Oklahoma Musicians and
The Broadcast Frontier
Chapter Two:Oklahoma Radio Enters the Professional Era
By 1928, radio was beginning
to enter its professional stage. In fewer than ten years, radio had gone from
an expensive novelty appreciated by a mostly wealthy few, to a mainstream entertainment
technology enjoyed by millions of people nationwide. In the beginning, broadcasters
were mostly technologically savvy hobbyists, who were merely playing with the
new technology. However, as radio became more popular, it had to undergo a series
of changes in order to justify the financial commitment it had come to require.
Changes that occurred in WKY reflected the changes that occurred in the broadcast
industry nationwide. In a very few years, WKY evolved from a disorganized, amateur
undertaking, to a highly organized, well-capitalized business.
Enter Gaylord
Always a canny spotter of trends, Oklahoma City powerlord and OPUBCO chairman
E.K. Gaylord saw radio's potential from the beginning. Gaylord had been in the
newspaper business since the 1890s and had moved to Oklahoma City from Colorado
in 1902. After searching the Southwest for a place to build his empire, Gaylord
found Oklahoma City to be a place ripe for his ambitions. By 1928, through shrewd
dealings with partners, business associates, and rival publishers, Gaylord had
a virtual monopoly on Oklahoma City newspaper service. The control of the newspapers
gave Gaylord an enormous influence in local and state government--Gaylord was
fond of saying "What's good for E.K. Gaylord is good for Oklahoma. (1)"
As stated in the pages of the Daily Oklahoman, OPUBCO's motivation for the informal
relationship with WKY was to offer Oklahoma City the best, most up-to-date news
service available. Gaylord's true motivation was much less altruistic. By having
an informal affiliation with WKY, Gaylord could keep a close watch on the development
of the industry without the financial investment that actual station ownership
involved. In fact, Gaylord gave explicit instructions to his editors not to spend
any OPUBCO money on WKY until the radio market was developed enough to be profitable.
(2)
When Gaylord made his first direct foray into the broadcast business in the form
of OPUBCO's 1925 sponsorship of the "Oklahoman Radio Fair," it was without
WKY. The fair featured various radio dealers and other businesses that purchased
booth space and, with it, radio advertising. A 500-watt radio station was constructed
at the fair site for broadcasting demonstrations, and OPUBCO chose Dudley Shaw,
the owner and operator of KFJF, to construct it. The Oklahoman Radio Fair seems
to have been Gaylord's way of testing the waters for his eventual entry into the
broadcasting business. (3)
Radio station KFJF conducted nightly broadcasts throughout the week-long event,
featuring performances by national radio talent like the "Ray-O-Vac Twins"
and local talent like the "Toe Tappers" dance orchestra. The Radio Fair
also featured an Oklahoma City radio first: direct advertising spots for the fair's
sponsors. Despite the controversy surrounding direct advertising, the Radio Fair
was bold with its frequent mention of sponsors' names, places of business, and
products. Although OPUBCO's Radio Fair was a huge success, Gaylord was not yet
ready to enter the broadcasting business directly and WKY remained a struggling
enterprise. (4)
In late 1925, the increasing costs of running WKY, combined with the decrease
in revenue from the WKY Radio Shop, forced Hull and Richards to declare bankruptcy.
With the failure of the WKY Radio Shop, Richards apparently left the radio business,
but Hull persisted in broadcasting. To keep WKY on the air, Hull sold shares of
the station to a group of Oklahoma City radio dealers. The shareholders in WKY
paid Hull a small salary and provided the funds that allowed WKY to broadcast
more regularly, but within a year the radio dealers also wanted out of WKY. The
WKY group, led by Harrison Smith, was actively seeking to sell the station by
1927. After repeated offers to sell to OPUBCO, in July of 1928, Smith threatened
Walter Harrison with giving the station to the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain
if OPUBCO would not agree to the asking price of $5,000. (5)
Gaylord and his family were in Europe on vacation when Harrison received the ultimatum
from Smith. Mere days before Smith's ultimatum, oil had been discovered in the
Oklahoma City field and Harrison sent Gaylord a telegram informing him of both
situations. Gaylord speculated that an oil boom would bring an increase in population
to the area that would create greater profits from his newspapers. With the anticipated
windfall from the oil strike, Gaylord decided he could invest in radio and rebuild
WKY from the ground up. Gaylord sent a telegram from London authorizing OPUBCO's
treasurer, Edgar Thompson Ball, to purchase WKY.(6)
The New WKY
On August 1, 1928, with OPUBCO's purchase of WKY, the station and Oklahoma broadcasting
entered the modern era of the broadcast industry. Renovation plans began immediately
for the new station; OPUBCO requested a new frequency from the FRC for the new
1,000-watt transmitter it purchased from RCA. New studios were designed and a
new broadcasting plant was built on the outskirts of south Oklahoma City. No expense
was spared to make over WKY in the manner Gaylord felt Oklahoma City deserved.
(7)
After developing OPUBCO newspapers into powerful financial and political tools,
radio was the logical extension for Gaylord. Like everything in the OPUBCO empire,
Gaylord wanted WKY to be not only a successful business venture but also a representative
of a city for which he felt personally responsible, and the new WKY reflected
this attitude. No longer would WKY visitors or artists be subjected to anything
less than first-class treatment.(8)
Within two months, the new WKY studios in Oklahoma City's Plaza Court Building
were completed. Great care had been taken in creating facilities that were not
only technically superior, but also aesthetically pleasing. The new studio was
designed by acoustical engineers from RCA and featured an area large enough for
a full-size orchestra.(9)
NBC and Network Programing
The timing of Gaylord's WKY purchase was perfect. By the late 1920s, all the elements
were in place for radio to become an enormously profitable business venture. Because
of advances in technology, radio receivers became affordable to the middle and
lower classes, who soon comprised the majority of the radio audience and demanded
regular, high quality programing. Network radio developed to serve this demand
and profit from it. (10)
As usual, WKY was at the forefront of radio developments. Along with the new studios
and equipment, OPUBCO made another acquisition for WKY in 1928 that would determine
more of its future than all other factors combined. Soon after OPUBCO completed
the purchase of WKY, Gaylord negotiated for affiliation with the largest of the
nation's developing radio networks, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). (11)
From the early 1920s, radio engineers had been experimenting with methods of delivering
radio programs over long distances and, by 1927, AT&T had developed telephone
lines that could deliver high-quality audio signals. NBC used AT&T's lines
to the broadcast to other NBC stations nationwide and expanded into affiliation
agreements with non-NBC owned stations by 1928. An affiliation agreement with
NBC required a station to air a certain set of the network's programs in exchange
for a share of the network's advertising profits. The affiliates also retained
the right to sell "spot ads" to local advertisers during the network
shows.(12)
The NBC affiliation had little effect on WKY's programming until one year later.
Judging by the amount of importance the Daily Oklahoman gave the NBC affiliation
during the much ballyhooed first days of OPUBCO's ownership of WKY, it appears
that OPUBCO acquired the network affiliation merely for access to major league
baseball programming. One reason for the apparent lack of enthusiasm for WKY's
network affiliation was likely OPUBCO's concept of WKY's place in the broadcast
industry. Again, a reflection of Gaylord's view of Oklahoma City as the mecca
of the Southwest, WKY's first year of programming was almost entirely self-generated
in an apparent attempt to operate like the large stations of the East. OPUBCO
viewed WKY as an autonomous entity, operating separate from but equal to the Eastern
stations. (13)
This autonomous attitude is evidenced by the frequent celebratory announcements
made about WKY in the pages of the Daily Oklahoman. Throughout the first several
months of OPUBCO's ownership of WKY, stories run in the Daily Oklahoman stressed
the idea that the new WKY soon would become the country's greatest station. OPUBCO's
ambition for WKY can be summed up in a statement issued in the Daily Oklahoman
on WKY's opening day: "If WKY is not your favorite station after it has been
in operation a month, the management will have missed its mark." (14)
The new WKY created a windfall for local musicians because full-time broadcasting
required the station to secure the services of local musicians on an exclusive
basis. The variety of new programs developed by WKY in 1928 featured T.B. Pedico's
Orchestra, later dubbed "the WKY Orchestra," whose members also comprised
the "WKY String Quartet"; "The Pishneys," a father-son musical
act; and a popular local jazz band, "Tacket's Toe Teasers." WKY also
featured numerous other individual musicians and smaller musical groups in the
daily live music broadcasts. (15)
An average programming day for the new WKY began at 6:30 a.m. with the "Early
Risers Club," a morning exercise show led by the local YMCA. The morning
was filled with news, weather, and market reports, interspersed with programs
featuring household and beauty tips for women like the long-running "Aunt
Susan Show." Afternoons featured organ music broadcast from the Christian
Church, short musical performances by WKY staff musicians, a call-in request show
for the WKY Orchestra, news, and some children's programs like the popular "Gloomy
Gus Show." The evening programming was more elaborate; even in 1928, stations
recognized this period as "prime time." A large number of evening programs
consisted of local dance orchestras playing the popular hits of the time from
composers such as Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and Hoagy Carmichael. There were
also regular folk music programs like "Al and Dutch;" "Two Guitars;"
"Slim and Jim;" and "Martha, Pete, and Babe." (16)
During this period, WKY was successfully imitating the Eastern stations and also
producing some programming with a more regional flavor such as the weekly programs
sponsored by OPUBCO's farm magazine, the Farmer Stockman. In contrast to many
of WKY's other programs, which catered to an affluent urban audience, the Farmer
Stockman sponsored shows were geared specifically to the quickly developing rural
audience. For these programs, WKY sought talented local musicians and singers
to perform the favorite gospel and folk songs requested by its rural listeners.
(17)
Radio Advertising Comes
of Age
When WKY reopened under OPUBCO ownership, Gaylord estimated that it would take
several years to reach profitability in the broadcasting business; however, it
took far less time than he anticipated. To this end, one change toward profitability
that occurred immediately at WKY was the sale of advertising time. Under Hull
and Richards' management, WKY was mostly a part-time, semi-professional business
and likely featured no direct advertising of products. However, from its opening
day, the new WKY had many local businesses lined up to sponsor its programs including
Rarabaugh-Brown Dry Goods Co., International Heating Co., and the Humreno Milling
Co. (18)
The system of radio and television advertising recognized today is not one that
developed without a modicum of controversy. Throughout the 1920s, the controversy
over radio's place in society, and advertising's role in radio, was debated vigorously
in the nation's editorial pages. In addition to the topic of advertising, the
debate also focused on what would be considered "proper" programming.
As a reflection of the elite ownership of radio stations and radio receivers during
the first ten years of the broadcasting industry, high-minded critics sought to
restrict the air waves to programs that would "uplift" the masses--classical
music, opera, and lectures. With this attitude permeating the debate, the direct
advertising of products on airwaves originally was strictly taboo, but the subject
of advertising had to be solved for radio to develop. (19)
Many felt that direct advertising was unfair to the radio public. The argument
stated that with radio, unlike newspapers, people were not free to choose what
advertisements they heard. It was argued that with newspaper advertising, people
could choose whether they would read an advertisement and that people read only
the advertisements for products in which they were interested. The difference
with radio was that one would have to accept any advertisements that came over
the airwaves, regardless of interest in the product. President Herbert Hoover
had strong feelings about radio advertising stating, "I believe the quickest
way to kill broadcasting would be to use it for direct advertising." (20)
Despite the varied opinions about direct advertising, everyone involved in the
debate knew that there had to be some method of financing radio stations. It was
widely argued that radio station owners could not continue indefinitely at a loss;
at some point there would have to be a system of financial support. Many advocated
the idea of radio clubs where those who enjoyed a particular radio station would
pay one dollar per year for its services. Others proposed an annual tax on every
radio sold to go to the station owners. Station owners were not enthusiastic about
any type of voluntary or government administered method of payment and actively
sought methods of generating revenue. (21)
Against the wishes of the elite, advertisers developed subtle and covert methods
of advertising their products on the radio and slowly began to desensitize the
public to the idea of radio advertisements. One of the earliest uses of radio
to sell was by the "song pluggers." In the late nineteenth century,
sheet music publishers were hiring musicians to travel to music stores and play
the publisher's latest titles in order to sell copies. The sheet music publishers
recognized from the beginning that radio also was an excellent medium for selling
music. As early as 1920, publishers were sending their best song pluggers directly
to radio stations. The pluggers would check the region's music stores to see which
of their publishers' selections were available and create two- to three-hour radio
programs based on which titles were in stock. (22)
By 1924, other industries also recognized the power of radio as an advertising
medium but proceeded with great caution to avoid offending and alienating any
of the audience. During this period, many song pluggers became quite well known
for their regular radio performances and began representing other sponsors on
the air. One of the first national radio personalities, a song plugger named Wendell
Hall, had the first radio hit song with "T'aint Gonna Rain No More,"
which sold more than ten million copies of sheet music. Hall later was hired by
Eveready Batteries to perform under the name "The Eveready Redhead."
This type of indirect advertising, where the product was not directly mentioned,
but the sponsor's name was constantly mentioned in connection with the featured
performer, was the sole type of advertising used on the radio until the late 1920s.
(23)
In addition to "song plugger" advertising, other early advertising methods
were in the guise of "educational" programs. From 1924 to 1926, Philadelphia's
WEAF probed into the realm of selling products over the airwaves by offering historical
programs sponsored by various commercial interests. Gillette sponsored a lecture
on the history of beards (which included the amazing developments in safety razors),
and an association of greeting card makers sponsored a talk on the history of
Christmas cards. Such covert advertising was controversial, and for many years
every program of this type was viewed with extreme scrutiny. (24)
Despite the debates of high-minded critics, the power of the marketplace ultimately
decided radio's fate as an advertising medium. By 1928, inexpensive radios were
well within the means of the lower and middle classes. With an influx of new radio
owners, both radio's audience and the audience's expectations of what radio should
be changed. The masses seemed less particular about the existence of commercials
and much less enthusiastic for the "uplifting" programs so favored by
the more elite and intellectual radio patron. With the direct advertising controversy
resolved, all elements were in place for the broadcast industry to progress to
its a professional, and profitable, era. Despite the protests against direct advertising,
WKY was a fully professional and highly profitable commercial radio station by
1930. (25)
Back
Next
Copyright (c) Kelly Raines
1995
Notes: Chapter 2
1.Gaylord's involvement
in local politics often led him to indulge in bizarre tactics. An example of
this is Gaylord's attempt to influence the outcome of the 1930 gubernatorial
election. Gaylord allowed one of his columnists, Edith Johnson, to make an issue
of candidate William "Alfalfa Bill" Murray's underwear (which Johnson
claimed was rarely changed). However, Johnson's claim that Murray wore dirty
underwear backfired on Gaylord. Rather than having the intended effect of humiliating
Murray, depression era Oklahoma voters saw this as further evidence of Murray's
being one of the people. Murray was elected to the Governor's Office in 1930.
Walter Harrison, Out of My Waste Basket, (Oklahoma City: Privately Printed,
1949), 25-31.
2. Daily Oklahoman,1-15 January 1925, Daily Oklahoman 11 November 1928, Sec.
G, 1, Harrison, Me and My Big Mouth, 162.
3.The radio fair took place during the week of January 15 in the auditorium
of the Baptist Tabernacle. The reason for WKY's exclusion from the radio fair
is not known. Likely, the tremendous instability occurring at WKY during this
period caused Gaylord to choose the more financially stable KFJF. Daily Oklahoman,
1-15 January 1925.
4. It is ironic that KFJF would be OPUBCO's choice for the Oklahoman Radio Fair.
KFJF (after 1932 known as KOMA) remains today WKY's most ardent competitor.
Ibid.
5. Years later, Gaylord claimed repeatedly that his decision to purchase WKY
was based on his intuition about the upcoming depression. He claimed that he
knew the depression would create a huge demand for cheap entertainment like
radio. Allen, Voices On The Wind, 27-30; Harrison, Me and My Big Mouth, 165;
Daily Oklahoman, 21 August 1927, Sec. 21, 7.
6.Rex Harlow, Oklahoma City's Younger Leaders (Oklahoman City: The Rex Publishing
Company, 1931), 35-45; Boo Browning, "The Wizard of Fourth and Broadway,"
Oklahoma Monthly, November 1978, 61-70, 127-130, Allen, Voices On The Wind,
53.
7. Daily Oklahoman, 16 September 1928, Sec. D, 6.
8. Browning, "The Wizard of Fourth and Broadway," 61- 66.
9. Daily Oklahoman, 16 September 1928, Sec. D, 6; Daily Oklahoman, 15 October
1928, 4; Daily Oklahoman, 28 October 1928, Sec. E, 5.
10. Social workers of the day were amazed by the bond people had with radio
and observed that individuals would surrender almost everything--autos, furniture,
iceboxes--before they would give up their radios. Barnouw, A Tower in Babel,
239.
11. Daily Oklahoman, 23 September 1928, Sec. E, 5.
12. The affiliation system developed by NBC was copied by most other radio networks,
and has survived until today in the form of network television affiliation.
Individual stations had a certain amount of discretion regarding which network
programs they aired. Eric Barnouw, The Golden Web: A History of Broadcasting
in the United States Volume II -1933-1953 (New York: Oxford Univ. Press , 1968)
6; Lichty and Topping, eds., American Broadcasting: A Source Source Book on
the History of Radio and Television, 220; Barnouw, A Tower in Babel, 186, 191,
206, 239-254.
13. Daily Oklahoman, 23 September 1928, Sec. E, 5.
14. Daily Oklahoman, 9 September 1928, Sec. E, 5; Daily Oklahoman, 30 December
1928, Sec. E, 5; Daily Oklahoman, 5 April 1929 Sec. E, 6; Daily Oklahoman, 11
November 1928, Sec. G, 1-8.
15. Daily Oklahoman, 15 October 15 1928; 11 November 1928.
16. Daily Oklahoman, 16 December 16 1928; 30 December 1928.
17.Daily Oklahoman, 28 September 1928.
18.Browning, "The Wizard of Fourth and Broadway," 70, 127; Daily Oklahoman,
November 23, 1928.Browning, "The Wizard of Fourth and Broadway," 70,
127; Daily Oklahoman, November 23, 1928.
19. Lichty and Topping, eds., American Broadcasting: A Source Book on the History
of Radio and Television, 293-314.
20. Ibid, 203, see also, 293-314.
21. Ibid, 203-230.
22. F.G. Fritz, "Wendell Hall: Early Radio Performer," American Broadcasting:
A Source Book on the History of Radio and Television, 276-283.
23. Ibid. This type of indirect advertising was popular with sponsors for many
years to follow. Even after direct advertising became accepted, local television
or radio performers often would insert the name of their sponsor in front of
their group's name. Louise Daniels, interview by author, tape recording, June
2, 1994, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
24. KOMA Scrapbook, KOMA Archives, Barnouw, A Tower In Babel, 155-165; Robert
McChesney, "The Battle for the U.S. Airwaves, 1928-1935," Journal
of Communication, Autumn, 29-49.
25. A Tower In Babel, 155-165; McChesney, "The Battle for the U.S. Airwaves,
1928-1935, 29-49.
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