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Radio's George Putnam "Outstanding News Reporter"

Hot Hits said:
For those of us who grew up with George on TV & Radio, please take a few minutes when you have time to review this, shocking!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pciD9gd3my0
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How is this "shocking?" Did you ever see his One Reporter's Opinion segment on KTLA or KTTV? The man was a right-wing conservative, so it's not surprising he would be anti-porn in the 60s, when he narrated this documentary. Interesting trivia - I understand that the person who put up the money for this doc was none other than Charles Keating, the financier who was discredited during the Savings and Loan debacle in the 1980s.

As a kid growing up in the 60s, I thought Putnam was hysterical...as in unintentionally funny. I used to collect Putnamisms. When he moved from KTLA to KTTV about 1969 for more money, KTLA responded by hiring ex-Police Chief Tom Reddin, another conservative, as competition for Putnam. The LA Times printed an editorial cartoon showing Putnam and Reddin fighting over an American flag. Reddin reportedly thought it was funny, and asked the Times for a framed print to put on his wall. But Putnam was predictably furious. I anxiously tuned in that day to see his meltdown on the ORO segment. I still remember a couple of quotes:

"This reporter has been slandered before. Most of it has come from com-symps, pseudo-intellectuals, apprentice publishers, and other losers." (referring to the new young publisher of the LA Times, who had the audacity to not be as right-wing as his father)

"It is high time, DAMN well time, to give EQUAL time to Old Glory." (equating himself with the American flag).

He teared up, and his voice shook. It was quite the performance. I remember one other classic Putnam line from another ORO:
"I am sick to death of the hippies and SCUM, who would rather contract VD, than face the VC" (Viet-Cong - a reference to hippie draft-dodgers)

I only heard his radio show once, probably when he was in his late 80s. He was losing that deep baritone voice, and seemed to have mellowed some, with age. He was interviewing right-wing rabble-rouser Ann Coulter. For those who don't know, she's a tall, attractive blonde. He was clearly smitten with her, and kept calling her "Little Darlin' " Putnam was a piece of work.
 
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Thanks for the response! I grew up with 'Talk Back' on KTLA with George, Larry, and Hal. I always thought Putnam was kinda nutty and I didn't notice this 'report' was paid for from money by Keating, former Lincoln Savings and Loan magnate
 
TeaPartyDude said:
Maybe this country would be better off if more had heeded his prescriptions.
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Don't know about that...I don't consider myself a prude, but as a father of 3, it is discomforting to me that any child with a "smart" cell phone (and that's most children), can access hardcore porn now in one-click. Obviously a far cry from my day, when you could maybe sneak a peek at an adult's Playboy mag, or look at bare-breasted women in National Geographic.
 
LKellerIII said:
How is this "shocking?" Did you ever see his One Reporter's Opinion segment on KTLA or KTTV? The man was a right-wing conservative, so it's not surprising he would be anti-porn in the 60s, when he narrated this documentary. Interesting trivia - I understand that the person who put up the money for this doc was none other than Charles Keating, the financier who was discredited during the Savings and Loan debacle in the 1980s.

As a kid growing up in the 60s, I thought Putnam was hysterical...as in unintentionally funny. I used to collect Putnamisms. When he moved from KTLA to KTTV about 1969 for more money, KTLA responded by hiring ex-Police Chief Tom Reddin, another conservative, as competition for Putnam. The LA Times printed an editorial cartoon showing Putnam and Reddin fighting over an American flag. Reddin reportedly thought it was funny, and asked the Times for a framed print to put on his wall. But Putnam was predictably furious. I anxiously tuned in that day to see his meltdown on the ORO segment. I still remember a couple of quotes:

"This reporter has been slandered before. Most of it has come from com-symps, pseudo-intellectuals, apprentice publishers, and other losers." (referring to the new young publisher of the LA Times, who had the audacity to not be as right-wing as his father)

"It is high time, DAMN well time, to give EQUAL time to Old Glory." (equating himself with the American flag).

He teared up, and his voice shook. It was quite the performance. I remember one other classic Putnam line from another ORO:
"I am sick to death of the hippies and SCUM, who would rather contract VD, than face the VC" (Viet-Cong - a reference to hippie draft-dodgers)

I only heard his radio show once, probably when he was in his late 80s. He was losing that deep baritone voice, and seemed to have mellowed some, with age. He was interviewing right-wing rabble-rouser Ann Coulter. For those who don't know, she's a tall, attractive blonde. He was clearly smitten with her, and kept calling her "Little Darlin' " Putnam was a piece of work.
Click to expand...

Wow amazing to think that Putnam created the "Must Run Segments" in Los Angeles and this is decades before Sinclair television yes the soon to be owners of KTLA thought about putting their pundits to appear between newscasts to run their must runs.
 
RadioPatrol said:
Wow amazing to think that Putnam created the "Must Run Segments" in Los Angeles and this is decades before Sinclair television yes the soon to be owners of KTLA thought about putting their pundits to appear between newscasts to run their must runs.
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I don't know that term - what are "Must runs?" I can kind of guess, but please enlighten me.
 
LKellerIII said:
I don't know that term - what are "Must runs?" I can kind of guess, but please enlighten me.
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http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2017/07/10/boris-epshteyn-sinclair-broadcasting-240359

This is what I meant by Must runs though and Sinclair's name is mentioned in this article because KTLA and WPIX Viewers are at play here because of the Tribune/Sinclair Deal.

Even while under fire for requiring its outlets to run conservative content, Sinclair Broadcast Group is increasing the "must-run" segments across its affiliates featuring former Trump White House official Boris Epshteyn to nine times a week, the company confirmed on Monday.

The move comes as the company is seeking to dramatically expand its holdings by purchasing Tribune Media for $3.9 billion, which would make it the largest local television operator in the country, with more than 200 stations.

But Sinclair's unusual practice of requiring all its stations to run reports dictated from the corporate offices has been flagged by critics of the Tribune acquisition and even become a subject of late-night TV ribbing by HBO's John Oliver.

"Should this Tribune acquisition go through, there are going to be even more good journalists having to see their hard work placed alongside terror-desk nonsense, just as there will be more unsuspecting audience members who will get a heaping dose of Sinclair content, possibly without realizing that," Oliver said, referring to one of Sinclair's required segments, Terrorism Alert Desk. "You should find out who owns your local station and bear that in mind as you watch."

Epshteyn was hired by Sinclair as chief political analyst in April after a short ride in the White House overseeing the choice of Trump surrogates for TV appearances.

Now, on Sinclair, he is offering his own political commentary.

His "Bottom Line with Boris" segments already air three times a week, but will now triple in frequency, featuring a mix of his political commentary as well as "talk backs" with local stations and interviews with members of Congress. The segments will have a “billboard,” meaning they’re sponsored, but will not be sponsored content, a Sinclair spokesperson said.

Epshteyn’s segments are “must runs,” so all the Sinclair stations across the country will air them along with their other “must-run” segments including conservative commentary from Mark Hyman and the Terrorism Alert Desk segments. Epshteyn reliably parrots the White House's point of view on most issues. For example, he claimed last month that former FBI Director James Comey's testimony on Capitol Hill was more damaging to Hillary Clinton and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch than to the president.

"Contrary to widespread expectations, we actually learned much more about the president's opponents and his critics from Comey's testimony that about any issue involving the president himself," Epshteyn said.
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Yes - that's what I figured, Radio Patrol - but I'm not sure how it relates to George Putnam. He had his own daily commentary, and his conservative bent came out constantly in his supposedly objective reporting - but it had nothing to do with "must run" segments. Putnam was very popular in the 60s, and made KTLA and Golden West, or KTTV and Metromedia (alternately) a lot of money - so they stayed out of his business and gave him editorial control.

I recall that when Tom Bradley first ran for Mayor of LA - Putnam had incumbent Mayor Sam Yorty on the news frequently to spread rumors (lies, really) about Bradley. One lie was that Bradley (who was African-American) was associated with the Black Panther party. Nothing could have been further from the truth - Bradley was an ex-cop turned City Councilman, and his politics were moderate, though not right-wing like Yorty. The Putnam/Yorty tactic was used to appeal to racist fears. Bradley did lose to Yorty that year, but won 4 years later and served (IIRC) 4 terms as Mayor.
 
LKellerIII said:
Yes - that's what I figured, Radio Patrol - but I'm not sure how it relates to George Putnam. He had his own daily commentary, and his conservative bent came out constantly in his supposedly objective reporting - but it had nothing to do with "must run" segments. Putnam was very popular in the 60s, and made KTLA and Golden West, or KTTV and Metromedia (alternately) a lot of money - so they stayed out of his business and gave him editorial control.

I recall that when Tom Bradley first ran for Mayor of LA - Putnam had incumbent Mayor Sam Yorty on the news frequently to spread rumors (lies, really) about Bradley. One lie was that Bradley (who was African-American) was associated with the Black Panther party. Nothing could have been further from the truth - Bradley was an ex-cop turned City Councilman, and his politics were moderate, though not right-wing like Yorty. The Putnam/Yorty tactic was used to appeal to racist fears. Bradley did lose to Yorty that year, but won 4 years later and served (IIRC) 4 terms as Mayor.
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That's the point I was going for. I was wondering about if Putnams point was specifically meant to please the TV owners. But apparently that point was mentioned here and popularity was a factor here.
 
LKellerIII said:
How is this "shocking?" Did you ever see his One Reporter's Opinion segment on KTLA or KTTV? The man was a right-wing conservative, so it's not surprising he would be anti-porn in the 60s, when he narrated this documentary. Interesting trivia - I understand that the person who put up the money for this doc was none other than Charles Keating, the financier who was discredited during the Savings and Loan debacle in the 1980s.

As a kid growing up in the 60s, I thought Putnam was hysterical...as in unintentionally funny. I used to collect Putnamisms. When he moved from KTLA to KTTV about 1969 for more money, KTLA responded by hiring ex-Police Chief Tom Reddin, another conservative, as competition for Putnam. The LA Times printed an editorial cartoon showing Putnam and Reddin fighting over an American flag. Reddin reportedly thought it was funny, and asked the Times for a framed print to put on his wall. But Putnam was predictably furious. I anxiously tuned in that day to see his meltdown on the ORO segment. I still remember a couple of quotes:

"This reporter has been slandered before. Most of it has come from com-symps, pseudo-intellectuals, apprentice publishers, and other losers." (referring to the new young publisher of the LA Times, who had the audacity to not be as right-wing as his father)

"It is high time, DAMN well time, to give EQUAL time to Old Glory." (equating himself with the American flag).

He teared up, and his voice shook. It was quite the performance. I remember one other classic Putnam line from another ORO:
"I am sick to death of the hippies and SCUM, who would rather contract VD, than face the VC" (Viet-Cong - a reference to hippie draft-dodgers)

I only heard his radio show once, probably when he was in his late 80s. He was losing that deep baritone voice, and seemed to have mellowed some, with age. He was interviewing right-wing rabble-rouser Ann Coulter. For those who don't know, she's a tall, attractive blonde. He was clearly smitten with her, and kept calling her "Little Darlin' " Putnam was a piece of work.
Click to expand...

You say all of this like it's a bad thing.
 
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