Jack and "The War"

(Originally posted September 30, 2007)

The airing of Ken Burns' The War on PBS this month stirred memories of my friend Jack Shelley.

For just about anyone around today who lived a decade or more in Iowa during the 1900s, Jack Shelley is a familiar name. Born in 1912 near Boone, Iowa, Jack is as close as you get to being a "living legend.”

A journalist of the first order, Jack's career with WHO radio and television in Des Moines was punctuated with historic broadcasts of World War Two. From live broadcasts at the Battle of the Bulge in 1944 to covering the Japanese surrender ceremonies aboard the USS Missouri in 1945, Jack reported from a variety of war venues. After the war, he served as News Director at WHO-AM-TV for some 25 years.

Fortunately for a new generation of aspiring broadcast journalists, Jack moved from the newsroom to the classroom in 1965, accepting an appointment to the faculty at Iowa State University in Ames. By 1969, when I was News Director at KMA in Shenandoah, Iowa, I had become acquainted with Jack through the Iowa Broadcasters Association. That was a factor in my return to Ames in 1970 to pursue a Masters degree in Journalism. Jack Shelley was my major professor.

In 1982, Jack retired from his second career as a college professor -- but not before touching the lives and positively influencing hundreds if not thousands of young men and women. What a tremendous career this gentleman has had.

In the 1990s, he was a staunch opponent of WOI-TV being sold by the university and was rather outspoken on the topic. While the sale occurred anyway, it didn't diminish Jack's capacity for being active and involved in the community and across campus. While his pace has slowed a bit -- at 95 years of age, he's entitled!

To capture a bit of his remarkable careers as a broadcaster and educator, I heartily recommend Robert Underhill's excellent book, Jack Shelley and the News (McMillen Publishing, Ames, IA 2002). Last I heard, Jack was still giving weekly news reports at Rotary meetings in Ames, but his good friend and long-time colleague Bill Kunerth tells me that Jack has recently had a few setbacks with his health. We'll hope it's only temporary!

And then, there's Bill Kunerth, but that's a story for another day.

Fair winds and following seas to a good friend and mentor, Jack Shelley.

Whitmore - Going Strong at 85!

(Originally posted on August 10, 2007)

As a few of us have drifted into active “retirement,” I am amazed at those of our elders – a generation older – who show no signs of slowing down.

Such is the case of actor James Whitmore, who – at 85 – has returned to his roots at a summer theatre in New Hampshire as Sheridan Whiteside in the vintage play “The Man Who Came to Dinner.” According to reviewer Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal, Whitmore did it like the “youthful trouper” he was when he made his acting debut there after serving in the Marines in World War II.

I am not surprised.

Three decades ago, when I was managing public radio station KOSU in Stillwater, Oklahoma, I was witness to the creativity and professionalism of James Whitmore. One afternoon, OSU colleague John Bissonette and I decided serendipitously to drop in on a campus convocation featuring Whitmore at the Seretean Performing Arts Center. We were disappointed that so few students, faculty, staff or community residents showed up for the event. There were probably 40 of us in the audience.

Did that make any difference to James Whitmore? Not a bit.

Coming on stage despite an injury that caused him to hobble a bit, the diminutive actor with a booming voice engaged the audience in a way I’d not seen before. He talked about acting. He talked about life. He shared anecdotes about his career. In the end, he revealed his “injury” to be nothing more than a grand case of spoofing the audience with body language. It was all make believe.

And nobody does it better than James Whitmore – a real professional.

I first remember him as a cop in the classic sci-fi film “Them!” But he’s appeared in dozens of other great movies like Oklahoma, Kiss Me Kate, and Battle Cry. Television credits run into the hundreds – including classic series like Playhouse 90 and The Twilight Zone.” His portrayals of presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman in the 1970s were especially memorable, as was his rendition of humorist Will Rogers.

Bravo, James Whitmore! You’ve entertained millions of people the world over, and you continue to inspire those of us still stumbling around in early retirement.

You’ve demonstrated that keeping active and striving for excellence is a great formula for remaining “youthful troupers.” Well done!

Kudos to KBHB Radio

(Originally posted on July 8, 2007)

Extremely dry conditions in the southern Black Hills, coupled with hot temperatures and gusty winds, are hampering firefighters trying to subdue the “Alabaugh Fire” about five miles southwest of Hot Springs.

We’re saddened to learn that one person has been killed and two firefighters injured in incidents related to this fire. News reports say 27 homes have been destroyed by the wildfire, apparently started by lightning in Alabaugh Canyon.

We first learned of the fire Saturday night (July 7th) in Crawford, Nebraska, where we heard a public service radio dispatcher announce an appeal for assistance in fighting a wildfire in Fall River County South Dakota.

Sunday afternoon, as we drove north from Crawford, Nebraska to Spearfish, South Dakota, I listened up and down the radio dial seeking information about the fire.

I first tried the Hot Springs AM radio station at 580 on the dial. I heard nothing but country music. Switching to KOTA in Rapid City, I heard the CBS network news at both 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., leading their newscasts with information about massive wilfires in the western states, including South Dakota. They reported the death related to the fire near Hot Springs, but there was little detail. We heard no local follow-up on KOTA following the network news. Admittedly, I was hop-scotching across the dial -- hoping to hear something, and I may well have missed coverage by stations. But I doubt it. I was trying all afternoon, but with little success.

At 4:00 p.m., an ABC network news report over KBHB Sturgis told about the evacuation of homes in the Hot Springs area, along with an excerpt from a fire official with a few details. Following the network news, KBHB’s Gary Matthews provided the only substantive local information we could find about the fire. It included more depth and greater detail than contained in the ABC network report. And it was the ONLY local radio report about the fire that we could locate on our car radio.

Our hats off to KBHB in Sturgis for providing these reports (we heard subsequent updates) and for caring enough to provide news and information that affect residents of the Black Hills region.

I know the story was picked up by the Associated Press, and KOTA-TV, the KELOland stations, and others have undoubtedly carried the story, since there is evidence on their web sites that their stations have broadcast the story.

But Sunday afternoon, some 18 hours after the fire was first reported, radio listeners in western South Dakota were hard pressed to find ANY information about the incident.

Alas, lots of radio stations are largely automated, especially on weekends, playing music fed to them via satellite. They provide little, if any, local and regional news reports. We know of at least one Black Hills radio station whose newscasts rely on newspaper clippings – often from yesterday’s edition!!

It is sad that so many radio stations offer so little original news reporting.

Kudos to KBHB and Gary Matthews for recognizing that local news and public affairs reporting is a key ingredient in providing real service to their listeners – not just canned music and network programs.

Tomek anchors at OETA

(Originally posted June 21, 2007)

I was pleasantly surprised this week to see that long-time friend George Tomek has signed on to do some work with the Oklahoma ETV network (OETA). A veteran television anchorman with WKY-TV (now KFOR) in Oklahoma City, I first knew George when he and I served together in the Naval Reserve back in the 1970s. I was a new Lieutenant (jg) and George was our unit Executive Officer.

Those were special years, and our small group (Office of Information 411) drilled together for several years, including a variety of "Special Active Duty for Training" assignments. Folks like Jack Raskopf, Gean Atkinson, Greg Slavonic, Bill Hickman, and Ed Klecka, were a talented group of Naval officers who came from a variety of backgrounds. I had been teaching and managing the public radio station at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, but later went to work at OETA as Assistant Director and then Manager of KOED-TV/Channel 11 in Tulsa. In the 1980s, George and I served together in OI-1018 in Kansas City. Of course, all my old colleagues at OETA are retired, dead or working elsewhere. But it was good to see the photo of George's smiling face in OETA web photos. It brought back fond memories of a great group of shipmates -- and of some good years at OETA.

W$J wrong on FCC stance

(Originally posted May 24, 2007)

Regrettably, the Wall Street Journal seems out of touch with much of America when it states that “a la carte pricing bears little relationship to the issue of violent television programming” (FCC TV, May 23, 2007). Suggesting that war scenes from a History Channel documentary or shark/lion feeding scenes in a Discovery Channel program come anywhere close to the gratuitous sex and violence that permeates commercial television today is disingenuous. The WSJ editorial further asserts that Federal Communications Commission recommendations for a la carte consumer choice would constitute an unwarranted attempt by the government to “dictate a private sector business model.” We ask our government to do that all the time. Have you noticed the seat belts and air bags in your car?

To Bundle, or Not to Bundle

(Originally posted May 10, 2007)

The Federal Communicationse Commission has just released a report that reveals -- not surprisingly -- a significant increase in television violence.

And while I didn't become violent last week when I encountered some unexpected "adult content" on our televison, it did rekindle some long-time beliefs that support the concept of "unbundling" television program packages. Basically, that means subscribers should be able to choose only the channels they want in their home package, rather than paying for a bunch of channels they don't want.

By the way, the culprit channel noted above was one of the HBO channels. I didn't stick around long enough to see which one. I'm not a fan of Deadwood or most other HBO programs, but I am aware they've done some good programming -- albeit not enough for me to justify paying for it. Our HBO channels were thrown in as a temporary "freebie" -- part of the incentive to make us new subscribers to Midcontinent Cable in South Dakota.

About "bundling" and "unbundling" channels: parents of young children may enjoy having Disney, Discovery, and the Cartoon Channel, but they may have no desire for VH1, MTV, and Comedy Central. The fact is, their cable or satellite subscription bundles all of these together, and customers can either take it or leave it. If they take it, they're not only paying for what they want, but a lot of channels they don't want, too.

The technology is readily available to provide unbundled services, although cable and satellite services bemoan the fact that it will cost them money to implement such changes.

Cable has long been criticized, justifiably, for poor customer service. And while they've worked hard to overcome this stigma, it still haunts them. It's about to hit them over the head again big time, if they don't quickly come to the realization that there is rapidly growing public support for "unbundling."

I'm delighted that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is among those pushing for such unbundling. Other commissioners are supportive, as well. However, the real catalyst is a growing groundswell of public sentiment that cries for greater responsibility and accountability in the corporate offices of major cable and satellite service companies.

While parents and other care providers have prime responsibility to monitor television viewing by young children, television executives have some responsibility, too. In this instance, they also have an opportunity to be the "good guys" and take the initiative to support parents and provide ALL consumers with what they want.

Increasingly, consumers want "unbundled" services that can be selected "a 'la carte."

Let's hope cable television executives aren't asleep at the switch again.

Return to Civil Discourse?

(Originally posted April 19, 2007)

The firing of Don Imus was covered extensively by the media – and probably would still be a “front page” item, were it not for the shootings at Virginia Tech.

Sadly, Imus’ characterization of the women who play basketball for Rutgers as “nappy-headed hos,” was not atypical for Imus. A bright and articulate guy, Imus has traded in “edgy” comments for years, apparently emboldened by getting away with ever-increasing gross and/or offensive remarks, More sadly, he is not alone.

The airwaves remain filled with language and topics that perpetrators exchange for tidy paychecks from companies that trade in the business of bad taste. Of course, these same entities – like CBS and MSNBC – have done some good things over the years, too. That’s no excuse for tolerating, even encouraging and nurturing, program content that would never have been broadcast in days gone by.

Last week, I doubt that there was a broadcast market in the country not subjected to a poll asking, “Should Don Imus be fired?” Then later, after he was fired by both MSNBC and CBS, “Should Don Imus have been fired.”

The answer, of course, is yes. But the better question is: Does the firing of Don Imus signal an end to the trashy talk espoused by Imus, Howard Stern, and dozens of wannabe so-called “shock jocks”?

Broadcasting would do well to consider a return to the days when the National Association of Broadcasters issued its “seal of approval” for stations that subscribed to the NAB Code of Conduct. Find out more about the "Code of Conduct."

Some would contend that such a return to yesteryear is absurd, that it would fly in the face of the First Amendment, and that it would be unenforceable. I plead guilty to being a bit nostalgic, but I doubt that our forefathers envisioned the kind of filth being spewed over the airwaves of the 21st century. Enforcing such a code probably is a big stretch, especially in a day when “local” broadcasters responsible to local audiences are nearly impossible to find.

Perhaps we’ll just have to settle for banishing such trash to satellite radio services, which seem to have found a revenue stream from audiences that like such programming. Just as pornography has always had an audience, I suspect such “pay” satellite channels might survive – even thrive.

Better there than on the free over-the-air channels that belong to the public. It would be refreshing to see a return to relative civility by those broadcast media outlets that have spewed trash over our public airwaves in recent years.

Back in the Saddle Again!

(Originally posted April 6, 2007)

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Even as a 10-year-old growing up in Nebraska, I knew that Gene Autry had his title "King of the Cowboys" stolen from him by that upstart Leonard Slye (Roy Rogers). And how unfair it was, I thought.

After all, Gene had heroicly volunteered for the Army Air Corps in World War II, leaving his royal cowboy throne - only to have Roy steal it from him. Gene was flying "the Hump" in the China-Burma-India theatre, defending his country, while Roy was back home staging a coup!

With the recent release of Holly George-Warren's biography of Gene, Public Cowboy No. 1, all those old memories of my childhood hero were re-awakened. Not only was I among the millions of lads glued to the Gene Autry radio broadcasts from Melody Ranch, I must have had at least three autographed photos of Gene tucked away in my bedroom. I wouldn't miss any of his movies, which I still re-visit on DVD from time to time, sometimes a bit disappointed with the plot -- but never with Gene!

In the late 1940s and early '50s, kids in our neighborhood fell into one of two categories: Roy fans -- or Gene fans. I opted for the somewhat less flamboyant Gene Autry, whose humble beginnings in Texas and Oklahoma gave rise to a hero we (Gene fans) admired and tried to emulate. Roy, on the other hand, was just too flashy! Both had cool horses and pretty female sidekicks -- and that was usually the order in which we measured the good taste and wisdom of our Saturday afternoon idols.

Gene Autry came back from the war, re-established himself at the box office, and went on to amass a fortune in the record industry, real estate, broadcasting, and sports. He achieved a long-time goal of owning a major league baseball team, the California Angels.

In later years, of course, I came to admire Roy Rogers, too. His devotion to his adopted family and enduring benevolence was truly remarkable. But he would never supplant those early memories of my real hero, Gene Autry.

Some 50 years after I had put Gene up on his pedestal, and after raising my own family and traversing the country in search of a "career," the unthinkable happened. As a manager with the Oklahoma Educational Televison Authority (OETA, the state public TV network), my boss, Bob Allen, and I were invited to an open house at neighboring Oklahoma City station KAUT-TV, owned by Gene Autry's Golden West Broadcasting. Late for the gathering, we slipped in through a side door and were navigating the hallways in search of the official reception. As we turned a corner, we came face-to-face with....yup....Gene Autry. Conducting his own solo examination of the newest Golden West property, Gene obliged us, nonetheless, with a warm greeting and a handshake.

We had exchanged pleasantries, but there was no time for me to tell Gene how much he had affected my young life. I, and millions of other cowboy wannabes, grew up wanting to be just like our hero. Well, I never quite made it as cowboy hero, but for those few short moments, I was "back in the saddle again"!

Thanks for the memories, Gene.

America at a Crossroads

(Originally posted April 5, 2007)

Public broadcasting has always had a slight tilt to the left, but it remains the best U.S. broadcast news service available. While the BBC has lost ground, its international coverage is second to none. I spend most of my broadcast listening time with National Public Radio, but I'm about to invest a significant block of time watching "America at a Crossroads" on PBS later this month.

Not surprisingly, the New York Times dedicated most of its Television page on April Fools Day to PBS. And this time it's worth the ink. Reporter Elizabeth Jensen outlined the forthcoming bloc of independent documentaries that will likely range from the far left to the "neo-conservative" right. PBS has dubbed the twelver hours of diverse views "America at a Crossroads," and just which way she will go we can't be certain.

We can, however, take solace in the fact that this series of programs will be tied together by the thoughtful introductions of Robert MacNeil, long-time journalist with PBS and the BBC. It's hard to believe that MacNeil would risk his well-earned credibility becoming associated with a project without merit. His participation -- for many of us -- is a testament to the quality of the project.

Not that we'll all like everything we see and hear. More likely, it will offend those with extreme views on both sides, who will then try to enliven the perennial question regarding federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Jensen reports that the concept of "Crossroads" emanated at CPB, which plowed $20 million into helping make the concept a meaningful reality.

Viewers with strong opinions on the war in Iraq will find much fodder for debate in this six-day series. Let's hope they find merit in diverse examinations of the war, Islam, and the sharpening conflict between national security and personal liberties.

And let's hope they're more tolerant than John Schidlovsky, an outside adviser to the "Crossroads" project. Founding director of the International Reporting Project at Johns Hopkins University, Schidlovsky resigned as an adviser, apparently because a "neo-conservative" film featuring former Bush advisor Richard Perle was given the green light for broadcast on "Crossroads." Never mind that it's just one of numerous perspectives to be aired.

The anticipated diverse content of "America at a Crossroads" is the kind of thing that we seldom find anywhere on television.....except at PBS. The first broadcast will be Sunday evening, April 15th. Kudos to CPB and PBS for taking on what will undoubtedly cause a stir along the Potomac.

Tune In...Take Drugs...

(Originally posted April 4, 2007)

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I take an aspirin a day, so I'm reluctant to be a radical on the the subject of "big drug companies" ruining our lives. But I do believe they've had a profound negative effect on our quality of life. How is that possible you may ask, given the development of life-saving drugs that have also provided healthier lives for millions of Americans?

Let's clearly distinguish between the drugs themselves and their marketers.

A generation or more ago, the corner drugstore was a community gathering place, where you could visit with friends, pick up a prescription, and perhaps enjoy a milk shake at the soda fountain. Clearly, there were pharmaceutical companies -- even large ones, but they were not driven by the fierce market forces of the 21st century.

Some of you will remember the days of Huntley-Brinkley and Walter Cronkite, when the evening network news was replete with commercials for soap, breakfast food, automobiles, beer, and -- yes -- pharmaceuticals. Fast forward 50 years and discover that the Hamm's bears have gone into permanent hibernation from the airwaves, and that drug companies have come to dominate commercial time not just during the evening news -- but throughout the evening television schedule.

The enormity of the economic force wielded by big drug companies is reflected in a bit of research done by the Center for Public Integrity, a non-profit and non-partisan public policy organization in Washington, D.C. They report that big drug company lobbyists in Washington easily outnumber members of Congress, and that those lobbyists spent some $155 million between January 2005 and June 2006. It's little wonder that they were successful in beating back efforts by Congress to revisit a provision in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 that barred the federal government from negotiating on Medicare drug prices. The Center for Public Integrity further reports that drug lobbyists also worked hard for the protection of lucrative drug patents and the prevention of the importation of lower-priced Canadian drugs.

Three cheers to the Center for Public Integrity for its investigative efforts focusing on this timely issue. A situation that threatens to push costs for health care even farther out of sight......alongside drug company profits. You can read more about it at: http://secure.publicintegrity.org/ It's enough to give a fella a headache. Would you please pass the aspirin?

Little Mike on the Job!

(Originally posted January 4, 2008)

We've added a few new photos to the KCSR Photo Gallery. One of them is shown above. It's the indefatigable "Little Mike" mobile unit, covering a baseball game at Memorial Park in Chadron, probably in the late 1950s. Can you identify the gent in the middle of the photograph? We hope to encourage other ex-KCSR folks to contribute old photos or stories they might have. Send us an e-mail if you have any such memorabilia you'd be willing to share. Thanks!

Remembering KCSR - 1450 on the Dial!

(Originally posted December 25, 2007)

The holidays have a way of allowing us to make contact with kindred souls we’ve not seen or visited with for many years.

In the past week, I’ve exchanged e-mails with Frank Clark, a former Chadronite now long-retired and living in Virginia. Frank and I met up at his home a few years ago to reminisce a bit about KCSR Radio and mutual friends who worked there in the early days, when the station was still at “1450 on the radio dial.”

It occurred to me it would be fun to try to pull together a few old photographs from those years. That’s a sample up above – Cliff Pike and Bob Fouse frolicking around on Breakfast with the Boys, which aired in the mid-1950s, shortly after the station went on the air.

In coming weeks, I’ll be posting the few photos I have in a KCSR Gallery and encouraging others to join the fray! If you have some you’re willing to share, please drop me an e-mail. Here are other KCSR stories.

KCSR trivia question #1: Bill Finch and Bob Fouse put KCSR on the air in May 1954. They already had a few years of broadcasting experience under their belts when they arrived in Chadron. Where had they been?