Early Spring 1982

WBTV Staffers Contribute to "On the Road"

When Charles Kuralt's "On the Road" program premieres on CBS June 26, it will have a distinct Carolina flavor to it. In fact, two WBTV staffers had a direct hand in the show.

Loonis McGlohon, WBTV's special projects director, wrote the theme music for the ten-week summer series. A long-time collaborator with the late Alec Wilder, Loonis has more than 180 songs and an opera to his credit. Kuralt wrote the words to the song.

Mark Garrison of WBTV's "Carolina Camera" suggested two of the three stories used in the first program. One story involves the Blenheim ginger ale factory in Marlboro County, South Carolina. The other features Jethro Mann of Belmont, who fixes and lends bicycles to kids who don't have bikes of their own.

The 30-minute program evolved from Kuralt's popular "On the Road" features on the CBS Evening News. Kuralt himself is a Charlotte native and formerly worked at WBT.

The new program will air Sunday evenings at 8:00 p.m., immediately following CBS' immensely popular "60 Minutes."

Apr. 19, 1982

"Barbara" Begins Next Monday

A new show is coming to WBTV and WWBT. WBTV's Barbara Stutts will be starring in her own "live" 30-minute show called "Barbara". The format will consist of a short cooking feature and single-topic discussion with a guest and live audience participation.

The show is a joint effort of WBTV and Jefferson Productions and will be taped "live" one week prior to air in the JP studio two nights a week.

For starters, "Barbara" will air for one month beginning April 26th. On WBTV, it will air at 1:00 pm following the popular local show, "Top 0' The Day". WWBT will carry the show at 11:30 am.

Barbara will cover topics which will interest her particular audience—mainly general lifestyle topics such as medical, psychological, and financial topics. The audience will be limited to around 30-35 guests so that questions and answers will flow more smoothly.

Marion Meginnis, creative services manager, will be producing the show and wants to encourage employees to attend the tapings and to get involved in the discussions. (If you are interested, contact Johnnie Washington for your tickets.) Other people who have been greatly involved in the creation of the show are John Hutchinson of WBTV and Reno Bailey of JP.

As we mentioned earlier, this is a joint effort of WBTV and JP and therefore, Marion will be using a mixture of WBTV and JP crews and technicians.

All of WBTV and JP are excited about the new show and we especially wish Barbara Stutts and Marion Meginnis the best of luck!

June 24, 1982

WBTV has scored what is thought to be a first with its news computer system.

The station used a portable computer terminal to transmit stories from the opening weekend of the World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee to its newsroom in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The photograph shows Producer Barry Ahrendt operating the terminal from his hotel room.

WBTV has a totally computerized news operation, with seventeen terminals located in Charlotte. Remote terminals transmit stories from bureaus in Washington, Raleigh, North Carolina, and Morganton, North Carolina, with portable terminal capability by regular telephone from any location.

The computer system was designed and developed by Jefferson Data Systems.

Nov. 1, 1982

Betty Feezor In NC Broadcast Hall Of Fame;
Cullie Receives Distinguished Service Award

The late Betty Feezor, who for almost 25 years hosted a daily home economics program on WBTV, was inducted into the North Carolina Broadcast Hall of Fame Sunday, October 24, at the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters' (NCAB) annual meeting in Asheville.

Accepting the Hall of Fame plaque for Betty was her husband, Turner Feezor.

Cullie Tarleton, senior vice president/radio, received the NCAB's Distinguished Service Award Tuesday morning, October 26. Last year, President Wally Jorgenson received the DSA.

Betty, who died of cancer in March of 1978, is the second company employee to be tapped for the Hall of Fame. Former President Charles H. Crutchfield was inducted as a charter member in 1970, along with such luminaries as Andy Griffith, Edward R. Murrow, David Brinkley and Charles Kuralt.

Betty, who literally "owned" the audience in her 1 pm time period, reached more than 100,000 homes according to NSI ratings taken a year before her death. Frequently, she drew larger audiences than many prime-time programs in the Charlotte market as she attracted an amazing 71% share of the metro audience at 1 pm.

Cullie was cited for outstanding national leadership in radio and for long-standing civic involvement. He has served as chairman of the NAB Radio Board and has been chairman of numerous civic and professional organizations, including the Better Business Bureau, the Charlotte Ad Club and the Little Theater of Charlotte, among others.

Dec. 13, 1982

WBTV's 'Doctor On Call': An Appointment With Johanna Shaw

By Russ Ford

It's not uncommon for a news reporter to "dress the part" while doing a story. For example, a feature reporter might wear a plaid shirt while interviewing a mountaineer about his woodcarvings.

But when WBTV's medical correspondent walks down the hall of a hospital in a white coat, she's not just dressing the part. She is, in fact, a real doctor: Johanna Shaw, M.D.

As a physician working fulltime covering a medical beat for a TV station, Johanna may be a first in the nation. (The AMA thinks there may be others, but can't name any.)

Before trading her stethoscope for a microphone, Johanna specialized in radiology and obstetrics, and engaged in general practice. She also practiced psychiatry, helping patients to deal with the psychological problems of being ill.

For five years she taught medical and nursing students at the University of Vermont. That's where she discovered her interest in television, producing tapes in a campus studio for classroom use by medical students.

How have local doctors reacted to being "covered" by someone of their own profession? "At first they adopted a wait and see attitude," says Johanna. "Some had not had good experiences with TV." But she adds, "The medical community has been very helpful, and now their attitude is generally positive." Johanna believes being a doctor herself has helped her in gaining access to some medical stories.

As for the work of a reporter, "The routine is as hard as being an intern," she says, "having to learn by experience ... the disciplines of voice and communication; the ability to communicate with people."

Asked about the emotional rewards of news reporting, compared to treating patients, Johanna points out that through her work in television she feels she is better able to help people make better decisions about their health care and have a better understanding of it.

She expects to see more doctors turning to television. "I think it's a trend," she remarks. "WBTV is four to five years ahead of other stations."

***

Shay Merritt represented the Charlotte broadcast company in the Heart Fund "Legs" contest at 2001 recently. Shay also wrote a letter-to-the-editor on how she kicked the smoking habit which The Charlotte Observer displayed prominently.

Lynne Bradley was Grand Marshall for the Kings Mountain Christmas Parade November 28 and joined Jim Patterson as parade marshal in Great Falls, S.C. December 1. Lynne also spoke to the Mecklenburg Jaycettes last month.

John Boy served as Grand Marshall of the Fort Mill Christmas Parade December 2nd, the WBCY Chicken was in the Mt. Holly Christmas Parade December 6, and WBCY personalities participated in the Stanley Christmas Parade December 7 ... WBCY has a unique Christmas promotion underway. Listeners wishing to send a personalized Christmas message call WBCY. The station calls the message recipient to convey the message, and also records it for playback on radio.

***

Jefferson Data Systems announces the promotion of David L. Smith to Lead Service System Analyst, which gives him full supervisory responsibilities for our Financial Services Product Development Area. David and his team have just successfully completed development of our new System 90 Interactive Full-Feature General Accounting System.