Swartley looks back on radio's first big challenge: television
These days, traditional radio seems to be in dire straits. Falling revenues, thanks in part to increased competition from satellite radio, iPods, and more, appear ready to kill off our first electronic medium. But a little perspective, as provided by a chat with Wilmer "Bill" Cressman Swartley Jr., the former general manager of WBZ, recalls a time when radio faced a bigger challenge - and not only survived, but also learned how to thrive.
"The moment television was announced as a reality, everyone immediately forgot about radio except for the newscasts," says Swartley, who was also a regional vice president of Westinghouse Broadcasting Co. That epic showdown started in 1939, when TV was unveiled at the World's Fair, and Swartley, who will turn 100 on June 16, recalls it vividly. He had begun working for the Westinghouse Corp. after his graduation from Cornell and by that point was not only in management, but also on air on his local Pittsburgh station, often reading a radio play.
"Radio borrowed heavily, when it first came on air, from vaudeville," says Swartley. The soon-to-be centenarian recalls hearing Jack Benny and other comedians in his youth in Pennsylvania. But by the time he assumed the job of general manager at WBZ in 1946, following five years of Army service, Swartley says the medium had gotten more formal, with talk shows or radio plays, a concert every afternoon, and evening announcers in tuxedos.
When he came to Boston, Swartley's primary responsibility was getting WBZ-TV on air; the station launched on June 9, 1948. But the general manager also had to keep the radio station up and running, which he accomplished by focusing more on news.
"This is what our public wanted," he says. "It was a public service they expected." It was also, he learned, an area in which radio could edge out television. In order for the new, visual medium to cover breaking news, he recalls, "television had to send a person out there." A radio announcer, however, could respond "in a flash. You tell them, 'We have learned from the tower that a plane has crashed. We'll give you more, now stay tuned.' And they would!"
Swartley's leadership was responsible for keeping the station "live and local," says radio historian Donna L. Halper. "Mr. Swartley knew that WBZ had a strong reputation for news, public service, and live entertainment. He made sure that reputation continued."
Still, handling both radio and television was "two headaches at once," Swartley recalls. "We had to play at both sides," he says. "We needed circulation to pay the freight in television, and the more circulation we got, the fewer people watched radio." He also faced staffing issues. "There were other [TV] stations coming on the air fast, and they were seeking experienced people. They were taking our people."
On the plus side, departing veterans made room for new "eager beavers" with new ideas, and Swartley's tenure brought in such radio greats as Dave Maynard, Gary LaPierre, and meteorologist Don Kent. He also worked to combine resources, particularly news.
"He wanted to intermingle the two," recalls LaPierre, who joined the station in 1964. "There wasn't anybody in town that could touch us as a news-gathering organization." Under his tutelage, Kent, Carl deSuze, and Dick Tucker also crossed over to the new medium, becoming TV personalities as well.
Ultimately, says Swartley, who became a consultant in 1961 and retired finally in 1969, the challenge "was not the worst thing for radio stations.
"There was always music to put on," he says. "But it put the heat on all the personalities to think up something to do that [was] exciting and that help[ed] us get some audience. That's when you innovate." 