1 history
1.1 1934–1935: launch of mutual
1.2 late 1930s: national expansion
1.2.1 programming: shadow , diverse political voices
1.3 1940s: 1 of big 4
1.3.1 programming: world war ii , superman
1.4 1950s: new ownership
1.4.1 programming: korean war , original drama s decline
1.5 1960s–1970s: narrowed focus
1.5.1 programming: rise of call-in talk show
1.6 1980s–1990s: end of mutual
history
1934–1935: launch of mutual
attempts @ establishing cooperatively owned radio networks had been made since 1920s. in 1929, group of 4 radio stations in major markets of new york city, chicago, cincinnati, , detroit organized loose confederation known quality network. 5 years later, similar or identical group of stations founded mutual broadcasting system. mutual s original participating stations wor–newark, new jersey, outside new york (owned bamberger broadcasting service, division of r.h. macy , company), wgn–chicago (owned wgn inc., subsidiary of chicago tribune), wxyz–detroit (owned kunsky-trendle broadcasting), , wlw–cincinnati (owned crosley radio company). network organized on september 29, 1934, members contracting telephone-line transmission facilities , agreeing collectively enter contracts advertisers networked shows. wor , wgn, based in 2 largest markets , providing bulk of programming, acknowledged leaders of group. on october 29, 1934, mutual broadcasting system, inc. incorporated, bamberger , wgn inc. each holding 50% of stock—five each of ten total shares.
lum , abner, latter of whom seen in advertisem*nt reaching can of horlick s. malted milk maker sponsored show during entire run on mutual. left mutual nbc blue after august 1935.
the 3 national radio networks in operation—the columbia broadcasting system , national broadcasting company s nbc red , nbc blue—were corporate controlled: programming produced network (or advertising agencies of program sponsors purchased airtime on network) , distributed affiliates, of independently owned. in contrast, mutual broadcasting system run true cooperative venture, programming produced , shared between group s members. majority of programming, wor , wgn, consisted of musical features , inexpensive dramatic serials. wor had witch s tale, horror anthology series hunner-an -thirteen-year-old narrator invited listeners douse [the] lights. draw fire gaze embers...gaaaaze em deep!... ye ll across seas, in th jungle land of africa ... hear chantin , them savage drums? wgn contributed popular comedy series lum , abner. detroit s wxyz provided lone ranger, had debuted in 1933 , in demand. claimed mutual launched vehicle western serial, lum , abner no less popular @ time. wlw brought sheer power; billing nation s station, in may 1934 had begun night broadcasting @ massive 500,000 watts, ten times clear-channel standard.
on may 24, 1935, network aired inaugural live event—the first-ever night baseball game, between cincinnati reds , philadelphia phillies. in september, wxyz dropped out join nbc blue, though contractual obligations kept lone ranger on mutual, airing 3 times week, through spring 1942. hole in detroit market filled cklw in windsor, ontario, across river. in october, network began decades-long run broadcaster of baseball s world series, airtime responsibilities shared between wgn s bob elson , quin ryan , wlw s red barber (nbc , cbs carried series year; fall classic air on 3 networks through 1938). mutual broadcast first notre dame football game autumn well, beginning relationship last decades. income-generating business, mutual network modest endeavor @ start: in first eleven months of 1935, cooperative garnered $1.1 million in advertising, compared nbc s $28.3 million , cbs s $15.8 million.
late 1930s: national expansion
in fall of 1936, mutual lost of founding members when wlw departed. network, however, in midst of major expansion: first outside group of stations sign on mutual john shepard s colonial network boston flagship station, waab, , thirteen affiliates around new england. there reason affiliation: shepard had been involved founding of mutual, , served on board of directors. cleveland s wgar became affiliate, did 5 midwestern stations: kwk–st. louis, mo.; kso–des moines, iowa; wmt–cedar rapids, iowa; koil–omaha, neb.; , kfor–lincoln, neb. big prize came in december, when don lee broadcasting system, leading regional web on west coast, left cbs become central participant in mutual. don lee brought 4 owned-and-operated stations—khj–los angeles, kfrc–san francisco, kgb–san diego, , kdb–santa barbara—along 6 california affiliates and, via shortwave hookup, 2 more in hawaii. mutual had nationwide presence. during 1936, well, offer warner bros. purchase network apparently made , rejected.
in january 1937, ownership of waab consolidated of boston station controlled shepard: wnac flagship of yankee network, circuit of new england radio stations membership partially overlapped of colonial. yankee flagship wnac had been affiliate of cbs radio, changing affiliation nbc red later in 1937 when cbs purchased weei in city. texas network added twenty-three more stations mutual affiliate roster. wgar dropped out, united broadcasting company, part of plain dealer business, joined lead station, whk. within few years, new ohio participant become 1 of network s central members, shareowner in mutual. end of 1938, mutual had 74 exclusive affiliates; though 2 leading radio network companies discouraged dual hookups, mutual shared 25 affiliates nbc , 5 cbs. total of 104 affiliates put mutual not far behind leaders. because of corporate strength behind nbc , cbs, however, , fact lion s share of powerful stations in country had signed them before mutual s emergence (the exceptional, , departed, wlw aside), cooperative network @ permanent disadvantage.
programming: shadow , diverse political voices
orson welles shadow. predecessor in role delivered show s intro, famous catchphrase, knows evil lurks in hearts of men? shadow knows.... according historian frank brady, welles s voice invisible shadow perfect. intro, however, called sinister chuckle; welles s effort seemed more adolescent giggle terrifying threat.
on programming front, 1936 saw mutual launch first network advice show, hour, hosted john j. anthony , sponsored physical culture guru bernarr macfadden. program new take on ask mister anthony, had aired on local new york station in 1932, dedicated helping sufferers antiquated , outmoded domestic relations code. anthony, real name lester kroll, brought wealth of relevant experience work—he had once been jailed failing make alimony payments. in july 1937 came premiere of seven-part adaptation of les misérables, produced, written, , directed orson welles , featuring many of mercury theatre performers—mercury s first appearance on air. september 26, 1937, proved particularly momentous date: evening, shadow came mutual. show become mainstay of network more decade , half , 1 of popular programs in radio history. first year of mutual run, welles provided voice of shadow , newly created alter ego, lamont cranston. played part anonymously @ first. but, 1 chronicler put it, nothing welles remain secret long.
in april 1938, network picked green hornet former member wxyz. mutual gave twice-a-week series first national exposure until november 1939, when switched nbc blue. (the series return briefly mutual in fall of 1940). mutual provided national launching pad kay kyser , kollege of musical knowledge. kyser s enormous success @ mutual allowed show move nbc , larger audience. may 1939, mutual broadcasting indianapolis 500. autumn, mutual won exclusive broadcast rights world series. described in 1943 supreme court ruling upholding regulatory power of federal communications commission, mutual offered program of outstanding national interest stations throughout country, including nbc , cbs affiliates in communities having no other stations. cbs , nbc invoked exclusive affiliation clauses of agreements these stations, , result thousands of persons in many sections of country unable hear broadcasts of games. first example given in ruling of abuses perpetrated 2 leading broadcast companies.
mutual began building reputation strong news service, rivaling industry leaders in quality if not budget. broadcasts of wor reporter gabriel heatter lindbergh kidnapping trial of century in 1935, heard on mutual, highly regarded; heatter had own regularly scheduled newscast, aired nationally 5 nights week. in 1936, via wor, mutual began broadcasting reports of news commentator raymond gram swing, became 1 of country s leading voices on foreign affairs. in november 1937, conservative commentator fulton lewis jr., heard 5 nights weekly mutual affiliate wol, became first national news personality broadcast out of washington, d.c.; remain network until death 3 decades later. in 1938, mutual started rebroadcasting news reports bbc , english-language newscasts european mainland. network began employing own reporters in europe continent headed toward crisis, including john steele, waverly root, arthur mann, , victor lusinchi. among these sigrid schultz, first accomplished female foreign correspondent appear on american news radio.
1940s: 1 of big 4
early in 1940, corporate organization of mutual became more inclusive, described scholar cornelia b. rose:
until january, 1940, 6 groups bore expense of network operation in varying degree: stations wgn , wor owned stock of corporation , guaranteed make deficit; colonial network in new england, don lee system on pacific coast, , group of stations owned cleveland plain dealer, participated in responsibility running expenses. new contract effective february 1, 1940, provides contributing membership above group[s] plus station cklw in detroit-windsor. these groups agree underwrite expenses , become stockholders in network.... operating board network comprised of representatives each of these groups, additional representation appointed other affiliated stations.
mutual featured variety of political voices, none long of conservative commentator fulton lewis jr. many later pundits copied style—mocking, ridiculing, full of denials, full of sweeping generalizations, , full of inside-dopesterism. wkic mutual s affiliate in hazard, kentucky.
the new cooperative structure joined owners of wkrc in cincinnati, had replaced mutual cofounder wlw in market. mutual corporation had 100 shares, apportioned follows:
in 1941, wor s official city of license changed new york. within 2 years, colonial network s affiliate roster , shares in mutual had been absorbed yankee network john shepard iii; wnac sole flagship, waab having been moved worcester, in central massachusetts, avoid duopoly restrictions. wbz taking on slot nbc red affiliate in boston, wnac switched mutual. in january 1943, federal communications commission (fcc) approved sale of yankee network—with wnac, 3 other owned-and-operated stations, contracts 17 additional affiliates, , mutual shares—to ohio-based general tire , rubber company.
already 1940, mutual on par industry leaders in terms of affiliate roster size. still, because mutual affiliates in small markets or lesser stations in big ones, network lagged way behind in advertising revenue—nbc took in eleven times as mutual year. in 1941, fcc, calling nbc divest 1 of 2 networks, observed company has utilized blue forestall competition red.... mutual excluded from, or lamely admitted to, many important markets. on january 10, 1942, mutual filed $10.275 million suit against nbc , parent company, rca, alleging conspiracy hindering , restricting mutual freely , compete in transmission in interstate commerce of nationwide network programs. fcc s supreme court victory in 1943 led sale of blue network , mutual dropping lawsuit. these developments appear have been of more symbolic practical value mutual—the transfer of nbc blue stations new american broadcasting company did little mutual s competitive position. in 1945 reached 384 affiliates, , december 1948, mutual broadcasting heard on more 500 stations in united states. growth did not reflect ability on mutual s part attract leading stations corporate-controlled networks. rather, fcc had eased technical standards local stations, facilitating establishment of new outlets in small markets: between 1945 , 1952, number of stations rose around 940 more 2,350. these new, relatively weak stations mutual kept picking up. though had many more affiliates other u.s. radio network, part remained less desirable in frequency, power, , coverage, supreme court had put it. instance, in postwar era cbs , nbc covered of north carolina each 4 stations. mutual needed fourteen affiliates deliver comparable statewide coverage.
logo kfrc, mutual station in san francisco, owned don lee broadcasting system
late in decade, there brief exploration idea of launching mutual television network, serious enough prompt talks metro-goldwyn-mayer potential source of programming talent. in fact, bamberger broadcasting s wor-tv & woic (the latter washington, d.c. video outlet) maintained letterhead mutual television decorating identifications. beyond this, there no confirmation, however, cooperative video service ever considered. plans never got off ground , mutual became 1 of big 4 u.s. radio networks not start (and dominated by) television network. while there no mutual tv network, did not mean group did not have influence on commercial television s development. several mutual radio affiliates launched own television stations affiliated television networks of abc, nbc, cbs or dumont. cooperative held rights number of valuable radio properties made transition new medium, including 2 of era s popular variations on later become known tabloid talk show , reality programming: crabby gabfest leave girls and, in particular, queen day, both started on mutual radio in 1945. referred misery show, queen day awarded prizes women come heart-stabbing stories told sick , downtrodden.... on 1 show, mother of 9 requested washing machine replace 1 broke when fell on husband , disabled him—and who, way, needed heart surgery. in may 1947, simulcast version began airing on don lee system s experimental tv station in los angeles, w6xao (later ktsl). smash hit, , turn of decade tv stations along coast broadcasting high ratings. in 1950s, mutual stare down nbc 4 years mighty network sought take control of show.
programming: world war ii , superman
president franklin d. roosevelt @ home in hyde park, new york, december 24, 1943, delivering 1 of nationwide radio fireside chats on tehran conference , cairo conference
offscreen, mutual remained enterprising broadcaster. in 1940, program featuring cedric foster joined mutual s respected schedule of news , opinion shows. foster s claim fame first daytime commentator heard nationally on daily basis. network aired year s nfl championship game on december 8, first national broadcast of annual event. on following half decade, mutual s war coverage held own of wealthier networks, featuring field correspondents such henry shapiro , piet van t veer , commentators such cecil brown, formerly of cbs. @ 2:26p.m. eastern time, on sunday, december 7, 1941, mutual flagship station wor interrupted football game broadcast news flash reporting japanese attack on pearl harbor. first public announcement of attack heard on u.s. mainland. first bombs had dropped 63 minutes earlier. in may 1945, sigrid schultz reported 1 of last nazi concentration camps discovered, ravensbrück. following month, meet press premiered martha rountree moderator. year , half in late 1940s, william shirer came on cbs current events commentary after famous falling out edward murrow. in 1948, mutual s four-part series secure these rights, dramatizing findings of president truman s committee on civil rights, outraged many politicians , network s own affiliates in segregated south.
a recording session mysterious traveler, entire cast clustered around 1 microphone. host maurice tarplin directly behind mic, third right. rear, sound-effect artist , 3 phonographs (at least) provide music , effects.
in field of entertainment, mutual built on incomparable success of shadow. wgn s chicago theater of air, featuring hour-long opera , musical theater productions before live audience, broadcast first time in may 1940. 1943, weekly show being recorded in front of houses 4,000 strong, gathered see performances featuring full orchestra , chorus. chicago theater of air run on mutual through march 1955. mutual provided national outlet influential, iconoclastic satirist henry morgan, show here s morgan began network run in october 1940. though lone ranger moved on nbc blue in may 1942, within few months mutual had reliable, , no less famous, action hero. adventures of superman, picked wor, run on network august 1942 june 1949. in april 1943, mutual launched turn 1 of longest-lasting shows: debuting return of nick carter , later retitled nick carter, master detective, network staple through september 1955. may 1943 through may 1946, mutual aired new adventures of sherlock holmes starring basil rathbone , nigel bruce, reprising roles universal film series. earlier incarnation of show had run briefly on network in 1936; less starry version return mutual september 1947 through june 1949. mysterious traveler, proto–twilight zone anthology series, aired every week on mutual december 1943 until september 1952.
in february 1946, mutual introduced quiz show, twenty questions, run more 7 years. in october, detective series let george it, starring bob bailey, launched mutual/don lee presentation; run mid-1950s. 2 years, starting in 1946 well, steve allen got first network exposure on mutual/don lee morning show smile time, out of los angeles s khj. in february 1947, religiously oriented family theater premiered; frequent appearances major hollywood stars, series aired on mutual ten , half years. march, kate smith, major star on cbs since 1931, moved on mutual. during of initial run @ network, lasted until september 1951, had 2 distinct weekday shows, each 15 minutes long: kate smith speaks, @ noon, , kate smith sings, later in hour. network gave outlet radio dramatist wyllis cooper , highly regarded suspense anthology quiet, please, ran on mutual june 1947 september 1948. aired actor alan ladd s lauded drama crime-solving mystery novelist, box 13, ran precisely year. 52 episodes, aired every sunday beginning august 22, 1948, produced ladd s own company, mayfair productions.
1950s: new ownership
on radio in morning, on tv in afternoon—audiences couldn t enough of queen day. @ end of each episode, host jack bailey proclaim, wish make every lady in america queen every single day!
toward end of 1950, executors of estate of thomas s. lee (the son of don lee, had died in 1934) decided liquidate estate s interests in broadcasting field. don lee broadcasting system, major station groups khj in los angeles , kfrc in san francisco , shares in mutual broadcasting system, sold general tire (which had stake in mutual via yankee network holdings). around same time, mutual acquired television broadcast rights world series , all-star game next 6 years. mutual may have been reindulging in tv network dreams or taking advantage of long-standing business relationship; in either case, broadcast rights sold nbc in time following season s games @ enormous profit.
early in 1952, general tire purchased bamberger broadcasting service r.h. macy , company. deal, general tire acquired wor radio , tv stations , rights name general teleradio, under company merged broadcasting interests new division (bamberger had sold tv station in nation s capital, woic, cbs , washington post). importantly, far future of mutual broadcasting system concerned, wor s founding shares in network, when added yankee , don lee holdings, gave general tire majority control of mutual. same year, nbc began attempts win television rights queen day mutual. measure of afternoon show s success, audience @ new los angeles home, general teleradio/don lee s khj-tv, triple of city s 6 other stations combined. mutual might not have had tv network, controlled 1 of profitable properties in history of commercial television.
mutual @ point largest u.s. radio network in affiliate numbers, far—it had 560, 3 times many powerful competitors, cbs (194) , nbc (191). in 1955, general tire expanded media holdings acquiring rko radio pictures howard hughes, close movie studio year , half later (general teleradio, renamed rko teleradio after acquisition, known rko general). general tire decided spin off holdings in mutual , sell programming service retained stations had given control. indeed, in 1956, general purchased governing interest in yet mutual shareholder, western ontario broadcasting, , station in windsor, cklw. in july 1957, general tire sold mutual group led dr. armand hammer.
perry como chesterfield, mondays, wednesdays, , fridays...
the network changed hands again: in september 1958, acquired scranton corporation. scranton under control of f.l. jacobs company, chairman, alexander guterma, envisioned media empire uniting mutual recent purchase, hal roach movie studio. after being questioned federal investigators in february 1959 financial improprieties, guterma stepped down. mutual, point, floundering. years had been run owners either uninterested (general tire, armand hammer) or now, growing amount of evidence show, criminal. mutual confronted situation entire radio industry facing: major advertisers abandoning radio television. commercial rates had been cut. limited sponsorship packages had been introduced, in advertiser show abbreviated period rather entire season—but there no reversing trend. networks left bills increasing number of nonsponsored programs, known in industry sustaining shows. loss of mainstay advertisers accompanied historian ronald garay describes mass desertion of network radio talent, management , technicians television.... [t]hese people taking them programming had popularized radio networks.
under new chairman, hal roach jr., f.l. jacobs put mutual chapter 11 bankruptcy. in september 1959, guterma, roach, , garland culpepper, scranton corp. vice president, indicted failing register foreign agents ; charged secretly accepting money dominican republic dictator rafael trujillo previous january in return favorable coverage of country , government on mutual news programs. never proven guterma, identified primary player on mutual s side , pleaded no contest charge, fulfilled part of deal , arranged slanted coverage. nonetheless, incident led reported 130 stations cutting affiliation mutual. whether precipitated scandal or not, among stations cutting ties mutual in 1959 1 of network s 2 original flagships, wor. businessman albert g. mccarthy, meanwhile, had taken on network, arranging settle debts while seeking owner interested in running on ongoing basis.
programming: korean war , original drama s decline
... eddie fisher coca-cola, tuesdays , thursdays. s how mutual made music in 1954.
before guterma fiasco, network had maintained reputation running strong news organization. conflict on korean peninsula began heat in mid-1950, mutual started airing 2 special reports nightly on situation, featuring commentary of major george fielding eliot, military analyst cbs during world war ii. august, mutual represented 6 correspondents in korea, more abc or nbc. in june 1958, few months before scranton takeover, network had launched nightly 25-minute newscast, world today, hosted westbrook van voorhis, famous voice of march of time. on occasion, mutual s commentary programs made news: on march 11, 1954, fulton lewis jr. featured senator joseph mccarthy guest, 2 days after senator s ethics had been called question on tv show see now, hosted edward r. murrow. in radio interview, mccarthy dismissed murrow extreme left-wing, bleeding-heart element of television.
by end of 1950s, mutual had forsworn original dramatic programming. in decade, however, picked adventure series challenge of yukon, had originated @ mutual cofounder wxyz in 1938 after station s departure network. show, subsequently renamed sergeant preston of yukon, ran on mutual january 1950 until finale in june 1955. in 1950 well, mutual introduced radio listeners adult science fiction 2000 plus, first aired on march 15, month before premiere of nbc s themed dimension x. shadow s long run ended in december 1954. in november 1957, mutual aired final episodes of last 2 remaining half-hour original dramatic shows, counterspy , gang busters, both picked other networks earlier in decade. sixteen years before mutual broadcast new dramatic series. in 1955, famous comedy team bob , ray came on nbc five-day-a-week afternoon show. kate smith returned in january 1958 final radio series, ran until august. sports began occupy increasing portion of mutual s schedule: network began regularly airing major league baseball game of day, every day except sunday. expansion daily sports programming run 1960s. while baseball s world series , all-star game go rival nbc in 1957, mutual secured exclusive national radio rights following year notre dame football, remain cornerstone rest of network s existence.
1960s–1970s: narrowed focus
advertisem*nt mutual black network, featuring dr. martin luther king jr. , poet nikki giovanni
in spring of 1960, 3m company stepped in, purchasing mutual , restoring much-needed stability operation. despite recent scandal, mutual still had 443 affiliates, of network. time, historian jim cox describes, both mutual , abc had largely wiped slates clean of of network programming—save news , sporting events , few long-running features . characterize mutual s essential approach next 3 , half decades, through further series of ownership changes.
in july 1966, 3m sold network privately held company, mutual industries, inc., headed john p. fraim. upon mutual industries s acquisition of mutual, renamed mutual broadcasting corporation . following month, after death of mutual stalwart fulton lewis jr., son fulton lewis iii took on monday-to-friday, 7p.m. slot. when abc radio split 4 demographically targeted networks on january 1, 1968, mutual unsuccessfully sued block move. meanwhile, network undergoing management instability, frequent changes @ top: example, matthew j. culligan mutual s president october 1966 june 1968. replaced robert r. pauley, came on american broadcasting company s radio division, had served president 7 years. pauley lasted year, , resigned after clashes board on need cost-cutting, , other decisions disagreed. replacement victor c. diehm, owner of several mutual-affiliated radio stations , active on mutual affiliates advisory council. diehm did not remain in position of mutual s president long. 4 years later, replaced new president, former miami radio executive named c. edward little. under little, mutual began own niche programming services, taking advantage, abc, of prevailing fcc requirement radio stations, of whatever primary format, regularly air news , public affairs (a responsibility eliminated in 1980s).
in 1967, ohio businessman daniel h. overmeyer looked start own tv network, , sought merger mutual; offer rebuffed, 3 mutual stockholders joined eleven other investors buy overmyer s hookup , rename united network. net (and offering, las vegas show ) folded after month on air. on may 1, 1972, network launched mutual black network (mbn) , mutual cadena hispánica (aka mutual spanish network); each provided 100 five-minute-long news , sports capsules week, along other programming. while spanish-language service last 6 months, 1974 mbn had 98 affiliates. spun off , acquired sheridan broadcasting corporation, leading creation of american urban radio networks. additional targeted services, such mutual southwest network , mutual lifestyle radio, followed mutual.
in 1970s, mutual began using distinctive mutualert network cue tones, or bee-doops called. these tones retained westwood 1 several years after mutual s demise in 1999. on september 30, 1977, amway bought network. after purchase, mutual began developing become first nationwide commercial broadcast satellite network, leading end of decades of reliance on telephone lines broadcast industry s transmission capacity. in 1979, amway purchased wcfl chicago federation of labor. first time, network had been founded radio stations directly controlled station of own, , in 1 of country s largest markets. mutual reached greatest number of affiliates year—950. fewer abc, multipronged approach had proven successful, far in front of nbc , cbs. appeared amway ready pose major challenge industry leaders.
programming: rise of call-in talk show
one of few primary network programs outside of news , sports mutual initiated during era became 1 of successful in history: first nationwide, all-night call-in radio program, launched on november 3, 1975, herb jepko host. jepko, had run telephone talk show out of ksl in salt lake city years, determinedly avoided controversy callers talked weather lived. jepko briefly succeeded long john nebel, before mutual tapped local talk show host @ wiod in miami. larry king made national debut on mutual on january 30, 1978; 1980, show being carried around 200 stations , credited attracting many new affiliates network. king continued mutual call-in show until 1994, after began appearing on cnn television in 1985. 1970 through 1977, mutual national radio broadcaster monday night football.
1980s–1990s: end of mutual
in 1980, amway purchased whn in new york, giving mutual second major-market owned-and-operated station. on country road, music show hosted whn s lee arnold, introduced , given national distribution. @ beginning of year, mutual had begun airing mutual radio theater, formerly sears radio theater, had picked up. number of well-regarded dramas produced part of anthology series. in 1981, mutual launched dick clark s national music survey, three-hour-long weekly program combining music , interviews. despite these developments , fact satellite network on line, amway making little if profit out of mutual. network s corporate parent began backing out of radio business. mutual radio theater, network s last ever original dramatic series, aired final show on december 19, 1981. in november 1983, amway sold off mutual s wcfl statewide broadcasting. year later, deal struck sale of whn doubleday broadcasting.
ad dick clark s national music survey, among last entertainment shows originate on mutual
in 1985, westwood one, major radio production company , syndicator—that is, budding network—was looking expand operations. westwood , mutual match: demographics of mutual affiliates tended adult; of stations bought westwood s programming, of in pop music field, had substantially younger audiences. mutual had news operations westwood lacked. , there mutual s size; though down peak, still commanded 810 affiliates, strong second among big four. in september 1985, amway sold network westwood 1 $39 million. s perfect fit, declared westwood head norman j. pattiz. referring united company s ability give advertisers access broad demographic sweep, called classic case of 2 plus 2 equaling five. in 1987, number got bigger: westwood 1 snapped mutual s long-time competitor, nbc radio network, $50 million. mutual part of larger programming service, , identity being phased out. in 1993, when larry king switched radio show daytime year before giving up, late-night call-in slot went wcfl alumnus jim bohannon; within few years, westwood one–branded show. westwood 1 taken on infinity broadcasting in 1994. in deal announced in june 1996 , completed december, cbs s new parent company, westinghouse, acquired infinity shy of $5 billion. direct descendants of 3 original u.s. network companies had merged.
by time, mutual little more brand name news , sports programming provided new conglomerate s westwood 1 division. mutual , nbc radio newscasters sat back in westwood 1 studio, former main mutual facility in crystal city, virginia. in 1999, westwood 1 announced dropping mutual brand in favor of cnn radio, began distributing through deal time warner s turner broadcasting system. former member of news team described end: official time of mutual radio s death midnight 4/17/99. no tribute, no mention last newscast ... died. crystal city facility closed in march 2001, , westwood s primary operations transferred cbs broadcast center in new york city.
