it-registrationsstlmediahistory

by Nancy Frazer
Giving a complete picture of the news events of the world as it rotates and wabbles (sic) upon its axis to move uncertainly on each day is the objective of Harlan Eugene Read, news commentator, heard on KMOX nightly at 9:45 p.m. Ambitious objective it is, but done in fifteen minutes, it is an incomparable achievement.

Not content with merely telling the events that transpire each day, Mr. Read sums them up with happenings that have gone before and relates the world wide developments as to their effect upon this country and upon each other.

Mr. Read (and we can’t help but wonder if there is any significance in the name Read and reading) is well equipped to analyze the news and present it, as he is a lecturer of note, a novelist, teacher, and has long been connected with newspaper work. He knows news and he knows the significance of happenings in both this country and in Europe because of his widely traveled experience and background.

It is not a mere fifteen minute program of newspaper reading which it would seem to be as his voice comes out easily over the air each night, but one that involved eight hours daily of concentration and study. He reads the newspapers throughout the country and gleans from them all of the information which he deems of an instructive and interesting nature to his listeners. He essays to present a balanced account of the news so that it will be interesting, helpful and entertaining.

Although Mr. Read, who was once the author and participator in a comic skit on KMOX known as “Mike and Mary,” gossipers with a Democratic leaning, is a Democrat himself (an out and out one he says), he presents his news without any partisan leaning. He says that the only complaints that he has had have come from three Democrats who claimed that he was Republican in his news giving, so he has attained his aim.

It is difficult to maintain a balance throughout this period of high tension but Mr. Read leaves out his own leanings on the subject and gives the news merely as he sees it, whether it be of one party or the other.

Radio is not a new field for this commentator for he was the first person to attempt to broadcast lessons over the air from a station in Peoria, Illinois some ten years ago. He was at that time owner of business colleges throughout this section, and he presented lessons in typing, spelling and bookkeeping in a light, comprehensive way over the air. He was a pointer in that usage of radio.

His comments upon radio and the future as one who has his finger so constantly upon the trend of events and developments are most enthusiastic for he foresees radio as the paramount means of communication of education and entertainment in the years that are to come.

“You can present any form of material in an interesting talking program,” says Mr. Read. “It but needs to have a lightness of touch, interjected with plenty of humor to make it comprehensive and entertaining. I try to make all of my programs with the understanding and interest of every person.

“Since I am dealing with the two types of persons; those who read the news avidly and look to me for interpretation, and those who are too busy to read the papers and expect me to give the trend of events in a nutshell, I try to make it lightly interesting.”

Mr. Read, who is a graduate of Oxford University in England, came to St. Louis from Illinois some twenty years ago and has carried on his literary work from here. He is the author of the novel “Thurman Lucas” and numerous books of a business nature.

(Originally published in Radio and Entertainment, 9/10/1932)

(unsigned article)

Seven o’clock in the morning and the early risers turn on their radios – softly comes the crooning waltz – “Way Down in Missouri” – and then the cheery voice of the announcer, “Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen, your station is WIL.”

As the “Missouri Waltz” fades away, we hear the whistle of the Breakfast Club Express, the train is coming near, it rounds the bend and stops before your home. The Conductor calls “All Aboard” and we are off in a flurry down the rails of music and song. The Breakfast Club Express is never late – at eight sharp it discharges its passengers and its parting whistle never fails to remind us to be at the gate tomorrow morning.

Father has gone to work and now children must be dressed for school, we hear a friendly voice say – “Children this is your Don’t Be Late For School Program and it is now exactly one minute after eight.” Children are hustled along with songs, music and stories which appeal to them, – but ever before their minds is kept the passing of the minutes. Do you know that teachers claim there were less tardy marks last year than ever before? 8:15 and the Birthday Man greets you, and to the merry tingle of birthday bells the names of boys and girls who record a birthday that day are read. Over 15,000 children have been wished “Happy Birthday” during the past twelve months. 8:30 and off to school go the children and now we settle down for a little neighborhood news, such as church socials, gatherings and reunions.

All through the day from one program to another “The Friendly Station” caters to the varied tastes of St. Louisians (sic) and their many nearby friends.

When the station found that there were many problems which needed solving, Mr. Fixit came forward to explain matters of civic interest, and during this Depression, Mr. Fixit is gladly broadcasting jobs which are offered for the unemployed.

Stage and screen stars are introduced into your homes when they appear at the St. Louis or Fox Theatre through “The Friendly Station,” and on Sunday morning one of the largest churches in St. Louis broadcasts its services over WIL.

Within the last few months WIL was voted the third most popular station in Missouri. “

Originally published in Radio and Entertainment 9/26/31).

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, competitive radio stations in St. Louis teamed up to run broadcasts from a special event in the city, and there were no bean counters or national programmers to raise red flags.

That’s just one of the tidbits gleaned from a stash of “WIL News,” weekly newsletters published by that station in the late twenties and early thirties.

The simulcast programs originated from the 1928 St. Louis Radio Exposition, an event designed to show consumers the latest radio sets and encourage them to buy. Both stations – WIL and KMOX – broadcast each other’s shows, and the newsletter article noted it was the first time two St. Louis stations had “cooperated in a friendly spirit and broadcast sections of each other’s programs…”

Radio in those days was limited to a few stations in each market, all on the AM band, and all individually owned. This also meant that signals could travel long distances without interference. (At the time, WIL shared the 1200 kilocycles allocation with WMAY and KFWF.) One newsletter carried the story of a man who’d heard the station while he was working on the Steamship Celtic halfway across the Atlantic Ocean. Another mentioned reception in Porto (sic) Rico.

Promotion of the stations was limited by budgetary concerns, but WIL, owned by the Benson family, worked hard to maintain its image as a force in the radio business. In addition to a complete listing of WIL programs for the coming week, the newsletter contained small feature articles.

It also heralded WIL’s community service. On Oct. 13, 1928, the station featured its first live performance by a group high school of students known as the Guth-Steele Vagabonds. “A novelty piano solo was played by Russ David, 14-year-old pianist of the orchestra.” David would, of course, grow up to be the market’s strongest musical force in live radio performances.

In 1928, WIL was one of two St. Louis stations carrying play-by-play of the local baseball games, and when the Cardinals won the National League pennant, the station aired a “special celebration program featuring many of the St. Louis Symphony players. That evening WIL stayed on the air until 3:30 a.m. The next year, however, there were no baseball broadcasts on the station. The newsletter explained that WIL had polled its listeners, and they preferred listening to music rather than baseball.

WIL began broadcasting play-by-play hockey in 1929. Bob Robertson called the action of some of the professional American Hockey Association games played at the Winter Garden.

Dr. B. W. Ganoung, “a noted exponent of clean living as well as an authority on physical culture” used his half-hour daily show to discuss health issues. On Saturday afternoons, WIL listeners were treated to a weekly broadcast of piano lessons, conducted by Clinnie Dill Pavlik, the station’s former staff piano player.

Also on Saturdays, St. Louis Police Patrolman Richard Palmer hosted a show featuring the talents of kids in city grade schools.

In the summer of 1929, WIL opened its rooftop garden (atop the Melbourne Hotel at Grand and Lindell) to the general public. The newsletter explained: “Last year the roof garden proved a very popular spot in St. Louis, because visitors to the Friendly Station could be comfortably seated far above the noise and heat of the city streets, and enjoy the musical entertainment from the studios.”

One story in the Jan. 31, 1930, station newsletter shows just how the business of radio has changed. “L.A. Benson, the President of the Missouri Broadcasting Corporation, has inaugurated the practice of having the staff attend a dinner as guests of the company every Thursday evening at the Melbourne Hotel, where ideas are exchanged and plans are discussed to render our audience better service.

“Each week a different member of the staff is selected to make a short talk and at its conclusion everyone is invited to enter into the general discussions of various subjects relative to broadcasting and radio.”

(Reprinted with permission of the St. Louis Journalism Review. Originally published 12/06)

Information for this article was provided by the St. Louis Public Library’s Media Archives

Even though they competed for advertising dollars, there have been times when radio has really needed newspapers. In the case of an East St. Louis radio station, the newspaper wouldn’t cooperate.

Lester Cox, a Springfield, Mo., businessman, came to East St. Louis in 1935 to build a radio station. The local economy was still reeling from the Depression, but business investment was starting to pick up. Cox hired William West, the former general manager of KMOX, to run his station, which was incorporated as Mississippi Valley Broadcasting.

A construction permit was issued by the Federal Communications Commission in February of 1935 over the objections of the Pulitzer Publishing Company, Thomas Patrick Convey and Benson Broadcasting.

It seems Pulitzer, which owned KSD in St. Louis, Convey (KWK) and Benson (WIL), didn’t want competition on the east side of the metropolitan area. The companies argued to the F.C.C. that they were already providing adequate radio service to the area. The argument was overwhelmingly rejected.

Lester Cox was very successful in his work. He was president of Ozark Auto Supply and owned two radio stations in Springfield. He was invited to speak to the East St. Louis Chamber of Commerce to tell them of his plans for WTMV. “I make my money someplace else and spend it in radio,” Cox told the forum. “But the Springfield stations are making money and we expect WTMV to do likewise.”

It may have been this sentiment that raised red flags in the offices of the East St. Louis Journal. The local daily paper had given minimal coverage to the new radio station, but in the 1930s, many newspapers viewed the radio industry as a major threat. An ongoing “press/radio war” was being waged to prevent radio from broadcasting news, which was direct competition to the newspapers, and the radio sales staffs went after the same advertisers as did newspaper salespeople.

Possibly for these reasons, Cox and his new radio station were deprived of much of the hoopla that surrounded the sign-on of other stations in the market. There were some published news reports, but once the station was in full operation, there were no features published. For a time, the newspaper even refused to print WTMV’s broadcast schedule, although it ran the schedules of stations in St. Louis. And this means there is very little history of the station available.

Cox and manager West then set out to lure some of the market’s best-known people to help manage the operation. Woody Klose was brought in from KSD as program manager; Fred Liggett resigned as KSD’s chief engineer to move to the same slot at WTMV; and J.C. Etherington left a sales position at KMOX to become sales manager. A contract was signed with the downtown East St. Louis Broadview Hotel to locate studios on the mezzanine level, and the station’s broadcast tower was erected on the roof. Klose got the immediate attention of the public when he announced open auditions for on-air talent.

Over 100 applicants showed up the first day. It was, after all, still a difficult time economically, and many people needed the income that might be derived from appearances on the radio. Klose immediately announced that auditions would continue for a solid week to handle the crowds, and special night auditions were scheduled for “working girls” who couldn’t get to the studios during the day. Chief announcer Jack Edmunds, who had worked with NBC, was enlisted to help screen applicants.

There was another promise made to the Chamber of Commerce during that speech by Cox: “Every dollar of profit out of the station will be put back into it, until you have a station second to none in the country.” Things have certainly changed in the radio business.

It was his first day on the job as the voice of Buster Brown on KMOX in 1926. No one, not even Bryson Rash himself, envisioned that day as the beginning of a career that would lead him to the job of network White House correspondent. 

Rash was 12 years old when he made his debut as the child spokesman for Buster Brown Shoes. He’d won the audition held by the company and thus earned the chance to work on the fledgling station, in which Brown Shoe had ownership interest. He told St. Louis Globe-Democrat reporter Vicki Ostrolenk: “I was on the air Monday and Friday evenings telling tall stories to kiddies, and giving little talks on safety, being neat and clean – the regular Boy Scout routine.”

The job, he said, required him to dress the part, complete with short pants and a bowl-type haircut, which led the kids at school to taunt him as a big, fat sissy. The next year his voice began to change and the radio job quickly ended.

Several years later Rash heard of an opening at KWK and he got the job. Within a year he was back at KMOX, this time as a news reader and commentator. But by then he had accumulated plenty of seasoning from the loose atmosphere at KWK.

That station’s studios were on the ninth floor of the Chase Hotel . Owner/manager Thomas Patrick Convey was a showman and promoter whose wife helped run the station and whose son was one of the main on-air personalities.

Rash was profiled in the Washington Post July 16, 1950, where reporter Sonia Stein wrote of his KWK experience: “He had news scripts set on fire by playful colleagues while he read them, and has had to light matches to read scripts by when some playful character doused the lights.”

The article also told how he gained experience as a sports broadcaster: “He announced…his first wrestling match the night he saw his first wrestling match. Comfortably ensconced behind the station’s sports announcer in a free seat, Bryson was drafted into service by the sports man who was suddenly taken ill. ‘Put the show on for me, will you? I’ll be right back,’ he said. Bryson put it on and kept it on (since the man never came back) with the help of the engineer who kept hissing, ‘That’s a Nelson. That’s a flying mare.’”

In 1936 Bryson Rash left St. Louis to take an offer at WLW in Cincinnati , but within a month CBS had moved him to WJSV in Washington , DC . A year later NBC hired him and gave him some high-visibility jobs. Then the Federal Communications Commission told NBC it couldn’t run two separate networks, so the company spun off the network Rash worked for, making him an ABC employee.

From that point, the star of Bryson Rash seemed to rise quickly. He became a network commentator, chairman of the President’s Birthday Ball in Washington , head of the national fund drive for Infantile Paralysis, P.R. chair for the American Cancer Society and the announcer who introduced the president on ABC broadcasts. In December of 1949, ABC sent Rash to Key West to cover President Truman’s visit. Within months, Rash was named ABC’s White House correspondent. Another up-and-comer, Walter Cronkite, was his counterpart at CBS.

Rash also migrated to television. He was the only broadcaster to cover the test explosion of the hydrogen bomb in 1956. He is a member of the National Press Club Hall of Fame, and became known as one of the capital’s characters, proudly wearing a bowtie on every telecast. He once told a columnist he owned over 100 of them. He also bragged that his “first job was with KMOX.” The original “big, fat sissy” had the last laugh.

(Reprinted with permission of the St. Louis Journalism Review. Originally published 10/06)

St. Louis Chamber of Commerce News 11/4/30

With a special program by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra under Guest Conductor E. Fernandez Arbos of Madrid, Spain, “The Spirit of St. Louis” went upon the air over station KMOX Sunday, in the most unusual campaign of civic advertising by radio ever undertaken in America. The program was the first of a series of 20 to be presented on consecutive Sundays at the same time (5 to 6 p.m. Central standard time) which will tell of the romantic and true adventures out of which the Spirit of St. Louis was born, together with the story of the significance of St. Louis in the economic, commercial, educational and cultural life of the United States. It is the first time in the history of American radio that a major symphony orchestra has been used to advertise a city’s resources.

How out of the fur-trading post of St. Louis the great trails – the Oregon Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, and the road to California developed, and how through them the great west was won and made American, was told by “The Spirit of St. Louis” in the first of the series.

The Chamber of Commerce and the Industrial Club of St. Louis are collaborating in providing authentic information about the city and its resources and those things which make St. Louis a great city in which to live and work and play. The St. Louis Symphony Society donates the services of the orchestra and conductor for the broadcasts and KMOX, “The Voice of St. Louis,” has given the time on the air without any charge.

Next Sunday at the same hour, “The Spirit of St. Louis” in its own words will tell of the significance of the railroads of St. Louis.