How We Survived in UHF Television: A Broadcasting Memoir, 1953-1984

by Kitty Broman Putnam, William Lowell Putnam

Overview

This personal narrative is co-authored by two of the best-known names in American UHF television broadcast management: Kathryn "Kitty" Broman Putnam and William Lowell "Bill" Putnam. During the first two decades of Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) television, when the established VHF (Very-High Frequency) stations dominated the TV marketplace, the Putnams built and operated three successful UHF outlets: WWLP-TV in Springfield, Massachusetts; WKEF-TV in Dayton, Ohio; and KSTU-TV in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Kitty and Bill recall how they labored for survival during the "dozen lean years" between 1952 and 1964, and the events along their way to leadership in the world of advertiser-supported analog television. Included are several original poems written by Bill, and tantalizing recipes created for Kitty's long-running local cooking show.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786466665
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	12/02/2011
Pages:	242
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

The late Kitty Broman Putnam was the first woman elected to the National Association of Broadcasters Television Board. She lived in Flagstaff, Arizona. William Lowell Putnam served as vice chairman of the Association of Maximum Service Telecasters, among his multitude of other professional credits. He is the sole trustee of the Lowell Observatory and lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Table of Contents

Authors' Note 1

Preface 3

1 Getting Started in Television 9

2 Actually Building a Station 21

3 Lowering Our Frequency - Overnight 36

4 Parentheses 40

5 Building a Local Audience 50

6 Those Magnificent Irishmen 89

7 Building a Network Relationship 102

8 Building Advertiser Support 123

9 Not All Hard Work - Boys Will Be Boys 130

10 Onto the National Scene 144

11 Editorials in the "Fairness" Era 152

12 Dealing with the FCC 161

13 Building the Broadcast Industry-Kitty's Station 178

14 Glimpsing the Future 194

15 Personalities 199

16 A Poetic Heritage Comes Out 203

Appendix A 217

Appedix B 224

Index 231