Subject: [removed] Digest V01 #49
From: <[removed]@[removed]>
Date: 2/12/2001 6:58 AM
To: <[removed]@[removed];

------------------------------


                      The Old-Time Radio Digest!
                         Volume 01 : Issue 49
                    A Part of the [removed]!


                           Today's Topics:

 Re: Paul Harvey                      [LDunham509@[removed]                 ]
 The Return of ...                    ["Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@]
 Re: Weddings                         [Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed]]
 paul harvey                          [chris chandler <christopher_c@email]
 Re: CAN WE BRING BACK OTR?           [Habegger <amej@[removed];        ]
 Paul Harvey broadcast recordings     ["Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed]]

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 09:38:29 -0500
From: LDunham509@[removed]
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: Paul Harvey

''George Tirebiter'' writes--
--I rarely listen to PH.  I can accept that his show is entertainment more
than it is news, but when he begins what appears to be a news story and
then, 20 seconds in, it turns out to be a commercial, well that's just a
little hard to [removed]

Larry replies--
I haven't heard Paul Harvey much in recent years, but he used to indicate
that the ''stories'' you mention were in fact commercials by introducing them
saying, ''...and [removed] 2'' for the first commercial break, and ''...page
3'' for the second break.  Is he not doing that any more?  It is interesting
that Harvey works for ABC Chicago [they recently renewed his contract] but
the Chicago ABC flagship, WLS, hasn't aired his broadcasts for years, as far
as I can tell.  Harvey's main Chicago outlet is WGN, the large independent
station whose demographics are skewed toward the older age groups.


David Easter writes--
--While Mr. Harvey is not a "common" rebel rouser, he
does put a definite spin on his stories and purports them to be true. I've
heard several of his stories that were 90% "story" and very slanted.
Unfortunately, a large segment of his listeners actually believe they are
hearing the [removed]

Larry replies--
I'm a little confused. What do you mean by ''slanted'' and untrue? Most of
the stories I've heard in the last few decades on ''Paul Harvey News and
Comment'' [admittedly I've not heard him too regularly] were of the ''stupid
criminal'' [such [removed]''police in Beaver OR recently arrested a man who tried
to rob a bank at gunpoint--at a drive-up window''] and of the senior citizen
birthday variety, a la Willard Scott --Harvey hasn't done very much
commentary on hard news since the 1960's, as far as I can tell.  I don't know
what purpose would be served by his making that stuff up.  Can you give an
example of what you mean by ''90% story'' and ''slanted''?

I guess if you mean Harvey has an opinion that can be discerned from his
broadcasts, to me, that's what a commentator does, not just tell you what
happened, but what he/she thinks about it.  In more modern terms, I would
compare Harvey's job to that of George Will or George Stephanopolis, not the
Rather/ Jennings/ Brokaw/ Shaw type.  When Will or Stephy talk about a story
in a certain way, we understand it is a personal perspective on their part,
because that is what they are paid to do.  I understand your concern,
though--when a ''journalist'' like Rather, Jennings, et al, ''spins'' a
story, yet purports to be objective, that is an insidious thing.

Larry Dunham

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 09:38:26 -0500
From: "Stephen A Kallis, Jr." <skallisjr@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  The Return of ...

Owens Pomeroy asks,

As an avid former broadcaster and OTR  "buff", I one who believes there
is STILL room for vintage radio on the air.  <snip> OTR Clubs around the
country will have to employ a LOT of lobbying, most likely if we want to
hear our old favorites as a regular programming feature on ALL local
stations in their specific [removed];<

My perspective is that OTR is unlikely to return to radio stations, but
that Old-Style Radio (OSR) certainly has a place.  The 21st Century has
significant differences from the middle of the 20th, and a lot of
situations, allusions, and the like, would be lost on the current
audiences.  I've long advocated the idea of an hour's worth of OSR
serials, like the ones the older of us used to listen to as kids, though
probably with some more "grownup" perspective, to be run in the commuting
hours.  There are enough people trapped in their cars at that time who
would welcome a quartet of action-adventure programs that would break the
monotony of the drive to work and the drive returning to home that in
short order, a goodly share of the overall radio audience would be
listening.

Why 15-minute episodes?  Two reasons.  One is that there's enough time
compression in a radio drama that a half hour would be too long for a
serial (and serials should be run; I'll get to that shortly).  IMHO, one
of the things that hurt the CBS Mystery Theater OSR attempt was that it
_was_ an hour, which was a little long for a listener (the other was that
it was slotted at really bad times, at least where I tried to hear it).
The second is that the shorter format is more effective, since somebody
might have to run an errand on the way home; and even though he or she
might stop for a bit, the listener would get two or three complete
programs in that time framed rather than getting as piece of a show.

Why serials?  Obvious: to keep listeners coming back for more.  Serials
involved the listener, even as was true way back when.  A listener wanted
to find out just what was in that mysterious little package that James
Fairfield received from the Philippines, or whether Superman would
recover from his Kryptonite-induced amnesia.  Once a listener is involved
in a show, he or she can't help but return to find out the resolution of
these dilemmas.

One reason I feel they are hesitant [to broadcast OTR], at least here
on the East coast is the fact that stations keep changing their formats
more often than I change my socks<<

I suspect that the reason for the format changes is that stations are
hoping to find a format that will enhance their listenership, and by
implication, most of the current formats don't ensure success.  For
instance, if many of the leading stations in an area have nothing to
offer but call-in talk shows, then the listeners have little alternative:
they listen to the shows with the most appealing personalities and/or
delivery.

Radio Stations, if they are willing, can do a great service to the
Golden Age Broadcasts.   Possibly they could even schedule them as
"cultural programs,: similar to their old "public service" time, which
allowed 4 hours out of the broadcast day devoted to this time<<

This is assuming that a modern radio station gives a whit about OTR.  Me
betchum no current radio station management even heard OTR shows, much
less being sympathetic toward them.  Many stations today, particularly
the music-oriented, are computer controlled, with a full day's schedule
of programming set up in advance; here, prerecorded OSR serials would fit
in nicely, but the stations would have to be sold on the idea.  From my
own perspective, I can't imagine a station these days running OTR or OSR
unless they could see a profit in it.

Stephen A. Kallis, Jr.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 10:20:05 -0500
From: Elizabeth McLeod <lizmcl@[removed];
To: <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Re: Weddings

Jeff G. observes,

Of course, there are many great ones from AMOS N ANDY where a wedding is
important to the plot (or a divorce, but that woulnd't be quite appropriate).
But I think those shows were while it was a serial, and not many of them are
available to my knowledge.

Perhaps the most memorable wedding sequence in the series occured in
1933, as part of a storyline which ran for over five months. Andy had
renewed his relationship with Madam Queen, after the debacle of the
breach-of-promise case two years earlier, and the couple had announced
their engagement. However, these plans were ruined by the arrival of
Frederick Montogomery Gwindell, an arrogant young man who had been hired
as an efficiency expert by the owners of the Okey Hotel (which was then
being managed by Amos, Andy, the Kingfish, and Brother Crawford.)
Gwindell immediately fired everyone but Brother Crawford, and began an
energetic pursuit of Madam Queen. Having become jealous because she had
seen Andy talking with a young woman named Luella Walker -- a college
friend of Ruby Taylor's -- the Madam broke off the engagement and instead
agreed to marry Gwindell, shattering Andy's heart.

The lodge threw a bachelor dinner for Gwindell, and to rub his nose in
the situation, Gwindell asked that Andy be appointed to serve as one of
the waiters. On the night of the dinner, Andy could hold back his anger
no longer, and deliberately dumped a plate of hot food into Gwindell's
lap -- only to get beaten up by an ex-boxer who Gwindell had brought to
the dinner as a bodyguard. All this provided ample subject matter for the
Kingfish to use in his gossip column, which he secretly wrote for a local
newspaper under the name of Leroy LeRoy.

Andy was not invited to the wedding, but slipped into the church anyway.
As Madam Queen came down the aisle, she saw Andy -- and heard him murmur
"my darlin'..." The ceremony proceeded -- and just as the minister was
about to pronounce the couple man and wife, the Madam turned away from
Gwindell, ran to Andy, and threw herself sobbing into his arms.

Enraged by this turn of events, Gwindell immediately filed suit against
Andy for alienation of affection, claiming both emotional and monetary
damages, and a lengthy trial ensued. Although Andy was well-represented
by the skilled attorney Henry Lucas, his conviction seemed inevitable
until Amos's detective work uncovered two vital pieces of evidence: the
night before the wedding, Madam Queen had consulted Prince Ali Bendo, the
local fortuneteller, who had advised her not to go ahead with the
wedding. And after the wedding, Gwindell had sold the property he had
bought as a wedding present for the Madam at a handsome profit. Amos
brought the Prince and the real estate agent who handled the land sale to
testify at the last minute, and once again Andy was saved.

Three fragmentary episodes from this storyline survive: a seven-minute
fragment from 1/9/33, a 2 minute clip from 2/15/33, and a 7 minute
segment of 2/22/33, the latter being the episode in which Andy learns
that Gwindell and the Madam have gotten engaged.

Elizabeth

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 13:41:48 -0500
From: chris chandler <christopher_c@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  paul harvey

Couple thoughts on the Paul Harvey thread, tho I'm a couple days [removed]

I was working in Paducah, Kentucky at the time of the high school shooting
massacre there in [removed] next morning, Mr. Harvey strung together some
unrelated, way-out-of-context quotes from a USA Today [removed] implied
that the local authorities had been ignoring a satanic cult at the school, a
sensational accusation that bore no resemblance to what had actually
happenened there.  Being a "commentator" with a point-of-view is one thing;
inventing facts out of whole cloth, especially within a hard-news context,
is something else entirely. I never viewed Mr. Harvey the same way again.

Also, while it remains highly rated, it's worth pointing out that a VERY big
part of the reason Harvey's 15-minute daily broadcast continues to get the
widespread clearance it does is that ABC Radio wields something approaching
an iron-clad affiliation deal with its affiliates.  Affiliates can't take
"The Rest of the Story" or the 5-minute morning feed without also clearing
the 15-minute noontime [removed] I assure you there are VERY few
stations, especially in larger cities, that would otherwise clear what has
become an awkward 15-minute chunk of time in this era of long-form
syndicated talk [removed] wreaks havoc on broadcast schedules.  There
are also many affiliates who keep an ABC affiliation largely to keep Mr.
Harvy on their air.   When Harvey retires or passes away, you might look for
a major realignment, if not an outright exodus, of ABC affiliate stations.

As Elizabeth pointed out, Harvey just celebrated his 50th anniversary on
[removed] was lots of "closed-circuit" talk that he might [removed] as
you may have read, he just signed a brand new, long-term [removed] love
him or not, he ain't going anywhere, anytime soon!!

chris

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 19:17:48 -0500
From: Habegger <amej@[removed];
To: [removed]@[removed]
Subject:  Re: CAN WE BRING BACK OTR?

       From what I have seen in radio listings from all over the US, it
looks like old time radio is slowly arriving - even if it is only one
station at a time.

Yes! We are at the edge of a new technology that affects everyone.
It is Satellite Radio Services. Sirus

XM Satellite Radio XM [removed] and Sirius Satellite Radio
[removed] are launching satellites for direct broadcast of
up to 100 channels (each service) of digital-quality radio to motorists
and home reception in the continental United States for a monthly
subscription fee of $[removed] They will include:

  1. Commercial-free music in virtually every genre
  2. News
  3. Sports
  4. Talk
  5. Comedy
  6. Children's programming

These are services not available on conventional radio in any market
in the United States.

So, now is the time to contact each of the providers to lobby OTR! If the
interest is there, the channels will be available, everywhere!! This is an
ideal medium for OTR, 24 hours a day.

Dick Habegger

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2001 08:45:10 -0500
From: "Ted Kneebone" <tkneebone1@[removed];
To: "Old Time Radio Digest" <[removed]@[removed];
Subject:  Paul Harvey broadcast recordings

Phil:  I can't go back any further than 1960, but I do have some Paul Harvey
programs from these dates:
     1960, 1967, 1968, and [removed]
as well as several from 1998 and 1999.
    The 1960 broadcast was taped during the 1960 Democratic National
Convention.

Ted Kneebone / 1528 S. Grant St. / Aberdeen, SD 57401 / 605-226-3344
tkneebone1@[removed] | OTR:  [removed]
[removed]  |
[removed]

--------------------------------
End of [removed] Digest V01 Issue #49
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