Was I ever this young????

The year was 1956. I was 23 and just two years out of BU with a Bachelors in Journalism. I had worked for a short while in an Advertising Agency and a year as a promotional writer for WWNY Radio in Watertown, NY, but I was getting itchy feet and decided to head to California.

Coming from the East Coast was a huge plus back then and I’m sure it played a large part in my getting an interview at KEY-T television station in Santa Barbara and then actually landing the job. The picture above accompanied the press release which read:

Colin M. Selph, President & General Mangager of KEY-T has appointed Virginia Lee as Advertising & Promotion Manager of the station. Miss Lee, formerly with Shattuck, Clifford & McMillen Advertising in Boston and WWNY in Watertown, NY will head up KEY-T’s trade press advertising and publicity, sales promotion and agency contacts.

When I read that in the paper I realized I was in way over my head but, with the hubris of youth, I figured I could fake it. Actually these were the very early days of TV and the station was just getting off the ground so in a way we were all undergoing a learning experience.

In the long run it didn’t make much difference since Mr. Selph got an “offer he couldn’t refuse” and he sold the station within the first year that I was there. The new owners brought all their own people so that left a bunch of us without jobs ... but the time spent there was definitely not a loss.

That short stint at KEY-T really beefed up my resume and helped to pave the way for my next BIG stop ... New York City !