Retro: Panama City, Fla., summer 1957

[DM601]

Here’s a look at a week’s worth of WJDM 7 Panama City, Fla., CBS-NBC-ABC affiliate and the only station listed by the Panama City News-Herald then. I began to suspect parts of this schedule were outdated when originally published after crosschecking what I’d typed against the Brooks/Marsh book. But it does provide a glimpse of a multi-network, small-market operation in 1957.

All times Central
Sunday, July 7, 1957
PM
12:30 Oral Roberts
1 Layman Witness
1:30 Industry on Parade
1:45 Sunday Matinee
2:30 This Is The Answer
3 Halls Of Ivy (1954-55 CBS series)
3:30 Dateline Europe
4 This Is Your Life (from NBC 7:30 Wednesday; WJDM also ran it 10:30 p.m. Thursday)
4:30 Top Tunes & New Talent
5:30 Contending For Faith
6 Roy Rogers (NBC, and Brooks/Marsh says last show was June 23)
6:30 Marge & Gower Champion (CBS; Brooks/Marsh says last show was June 9)
7 Star Showcase
7:30 Public Defender (1954-55 CBS series)
8 G.E. Theater (CBS)
8:30 Favorite Story (syndicated 1952-54 series)
9 $64,000 Challenge (CBS)
9:30 Loretta Young Show (NBC from 9:00)
10 Curtain Call
WEEKDAYS
DAYTIME
Monday, July 8-Friday, July 12, 1957
AM
7 Captain Kangaroo (CBS)
7:45 CBS News
8 Kartoon Karnival
9 Romper Room
10 Industry on Parade
10:15 Love Of Life (CBS)
10:30 Liberace
11 CBS News
11:10 Stand Up And Be Counted
11:30 M: Eddie Cantor; Tu: Corliss Archer; W: Willie; Th: Dateline Europe; F: My Hero
PM
12 Mid-Day Show
1:30 Frankie Laine
1:45 Stu Erwin
2:15 Secret Storm (CBS)
2:30 Monday (or whichever day) Matinee
3:50 M: Cartoon Time; Tu: Long John Silver; W: Cartoons; Th: Frontier Doctor; F: Captain Gallant
4 M: Bay High Speaks; W: PTA Program
4:15 M, Tu, Th, F (4:30 on Fri): Gene Autry; W: Cowboy G-Men
4:45 Little Rascals
5 Western Roundup
6 The World Today
6:10 All About The Weather
6:15 Panama City Today
PRIMETIME
Monday, July 8
6:30 Robin Hood (CBS)
7 I Love Lucy (CBS from 8 CT, previous week’s show?)
7:30 December Bride (CBS, from 8:30 CT, previous week’s show?)
8 San Francisco Beat (CBS from 9 p.m. Friday when it was The Lineup; if this schedule is accurate, they ran it twice…)
8:30 Florida Press Conference
9 Phil Silvers (CBS from 7 p.m. Tuesday)
9:30 City Detective (syndicated)
10 The Whistler
10:30 Flamingo Theater
Tuesday, July 9
6:30 Name That Tune (CBS)
7 Ambrose The Magician
7:30 The Tracers
8 $64,000 Question (CBS)
8:30 Spike Jones Show (CBS)
9 Code 3 (syndicated)
9:30 Broken Arrow (ABC from 8)
10 Suzanne (Gale Storm Show from CBS 8 p.m. Saturday?)
10:30 People Are Funny (NBC from 6:30 Saturday)
Wednesday, July 10
6:30 Adventures of Popeye
7 Remus Cook Show
7:30 I’ve Got A Secret (CBS)
8 Fights (ABC)
9 Stage Seven (CBS from 1954-55)
9:30 Arthur Godfrey (Brooks/Marsh says last show for a year or so was in June)
10 Ray Anthony Show (B/M says this show went off in May)
10:30 Mr. and Mrs. North (CBS, NBC show from 1952-54)
Thursday, July 11
6:30 Bay County Reports
6:45 Industry on Parade
7 Soldiers Of Fortune
7:30 Melody Time
8 Dragnet (NBC from 7:30)
9 Get Set! Go!
9:30 Wire Service (ABC from 6:30 Monday)
10:30 This Is Your Life (NBC)
Friday, July 12
6:30 First Assembly Hour
7 Star Performance (syndicated)
7:30 Talent Scout (Arthur Godfrey’s from CBS, 6:30 Monday?)
8 Fashion Parade
8:30 Life Of Riley (NBC)
9 The Lineup (CBS)
9:30 Person to Person (CBS)
10 First Run Theatre
SATURDAY, July 13
AM
11:45 Baseball Preview (NBC)
11:50 Game of the Week (NBC)
PM
3:30 Preakness
4 Cowboy G-Men
4:30 Fury
5 Western Roundup
6 Panama City Today
6:10 Little Rascals
6:30 Bible Hour
7 Treasure Hunt (Brooks/Marsh says this show was dropped by ABC in June)
7:30 Ozark Jubilee (ABC from 9 p.m.)
8 Hit Parade (NBC from 9:30 p.m.)
8:30 George Gobel (NBC; Brooks/Marsh says it was off for summer in July ’57)
9 Gunsmoke (CBS)
9:30 O’Henry Playhouse
10 Lawrence Welk Show (ABC from 8 p.m.)
11 Saturday Star Theatre

 

[clichemoth]

With all the shows that had already ended their runs/seasons before these listings, I wonder if WJDM wasn't running them (and perhaps everything else) on a few weeks' delay.

 

[oldiesfan]

Central time yes, but Central Standard Time.

The only places in Florida on daylight time
in summer 1957 were Pensacola and nearby
Eglin AFB, both also in the Central zone.
(Source: "Time Changes In The U.S.A" book
by Doris Chase Doane.)

This may explain a number of shows airing
"live" two hours behind EDT, but I'm as
stumped as anyone as to the shows which
seem to be "in pattern."

Video tape was too new for this station as
it was still pretty much a network novelty.

You may also recall previous threads where
we've guesstimated that the networks did not
start providing a one-hour delayed feed during
DST to standard time areas in the ET and CT
zones until spring 1958.

The non-live same-night and different night
time slots shown in these listings were most
likely courtesy of 16mm reduction prints of
filmed shows and kinnies of live shows which
were bicycled around to stations on a one-week
or longer delay.