Friday, September 24, 2010

1957.………THE “BIG APPLE”



In 1957 I finally made it to New York City. I already had three jobs under my belt (a short stint with an Ad Agency in Boston, 6 months at WWNY radio station in Watertown, NY and over a year at KEY-T TV in Santa Barbara, Ca.) and felt I was ready to compete.

I found an affordable room at the Ferguson (a hotel for women only) on the upper East side and started my search for a job. My resume and some good references opened the right doors and within a week I was working for WABC radio.

This was a very shaky time for that industry. The stations were losing audiences by the droves, as TV was just cresting on the horizon, and WABC was making a last ditch stand with their promotion, “Live and Lively Radio”. My job was to write promotional material aimed at selling time on the live shows.

Our studios were on West 86th St. and we were in a constant state of turmoil. We were either writing a proposal, presenting one or re-doing it. This was where I learned that it is possible to manipulate facts and figures to say what you want and I’ve never trusted advertising since then!



A lot happened during my 3 years at WABC. I moved to Tudor City, near the UN, met my husband and married in 1958 and finally left the job when our first child was born in 1959. (That’s a pregnant me in the picture above).

Live radio shows were destined to fail, especially when NBC TV came out with color, but at least I had my small bite of the Big Apple while it was still ripe and juicy

10 Comments:

Blogger Diana said...

Hi Ginnie,
It sounded like fun times back then.
My husband loves listening to the classic radio shows on satellite radio. Love Di ♥

5:23 PM  
Blogger steveroni said...

Ah! Memories--and GOOD ones! Isn't it fun? Reminiscing is a great pastime so long as I don't stay in there. Climb out and back to reality!

Thanks for this post. I had my first job in 1952, violinist with Cincinnati Symphony, and you helped me remember some of the good times there!

I still love radio, but glad I don't have to work in it. Tough!

6:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What an exciting life that must have been. Especially in the context of media history. I can see an awesome middle child in your future though!!

7:49 PM  
Blogger Ginnie said...

Could "Anonymous" possibly be my middle child, Matt ??? He's not what you'd call lacking in self esteem, but I do have to admit that he's a bit awesome !

6:48 AM  
Blogger kenju said...

I "ran away" to NY in 1961 and it was my first intro to the city. I would have gladly moved there if I could have. It was so exciting to me then!

6:01 PM  
Blogger Syd said...

Nice Ginnie. I bet that was a good time.

6:33 PM  
Blogger Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Hi Ginnie, your background makes for some interesting reading. Despite TV pushing radio shows to the back burner, I remain a steadfast radio listener. It's just getting harder to find good listening at times - but a Sirius subscription gives me Sinatra, jazz, classical anytime!

5:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

How super exciting!
I listen to talk back radio. Our bedroom clock radio is set on talk back and is on whenever we are in the room. I love listening to live radio. I love listening to trivia on the radio too. The guys on the night time program have a segment called "Remember when". People call in and speak about what they remember growing up around Melbourne. How the city has changed, how people have changed. It is a great lesson for anyone younger than I am, to listen to what our city was like.
Cazzie

9:53 AM  
Blogger possum said...

What an exciting time for you!
Thanks for sharing! I do remember listening to WABC when we could get it. One of my first jobs was at a radio station, too... I got to make coffee, empty ash trays, take the trash out, sweep the floor....... not very glamorous, but fun for a 14 yr old.
Today, I hate going near a city... can't imagine living in one, well, maybe Istanbul, but that would be more like living in a history book come alive.

7:51 AM  
Blogger Tossing Pebbles in the Stream said...

I still love radio . I listen to a lot of old tyme radio shows and the ads are often the most interesting.
Lux Theatre integrates the ads into the discussions before and after the drama, like complimenting the actress on her complexions and she then says she is a user of lux soap and just loves it.

3:48 PM  

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