anyone else, who was responsible
for the news image that had been established at the station.
He had won his long fight for a news policy that would be
unhampered by restrictions imposed by management, sponsors,
etc., and that fight had paid off. The station's news staff
was regarded highly in the community and a good news image
had become the station's strongest selling point.

Harold Leary opened Wise's door. "Come in, Harold,"
said the manager. "Chet and I have just gone over the back-
ground of this Baylor Optical story. We're ready to suggest

some possibilities now and we wanted the news point of view."

51

"I'll give you my point of view, alright,” said
Leary, taking a chair next to Chet. ”Assuming this woman
does sue, it's news. Because it is news, and good hard
news at that, it's station policy to air it. Whether Baylor
_Optical is mentioned in the story or not has nothing to do
with it. Our news image has been built on giving the people
of this community the whglg story, with no editing of the
facts and no editorializing by omitting items. I guarantee
you we won't blow this out of proportion like the paper
probably will--we'll simply report the facts as they happen.
Nothing more and nothing less. That's my position pure and
simple."

Chet was a little angry at the way Leary was so
positive in his statements. "Look, Harold,” he said, "suppose
you run the story and Baylor cancels. That's a hundred-twenty-
five bucks a week down the drain."

Leary had known what was coming and he was prepared
for it. "You don't know they'll cancel," he shot back.

"YOu have no possible way of knowing that at all. If
you're asking me to lay off the story just because it's

hot, forget it! That's like asking me to dump three years
of image building down the drain in one day. If I laid off
that story, our image would sink faster than a burning
battleship. People would hear the story on the competition,
and they'd be sure to read it in the paper. Then they turn
us in, and, nothingl We don't say a word about it.. Sorry,

Chet, we're using the story if it breaks."

52

Chet could see Larry's position, though he could also
see the other side. News was important to a station and the
news image that would be tarnished by the omission of one
story, would stay tarnished in the eyes of listeners to the
station for a long time after that story was buried. If
people didn't hear a story as important as this one, they
would expect not to hear other stories as equally important
in the future.

But as important as news was, it wasn't as important
as sales to Chet. "Look, Harold," he said, "I know that
you've got an image to uphold, but look at this from the sales
point of view. The station needs the Baylor business. With-
out revenue coming in from sponsors, there'd be no money for
news or anything else around here. Also . . . ."

Leary interrupted him: "If you let one sponsor run
your news, it won't be long until all the rest of your clients
want the same privilege. Before you know it, the news is
completely out of station control."

The news director would have said more, but he was
cut short by the telephone ringing. Bernie Wise picked it
up. ”Yes?" he said. There was a long pause. "You sure
of that? How much was it for? When? Ok! Thanks for
calling, Benj. Right." The phone dropped into its cradle.

"That was my brother Benjamin who's a judge at the

courthouse. Lemen just filed a "$12,000 suit against Baylor.

TOP LEVEL DECISION

The main topic of conversation at the station had been
the same for months. Ed Rosenblatt was tired of even think-
ing about it. It got so the problem was with him 24 hours a
day. Lately, he couldn't even sleep, worrying about the
possible repercussions. The trouble was, there were negatives
on both sides of the question. "Wonder why there isn't ever
an issue that's all black or all white," he thought as he
drove into the station parking lot. "Everything always
seems to be shades of grey."

And shades of grey this issue was, for it concerned
a policy of editorialization. "Should we editorialize or
shouldn't we?” That was the question. As the owner of the
station, it was Ed's ultimate decision but he had tried to
be as democratic about it as possible. Before he had final—
ized his own opinion on the matter, he had called in each
of the station officials one by one to express their views
on the subject.

At the outset, he had expected few difficulties. He
had thought the issue was less complex than it was. ”Complexl
What an understatement," he mused as he walked into the
station. He was so absorbed in his thoughts, he didn't even
hear the cheerful ”good morning" from Miss Lloyd, his secre—

tary. As a matter of fact, Ed Rosenblatt didn't hear much

53

54

of anything until he reached his office and found his private
phone line ringing.

"Here we go again," he thought, as he picked up the
receiver.

It was a staff writer for the local newspaper. "Mr.
Rosenblatt," the reporter began, "we've received a report
that your station is going to editorialize-—going to endorse
candidates in the coming election. Would you care to comment
on the statement?"

Ed silently counted to ten, then answered slowly,
choosing his words with care. "It is true that we've been
discussing the possibility, but no decisions have as yet
been made. I expect to have some answers later in the day.
If you'll check back with us later. . . ."

The reporter wasn't satisfied and he kept pushing
for some sort of statement he could use. Ed had handled
these types before and he was short with the man. "Look,"
he said, "I've told you we haven't reached a decision yet.
When we do, you'll hear about it. Goodbye!"

The phone was replaced gently. "Well, better begin
looking over this stuff again," Ed said half aloud. He
pulled a sheaf of papers from the corner of his desk and
spread them out in front of him. He first picked up a
sheet entitled: "Nbrket facts."

This sheet listed data pertinent to his market. He

quickly scanned the facts:

55

1). 49th market in the U.S. Population 300,000 in
city. Estimated signal area coverage: 500,000.

2). Principal areas of local employment: industry,
manufacturing. Population predominantly blue
collar and factory workers.

3). Mass media: 4 AM radio stations, 1 FM radio
station, 1 UHF TV station, plus strong signals
from nearby metropolitan areas.

He scanned another sheet labeled "Competition."
Ed had that sheet memorized. It was a personal sore point
to him. Of the four local AM radio stations in the market,
his was the lowest rated, although recently it had been
making substantial gains in share-of-audience figures.
Appealing to an adult, educated group, listeners were more
loyal to the station than teen agers were to their stations.
Teens would switch stations for no reason at all. Ed's
listeners wouldn't, and surveys showed they listened more
and listened more intently than average radio listeners.

Budget wise, Ed knew he again was on the low end.
He had the smallest budget of the four stations. He also
believed he did more with that budget than his competition
did with theirs. He had more public service programming,
more station-community integration, more listener partici-
pation than his competition. He also had better news,
especially on local events. It was a natural that if any

station in town should editorialize, it would be his.

56

He wondered if people in the community expected it.
"I doubt it," he thought. "Most probably don't even realize
there is no broadcasting facility in this town that speaks
out on anything."

And Ed knew why. He had recently participated in a
college seminar with three other station managers from the
area. The four had acted as a panel to answer questions
thrown at them by the students. The subject of editorials
had come up for discussion more than once. Reasons against
a policy of speaking out were always the same. It would
cost the station money. It would take too much time. It
would require an expert which the station didn't have or
didn't want to get. It would involve a lot of paperwork
such as filing reports to the FCC, receiving requests for
equal time, etc.

The first answer was the most logical, although all
were strong. Any time a station stands up for something or
somebody, it puts itself in a position where it can con—
ceivably lose money. Should he decide to endorse candidates
for political office, Ed knew several things might happen:
1). Sponsors opposed to a policy of editorialization in
general could drop. 2). Sponsors opposed to the station's
stand on an issue or candidate could drop. 3). Political
candidates endorsed on the air might not buy additional paid
political announcements, figuring the endorsement was enough

advertising for them. 4). Those candidates not endorsed

57

wouldn't buy spots, preferring instead to take their business
to the competition.

"Yes," thought Ed, "the possibility of financial
loss is great. But aside from that, and aside from all the
other negatives, there are some obvious positives to any
policy as far-reaching as this one."

To be sure, there would be some listeners who would
be alienated when the candidate they supported was not en-
dorsed. These would, perhaps, tune the station out. The
great majority of listeners, though, would welcome a stand
by the station. Whether they agreed with the position taken
or not, they would, in all probability, discuss the endorse-
ment with their friends and associates. This word-of-mouth
advertising was the best possible kind for the station. It
would build an audience and most certainly create a very
strong community image. Besides, it would be excellent public
service and it would look good to the FCC at license renewal
time.

In addition to all this, there was a strong possi-
bility that the higher rating obtained from more listeners
could persuade new business to come on the station. This
could increase billings.

Ed knew that the station had the staff to conduct a
policy of editorializing. To be sure, they were not
"experts" but they were trained broadcast journalists and

leading community citizens who could be expected to give a

58

fair presentation to every issue. Just as important, these
men had the desire to editorialize. They wanted to subject
their views to knowledgeable criticism from the public.

These men would have to be paid for their time spent
in writing and researching editorials. And a part-time man
would be needed to help them in some of their more routine
functions. Could the station afford this? "It could,"
thought Ed, "if we'd be even reasonably certain that we'd
get a better rating, or more business, etc. Chances are,
though, that we'll actually lose money on the deal for a
while." He knew he could never be sure until the program
had been tried.

Tom Wilson, the news director, had come up with an
interesring idea. Ed thought about it. Tom had said that
a station has an obligation to editorialize; that broadcast
news is comparable to a newspaper and should accept the same
responsibilities as a paper. One of these responsibilities
is to editorialize.

“An interesting thought," Ed said to himself. "May—
be it's true. The broadcasting industry does have to begin
exercising its rights some day. It might be just as well to
begin with editorials."

Ed's program director, Roger Grand, didn't see it
that way. Roger thought radio should stay out of the news-
paper's domain. "They're doing alright with it," he had

said yesterday in a conference. "They've got more of a

59

staff and a bigger budget. This lets them do a lot more
than we can ever hope to do. At best, we could only go into
this part-way. To come out for or against every issue and
candidate in November would require hours of work that I'm
not interested in putting in. Personally, I don't feel a
need for it, and I don't care to get involved."

This had been a typical reaction at the college
seminar. Two of the other station managers had said they
didn't want to get involved with editorializing. "I don't
have the time. Section 315 makes the whole situation un-
bearable. I'm sick of accepting requests for equal time."
These were a few of the reasons.

It was true. Section 315 of the Federal Communi-
cations Act and the Fairness Doctrine were sore points with
broadcasters. They required stations to give equal time to
opposite points of view and all candidates for the same
political office (should time be allowed one candidate).
Thus, if one candidate were endorsed for mayor, and there
were three other candidates running for that post, the two
candidates not endorsed would be entitled to the same amount
of time given to the endorsed candidate.

"Could the station afford all this time," wondered
Ed? "Would the number of requests for equal time drive
listeners not interested in politics away?" There was
always that chance.

"Oh, brother!" thought Ed. "This issue isn't grey.

It's as thick as brown mud with all the complications and

6O

considerations that have to be taken into account. But
somewhere in all this complexity, I know there's an answer
for this station. There's got to be."

"Do we editorialize or don't we?" The question was

still unanswered.

THE ANSWER FOR FM

RiCk Greve stared at the walls of his office. His
mind hadn't been on his job all day. It was his first day
back from a two-week vacation in Florida and the young
manager found it hard to get back into the swing of things.
He kept telling himself that he had to forget Florida and
concentrate on the problem at hand. He had spent many hours
on the problem before he left for Florida and he was quite
familiar with it. The trouble was that it was still await-
ing an answer--an answer which Rick didn't have.

Rick Greve had been with Rogo Publishing Company
since 1958. He had served as a disc jockey on the company-
owned radio station until February of 1965 when he was pro-
moted to the newly—created post of operations director for
WEEE-FM. Six months later he had been named manager for FM.

Rick had known that FM was a hard commodity to
market to the community, but he had little idea just how
hard it would be to gain advertiser acceptance for the
station. Rogo Publishing had apparently understood the
problems involved in selling FM, for Mr. Rogo had once told
Rick that the company was prepared to subsidize the station
for up to one year to get it established. But now, fifteen
months after separating from WEEE-AM, the station was still

losing money and was deeply in debt.

61

62

The loss was even more pronounced when records showed
that during the period from October through February WEEE-FM
made money. This period's profit reflected substantial sales
of package deals on local high school and college football
and basketball games. Local advertisers felt that sports
packages on FM were good buys and were effective in selling
their products. When the winter sports season was over,
however, sponsors who had purchased packages failed to renew
their contracts and business slumped. It slumped so badly
that the overall period from February, 1965 until April,

1966 (the station's first fifteen months of separate oper-
ation) showed a heavy loss.

Surveys had proven that WEEE—FM had a sizeable audience
both for its sports packages and its good music programming.
Rick opened his desk drawer and pulled out a map of the
station coverage area and a special survey Rogo had commission-
ed Market Research Incorporated to administer. Results of
the survey supported earlier studies.

The city where the station was located had a popu-
lation of 35,000, but WEEE-FM's primary coverage area en—
compassed 100,000 potential listeners. Of this number, 67%
owned at least one FM receiver. Many homes had two or three
sets. Of all the homes with FM sets in the area, 75%
listened to WEEE-FM most of the time. The audience was
definitely there. The problem was in translating this to

the sponsor.

63

Other demographic data showed WEEE-FM's listeners
to be far above the national average in terms of income,
education, etc. Invariably listeners were adults--adults
with more money to spend on consumer goods and services.
Over 50% of FM listeners in the area were found to earn
between $7,000 and $10,000 a year.

This information looked good on paper and Rick Greve
knew it. The figures proved he had a sizeable audience
listening to WEEE-FM. Advertisers knew who listened. They
had seen the survey results. Most area businessmen listened
to the station themselves in their homes or their places of
business. Still they were reluctant to buy. Why?

Could it be because of the competition between AM
and FM? Rick knew that WEEE-FM didn't have the mass audience
that WEEE-AM claimed but those people that listened to FM

were "opinion leaders,‘ and people of influence in the
community. These were the types of people an advertiser
should want to cultivate. There was no other competition in
the market except from the newspaper.

The general conservative business climate of the
community was probably the primary reason why advertisers
were reluctant to go into FM. Rick had talked to the AM
sales manager and he knew it had taken a long time to get
local businessmen educated to AM radio. It would probably
take even longer to get them to buy FM.

FM had always been a hard commodity to sell, especially

in a smaller market such as this. A basic reason was that

64

it required completely new selling techniques and new under—
standings of the people who listened. FM couldn't be sold
like AM radio. A sponsor couldn't buy traffic time on FM-
There was no traffic time. To be sure, there were periods
during the broadcast day when more people listened than
during other times, but they were more spread out over the
whole day than the traditional AM designations of morning
and afternoon drive time.

Audiences listened to PM more throughout the day and
they stayed with a station longer. There wasn't the constant
dial-flipping so well—known in AM radio listening habits.

On FM, listener loyalties were better established and a
sponsor could be more sure of reaching his audience.

Information such as this was useful to the advertiser
but it required him to readjust his thinking about radio.
Successful businessmen were reluctant to change as long as
they were making money.

A Special problem involved in selling WEEE-FM re-
sulted frcn the fact that AM, FM, and the town's only news—
paper were all owned by Rogo Publishing. Thus, the company
had a virtual communications monopoly in the market. Tradition-
al selling techniques of belittling competition to gain
acceptance for a new medium wouldn't work here. A sales—
man cculdn't sell FM by trying to undermine confidence in
AM or in the newspaper. This made FM sales even more dif—

ficult to obtain.

65

Most of the community businessmen had been adver-
tising in the paper for years. More recently. many had en—
larged their advertising budgets or ear—marked funds for
radio--AM only. To ask them to further enlarge or alter the
budget to include FM would only meet with stiff resistance
from many Clients. To be sure, this resistance would sub—
side in time, but until then, billings would remain low.
These sponsors had to be convinced that FM could effectively
move their products.

There were alternatives--different ways to possibly
increase billings. Rick tried to distinguish among them.
First, of course, the sports packages offered during the
winter months had been quite successful. Why not offer more
such packages? Major league baseball was a possibility.
but the games were televised on a station in a nearby city
that was received well in Rick‘s area. Would people listen
to the games on radio if they could watch them on TV? And
would local sponsors invest in a package that could be re-
ceived on another medium in the area?

Another suggestion was that music shows could be
packaged and sold to clients. No such effort had been made
in this direction at WEEE-FM. Rick knew a special show was
always attractive to sponsors. Why not program music like
sports? But would advertisers accept music packages as
readily as they had accepted sports packages?

Packages had their advantages, the biggest one being

that only one or two sponsors were involved in each package

66

deal. This was advantageous to the sponsor who could be-
come identified with the show. It was advantageous to the
station as it cut down the amount of work required of the
station staff. With only a few sponsors there would be less
copy to write, less bookkeeping problems, less promotion to
worry about, etc.

On the other hand, selling package proposals required
that a great deal of individualized effort be expended to—
ward getting the business of a few clients. Special sales
pitches had to be made and program proposals needed to be
thought up for the client. If he failed to accept the pro-
posal and wouldn't buy, this effort would be for nought.

The effort would have been directed to only one end. A new
proposal would have to be made for a different client con—
cerning a show tailor-made for him.

There was another problem with package sales. When
the package was over (as in the case of baseball or football
games), a new package must be devised or the sponsor would
be likely to cancel. This could mean a substantial loss of
revenue all at one time.

Rick knew that another way to increase billings would
be to offer discounts on the station's rate card. Sponsors
always liked the thought of getting a bargain. Discounts and
special deals could allow the smaller advertisers with
limited budgets to come on the air and prove FM's effective-

ness to themselves.

67

The trouble was that WEEE-FM's rate card was low to
begin with. The open rate on one minute spot announcements
for Class A time from 7 AM - 6 PM daily ranged from $2.50 a
spot (for ten spots a month) to $1.50 a spot (for 50 spots a
month). During Class AA time from 6 PM — midnight daily, 10
spots a month could be purchased for $3.00 each, while 50
spots a month could be purchased for $1.75 each. These rates
had been set low enough in the beginning to allow only a
small profit on operations. The station allowed no more than
six commercial announcements per hour to interrupt its
programming.

Dropping rates further could result in more sales,
but they would be sales at a loss. The volume increase re-
sulting from the rate decreases would have to be substantial
enough to warrant the lower rates.

This presented another problem. With more spots
needed to break even, music programming wouldvhave to be
interrupted more frequently. Perhaps ten or twelve spots
per hour might be run. Would this increased commercial
policy alienate listeners? Would they tune away? And
would sponsor effectiveness be impaired by the addition of
more spots? Rick wasn‘t sure.

Free plugs and promotional deals could be offered
sponsors as a bonus for advertising with WEEE-FM. This
could bring in more business. It could also result in some
grave headaches for the staff who might have to write,

revise, record, and continually update promotions for many

68

different businesses. This would take time and a lot of
effort. Free plugs and promotions could also clutter the
air more than the station desired. The FM image could be
hurt just as if there were too many commercials.

Rick didn't know the answer to the problem. He
did, however, know that Rogo Publishing Company had called
a meeting to discuss FM for the following Monday morning.

That gave him seven days to come to grips with the problem.

WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE

As a management consultant, Chuck Parker was supposed
to know all the answers. When radio station managers hired
his company to research policy matters or operational pro-
cedures or sales problems, he was usually able to come up
with one alternative that was better than others. Now,
however, he was stumped. He had a problem with only two
apparent solutions, both of which were equally attractive.

He actually didn't know what advice to give Leonard
Berk concerning the situation. He had thought last night
how much easier it would have been if he weren't so conscien—
tious. He could easily give Berk a superficial answer, but
his professional pride and sense of honesty wouldn't let
him. Berk trusted him and this trust was a necessary and
valuable asset to have in the management consultant business.

He cculd tell Berk that there was no right or wrong
decision in this matter, give him the facts, and let him
make the final choice, but that wasn't what he was being
paid for. Berk was paying him to come to a decision and
that he would have to do. He would have to make a recom—
mendation to Berk—-a recommendation that either way would
ultimately result in the expenditure of a considerable
amount of money for equipment and personnel. The decision

had to be sound and based on the best available information.

69

70

Chuck Parker looked at the problem as given him by
Leonard Berk. Berk was the manager of WTTT-FM, which, in
eighteen months, would begin to program separately from
WTTT-AM. The two stations had been simulcasting programs
until the owner, State Broadcasting, had decided that they
should be separated. State had left all operational and
programming decisions up to Berk.

Berk had been in the broadcasting business for
nearly twenty-five years and he was more than capable of
handling any problems which arose in the course of a broad-
cast day. He was more capable than most managers Chuck had
known. The trouble was that Berk had never been in on the
ground floor of setting up a radio station.

Even without this prior experience, he had made many
smart decisions which Chuck felt would pay off. With regard
to programming, for example, Berk had decided to be rather
conservative and play only adult-oriented music on the new
station. To be sure, the whole day would not be programmed
alike, but, over—all, the format would be adult.

In the morning, there would be up-tempo popular
standards and instrumentals. Around noon, the format would
gradually switch toward light classics until 4:00 PM, when
dinner music would be programmed. There was classical music
scheduled for each evening at 8:00 PM and more popular music
at 10:30 PM until signoff at midnight.

It was a good decision, reflected Chuck, that Berk

71

had made. And Berk had made other equally good decisions
with regard to production, personnel, news, etc. His problem
came when he tackled music origination.

How should WTTT-FM's music originate? There were two
possibilities. Music could be programmed live from records
owned by the station or it could be programmed pre-packaged
on tape from a company specializing in "customized music”
for every format. Chuck had first thought a combination
of the two would provide the answer but when he had become
fully engrossed in all the particulars of each system, he
realized that this wouldn't be practical. In essence, then,
there were two choices for Berk.

He tackled live music first. Live music programmed
on records from the studio meant several things. First,
it meant that the station would have to obtain a large
record library containing wide selections of virtually
every type of music. This, the FM station didn't have.
WTTT-AM had a record library but this consisted mostly of
45 RPM records and a few albums that were too old and
scratchy for use on FM.

A library was an expensive item to establish. It
wasn't something a station could just go out and purchase
from one or two sources. To establish a complete library,
Berk would have to contact literally hundreds of different
record companies about supplying copies of their back

products. Much of those products wouldn't be available

72

anymore, and the library would, therefore, be incomplete.
Was it worth the time and effort, to say nothing of the
cost, that it would take to establish a record library that
wouldn't have many of the songs listeners would probably
want?

Just the selection of albums for the library seemed
like an endless task. What albums would be chosen? What
artists? What labels? There were many factors to consider.
Each would take a considerable amount of time.

Before purchasing the records, housing for the library
would have to be provided. To have cabinets and shelving
built for the record library would be costly. There was no
way to figure the exact cost but a reliable estimate had
been made at around $400.

To maintain the library and to program the records,
two additional staff members would have to be hired. Their
combined salaries would be approximately $200 a week. Once
the library was stocked initially, additional purchases of
records would have to be made to keep the station up to date
on new records. The easiest way to handle the purchasing
of new records would be to subscribe to the services offered
by the major record companies. These services would cost
WTTT-FM up to $65 a week.

With all of the costs involved, live music had some
obvious, and in some cases, unbeatable advantages. The

primary advantage was that live music could be programmed

73

locally to provide a sound which could be tailor—made for
the community. This was important for Berk's community was
distinct from all other communities. A sound which would
be popular in Chicago might be highly ineffective locally.
The local organization of records allowed the station the
chance to develop a sound designed Specifically for the
area. There would be more listener involvement and a greater
local image to the station if the music were programmed
originally by the station. Furthermore, the local blend

of music would provide the community with an overall pro-
gramming sound which listeners could not get on those
regional stations whose signals were received in the area.

Live music was also flexible. If a particular blend
of music selections did not satisfy large segments of the
audience, the format could be altered to achieve whatever
sound the station might want. This change could be inSti-
tuted on very short nOtice; all that would be involved would
be the scheduling of a different kind of records. Should
the statior desire to play a greater percentage of show
tunes during the morning hours, for example, all that would
be needed would be the Specific records. Substitutions
could always be made at a moment's notice, if necessary.

In addition, requests could be honored by playing
records locally. If listeners had favorite selections that
fitted the format, their requests could be inserted in the
schedule in place of other records. Thus, there could be

more community participation in the programming.

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Chuck looked at the information which he had avail-
able on taped music. There were several big disadvantages.
The major drawback was that the station would have to spend
a considerable amount of money to purchase the automation
which would be required to play the tapes. Necessary equip-
ment would include a giant complex of tape decks, a time
clock to automatically stop the tape at selected points in
order to insert local commercials and station announcements,
and several cartridge machines to hold the spots, ID's, etc.
Estimates on the cost of this equipment ran from $10,000 to
$14,000. This would be a sizeable outlay for the station.

Control over the programming of musical selections
was out of the hands of the station if automation were in-
stalled. The tape wouldn't allow for requests and the format
of a program couldn't be changed if the necessity arose.
Taped music was inflexible.

In Chuck's mind, the worst part about the automated
service was that it was mass produced. The tapes were made
in New York and distributed to some one-hundred different
stations in all parts of the country. Any station sub-
scribing to the format which Leonard Berk was considering,
would receive the same tapes; yet each station and its own
market was unique unto itself. The tape wasn't localized.
It couldn't be. Would this make a difference to the
listeners in Berk's community?

Another problem with the tapes was the mailing pro—

cedure involved. To be Sure, the company would pay for all

75

mailing and shipping charges, but WTTT-FM would be faced with
the physical handling of the tapes: picking them up at the
bus station, unpackaging them, scheduling them, using them,
repackaging them, and returning them to the bus station.

This would take a considerable amount of time. Would another
staff member be needed?

Still another concern was the machine itself. Was
the "monster” infallible? Should it break down, what would
the station broadcast until it was repaired?

With these disadvantages, however, came several
important advantages. To begin with, automated music pro-
grammed on tape was convenient. The day's schedule of music
was planned ahead and well-balanced. It was programmed
by professionals whose business it was to program music and
it eliminated the need to program and handle records locally.

Secondly, the taped service was economical. After
the initial expenses for equipment, the total cost to the
station per week was but $50. All expenses involved with
the mailing of the tapes were borne by the company. The
station paid no postage and freight charges whatsoever.

Thirdly, the automated service was dependable.

Tapes of the highest quality would arrive at the station
one week in advance of the time when they were to be aired.
Programming would always be consistent. No records of
inferior quality or questionable taste would be played.

Efficiency was, perhaps, the biggest advantage of

the preprogrammed taped service. Automation eliminated the

76

need of handling records locally and helped keep personnel
to a minimum. Thus, money could be saved on salaries.

The crux of the problem was outlined in black and
white before Chuck. He tried to translate it into terms of
WTTT—FM'S position. State Broadcasting had the money to
establish a library or to purchase the automated equipment,
whichever decision was made. The only concern was that the
money spent Should yield the best return for the dollars
invested.

The whole issue became a question of taped pro—
gramming versus live music. Which would it be? Chuck's
assignment as a management consultant required that he give

Leonard Berk an answer.

SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS

It was an atypical radio market. Within the bound-
aries of the market itself there were but two radio stations,
yet there were five stations showing substantial ratings in
surveys. Of the three stations outside the market, two were
90 miles away: the third was 75 miles away.

WRRR, located in the heart of the Ellet market, was
a strong number one on all surveys. It had always been
that way, and there were many reasons for the dominance.

To begin with, WRRR had been on the air for ten years before
WSSS began broadcasting. It had always been strong on local
news and community involvement and people in the Ellet area
recognized this. It was almost a reflex action to tune to
WRRR.

Even when WSSS went on the air in early Spring three
years ago, WRRR retained its dominance. Ratings even Showed
an audience gain for WRRR in some time periods of the day.
To be sure, WSSS had some listeners in the Ellet area, but
these listeners came mainly from those people who had listened
to one of the other three stations outside the market or
from the people who had never used radio to any great degree.
WRRR'S listeners remained loyal to the station. Surveys
proved that over 50% of the audience in the market listened

to WRRR. During morning traffic time, ratings had recently

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soared as high as 58%. Clearly, WRRR was number one.

As the radio market was atypical, so Ellet itself
was atypical. It was an industrialized community of 50,000
people nestled within four large metropolitan communities
not far away. There had been little population growth in
Ellet in recent decades, yet business was booming. Two new
suburban shopping centers had recently opened for business
and there were rumors that a major automobile company might
decide to build a plant just outside the city.

The community was made up of people in all socio-
economic classes but the bulk of the population was blue
collar. Most families worked in one of the several big
manufacturing plants in or near the city. People who lived
in Ellet loved the city and seldom moved away. They formed
a tightly closed society not outwardly friendly to those not
familiar with the area. Indeed, those people moving in from
outside Ellet often chose not to remain as it was difficult
to get acquainted and adjusted to local ways. Ellet was
totally involved with itself.

WRRR had been able to capitalize on the town's
unique and conservative characteristics. The station went
out of its way not to offend or be controversial. The pro-
gramming was a carefully-tested balance of news, sports,
and good music designed to appeal to everyone. In a word,
the station was "conservative."

The image that had evolved over the years had reaped

dividends many times over in terms of listeners and revenue.

79

WRRR and Ellet were integrally involved. They were almost
synonymous. The result was that competition found the going
quite rough.

When WSSS announced it was going on the air, many
people who knew the radio market in Ellet predicted it
wouldn't last a year. To be sure, the going had been rough
for the new station, but after three years and two format
changes it was doing as well as could be expected. It was
thought that WSSS was just about breaking even financially.

WRRR'S station and sales manager, Dick Grosby, was
glad he was with WRRR and not WSSS. "The problems at that
station would probably be tremendous," he thought. "That
isn't to say that we don't have problems, though. We have
just as many as they do, but ours are of a different kind."

One problem Dick knew WSSS didn't have was the over-
commercialism which characterized WRRR. It was getting so
that business at WRRR had to be turned down for lack of
availabilities. Nowhere was the problem more acute than
during the morning and afternoon drive time slots. There
were virtually no openings at all for spots in those periods
of the day. Even during the remainder of the day there were
but limited availabilities.

Dick had accepted a telephone call just fifteen
minutes ago that typified the station's predicament. The
advertising manager for Cardinal's Department Store which
had just opened in the new Summit Mall had wanted ten spots

a day for a week. These were to promote the "Grand Opening

80

Spectacular of Values" to be offered by Cardinal's during
their first two weeks of business. The Spots were each to be
one—minute in length. The store manager had asked for three
per day in morning traffic time, four per day during after-
noon traffic time, and the rest to be scattered throughout
the remainder of the broadcast day.

"I'll bet WSSS wishes it had advertisers call for
spots," thought Dick. "Instead they have to go out and work
for business. We just wait for our phone to ring."

Of course, not all business came in that way, but
there were a surprising amount of orders called in to the
station. The unfortunate thing with the Cardinal's offer
was that it couldn't be accepted. WRRR had no available
commercial slots in peak listening periods for the following
week. When told of the situation, the manager for Cardinal's
said he would take his business elsewhere.

DiCk Grosby's problem, like the city and the radio
market, was atypical. What to do with the sponsors who
wanted airtime that WRRR didn't have? This was the
question.

There were several possible answers but none were
completely satisfactory. One answer was to raise the rates
charged for spots. This would cut down on the number of
advertisers but could produce approximately the same amount
of revenue for the station. Many sponsors would not renew
contracts at the higher rate. This would allow availabilities

for those who really wanted or needed to get on the air.

81

The station would have more of the larger businesses and
less small businesses which could not afford to advertise
at the higher rate.

At first glance, this had seemed to be the logical
solution. After studying the implications of this course of
action, though, Dick had some doubts. There was always the
possibility that too much business could be lost through the
rate increase. In addition, many merchants might not feel
the increase was justified. This could create ill will
toward the station.

Program quality would certainly improve for, with
less commercials, there would be more time for the substance
of the program. Listeners could hear more news, more sports,
and more music.

Another problem involved with this possible solution
was the fact that all advertisers had to be given a year's
notice of the rate increases. Any new business coming on
the station after the increase would be billed at the new
rate, but all old business could continue for a period of
one year to advertise on WRRR at the older, lower rate.
Thus, there would be a delay in getting more time available
for sponsors like Cardinal's.

There was another possible answer to the problem.
Perhaps more commercials could be inserted into each program.
WRRR had been limiting the number of Spots per hour to the

NAB recommended maximum of 18. But why not go up to 20 or

82

22? It would mean Cardinal's could get the package it
wanted and WRRR would have the additional revenue from the
spots.

The disadvantage to this suggestion, perhaps, was
best expressed in terms of the FCC. Because the Federal
Communications Commission had recently been taking a harder
line towards those stations which exceeded the NAB commercial
limits, there was the chance that WRRR might be fined for
exceeding the limit. Worse than that, the station might
lose its license. Was the risk worth it?

Of course, WRRR could always refuse to accept the
client's business, attempting to explain the fact that it
had no commercial availabilities. This might mean, that,
as in the case of Cardinal's, the client would take his
business to WSSS. Could WRRR get the business back when
openings became available?

Still another possible suggestion was that WRRR
could ask the client if he would accept another time period
for his spots. This would be a cheaper time period, but the
cost in relation to the number of people listening would be
the same. Thus, the sponsor would be getting the same
relative value for his money. But would advertisers accept
this? Would they run spots in time other than prime times?

It was an atypical problem and it needed an answer.

THE ART OF PROMOTION

The big decisions had already been made. It had
taken three weeks of endless meetings, conferences, luncheon
appointments, and telephone calls but now rough plans were
in order. The top management of Wallace Broadcasting
Corporation had returned to St. Louis and with them had gone
much of the confusion so apparent for the last few weeks.
That was not to say that KBIL was back to normal. In the
strict sense of the word, "normal" would never return, for
the station had a new manager, a new program director and a
completely new air staff. All former employees in those
positions had been released. Other off—the-air personnel
were generally unchanged. They were the ones who noticed
the partial return to normal when top corporate management
had left. The others didn't notice for they hadn't been at
KBIL before corporate management came to visit. Indeed,
they owed their new jobs to the top officials of Wallace
Broadcasting, Incorporated.

The basic decision that had been made at the three
weeks of meetings was that KBIL would undergo a format
shift from a conservative good music station to a teen—
oriented "hard rocker.” The date for this "big Switch,"
as it was heralded in papers and on billboards, was to be

set for Monday, October 12.

83

84

For years, KBIL had been known in the metropolitan
area for its adult image and its conversatism. But recently,
ratings had been falling and billings had been dropping off.
Wallace Broadcasting officials, fearful that the trend might
continue, had called a series of top level conferences to
discuss what to do. Out of those conferences had come the
decision to try to build a new image. For that new image,

a new air staff and new management would be needed for the
station. The officials had recruited top broadcasting people
all over the country for the change. From a competing sta-
tion in St. Louis, Wallace Broadcasting hired one of the

top managers in the city in Jack Sanders. Eddie Gale, the
new program director, had come from Miami, Florida. Gale

and Sanders knew each other; they had formerly worked to—
gether in Buffalo, New York, when both had been just out of
college. Similarly, all the new air staff had been recruited
from top markets across the country.

Eddie Gale and Jack Sanders had just ended a three-
hour conference in Sanders' plush office. The two had met
to finalize plans for promotion of the new sound. It had
been decided long ago that money was of little concern in
the switch. It was important to get the new sound into as
many homes and cars as possible and as fast as possible.
This meant promotion and a lot of it.

Sanders and Gale had agreed on most of the new

promotional ideas. They had liked the idea which had

85

been advanced by one of the new disc jockeys. This called

for the station to take tape recorders to many of the im-
portant local and state officials in the area and ask them

to record 15—second promotional announcements "congratulating"
KBIL on its new sound and wishing it good luck. Gale had
suggested the idea of expanding this to include "congratu-
latory" announcements from many of the popular recording
stars appearing at clubs in the area.

Much of the time this morning had been spent in
listening to jingle packages and trying to select one for
the station. Jingle packages were expensive and both
Sanders and Gale wanted to get the most for their money.
They finally decided on a package from a well-known New
York firm which had a thematic which emphasized ”The New
Sound of Big Bill."

Another important decision had been reached this
morning. The two station executives agreed that one week
prior to the change, the station's conservative image
would be dropped. In its place, the disc jockeys would
play 24 hours a day of ”oldies—but-goodies" back-to-back.
There would be no news on the station and no personalities
whatever during the week. After every record, a lO-second
promotional announcement would advise listeners that:
"It's coming. The big, bright new sound of Big Bill.
Monday October 12. Keep listening.” Sanders and Gale both

felt this would add excitement to the change and could get

86

area listeners talking about the station all week before the
new format was put into effect.

Sanders and Gale disagreed on one point concerning
promotion. Both were all for the station image of "Big
Bill" but Gale wanted to carry the image over to the per-
sonalities themselves. He wanted to do this by naming
each disc jockey "Bill." The morning man would be called
"Bright Bill" with other staff members accepting titles of
"Wild Bill," ”Buffalo Bill," ”Bouncin' Bill," etc. Each
man would use his own last name.

Sanders was not at all sure he wanted to promote
the “Bill” image that much. He saw several objections to
it. His biggest objection was that KBIL'S new format was
hinged on personalities and he wondered if each air man's
personality would suffer under the common label of "Bill."
Would listeners become confused as to who was on the air?

Was it fair to the disc jockeys to be branded with
the name ”Bill?" Would they be able to work with the title
as well as they could with their own names?

And what about their professional careers? Disc
jockeys build an image on the air in a community. When they
move on to other stations in other markets, they are often
hired on the basis of the image they had achieved at their
former stations. Their new employer would naturally expect
them to further develop this image and expand it so that

they would become stronger personalities. With the “Bill"

87

label, would the disc jockeys have to start over in a new
market with a different image? Would they be able to find
jobs when prospective employers learned of the "Bill"
image? These were questions to think about.

There was another problem inherent in the "Bill"
concept of branding the disc jockeys. This problem became
apparent off the air, in each disc jockey's personal life.
Since most of the air personalities were outgoing and
active, most could be expected to join community activities.
One might be in the Chamber of Commerce, another in Kiwanis,
etc. Ordinarily, with their real names, most disc jockeys
would be recognized as parts of the radio station. Their
names would have become familiar enough to the community so
as to afford them recognition whenever they joined groups
or took part in activities not associated with the radio
station. This provided a more personal involvement between
the air personalities and the community and, at the same
time, was an excellent way of promoting the station and
associating its staff with community affairs.

If the personalities used the "Bill" label on the
air and assumed their real names in private associations,
would people recognize them as being with the station?
‘Would the station get the benefit of the men's organizational
ties or would it lose the chance to become associated with
the community through a lack of identification of its air
staff? Would the disc jockeys themselves get the kind

of listener feedback they would be likely to receive if

88

people immediately recognized them as being with KBIL?

Sanders had to admit, though, that the "Bill" image
did have some obvious advantages. It ‘was, as Gale had
pointed out, the best possible form of on-the-air promotion.
Every time the disc jockeys said their names, the call
letters of the station would be reinforced. It was a
natural tie-in, one that listeners should easily remember.

And Gale predicted that the "Bill" image would prove
its worth at rating times. Most surveys required that a
listener be able to identify the station and the show he
was listening to at any given time. With KBIL, the call
letters, and "Bill," the disc jockey, the one word would
suffice for both. If a listener said he was listening to
"Bill,” he would be given credit for listening to KBIL and
whichever Bill happened to be on the air at that particular
time. Thus, it would be easier to get ratings than if the
person had to remember he was listening to "The Jack Ryan
Show on KMMM."

It was certainly true that the "Bill" banner provided
an extra touch of Showmanship. Both Sanders and Gale be-
lieved that Showmanship was one of the keys to a successful
top-forty operation. This might provide the extra spark
to make the station truly successful.

Further, the "Bill” image had another advantage.
Should an on-the-air personality decide to leave the

station, it would make personnel changes exceedingly simple.

89

Air continuity could be guaranteed even during the switch.
If a disc jockey decided to leave KBIL, his show could be
promoted as the "Buffalo Bill Show” during his final weeks.
His last name would be stressed as little as possible. When
the new man took over for the departing disc jockey, he, too,
would become "Buffalo Bill," and the show's title would not
be changed. Eventually, the new personality could begin to
use his last name as part of the show title. Most listeners
wouldn't even recognize the change in personnel, according
to Gale.

In considering whether to accept or reject the "Bill"
image for use by the disc jockeys at KBIL, Sanders wanted
to be sure that he did what was in the best interests of
the station. At the same time, he was concerned about his
decision's effect on the men who would have to use the
titles. The manager had scheduled another meeting with
Eddie Gale for this afternoon to discuss the matter further.
He woald have to come to a decision on the matter at that

time.

FLUORIDATION AND THE PHONE CLUB

”The Phone Club" had been on the air from 7:30
PM to 9:00 PM Monday through Friday on WWWW for seven
years. It had grown steadily in popularity. Recently, it
had been attracting audiences almost as large as those during
prime-time afternoon hours. The show's format was basically
very simple. Listeners called in and talked to the announcer
handling the program about topics of interest to the com-
munity.

Far from being a watered-down program which would
offend few listeners, "The Phone Club" was just the opposite.
Its 90 minutes each evening were packed with controversy.
Indeed, the program was designed to be controversial and
its audience had been built on that basis. Topics covered
on "The Phone Club” included such problems as: "Should
the U.S. engage in a race for the moon?” "Should the city
increase the school bond levy?” "The pros and cons of
Medicare.” "Are American automobiles really safe?" "Do
we need a new sewage system?” "American sex mores."

"Quality of education in our city's public schools.”

Topics were chosen on the basis of their immediacy
and their applicability to large numbers of WWWW listeners.
Not all topics had to be controversial, though by far the

largest number of topics discussed on "The Phone Club" were.

90

91

Generally, if a topic were current and also important to the
city and community, it would likely be discussed on ”The
Phone Club."

WWWW assumed the responsibility for choosing the
topics for discussion on "The Phone Club." Topics were
assigned a week in advance and were promoted throughout
each broadcast day so that listeners would be aware of
what subjects would be covered on which evenings. Any
person who was interested could then call in to the station
and discuss the topic with the moderator.

On Friday of each week, WWWW opened "The Phone Club"
to any topic which anyone might wish to discuss. Thus, a
Friday program might conceivably consist of a hundred
different topics all in one evening. This was done to
allow interested persons to express themselves on topics
not covered during specific programs.

Each evening, the moderator stressed to the listen—
ing audience that callers were restricted to three minutes
on the air at any one time. Furthermore, listeners were
advised not to call more frequently than once a week. The
operators who answered station phone lines during "The
Phone Club" aSked each person who called to give his name.
Lists of participants who called in were made and checked
from week to week. Any person calling in more frequently
than allowed by WWWW was told that his call would not be

put through to the moderator of the show. Thus, those

92

persons who wished to monopolize the program were kept
from doing so by having their calls stopped by an operator.

There were several other programs at WWWW patterned
after ”The Phone Club." In the morning, ”Phone Potpourri"
featured call-ins which gave recipes, lost and found items,
household hints, etc. Early in the afternoon, "For Women
Only" featured noted guests who spoke on problems of interest
to women. After the guest was finished with his prepared
remarks, phone lines were opened and listeners could address
questions to the guest. All of the phone programs had been
quite successful and had helped boost WWWW'S image.

In September, a problem arose with regard to the
call—in Show. During the summer months, a topic of major
interest to the community was a concern over the possible
fluoridation of the city's water supply. The city council
had passed a resolution in the latter part of July authoriz—
ing fluoridation. A majority of the townspeople were for
this, but those against the resolution had banded together
into a group known as the Anti-Fluoridation League. The
Anti—Fluoridation League had caused much controversy over
the proposal and had circulated petitions asking that the
issue be brought to a vote in the November election.

Enough petitions were signed so that the issue was
included on the ballot.

The management of WWWW recognized the Anti-

Fluoridation League as one of the most vocal groups in the

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community. ~While most of the people in the league were
well~meaning citizens who were entitled to their beliefs on
fluoridation, a few of the leaders were trouble makers who
delighted in stirring up controversies.) TheSe leaders asked
their groupto “take over"."ThePhone.Club” on Friday even-
ings when no topics were assigned by the station. By calling
the station in large numbers»*the members of the group could
effectively dominate an entire eveninng program with their
point of view by tieing up the phone lines so that few
persons other than those in the Anti-Fluoridation League
‘could get on the air.

Management saw a potentially dangerous and explosive
‘situation in the making if the Anti-Fluoridation League was-
able to do what it wanted. -Officials of the station decided
to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. They could do little
else until the group actually todk over a program.

On Friday, September 7, listeners to ”The Phone
Club” heard the entire program taken over by the members
of the Anti-Fluoridation League who kept phone lines tied
up for the full 90 minutes that the program was on the air.
No other topic was even posed that evening and no pro-
<fluoridation callers were able to get into the station
switchboard.

The same thing occurred on the two succeeding
Fridays. Apparently the Anti-Fluoridation League was going

to try to take over "The Phone Club” each Friday until the

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election. To date, they had been doing a good job of
it.

Station management decided that it had to act to
stop this. The community was receiving a totally distorted
view on the issue of fluoridation. What could be done to
insure that "The Phone Club” would not be dominated in
future weeks by the Anti-Fluoridation League?

There were alternatives. One possibility was that
the issue of fluoridation could be prohibited altogether on
succeeding Friday programs. This would end the domination
of the show by those against fluoridation but it would also
leave the city with an already very biased presentation of
the issue. Management believed that the people.in the
community had a right to know the facts on fluoridation--
both pro and con°

If the subject of fluoridation were dropped from the
program, the Anti-Fluoridation League could stir up a
great amount of trouble for the station. The League could
promote a letter-writing campaign to WWWW asking why the
subject had been dropped. This would require time and
effort to reply to each letter. An even more frightening
possibility was that someone might write to the Federal
Communications Commission accusing WWWW of censoring
material on the air by not allowing a "free discussion" on
a topic of interest to the community at large. This

could result in a lengthy hearing on the matter and WWWW

95

officials then would have to spend a great deal of time
arguing the case for the station. Management was not at
all interested in the possibility of a hearing. It would
involve too much time, effort, and money.

A possible solution was that WWWW could accept an
anti-fluoridation call but then ask the people who were
pro-fluoridation to call in and express their views. This
might be effective in getting the other side to call but
would pro-fluoridation callers be able to get in to the
station switchboard? Could supporters of the Anti-
Fluoridation League keep phone lines so tied up that others
couldn't get through? Or would a concerted effort by groups
supporting fluoridation result in some calls breaking into
the ”phone blockade?"

There was another possibility. Perhaps a topic
could be assigned for "The Phone Club" each night during
the week instead of just on Monday through Thursday. Thus,
the Friday program would be structured around another topic
and calls on fluoridation wouldn't be accepted. This
change could stop the domination of the show by the Anti-
Fluoridation League. But would the group continue to
call station operators and tie up lines so other subjects
couldn't be discussed? And was this change fair to those
listeners who had topics for discussion which weren't on
the schedule? There would be no time for these people to
express their views on these subjects during the other

programs.

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A final suggestion for alleviating the situation was
that "The Phone Club" could deviate from its intended format
on the two successive Friday evenings prior to election day.
Spokesmen could be selected to represent the opposing sides.
Each could speak for his side and then the phone lines could
be opened so that listeners could question the speakers. The
Anti-Fluoridation League would be scheduled for the first
Friday; the pro-fluoridation group, for the second Friday.
After the two special programs, no further mention of the
issue would be permitted on other programs.

It was possible, management realized, that the Anti-
Fluoridation League might try to again dominate the programs
with their views, but, at least, on the final Friday, the pro-
fluoridation group would have a spokesman on the air who
could refute charges made by members of the league.

The question was whether the Anti-Fluoridation League
would participate in the program at all. If they did consent,
would they want the second program rather than the first?

The final Friday was closer to the election and could be pre-
sumed to have a greater advantage than the first Friday.
Management, however, decided that whatever the stand of the
Anti-Fluoridation League, it should not be allowed the

final date since it had so completely monopolized "The Phone
Club” for so long. The pro-fluoridation group needed some
advantage. Would the Anti-Fluoridation League refuse to

participate in the program if it couldn't have the second

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Friday? What effect would this have on the intended two-
part series on fluoridation?

The management of WWWW was faced with an important
decision. The decision affected not only an important issue
in a coming election but it also could affect the future of
"The Phone Club" as an informal and unbiased informational
program. It could also threaten WWWW's long standing image
of fairness in the community. Some sort of decision was

imperative.

THE UNION SHOP

Unions had long been sources of bargaining power in
negotiations with management teams at the various stations in
the city where WAAA was located. WAAA was heavily unionized,
and management had, in the past, often tred lightly when union
toes-could conceivably be stepped on. For the past several
years, however, union-station relations had relaxed somewhat
so that conditions were more favorable for increased under-
standing of each side's position. Both management and union
pfficials realized that to reach their desired objectives
they would have to work together.

The union contract with WAAA stated that whenever a
dispute should arise, the union had seven days after the
incident took place to file a grievance report with the
station. The Station was then required to answer the
union's grievances within seven days after receiving them.

If the dispute could not be settled between union and

station officials meeting privately on the matter in question,
arbitration proceedings would begin. If either side desired
arbitration, proceedings had to be started within seven

days after the grievance charges had been answered.

Assuming that arbitration was requested by one or
both of the parties to the dispute, station representatives

and union officials would meet with an arbitrator whose

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official function would be to interpret the contract and try
to solve the dilemma. Both parties had to agree to accept
the decision of the arbitrator.

If the deadlines specified in the union-station
contract were not met, arbitration was not mandatory. If
the dispute had to be settled and one side did not wish to
arbitrate, the two parties were required to go to court.
Court proceedings were usually not favored, except as a last
resort, by either the union or a station. They were costly
and time consuming and, often, the ruling resulting from
such proceedings was satisfactory to neither side.

Just the threat of initiating court proceedings on an
issue that seemed insoluble was often enough to bring the
two parties to agreement outside the courtroom. Those few
rulings that did find their way into court were usually not
welcomed by any of the parties to the dispute, even the side
that began the proceedings. Taking an issue to court was
definitely an action undertaken only as a last resort.

WAAA was involved in a dispute now that threatened
to resolve itself in a courtroom. The management of the
station had done nothing to prokae the action. They felt
they were entirely in the right, yet still they disliked the
idea of possibly going to court to settle a matter involving
a station employee. It was an odd situation that had develop—
ed, but one that, nonetheless, needed a decision.

The problem began ten weeks ago when Bob Harper had

100

been fired from WAAA for insubordination to a superior. The
young announcer had lost his temper and had sworn at the
program director. This wasn't the extent of Harper's dif-
ficulties with WAAA, though. He had been called in several
times in recent months for not showing an interest in his

job. His air work had been suffering and management was
concerned. They had warned Harper that if his attitude and

his program did not improve, he would be fired. Harper ig-
nored the warning. His insubordination to the program director
resulted in his dismissal from the station.

As soon as Harper learned he had been fired, he
called the union and related his grievance. Backing him up
completely, the union filed a complaint with WAAA within the
seven day period. In its report, the union asked the station
to give Harper severance pay. Severance pay is an amount of
money given to a dismissed employee to enable him to be able
to afford to spend time looking for a new job. Usually it is
equal to several week's salary.

The station answered the union's grievances the day
after receiving them. In its reply, management said WAAA
would give Harper a full six weeks' severance pay. If this
offer were accepted by the union, the issue would be closed.

When WAAA's answer to the grievance arrived at union
headquarters, it became misplaced and was not acted upon for
three weeks. This was long after the stipulated period of

seven days in which arbitration could be requested.

lOl

Almost four weeks after sending its answer to the
union, the general manager of WAAA received a letter from one
of the top union leaders in the city. The letter asked the
station to submit the Harper case to arbitration.

Legally, the time limit for arbitration had expired
long ago. Now, however, the union was asking the station to.
arbitrate the dispute regardless of the exceeded deadline.
The union had been negligent in not filing a request for
arbitration within the required seven day period. Should
WAAA allow arbitration or not?

Technically, the station was under no obligation to
arbitrate. The contract was quite explicit in its statement
that disputes not submitted to arbitration within the Speci-
fied time limits did not have to be arbitrated unless both
parties agreed. However, if the station decided to inter-
pret the contract strictly and refused to arbitrate, the
union might also strictly enforce the contract in regards
to many other matters such as news, production, engineering,
etc. Strict union interpretation of the contract could
result in increased costs or inconveniences for WAAA.

For example, the union contract stated that newsmen
were not allowed to edit their own beeper phone tapes. For
years, however, neither the union nor the station had inter-
preted this clause literally and it was a common practice
for newsmen at WAAA to do their own editing. If the union

took a strict approach and interpreted the contract literally,

102

newsmen could no longer edit their own tapes and an engineer
would have to be assigned to the newsroom to handle such
functions. This would mean another salary cost for the
station.

In the area of production, the union could be equally
as strict. It could require separate engineers to handle
records and cartridges. One engineer was responsible for
both now. If the union desired, it could probably force
WAAA to hire two engineers for each one now employed. Simi-
larly, there were other areas where strict interpretation of
the contract would not be in the best interests of WAAA.

Further, if WAAA refused to arbitrate, the union
could threaten to take the case to court. While the manage-
ment of the station felt it was in the right and could easily
win any court decision on the matter, it did not want to get
involved in a lengthy hearing. Court proceedings could go
on for days and would be quite costly.

If the station decided to arbitrate the dispute,
there was always the chance that it could lose heavily through
the decision which might be rendered by the arbitrator. The
arbitrator might say that Harper should be retained by the
station or that his severance pay should be increased sub-
stantially. This kind of decision could hurt the station.

It could force WAAA to pay to Harper a greater amount of pay
than would ordinarily have been given or it could force the

station to retain an employee who already had been fired.

103

Another factor to consider was that the union might
interpret WAAA's decision to arbitrate as a sign of weakness.
Would union officials think that because the station gave in
easily on the Harper case, it would give in easily on other
future matters? Would they think WAAA was afraid of the
union? Such union attitudes could seriously inhibit future
bargaining practices.

There was a decision to be made. Should WAAA agree
to arbitrate the Harper case with the union? Much more was
at stake than just the answer to that question. Station

officials needed to make a decision.

WANTED: ONE PRODUCTION ENGINEER

Don Johnson looked at the union contract lying on
his desk. It was very specific--much more specific than he
would have liked, but it had been accepted by both the union
and his station. Whether he liked it or not, the contract
was binding. It could not be changed for two years.

The basic problem in the contract involved juris-
diction--which employees could perform what tasks? Under
the old contract there had been a small amount of flexibility.
Employees had often performed tasks which they were not
technically allowed to perform under the provisions in the
contract.

The new contract allowed no such flexibility. Each
task involved in the operation of WGGG was carefully defined
and assigned to an engineer, an announcer, or a newsman.

The contract was jurisdictionally binding. An announcer

was not allowed to act as an engineer; an engineer could not
announce. The union had the power to enforce the contract
to be sure no one performed a task in an area not assigned
to him under terms of the contract.

For example, one clause in the contract required
that an engineer be present in the station's mobile unit
to Operate the two-way radio. All that was involved in the

operation of the radio was turning the unit on and off. A

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105

A newsman or an announcer broadcasting a remote report could
easily have operated the radio himself, but the union rules
specified that an engineer must be assigned this function.
Thus, for all mobile news reports and on-the-spot coverage
of community events, two persons were required in the mobile
unit: an announcer or newsman and an engineer.

In the area of production, the union was also
jurisdictionally binding. One of the major stumbling blocks
to contract agreement had been the issue of production.

The union had wanted a full-time production engineer for all
production work; WGGG had wanted a combo operation where an
announcer would run his own board when recording spot
announcements, making production aids, etc. Under the terms

of the old contract, WGGG had been able to use a combo
operation for most of its recordings. When a particularly
difficult recording was needed, an engineer was asked to

run the control board. Usually, though, one man (the announcer)
worked in the production studio alone.

The union and the station had finally agreed on the
new contract. With regard to production, the terms of the
new contract said that an engineer would be utilized for
production but this man did not have to work in production
full-time. This meant that WGGG could either hire a full-
time production engineer or make use of the engineers now
employed by the station.

The production facilities at WGGG had been designed

106

originally for a combo operation. Nonetheless, there was

a small, sound-proofed booth in one part of the production
studio in which an announcer could work if he were using an
engineer.

The production studio was located next to the main
control room at the station. Thus, any engineer on duty in
one room could easily oversee operations in the other. It
was only a matter of fifteen steps from the audio console to
the production board.

At the time WGGG and the union agreed on a new
contract, the station employed five full-time first-class
engineers. Three of these engineers were audio operators.
That is, they operated the audio console on the air. During
their eight-hour shifts, they were responsible for running
the board for each announcer, playing cartridges, commercial
ET's, and watching levels. In addition, they had to take
transmitter readings twice each hour.

The other two engineers were primarily engaged in
maintenance and repair work, although they were responsible
for operating the audio console on the weekends.

Many times in the past, the audio engineers had
helped with production work. They had done this while
working the audio board. In effect, they had been performing
two jobs at once. Though they had done this only when an
announcer specifically requested their help in production,

the arrangement had worked out quite well for the station.

107

It was Don Johnson's decision now whether to have the engineers
now employed as audio operators also work in production or
hire an additional engineer to handle production chores.

The manager knew that production was an important
part of station operations. It was necessary to utilize
production techniques on commercials, IDs, disc jockey intros,
on-the-air station promotions, etc. Each time a sponsor
wanted production music, stingers, or attention-getting
intros for his commercial copy, the production studio would
have to be used to make the recording and put it on a cartridge.
In Johnson's opinion, production made the station sound
"alive." To be sure, production was one reason why WGGG
maintained higher ratings than its competitors. Other
stations in town had little, if any, recorded production.
Production made a big difference in the ”sound" of a station.
Johnson needed to be certain that production quality would
be maintained whatever his deciSion.

If he decided to hire an additional engineer for
the production studio, Johnson knew he would have to incur
the expense of an additional salary. The station could
afford the expenditure if it were necessary, but was it
really necessary? Hadn't the engineers done production work
while operating the audio console in the past?

Johnson wondered if there would be enough production
to keep a full-time production engineer busy. The station

couldn't hire a part-time man because the union wouldn't

108

allow it. An engineer would have to be paid for full eight-
hour days. Would there be enough production work to require
a full-time engineer?

Could the station find a man competent enough to do
the job? Johnson had spent almost four months trying to re-
place the last engineer who had left the station. Good
engineers with first class licenses were hard to find.

There were definite advantages to hiring an additional
staff member to work solely in production. To begin with,
all production chores would be concentrated during one
eight-hour period of the day. One man would be in charge
of all recording and all repair and maintenance work that
involved production equipment.

With but one engineer in charge of production,
there would be no overlapping effort with regard to several
engineers trying to repair the same equipment. One man
would know what tasks needed to be completed and which had
already been completed. The other engineers would be freed
from production duties and they could concentrate on other
functions.

If Johnson chose not to hire an additional engineer
for production purposes, he could make use of the existing
audio engineers. During the newscasts and records, the
engineers could step from the audio console to the production
studio and record production materials. They had the time
to do this. WGGG had proved this in the past. But did the

station want to make this a permanent policy?

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The union would not object to having the audio
engineers perform production duties. But was a policy such
as this in the best interests of WGGG? Could the quality
of production be maintained at the same time that an engineer
was running the audio console? Would the engineers object?
Would they dislike having additional duties imposed upon them?
These were all important questions that needed answers.

It would probably take longer to do production
work if an engineer were also operating the audio console
than if he were doing nothing else. But because some engineer
was on duty all the time that the station was on the air,
wouldn't there be more production time available overall
than if one full—time engineer were hired for an eight—
hour shift?

Johnson tried to list some of the more important
advantages to the use of an audio engineer for production
work. First, of course, there would be no additional salary
which would have to be paid. Secondly, there would be a
better utilization of each engineer's time and talents by
having him responsible for production as well as for audio.
And production materials could be recorded at any time an
engineer was on duty, not just during certain hours of
the day. Thus, more production could be undertaken.

There were advantages and disadvantages to each of
the two alternatives. If Johnson decided to hire an addition-

al engineer, he would havetxabegin looking for a man right

110

away. If he decided to utilize the engineers now employed
by WGGG, he should begin this policy when the new contract
officially became binding. This date was less than two weeks

away. Johnson needed to make a decision and act upon it.

THE REMOTE AFFAIR

Plans were finalized, the contract was signed, and
everything was ready to go. Advance publicity for the event
had been out for over a week. There were posters almost every-
where--on signposts, in store windows, on city busses and in
taxis. On-the-air announcements were being run on WNNN as
often as twice an hour.

WNNN had prepared and distributed all the advance
publicity. It was part of a package deal agreed to by the
station and The Camper Trailer Sales Company. The whole plan
had been conceived by Eddie Schenkle of Camper Trailer Sales.
Robert Wylie of WNNN had suggested refinements and additions
to the promotion.

The major purpose of the promotion was to sell camper
trailer outfits, although the nature of the campaign would
create excitement on the part of WNNN's listeners and would
probably result in excellent publicity for the station.

Details of the promotion were on a mimeographed sheet
in front of Wylie. On Friday evening, June 30, WNNN would
begin the promotion with a giant caravan which would leave
the station and would travel around the city. Beginning at
5:00 PM, the caravan would consist of all the station's disc
jockeys who would be riding in convertibles. In addition,

there would be two trucks, one carrying a band, the other

111

112

with cheer leaders from the various high schools in the area.
Any townspeople who wished to join the caravan could do so
at any point along the route by simply following in their
cars.

The caravan was scheduled to last for ninety minutes,
winding all through the city and finally ending at The Camper
Trailer Sales Company showroom at 6:30 PM. Live reports from
the caravan would be broadcast on the air from start to
finish. When the caravan reached the camper trailer lot,
one of the station's disc jockeys would begin remote broad-
casting.

"Dapper" Don Williams, WNNN's top-rated disc jockey,
was to broadcast the remote and was to send reports back to
the station each hour he was at the site. Williams was to
broadcast from a small camper trailer outfit atop a sixty
foot tower overlooking the highway on The Camper Trailer
Sales Company's lot. He was to remain at the scene several
hours each day (except Sunday, July 2) through July 8.

On Friday evening, Williams was scheduled to remain
at the site for ten and one-half hours until 5:00 AM
Saturday morning. During this period, he would hold a record
hop for the people who would be gathered around the site and
would send back hourly reports to the station.

On Saturday morning, he was to broadcast his show
remote from the Camper Trailer site from 11:00 AM.until

2:00 PM. At 6:00 PM Saturday evening, he was to go back into

113

the camper trailer outfit atop the pole and hold a record hop.
During periods when he was not scheduled on the air, the disc
jockey could sleep in one of the camper trailer outfits at the.
site. -The record hop was to end at 9:00 PM Saturday night.

No broadcasts were to be made from the scene of the
trailer sales company until 4:00 PM Monday afternoon when
Williams was to once again climb the pole and broadcast remote
reports from The Camper Trailer Sales Company lot.

The schedule called for Williams to phone in reports
to the station once each hour between 4:00 PM and 9:00 PM
Mbnday through Friday evenings, July 3 through July 7. On
Saturday, July 8, Williams was to broadcast live from the
site for four hours, from 11:00 AM until 3:00 PM, when the
promotion would be concluded. During the seven days of the
campaign, The Camper Trailer Sales Company was to remain
open 24 hours a day.

On June 30, the opening day of the big week-long
event, the caravan and remote broadcasts were conducted without
a hitch. Hundreds of cars joined in the caravan and thousands
of people were on hand at The Camper Trailer Sales Company's
lot to see "Dapper” Don Williams climb the sixty foot pole
and begin his remote broadcast. Crowds were large even at
5:00 AM Saturday morning.

During the day on Saturday, crowds continued to swell
in numbers and the station received unverified reports that

up to seven camper trailer outfits had been sold. Robert

114

Wylie was pleased that the promotion had been running so
smoothly. Everything seemed to be going fine.

Around noon on Monday, however, Wylie received a
telegram from Schenkle. It said: "Am canceling advertising
effective immediately. Signed: Joe Schenkle." There was no
explanation and there had been no warning. Schenkle hadn't
even called Wylie personally to tell him of the decision:
he had, instead, delivered the message by telegram.

Wylie immediately called Schenkle. Schenkle said he
had little to talk to Wylie about. He had cancelled the pro-
motion because Camper Trailer Sales didn't feel it was as
effective as it should have been. He didn't think WNNN was
promoting the remote sufficiently and his sales weren't
great enough to justify continuing advertising.

This decision by Schenkle left Wylie in a jam. He
was committed to a promotional stunt at the camper trailer
lot. His listeners were expecting it. There was nothing to
do but cancel the promotion. There would be many complaints
from people wondering why "Dapper” Don Williams wasn't back
at his post atop the pole but the station couldn't lose money
by sending Williams to the site. If Schenkle pulled out,
the stunt would have to end. The publicity resulting from
this decision would not look good for the station.

Wylie thought about the money that the station had
spent in heralding the event. There was the cost of posters,

on-the-air announcements, etc. Williams had to be paid from

115

5:00 PM Friday until 9:00 PM Saturday. This was all overtime
pay for the station. An engineer had to be paid for the same
hours. In addition, there was the cost of the caravan, the
band which played during the caravan, and the cost of tele-
phone lines linking the camper trailer sales lot with the
station. WNNN had invested a large amount of money in the
promotion.

Schenkle's original package deal was to have cost
The Camper Trailer Sales Company $1400 for everything. When
Schenkle cancelled the promotion, Wylie informed him that he
could not receive the discount rate for that part of the
promotion which had already been run. He would have to be
billed at the regular rate-card rate.

After billing The Camper Trailer Sales Company for
$1000, WNNN heard nothing from Schenkle for twenty days.
Then, near the end of July, Wylie received a check from
Schenkle for $600. On the back of the check were the words:
"Paid in full."

What to do? Should Wylie accept the check from
Schenkle, cash it, and thus lose money on the promotion: or
should he refuse to accept it and take the case to court
attempting to force Schenkle to pay the money he owed?

If he accepted the check, there was a remote possi-
bility that Schenkle might do business with WNNN in the future.
He could,perhaps, be maintained as a client. But assuming

that Schenkle would want to advertise on WNNN in the future,

116

would the station be wise to accept his money? Would he
attempt to short-change WNNN again?

Accepting the check meant that Wylie would lose an
additional $400 on the promotion. The station could afford
the loss, but would word spread to other station clients that
WNNN could be "forced" to compromise its rates? This could
result in many problems for the station.

If Wylie decided to take the matter to court, the
station was almost certain to win. Schenkle would, thus, be
forced to pay the remainder of the money he owed WNNN. But
a lawyer would have to be hired to represent the station.
This was expensive. A lawyer's fee was 30% — 40% of the
total bill. Thirty to forty percent of $1000 would be between
$300 and $400. WNNN would have to pay between $300 and $400
to a lawyer to represent the station in court.

After the lawyer's fee, only a little more than the
original $600 would remain for the station. This was almost
the amount of Schenkle's check. Was it worth the trouble to
go to court?

Court action would probably mean the loss of Schenkle
as a client. He would probably never again advertise on WNNN.
Was this an important factor to consider?

It was also possible that if court action were begun,
Schenkle could talk unfavorably against WNNN and thus do an
untold amount of damage by hurting the station's image in

the advertising community. Would other advertisers sympathize

117

with Schenkle and cancel some of their advertising with WNNN?

There were advantages in going to court. To begin
with, Schenkle would be forced to pay the full amount of his
bill. He would recognize that WNNN was not a station to be
forced into a compromising situation. Other clients might
respect WNNN for collecting; they would not be tempted to try
similar tactics in the future.

To be sure, WNNN'would receive a slight bit more
money than if it accepted the original check. When faced
with a loss on the plan anyway, any amount of money would
help.

Wylie had a decision to make. It was important that
the decision be based on sound business practices and the

best interests of the station. What should he do?

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

WJJJ's image had been built on quality programming,
service to its sponsors, and complete community involvement.
The station was one of the few good-music outlets in the
country that was consistently number one in its community.
Years of hard work on the part of the station staff had paid
off in an image of quality.

Martin Wells was the manager of WJJJ. It was his
opinion that station quality was due primarily to several
factors. First, Wells had made certain the station provided
a complete news service to the community. Six newsmen worked
around the clock to gather local information of interest to
the area. Local news was supplemented with NBC radio network
news once each hour. NBC's far-flung news operation added
a considerable amount of prestige to the WJJJ news operation.

Music was another important factor in the quality
image which had become so much a part of WJJJ. For years,
the station had maintained a policy of playing only adult-
oriented, middle-of-the-road selections. .No "rock-and-roll"
or country music was allowed on the air. Only tunes suitable
for discriminating listeners would be considered for air play.

Public service had long been emphasized at WJJJ.

Groups in the community knew that whenever they planned an

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event, WJJJ would give it extensive promotion. The station
went out of its way to encourage local activities which would
benefit the community. Editorials emphasized support for the
schools, fund-raising activities, etc.

The caliber of people employed by the station helped
contribute to the quality image alone. Staff members were
known for their honesty and integrity both in personal and
station matters. All employees were encouraged bojoin com-
munity activities and make themselves leaders in city affairs.
Indeed, every one of the station officials were involved in
at least one civic activity. The program director was also
president of the city's Kiwanis Club. The news director
was active in the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary, and Wells
himself was on the school board, the board of trustees for a
major university, and was a member of the city commission.

Even the sales staff helped contribute to the quality
image of the station. Only men of the highest integrity were
allowed to represent the station to clients in the community.
These men never accepted discounts from the station's rate
card and never tired to bargain with their clients. Business-
men respected the station and its straight-forward methods of
doing business.

Martin Wells was proud of his station's community
image. He was most proud of the staff's involvement in
community affairs. Just recently, the Chamber of Commerce

had named WJJJ as one of the most important single factors in

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community development and improVement. Wells had a right to
be proud of his men.

wa, however,aa strange situation had developed.

Few people in the community had known about the situation
last week, but within a few days, it was news all over the
area. The situation concerned Wells himself.

For many years, Martin Wells had wanted to be presi-
dent of the city commission. He had wanted this office as
much for his profession as for personal reasons. No broad-
caster or even anyone in media communications had ever held a
similar position in the community. Traditionally, broad-
casters had not wanted such positions. The newspaper wouldn't
allow its people to actively participate in community affairs.
Thus, Wells wanted to become president of the city commission
so that he might bring recognition to his profession.

He also wanted the post for personal reasons. He had
long been interested in community affairs and he wished to
have a voice in shaping those affairs. Being president of
the commission would give him that voice.

When the president of the city commission died two
weeks ago, Martin Wells had been named his successor. He
was to serve the remaining eight months in the position until
an election would determine a permanent successor. Wells
had intended to campaign for the position in the fall, anye
way. He jumped at the chance to become president when it was

offered to him two weeks ago. Now he had some serious

121

misgivings about whether he had made the right decision in
accepting the post.

The question concerning where to locate the city's
new civic center had caused Wells to re-evaluate his decision.
Several sites were being considered for the new structure
and it was the commission's duty to select the best one. That
site would be purchased and the commission would over-see
building construction.

Action on the proposed sites was supposed to be
secret. If knowledge of the suggested locations were made
known to the public, land prices would soar on the properties
being considered. Investors would attempt to buy surrounding
land at any price. The result would be that prices would be
so high that the commission would be forced to pay a price
inflated far above original estimates or would have to look
elsewhere for a site on which to erect the proposed new
building.

Wells, in his position as president of the city
commission, had access to the secret information concerning
land areas which were under consideration as a site for the
new civic center. Recently, pressure had been brought to
bear on him by various sources to disclose this information.

WJJJ's news director had been arguing for several
days that Wells should at least ”tip him off" as to the pro-
posed sites. It was his contention that to do an effective

job with news, the news staff must at least have an idea of

122

what was going on with regard to the proposed civic center.
The news director promised that if the information were given
him, it would not be released until it was ready to become
part of public information.

Other pressures had been brought to bear on Wells
from other groups who had special interests in the new
civic center. One group, in particular, was the local real
estate commission which was vitally concerned as to which
property would be chosen for the proposed site. They had
threatened Wells with cancellation of their advertising on
the station if he did not divulge the information to them.

One of the other radio stations in town had compli-
cated the situation by airing editorials which "suggested"
that Wells had been giving information to his own staff be-
fore it was ready to be released to the public. These
editorials created widespread comment and WJJJ had been be-
sieged by phone calls and rumors from citizens demanding
to know if there was any truth to the statements.

Wells was in a predicament. If he were to resign
his position as president of the commission, he could lose
the respect of those people who believed he had been honest.
He would also be going against all he stood for in the past.
He would be giving up an opportunity for people in the broad-
casting industry to be recognized as vital forces in the
community. He would also be forfeiting his long-held

ambition of wanting to be president of the commission.

123

If he remained as president of the commission and did
not divulge the information, he stood to lose advertising
support for WJJJ from the real estate commission. This
would be no small loss. In 1965, the real estate commission
had placed $1700 worth of advertising on WJJJ. Would this
now go to competing stations?

What would WJJJ's news director do? He had been
clearly unhappy over his not being able to get the information.
Was there a possibility that he would resign his position?

How could Wells negate or ease the barrage of public
criticism that was pouring into the station? Would anything
short of his resignation from the presidency of the commission
ease this? Would it cease then?

Wells didn't even consider the possibility of releas-
ing the information to either his news director or the real
estate commission. His personal integrity wouldn't allow
it. He had withstood personal attacks before. This was
nothing new. What was different about this situation was
that it was more than a personal attack. It reflected on
WJJJ and on the broadcasting profession.

Wells knew that whatever decision he made would have
to take into consideration the station, his profession, and

his own feelings. It was a big decision for one man.

CHAPTER IV

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

This thesis presents fourteen case studies in radio
station management based on actual station problems. Con—
tained in the thesis are cases dealing with problems in
the areas of personnel, sales, production, union-relations,
news, programming, FM, music, promotion, and community re-
lations.

Also included in the thesis is a discussion of the
case method--its history, its present use in the classroom,
and its applicability in the field of broadcasting. In
addition, the methodology used in preparing the case studies
is discussed.

This thesis is of value to any student of broadcast
management who wishes to obtain wide second-hand experience
in the field without actually leaving the classroom. For
groups of students using the thesis in a classroom situation,
the cases can provide the basis for a wide-ranging discussion
of the problems of radio station management. Utilizing the
cases for class discussion is an excellent way to obtain the
many advantages of the case method.

This thesis is of value also in that it provides a
continuation of, and an addition to, those cases which have
already been prepared for use in broadcasting management. It

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125

supplements previous cases and provides a baSis for further
gathering of case materials.

The author of this thesis has gained considerably
from this research and writing. *He has been made more aware
of some of the numerous concerns faced by commercial radio
station managers. Through talking to various managers, the
author has gained valuable experiences and contacts in the
field. He has expanded his Sphere of acquaintances in
broadcasting and has been subjected to different types of
radio station operations. In addition, he has experienced
directly some of the complexities involved in making decisions
concerning problems that may arise during a "typical" day.

The author has been shown that decisions are never clear-cut.
Rather, they usually involve equally weighted alternatives
that offer both advantages and disadvantages. And, the author
has gained a degree of sophistication in the techniques of
creative writing which are required in the development of

case studies.

Because case studies have been in use a relatively
short period of time in broadcast management, there is a
general lack of good cases in many areas of the field.

Future cases are urgently needed in such areas as engineering,
the Federal Communications Commission, sales, programming,

and community antenna television. -Even those areas covered
in this thesis need further amplification and expansion.

Broadcast management needs case studies in every facet of

126

station operations. Indeed, until there is a backlog of
many cases for each type of problem encountered in the field
of broadcast management, it is necessary to conduct a diligent
and continual search for more cases in the field.

These cases are one way in which educators can help
to build knowledgeable and skilled people to fill the

management positions of the future.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bollinger, Lynn L. and Day, John S. Management of New
Enterprises, A Casebook of Problems on the
Establishment and Operation of New Businesses.
Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1954.

Egli, Richard Alvin. "Eleven Case Studies in Broadcasting
Management Based on Actual Station Problems."
Unpublished Master's thesis, Michigan State University,
East Lansing, 1965.

McNair, Malcolm P. and Hersum, Anita C. (eds.). The Case
Method at the Harvard Business School. New York:
McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1954.

Musser, J. H. A Practical Treatise on Medical Diagnosis.
Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger, 1913.

Sperle, D. Henryetta. The Case Method Technique in Professional
Training. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teacher's
College, Columbia University, 1933.

Waples, Douglas and Tyler, R. W. Research Methods and Teacher's
Problems. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1930.

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APPENDIX

SAMPLE LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

200 Orchard Lane
Findlay, Ohio
June , 1966

Mr.
Station
City

 

 

Dear Mr. :

Enclosed with this letter is the case which you were kind
enough to provide for my thesis.

Please familiarize yourself with the case and fill out the
three release forms enclosed. Then, please return the case
and the completed forms in the envelope provided for such
purpose. I will return a release form and a final copy of
the case to you within three weeks.

Let me take this opportunity to express my gratitude to you
for giving me your time and help in working on my thesis.

I appreciate it very much. Through your contributions, my
thesis will help to establish the case study method in the
field of broadcasting and will provide many worthwhile hours
of instruction and information for the students making use
of it.

Again, thank you for your consideration and help.
Sincerely,

Robert Hunt Baker

RHszb
Enclosure

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RELEASE FORM

 

Mr. Robert H. Baker

E—112 Owen Graduate Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan

Dear Bob:

The case entitled

 

has been read by me and checked for verification.

I hereby authorize the use of this material

without change

 

with corrections indicated

 

It is hereby understood that this material will be used for

educational purposes only.

Signature of executive

 

Firm

 

Position

 

Date

 

"I11111111111111”!1111415