Since y'all asked...

There are a couple of books in the works now on early CNN. As with the first one ("CNN: The Inside Story" by Hank Wittemore), I've racked my brain for one of these for a few hours.

The 1980 Conventions, coming less than a month after CNN's launch, were, shall we say, not well prepared for. (A polite way of saying they were a four-car head-on.) The Republicans, in Detroit, nominated Reagan, and dreamed of Ford as VP, but wound up with Bush. CNN Washington was mostly in charge of this one, with minute-by-minute skirmishes with Atlanta. The role of the Washington people behind the cameras was much diminished when the Dems renominated Carter in New York, but staffing was poor, conditions were terrible, and the whole thing was very seat-of-the-pants.

A true tale from that New York Convention: The chief producer, a tough character from New York named Ted Kavanau, called one of our writers in Atlanta at about three in the morning on the third day of the convention, wanting something followed up or something. CNN was staying at the Penta Hotel, the old Pennsylvania, and when the writer asked Ted for his phone number, he told her: PEnnsylvania 6-five thousand. She responded that it was too damn early in the morning for jokes, and would he give her the real number. Answer: PEnnsylvania 6-five thousand. The Abbott and Costello routine went on for some minutes before she finally got the message that the Penta and the Glenn Miller tune were one and the same number.

By 1984, CNN has become recognized and received parity with CBS, NBC, and ABC, partly due to a Federal Court case against the networks, and built a prefab three-level anchor booth that served it for several conventions. In '84, both in San Francisco for the Dems and Dallas for the GOP, I was the convention program producer, which meant I interfaced with the people calling the shots about what was happening on the podium from the parties and relayed their info to our CNN crew.

Spending a month around each convention center and seeing how the big shows are put together was tremendously interesting and exciting, but I find I don't miss them much. The highlights of the two I lived intimately with were Reagan at the top of his game, Mario Cuomo at the top of his, and a run-in with the Dallas Fire Marshall, who was certain our production trailers were going to become Double-Wides of Death in his convention center parking garage. I got interviewed on WFAA-TV for that story, and my Mom and Dad got to see their boy on the late news assure the good citizens of Big D that we'd do whatever Mr. Marshall asked us to do.

And, no, Auricon's aren't the little hearing aids that Bob Hower pitches...Auricons were early 16mm sound film cameras. They were made for low-grade Hollywood use, meaning on a big dolly, not hand held. I suspect they were cast iron. Local news teams used "conversions," meaning they shot sound onto a magnetic stripe down the side of the film rather than the optical strips the movies used. They were about 65 pounds before you put on a film magazine, and a sound mixer, which would add another 10 or 15 to the weight.

By the 70's, good shops like 8 and 6 had gone to the much lighter weight CP-16 from Cinema Products, which weighed about 20 pounds fully loaded.

Thanks, John and Mike!

The political conventions have rekindled some vivid memories of my sojourn into the occasionally murky world of politics. In January 1982, just when I least expected it, I was offered a political job as assistant Communications Director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). The committee focuses on winning and retaining U.S. Senate seats for the Grand Old Party.

The senatorial committee was then headed by the Senate’s “gift to women,” that irrepressible Bob Packwood. I succeeded a young staffer named Susan Molinari, later New York Congresswoman and fleeting network television anchor. The committee created a special area for me. I would also be a “media troubleshooter” advising Senate candidates how to deal with news outlets to get maximum favorable coverage. We conducted seminars, taught fund raising, media, polling, and issues and attack strategy.

Video coaching was also on the agenda. Political consultant Roger Ailes was considered the best at taping politicians and evaluating performance. I was assigned to watch Ailes at work, then coach a few of the challengers, using his techniques. Ailes would examine the way the candidate sat in the chair, making sure a coat was not climbing up a back, while checking such things as body language and eye contact.

I asked my candidates to go through their campaign spiel while I taped and played it back for criticism. One candidate who hoped to challenge Sen. Edward Kennedy proclaimed: “Ted Kennedy has the blood of every American who died in Vietnam on his hands.” I suggested he might want to tone down his attack. Several candidates responded well to the criticism, especially after viewing tapes. Frequently, it is politically equivalent to divine revelation when candidates see themselves as others see them.

Both challengers and incumbents took the courses and their campaign staffs received similar indoctrination. Candidates are warned not to drink or use drugs. Such advice is frequently ignored. In one Arkansas race that year, both sides traded charges of drug use and each man challenged the other to take a drug test. The campaign was said to have disintegrated into a real “pissing contest.”

I always advised my candidates never to lie to the news media. But while total fabrication was discouraged, candidates can always equivocate. Remember the politician who was asked at a press conference: “Senator, is it true you are wishy-washy on the issues?” After a short pause, the politician replied: “Maybe I am. And maybe I’m not.”

Sometimes I actually miss politics.

From the time I was 15, I have mostly lived in the south central part of Oklahoma. Television reception (by antenna) has always been dismal at best. We used to have a local ABC affiliate in the early '70s, but it was sold in favor of a cable franchise. Well, in the early '70s, probably no later than the fall of '71, my brother and I happened upon the Mazeppa show in progress one evening. Tulsa TV station broadcasts have never been very strong in this direction, so it was unusual to have such clear viewing. I remember one or two episodes of the show, I think they were both on channel 6, and I honestly don't remember if it was Friday or Saturday night. I just know I didn't have a steady, so I didn't have a date or I wouldn't have been home with my younger brother on a weekend night!

Anyway, the most memorable thing about one show was Mazeppa playing the part of a German enlisted man (similar to Schultz on Hogan's Heroes) questioning a guy named Teddy Jack Eddy. I didn't know who Gary Busey was, so for all I knew his name was Teddy Jack Eddy. The German guy just couldn't get the pronunciation right, he kept calling Busey Mr. Jackadee and quizzing him about the authenticity of his passport or something like that. Anyway the Mr. Jackadee stuff was irritating the hell out of Busey, he got mad, and you know how it ended. Years later I see this Busey guy on TV in a movie or something, and I said to my kids and wife, "Hey! There's Teddy Jack Eddy, you know the guy I told you about from the Mazeppa Poppamazoidy (I thought this was probably the way you spelled the last name until I found this site) show out of Tulsa when Kyle and I were kids!" Well, they thought I'd lost it, but Gary Busey, to this day, is Teddy Jack Eddy to me, and that's how I always refer to him no matter whose company I'm in.

I also remember another show, or was it the same one? Mazeppa, I think, is raving about having musical guests Bob Dilman, Paul McCartley, John Lemmon, etc., getting every name slightly wrong as he goes. This is pretty crazy, but I have always called Dylan 'Dilman', and McCartney 'McCartley' since I first heard them mentioned like that on the Mazeppa show. I think it's insanely funny to mispronounce names and words ever so slightly, other people think I'm just an idiot. Ha, the joke's on them!

Anyway onward, so Mr. Mystery comes out and they're going to unmask him, which they did, and it was a guy named Leon Russell, who I've never heard of before. Russell sits down at the piano and plays 'Baby Jane' right there on this bootleg TV program. Now I know who he is, because I'd heard the song on the radio. I went on to become quite a Leon Russell fan as well. Carney is my favorite album of his.

All these years (29) have passed by, my brother went on to the next life 23 years ago, and I have not met or heard of another soul who knew about a crazy TV program out of Tulsa in the early '70s! So, I'm all alone out here, one of those twilight zone experiences, where nobody can relate to a fine time I had in my youth. And then, I find this site, quite by accident, and even see some mention of the mispronunciation of rock stars names! I'm not alone, I'm not dreaming, this really did happen! Wow! I'm quite elated, feeling like I was 15 or so again. Thanks for stirring up the memory pot. I leave happier than I came, and I shall continue to pronounce the name 'Dilman'.

Randy

Love your note, Randy! That's one thing this site is good for, rescuing people from that Twilight Zone of half-memory.

John Hillis: you may need to explain what an Auricon did lest the younger readers think it is a hearing aid product sold now by Bob Hower + Betty Boyd over the airwaves in Tulsey.

Also since you were a near midwife-guy at the birth of CNN, tell us a bit about CNN trying to get a skybooth and early credentials to the conventions in the days of 3 networks...

Amazingly - the predecesser to GoodLife TV listed below, Nostalgia TV, did Convention coverage anchored by ex-Tulsan Jim Hartz one year. Jim did their "Nostalgia News This Week" show for 1-2 years. The former network owner, Michael Marcovsky, made his money owning the first cel phone system in L.A. (the former true)AND claimed to have conceptualized Playboy TV and and about 10 other channels....(yeah, sure - he may have read the magazine once...) but also was a minor "player" in CA politics, wanting to massage both parties. So they spent a fortune, co-leased skybooth time and rented crews. Twice a day they ran "updates" geared toward viewers 45 and over - their former demographics....

Ya say ya haven't seen any LORETTA YOUNG episodes in 30 years?

Time for a fix!

GoodLife TV cable and on the DISH Network - will be showing 20 episodes or 10 hours of back to back b&w episodes (that's all they come in!) from 5pm Eastern time to 3am Eastern time on Sunday Aug. 27th as a tribute to L.Y. as we call her here.

Found out there were 52 original episodes so they will pick the best 20 from these (I am sure several of her as a nun). She - rather now her estate - owns rights to all of these and it will be curious to see if they stay out in syndication.

CHECK YOUR LOCAL CABLE LISTINGS FOR AVAILABILITY.....

Looking at the jazzy creepy-peepies and gimmicks at the convention tv coverage reminded me of the rigors we useta go through: 16mm Auricon conversion film cameras that were hernia-makers and considerably less-than-mobile; lead-cell batteries that weighed a ton; two-way walkie talkies that required much more walking than talking and were brick-sized and weighted; and no wireless microphones, so 100 feet or more of mike cable was standard equipment. We carried a _lot_ of stuff.

In '68 and '72, on top of all that, you had the added weight of gas masks and such.

When you'd go to something like a convention, your film magazines would be 400 feet--about 12 minutes--before you'd have to reload. Reporters would grab advance texts of speeches and circle the sound clips they wanted shot. Heaven help the poor reporter when the subject wandered from the text, as pols like Hubert Humphrey often did (I once heard a story that, to get "up" before an event, Humphrey would down a handful of One-A-Day vitamins with a tumbler of Jack Daniels.)

When your convention spot on the local political bigwigs was shot, you put the film cans in a mesh bag like grapefruit came in, and drove like hell to the airport to get the bag to make the next plane home. Once home, the film would have to be processed and edited from your scrawled instructions on the back of the speech text in the bottom of the grapefruit bag.

If everything worked right (and it seldom did), your "breaking news" would make air by maybe 6 o'clock the day after you shot it...as much as 40 hours old or more.

Everybody fought to get to go to the conventions, but those who went, particularly the photographers, came back bone-tired, and usually wound up taking a week of vacation to get back to normal.

The really lucky ones come back with a photo of themselves with Merrill Mueller, Bob Trout, or some other lesser network luminary to show for their efforts.

That election night photo ("Election set at KVOO with Mike Miller") is most likely from 1964, because the RCA color TV set over on the left is either a CTC16 that was sold from 1964-65, or a CTC20 sold from 1965-66. The CTC20 is less likely; if this had been shot in fall 1965, the advertiser would probably have featured a CTC17X instead.

Thanks, Ed; I added your note to the page.

When I was first hired as a full-time announcer at KTUL in 1952, Program Director Karl Janssen told me before my first shift that at some time a person might call and cuss and chew me out, saying that I was no good, etc., etc.

I thought that this was a strange thing to warn someone about. I had never heard of that happening to anyone, and it had never happened to me during the previous year when I had worked at KAKC.

But, sure enough, after about four months on the job I got a call from a man identifying himself as Cantwell. He proceeded to rant and rave and verbally abuse me, promising that he was going to tell the KTUL management to fire me.

I kept my cool, and told Cantwell that I appreciated his feedback. The guy really went into a rage, then, saying that I really did not want or care about his feedback.

Finally, he hung up. I never got an abusive call again. I suspect that Cantwell was the only one who did this, and then only to KTUL announcers. I never had such an experience at any subsequent stations where I worked.

Lorna, a very detailed, sweet, and beautiful memorial to your husband! I enjoyed seeing the pictures of you two together. You all had a special love, I am so sorry for your loss! Love, Dot

Dorothy is speaking of Chris Lane, who passed away early this year. Chris was the 1st host of KOTV's "Party Line", a precursor to "Dance Party". He went on to a long and successful career in broadcasting.

To add to Mike Miller's reference to Loretta Young (who died the other day, I think). . . Her son, Christopher Lewis, is/was a Tulsa media/production type over the years.

But wait, Mike Miller!

We forgot Donna Reed lived in Tulsa too in the '70's or '80's! Maybe she never was a Loretta or Jennifer but she still became a pop culture figure - for a while!

Mike Bruchas reminded me of TWO major Hollywood stars with Tulsa roots.

My mother used to talk about Loretta Young being a good Catholic. Mom, attended daily Mass at Christ the King next to my school, Marquette, on East 15th Street.

My mom also used to talk about Jennifer Jones, who won an Academy Award for "The Song of Bernadette." Her last film was the disaster epic, "Towering Inferno."

Jennifer was born Phylis Lee Isley in 1919 in Tulsa. Her parents, Phil and Flora Mae owned and operated a small acting troop called the Isley Stock Company. They would tour small towns outside of Tulsa and perform plays for ten cents a patron.

Jennifer Jones (Phylis,) attended Monte Cassino, as I recall.

(I know, my age is showing.)

Thanks Don Norton, for the Harry Volkman correction. I now recall his appearance on the KOTV 50th anniversary special. I'm not sure why I had him at KJRH stuck in my head. That does make since, considering that KWTV went on the air in 1953.

Got an email today from longtime morning personality Bob Cooper (late of KWEN, now at KVOO-AM). Just wanted to thank me for mentioning him in association with KVOO many guestbooks ago. I think it's great that someone whose time is extremely valuable took the time to write just to thank me. I think that really says a lot of the type of media folk who choose not to pursue bigger and maybe better jobs in bigger cities to live and work here in Tulsa.

In a Chicago-connection story - just saw in the Aug. 7 edition of BROADCASTING & CABLE that WMAQ radio is no more. Chicago's oldest radio station has had its call letters retired after 78 years. Infinity Broadcasting - part of CBS who own WBBM in Chicago has renamed WMAQ - now WSCR-AM after moving those call letters from another much lower powered station they owned at 1160kHz on the dial to the Q's 670kHz in Chicago. In the convoluted world of radio NBC sold WMAQ-AM to Westinghouse Broadcasting in 1988. I can remember when Westinghouse was a small radio player in Chicago with WIND, a much lower powered station. WBBM was the long time CBS owned rival to WMAQ and it has had a successful all news format for over 25 years. Westinghouse bought Infinity Broadcasting in 1996, the year after it bought CBS. So now it owns a lot of the marbles in Chicago.

Radio's first serial, "Amos and Andy" started at WMAQ in 1928. It hosted the original run of "Fibber McGee and Molly" too. Carried the first play-by-play sports broadcast in 1925 and first trans-oceanic news broadcast in 1928. It originally was owned by the Chicago Daily News and The Fair Store - a now long gone Chicago department store before being sold to NBC in 1931.

I had to laugh at a quote - a CBS spokesman said that while WMAQ-AM billed some $20,000,000+ in 1999 - "it was not functioning as a successful station". Meanwhile the sports format on the old 1160 WSCR (that's w-SCORE)is a "successful franchise" though it billed $10,000,000 last year. Hmmmm. Maybe they can't add besides not having an sense of history. They want to imitate WFAN in NYC with a sports/talk format in Chicago.

So the frequency remains but the WMAQ-AM that broadcast John Doremus, Harry Volkman weather and maybe Jim Ruddle is no more - now it's WSCR-AM.

The tagged spots - local merchants at the end of national or regional spots (the latter like TufNut/Challenger Casuals) - I was always told were "co-op" spots. The local dealer paid a small portion of the ad buy or got money from a promotional budget to pay for a spot. Invariably TG&Y, "all Froug's stores", Western Auto, and Oertle's were some of the Tulsey based businesses. A lot of others - especially B-movie tags were that litany of small towns in Osage/Creek counties and down near Tahlequah of Native American root names that out-of-town announcers butcher. IE Okemah was read as OAK-ma too damned many times if KTUL announcers didn't voice the tags. Though we also remember OH-ta-SCO as a murdering of OTASCO Stores.

Also "junk" like Popeil Products used to have rotating tags for every kind of store - from grocery to bait shop - selling their junk at Xmas time!

Other than big James Bond//blockbuster summer picture type launches - a lot of money for local movie ads has gone away EVERYWHERE in the country, I've noticed.....

Uh - I think Smedley Boodang was a name that came up on air as a joke name at 8. I was Bilbo Filderte (that's pronounced as Phil-DARE-tay as in French) for awhile and we printed up a name badge and hung it in the studio as if "Bilbo" had left it there as a joke. A lot was left behind after Chick Show guest appearances...

I was just wondering if anyone recalls "Smedley" from the John Chick Show. His mother was pregnant with him.

Loretta Young died at 87 yesterday. Her career ran from silent films to being active in acting till about 15 years ago. Wow!

Her ties are to Tulsa thru her son, Christopher Lewis and stepsons - the Lamas brothers. All of whom spent time in Tulsey as on-air talent.

Like Lucille Ball and Ida Lupino - she was one of the first women to start and run her own production company.

Some of her older shows may be owned by a Tulsa company for home video rights. We here at GoodLife TV show her original series and her 1-2 season "New Loretta Young Show" in the wee small hours of Sunday morning.

Personally the NEW show may have been better than her original series - with travails of a working mother, widowed, with 5 kids (Dirk and Dack Rambo as twins) - trying to make it in a "man's world" as a writer. Dating an older single guy writer trying to figure out his role with the kids. Having "glass ceiling problems" long before we knew of the word. It rings more true today than 25 years ago but it flopped then because working, strong women weren't the norm.

Don, nice note and good beard story about Cy.

Sorry about the wrong name. I wrote my note about two in the morning last night and had to look back at the old guestbooks for Charles St. JohnN's name where I had written it (with one 'N') before but by the time I got back to writing, it became St. James. It is always interesting to know where folks have gone and where they are today. Thank to all of you who write in. I have learned so much reading this guestbook over the last few months.

Me, too!

Hate to nitpick, but:

For Lowell Burch: I think the "Lorenzo" announcer you mentioned was Charles ST. JOHNN (two n's, please) who worked at KOTV in the l950s and was later shifted to KHOU-TV in Houston when Corinthian bought it. (Yes, it was a nom de guerre).

For Erick: Harry Volkman worked for KOTV in Tulsa after starting a five-minute radio show on KWGS in the l949-50 area. KJRH wasn't even on the air as KVOO-TV then; Channel Two was granted and came on in l954, the same year for KTVX (later KTUL). Harry went to Oklahoma City before I came aboard at KOTV in August, 1953.

Our bearded webmeister might appreciate another little note from the l950s:

Cy Tuma came to work one Monday afternoon in early l957 wearing a two-and-a-half day growth of beard in addition to his trademark moustache. He chuckled as he informed George Arnold (successor to Roger McGovern) and me in the newsroom that he planned to raise a beard in connection with the 50th anniversary celebration of Oklahoma statehood.

Raising a beard is a favorite "stunt" for "Pioneer Days" celebrations across the country, but although it was beginning to be picked up in Oklahoma's rural areas, "sophisticated" Tulsa wasn't having much of it.

George and I told Cy that the newly-arrived financiers from Corinthian probably wouldn't like it, either.

Cy went on into the manager's office. He came out chuckling, saying, "They didn't like it for (expletive).

But Cy stuck by his guns; he went on the 6 p.m. news, explaining why he hadn't shaved--and he didn't (except for beard trims) for the next five or six months. In November, when the state anniversary celebration ended, he had a nice, full beard to shave off, and a very nice "thank you" letter from the statehood anniversary committee.

I do appreciate the Cy Tuma story, but lost the beard a week ago!

A possible Beatles to Tulsa connection, I forgot to mention that I believe Paul McCartney has a cousin living here. I can't say much more.

My son goes to Byrd Middle School. He said the mother of one of the students wrote 20 episodes of Seinfeld. She spoke at an assembly and answered questions but he couldn't remember her name. Anyone know?

To finish, Webber and Hudson both accepted invitations to speak at my church. Well, I am sorry that I forgot to mention another local celeb that was gracious enough to speak to our youth group some years ago - Mazeppa. I don't want to say that he wasn't very spiritual but next time we will invite the great and awesome Rev. Menloe Park!

My machine was down so I missed the last couple of weeks. Wow, a lot of good stuff. Let me address a couple of things. Mr. Woodward, I did mention Lorenzo back in book 14 and 21, or there abouts, and I said that the announcer for his show was Charles St. James. I remembered him looking just like Emmett K., too.

Concerning Jerry Webber and John Hudson, I asked both of them at one time or another to come speak at my church, both did and both were great. They were true men of the faith. When Jerry came, he actually judged our chili contest and he awarded me first place! It was a blind judging but some folks felt money must have changed hands prior to the contest.

Some quick notes.

Concerning the rock stars in Tulsa in the 70's. Leon Russell was well respected in the music world long before most people ever heard of him. By and large, it is my understanding that the big names came to town in the 70's because of his influence. Of course, many others came via the influence of Roy Clark, Jim Halsey, David Gates, etc.

Did you see the article on Wilma Cummins (UHF fame) in the World (8/10)? It was great!

Finally, good TV interview, Webmaster!! Keep up the good work.

Thank you, Mr. Burch.

I believe Leon worked with Phil Spector as part of the "wall of sound" approach to making records. He also had a hand in "This Diamond Ring" by Gary Lewis and the Playboys....

TO: John Hillis -

Nope, I can't think of any ex-Tulsans at NPR, maybe Gary Chew can.

We had Ken Reed at VOA though - he was Tulsa talent that became a newsman at 8 then headed here for a newsie job at some station. Then I guess lost his job and went to VOA. Mike Miller may know where he is - if he is still in DC.

Bob Edwards is at ESPN up in CT, but I must have worked with 3 different Bob Edwards' who were announcers/talent - in my short life - 1 I know is deceased. All were named Bob Edwards - that wasn't a diminutive of their REAL names!

From an earlier e-mail from Bob Coxsey this Summer to me:

Speaking of audio tags on spots: one day I was in the booth with Cy Tuma and he had just cut a cart with the tag..."available at all TG&Y stores"...for about the 4 millionth time.

He said..."You know, one day, Bob..about 5 billion years from now...when the earth is nothing but a scorched cinder...some Martians are going to land here. As they are walking around one of them will kick some dust and, lo and behold, there will be a cart. They will play that cart, and on it will be me saying..."available at all TG&Y stores" and they are going to wonder what in the hell was that all about....."

RE: Frank Morrow's idea on an oral history program - the Broadcast Pioneers Library here in DC tried it for a time - basically with NAB members of fame or longstanding that came thru DC and with DC radio veterans. Do NOT know where those tapes went but they had a volunteer interviewer - formerly a NC radio reporter later retired government P.R. flack doing it. Low budget, cheap recorder and when we tried to get DAT technology donated by Sony to this project (they were happy to help), NAB management told us to butt out. The late Ms. Catherine Heinz here ran the Library which became a depository of both famous items and disks and other folks' tax write-off (useless no historical value) donations.

Unfortunately though created by broadcasters, NAB Pres. Eddie Fritts and others coveted the first floor space off the lobby at NAB HQ for other uses, feuded with Ms. Heinz on "library turf" as NAB used to have a very good Library of broadcastin' books on another floor out of "prime real estate" space and somehow the Broadcast Pioneers Library was "donated" to Howard University here mysteriously.

After Ms. Heinz (a prickly but conscientious curator) died, I haven't heard again about it! It formerly published a quarterly (but never THIS quarter, maybe next...) newsletter of 10-12 pages in size with stuff like NBC hand signals for radio production; Norman Corwin's favorite menus; pictures of radio greats passing thru DC; a real pot pourri. I think I got 2 copies of the newsletter before it vanished - wasn't a part of NAB's agenda but spending $60,000-100,000 to honor ex-Pres. Ronnie Reagan in Vegas was one year. I think it was the year the guy threw something at him on stage during his speech....That may have also jinxed Eddie Fritt's chances of an ambassadorship or somethin' in the next GOP administration...

I am sure in Chicago and elsewhere someone is doing an oral history recording thing - why not Tulsa?

If I were back in town with my Canon Mini-DV deck, would love to shoot some remembrances while the rememberers were still with us!

Just a note to apologize for my first note and my unforgivable misspelling of Gailard Sartain's name. Sorry Gailard.

Not to worry, I fixed it!

Radio daze...and we're all experts!

Net audio is hampered by a number of factors, among them the lack of "intuitive appliances"--that is, things that work like radios. Maybe SonicBox or Kerbango will solve some of these, and G3 wireless technology will provide the connectivity, but I don't see it for more than very specialized applications anytime soon.

IBOC digital radio (In-band on-channel) uses the signal that regular broadcasters are already pumping out and layers a digital audio stream on top of what's going out analog. Very cool, accomodates the transition to new receivers smoothly (unlike DTV, which is a mess and a half), and may restore value to AM broadcasters, whose sticks can now be bought for the price of a good (and in some cases, a not-so-good) car in many cases.

All of these tend to emphasize music choice and quality sound. Good radio news, like we used to receive from KVOO and KRMG among others, is less and less a part of the listening experience. For me, anyway, if it ain't live, it's not much worth listening to.

Network radio news is pretty much down to two, plus NPR. Sad, not least of all because folks like Virgil Dominic and Barbara Allen (bet that's the first time those two names used in same sentence) each found a home doing NBC Radio "News on the Hour" casts, albeit in different decades. I think I also remember hearing Hartz and Ruddle in the same venue as well.

Question for Bruchas et al: Any Tulsans ever make a name on NPR?

I just found out about TTM, but better late than never! My personal run-ins with local TV/Music personalities began while still in elementary school. Growing up across from Woodward Park and only a few feet from Leon Russell's house meant that many a Sunday morning began with the sun coming up and casting its first rays onto the broken down '63 Cadillac Limo that Leon drove back in the early 70's. I think he was the ONLY one that my mother did not call the tow trucks on.

As an adult, living in my first house near 19th and Lewis I had the pleasure, or maybe the pain, of living across from Gailard Sartain and his wife. In one neighborhood episode I got to watch Gailard float from yard to yard with video camera in hand trying to help the Tulsa PD nab an armed car jacker that was holed up in the house three down from Gailard and us. Even in the face of danger, Gailard still managed to annoy and aggravate the poor police units to death almost. Only when a loud gunshot rang out did Gailard disappear into his house never to be heard from again.

Thanks for the great website and I'll be sure to spread the word here in Texas to all my transplanted Tulsan friends!

Hmmm...maybe one of the police officers fired that shot.

Tracy, thanks for spreading the word!

I wonder if a professor or student at TU could be persuaded to tape record the recollections of people like Mack Creager, Roy Pickett, Ed Dumit, Keith Bretz, and Jack Morris. I think that an oral history of this radio era would be fascinating.

Perhaps with Tulsa Historical Society backing, a grad student either in history or communications might be interested in doing a term paper or even a Master's thesis on the subject.

Let's face it. Attrition has set in. Time's a-wastin.'

Clayton Vaughn is the new head of the Tulsa Historical Society. I will forward your note to THS and see what happens.

Got an e-mail - what IS a Zenith Trans-Oceanic? It was the penultimate portable radio of the 50's and 60's made by Zenith Radio out of Chicago. Cost about $900 at the peak of its "reign" - later models still about $500 new, ran on "wet cells" or AC. Used to always have ads in the Nat Geo each month for it - was a Zenith prestige product. The best consumer portable shortwave/AM/FM made in the US for many years. Had like a 5"x6" speaker built-in. The late 40's/early 50's models were about the size of a small typewriter and weighed maybe 15 pounds!

Grundig made European table radio models with limited SW that a lot of post WWII GI's stationed in Germany brought home and some good but chunky portables, but Zenith ruled till Sony/Panasonic came in with smaller worldband radios.

The best worldband/SW portables now may be Sangean's of Taiwan - who make models for Phillips, Radio Shack and others besides their own brand. See previous reference to C. Crane Radio who are their biggest US mail order dealer.

With the internet and all and probably us US folks being LESS world conscious, short wave recreational listening is down except on the Internet now. Though many of our newest citizens - legal or otherwise - stay in touch with their home countries via cheapy Chinese knock-off shortwave radios ($19.95 and up with horrible tuning) or find ethnic radio stations broadcasting in their language here in the larger cities in the US...

It's here!

Portable radios!

Okay - so we have had them for years - now go to http://www.sonicbox.com and see prototype wireless internet radio portable receivers. Duh - 25 genres and a real tuner plus the ability to "vote" on stations you like/hate on the box. The BIG DUH factor - you can only run this radio from 65 feet away from a computer receiving internet radio, so forget about jogging with this puppy or taking it out on a hiking trip unless you know any bears or deer with PC's in the woods....

Still haven't seen any more on the gazillion channel satellite radio receivers coming this year though...

Wonder if anyone makes an adapter kit for either of the above - to use with a Zenith Trans-Oceanic - the POWER world radio of my youth????

Kerbango is supposed to have their internet radio out soon, too. It's easier and cheaper to plug an FM transmitter into your computer headphone jack and send the radio program directly to your stereo (visit C. Crane Radio Land.)

Someone should offer a remote control with a base unit that would select which station is transmitted from your computer to your stereo. Yet another remote to litter your living room! It could only work well with a high speed internet connection.

Archived Guestbook 47...this is #48!

In #47, we heard from Tulsa, now Panama City, Florida DJ Charlie Derek. Tulsa's 1st TV weatherman, Harry Volkman, was discussed. The webmaster made a live appearance on KOTV's "Six in the Morning" program. We heard from regulars Lee Woodward, Frank Morrow, Jim Ruddle, Mike Miller, Erick Church and Mike Bruchas. We also heard from a good number of new readers. Here are some open questions posed in #47:

Where are: Larry Strain, Milton Haynes and KRMG's Commander Ken?
Any info about George Harrison's Tulsa connections in the 70s?
Who all showed up at Leon Russell's "Church" studio in the 70s? (e.g., Paul McCartney?)

Be sure to check out Guestbook 47, then add your comments to this Guestbook!