Retro; New York City, Thursday, November 19, 1959

[Bob1370]

Source; New York Times

Stations;
2-WCBS-TV (CBS)
4-WRCA-TV (NBC)
5-WNEW-TV (Ind)
7-WABC-TV (ABC)
9-WOR-TV (Ind)
11-WPIX (Ind)
13-WNTA-TV (Ind)

MORNING

6:00*(4) Continental Classroom (R)
6:30*(2) Sunrise Semester
*(4) Continental Classroom (C)
7:00-(2) News and Weather Reports (to 8:15)
(4) Today-Dave Garroway-Interview with Sir Julian Huxley
7:30-(7) Cartoons
8:00-(5) Cartoons
(7) Little Rascals
8:15-(2) Captain Kangaroo
8:30-(5) Sandy Becker Show (children)
(7) Time for Fun
9:00-(2) People's Choice (R)
(4) Hi, Mom-Jimmy Weldon (children)
(7) Beulah (R)
9:30-(2) Our Miss Brooks (R)
(5) Topper (R)
(7) Personal Theatre
9:50-(11) Mathematius--Grade 8
10:00-(2) Red Rowe Show (variety)
(4) Dough-Re-Mi-Gene Rayburn
(5) Filrn : Young Widow ('46), Jane Russell (R)
(7) Joe Franklin
10:20-(11) Geography-Grade 6
10:30-(2) On the Go-Jack Linkletter
(4) Treasure Hunt-Jan Murray
10:40-(11)Science-Grades 3 and 4
10:50-(9) Herb Sheldon Show
11:00-(2) I Love Lucy (R)
(4) Price Is Right-Bill Cullen
(7) Romance of Life
(11) Reading Workshop
(13) Ding Dong School-Dr. Frances Horwich
11:30-(2) December Bride (R)
(4) Concentration-Hugh Downs
(5) Romper Room
(7) I Married Joan 111)
(11) Arithmetic-Grade 4
(13) Jack LaLanne

AFTERNOON

12:00-(2) Love of Life
(4) Truth or Consequences-Bob Barker
(7) Restless Gun (R)
(9) Film: Key Man (1950), With Angela Lansbury (R)
(11) German
(13) Cartoons
12:30-(2) Search for Tomorrow
(4) It Could Be You-Bill Leyden (C)
(5) Cartoon Playhouse
(7) Love That Bob (R)
(11) Astronomy
12:45-(2) The Guiding Light
1:00-(2) News Report
(4) Dr. Joyce Brothers
(7) Music Bingo
(11) Fun at One
(13) Gunslingers
1:05-(2) Burns and Allen (R)
1:25-(4) News Commentary
1:30-(2) As the World Turns
(4) Film Play
(5) Film (See 10 A. M)
(7) Ray Millard Show (R)
(9) Playhouse 60 (R)
(11) Music-Grades 5 and 6
2 00-(2) For Better or Worse
(4) Queen for a Day-Jack Bailey
(7) Day in Court
*(11) Book Discussion
(13) Film: Jassy (1948), With Margaret Lockwood (R)
2:30-(2) Art Linkletter's House Party
(4) The Thin Man (R)
(7) Gale Storm OD
(9) Love Story
*(11) Dateline U. N.
3:00-(2) The Millionaire (R)
(4) Young Dr. Malone
(5) Mr. and Mrs. North (R)
(7) Beat the Clock-Bud Collyer
(9) Strange Stories (R)
(11) Film: Behind Green Lights (1945) (R)
3:30-(2) Verdict Is Yours
(4) From These Roots
(5) Playhouse (R)
(7) Who Do You Trust?-Johnny Carson
(9) Film: Navy Blues (R) .
(13) Curtain Time
4:00-(2) The Brighter Day
(4) House on High Street
(5) Douglas FairbanksTheatre (R)
(7) American Bandstand-Dick Clark
(11) Amos 'n' Andy (RI
(13) Richard Willis
4:15-(2) Secret Storm
4:30-(2) Edge of Night
(4) Split Personality-Tom Poston
(5) Mr. District Attorney (R)
(11) Sheena (RI
(13) Junior Town
5-00-(2) Life of Riley (R)
(4) Movie Four: Thanks for Everything (1938),With Jack Haley (R)
(5) Alan Freed
(9) King of Adventure
(11) Bozo the Clown
5.30-(2) Early Show: Affair in Monte Carlo (19531, with Merle Oberon (R)
*(7) Rocky and His Friends
(9) Film: Curse of Cat People (R)
(11) Three Stooges
(13) Ask the Camera

EVENING
6.00-(5) Nuts and Bugs, Comedy
(7) Little Rascals
(11) Popeye the Sailor
(13) J. Fred Muggs Show
6:30-(4) News Reports
(5) Sandy Becker Presents
(7) Yesterday's Newsreels
(11) Huckleberry Hound
(13) Club 13
6:40-(4) Weather Report
6:45-(11) News and Comments
(7) News Reports
7:00-(2) News and Weather
(4) Warning
(5) Sheriff of Cochise (R)
(7) Tugboat Annie
(9) Terrytoon Circus
(11) News and Weather
(13) Highway Patrol (RI
7:15-(13) News Reports
7:30*(2) To Tell the Truth-Bud Collyer
*(4) Law of the Plainsman
(5) White Hunter
(7) Gale Storm Show
*(9) Million Dollar Movie
(11) You Are There-Walter Cronkite (R)
(13) News-Mike Wallace
7:55-(13) Weather Game
8:00*(2) Betty Hutton Show
*(4) Bat Masterson
(5) Byline (R)
(7) Donna Reed Show
(11) Meet McGraw (RI
*(13) The Play of the Week; "Waltz of the Toreadors", Hugh Griffith, Mildred Natwick
8:30*(2) Johnny Ringo
(4) Staccato
(5) Douglas Fairbanks Theatre (R)
*(7) The Real McCoys
(11) Navy Log (R)
9:00*(2) Zane Grey Theatre
(4) Bachelor Father
(5) Wrestling
(7) Pat Boone Show
*(9) Command Performance
(11) This Man Dawson
9 :30*(2) Playhouse 90; "The Killers", Danw Clark, Ray Walston, Dean Stockwell
*(4) Tennessee Ernie Ford Show (C)
*(7) Untouchables
(11) Love Story (R)
10:00*(4) Groucho Marx, "You Bet Your Life"
(11) Trackdown ,(12)
(13) News-Barry Gray
10:30-(4) Lawless Years
*(7) Take a Good Look-Ernie Kovacs
(9) Million Dollar Movie
(11) Shotgun Slade
*(13) Mike Wallace Interviews (guest, Gov. J. H. Edmundson of Oklahoma)
11:00-(2) News; Weather; Sports
(4) News and Weather
*(5) Five Star Movie
(7) News and Weather
(11) News Reports
(13) Dance Party
11:15*(2) Late Show
*(4) Jack Paar Show
(7) Everything Goes
(11) Weather; Sports
11:20*(I1) All Star Movie
12:00*(9) Mystery Film
*(13) Morgan at Midnight-Henry Morgan
12:15*(7) Night Show
12:30-(13) Newsbeat-Mike Wallace
12:45-(5) Paul Coates
1:00*(2) Late Late Show
(4) Consult Dr. Brothers-Joyce Brothers
1:15-(4) Film Play: Who's Calling, With Pat O'Brien

* demotes Times critic's recommendation
(C) means colorcast
(R) means replay of previously aired program

Althouh Channel 11 has always been a commercial station (then owned in 1959 by the NY Daily News), it aired an extensive schedule of educational programming in late mornings from 9:50 AM sign-on until 1 PM weekdays during this period, until Channel 13 was converted to noncommercial educational operation in 1962 and began airing this type of programming on a regular basis.

 

[BMR]

Althouh Channel 11 has always been a commercial station (then owned in 1959 by the NY Daily News), it aired an extensive schedule of educational programming in late mornings from 9:50 AM sign-on until 1 PM weekdays during this period, until Channel 13 was converted to noncommercial educational operation in 1962 and began airing this type of programming on a regular basis.

So how did that work, then? Did they do it out of the goodness of their hearts, or was there some kind of state subsidy for showing the programming?

Also, what were 'continental classroom' ( 6am on NBC) and 'Sunrise semester; (6.30 on CBS)? Were these educational shows also?

 

[bpatrick]

"Continental Classroom" and the more-successful "Sunrise Semester"
were educational programs that allowed viewers to take college courses
for credit (some 300 colleges and universities took part, while
"Semester" offered courses through NYU). At the time, "Classroom"
was a network show, airing two different courses at 6 and 6:30 AM;
"Semester" was a local offering on WCBS. CBS put it on the network in
1963 ("Classroom" ended in 1964) and it lasted until 1982.

I remember an article in TV Guide in the early '70s which mentioned that
some of the professors on "Semester" had unwittingly developed fan clubs,
and that some viewers had developed crushes on them; one, a sailor in
Norfolk, had developed one for a professor named Jill Claster; he wrote her
a note telling her he took her course (History of the Early Middle Ages) just to
see her and asked her not to answer, that he might catch grief from some of
his fellow sailors. She obliged him.

 

[Tim L]

WEWS-TV 5 Cleveland had a program called Western Reserve Telecourses that generally aired 9-9:30 AM weekdays from September 1951 to January 1967, after which it aired exclusively on WVIZ-NET 25..

 

[bpatrick]

I should clarify a point in my posting about "Continental Classroom"
and "Sunrise Semester": it was "Classroom" that offered credit through
more than 300 colleges and universities; "Semester" was through NYU
only.

Tim L, this might interest you: there were two women in Ohio, one in
her 70s, the other in her 80s, who would watch "Semester" twice: at
6 AM on WBNS and again at 7:30 on WHIO. They did this to help them
remember what they heard (and perhaps to fill in gaps they missed the
first time), then carry on a telephone discussion of the day's lecture.

 

[Tim L]

Those ladies must have had good outdoor antennas to get both Columbus and Dayton at the same time..

I remember another early morining show..Didnt watch it often but it was on KYW/WKYC for years Sat. Mornings at 6 or 6:30-International Zone..Can't find that much about it..

 

[Bob1370]

"So how did that work, then? Did they (channel 11) do it out of the goodness of their hearts, or was there some kind of state subsidy for showing the programming?"

There was no subsidy that I'm aware of. A lot of statiions set aside 30 or even 60 minutes in a day for educational programming at no charge when there was no fulltime educational station in a market, and most of them did it as a part of the public service commitment they made to get their broadcast licenses (especially if they won a comparative hearing). Some even offered studio facilities and personnel to help produce the shows.

In Rochester, to give one example, both WROC-TV and WHEC-TV gave late morning free time to the city schools and the educational television association for programming that coukd be used by area students in the classroom. They also occasionally put prime time educational specials on their schedule (most furnished either by local colleges or by NET, the predecessor of PBS) through the early 60s. Like in New York after the sign-on of Channel 13 as an educational/cultural station in 1962, the commercial stations upstate scaled back and eventually phased out their educational programming once a fulltime noncommercial station signed on in 1966.

 

[BMR]

Thanks for the explanation.