"The Esso Reporter"

[bpatrick]

A few weeks ago, someone asked about "The
Esso Reporter," which aired on a number of
stations in the South in the '50s; he wanted
to know if the title was "The Enco Reporter."
I replied that it depended on where you lived.
I have since done some digging, and here's what
I found out:

Standard Oil of New Jersey marketed Esso gasoline
in Virginia and the Carolinas (where my listings
usually come from). Standard Oil of Kentucky
marketed Standard Oil (that was the name of the
stations, later changed to Chevron) in Georgia,
Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. In the mid-
1960s, New Jersey wanted to start marketing Esso
in Kentucky's territory, but "Esso" is phonetic
for the abbreviation SO (Standard Oil). Kentucky
thus forced New Jersey to come up with a new name
for its gasoline, which turned out to be Enco
(the marketing campaigns for Esso and Enco were
always the same, except for the brand name).

What we now know as Exxon almost became Enco
worldwide, until someone discovered that Enco
means "stalled car" in Japanese.

To relate this to this board, there was probably
never an "Enco Reporter," as Enco stations began
appearing after the "Esso Reporter" format was
history in the upper South. I do recall Humble
Oil sponsoring some documentaries on NBC in the
'60s, however.

I hope that clears up some of the questions about
the "Esso Reporter."

 

[mjlarochelle]

> Standard Oil of New Jersey marketed Esso gasoline
> in Virginia and the Carolinas (where my listings
> usually come from). Standard Oil of Kentucky
> marketed Standard Oil (that was the name of the
> stations, later changed to Chevron) in Georgia,
> Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. In the mid-
> 1960s, New Jersey wanted to start marketing Esso
> in Kentucky's territory, but "Esso" is phonetic
> for the abbreviation SO (Standard Oil). Kentucky
> thus forced New Jersey to come up with a new name
> for its gasoline, which turned out to be Enco
> (the marketing campaigns for Esso and Enco were
> always the same, except for the brand name).
-----------
Wasn't there also something about "Esso" being a profanity in a South American Native dialect?<P ID="signature">______________
From WNBC-TV New York this is Liiiiive at Fiiiiive!</P>

 

[MCarney]

> Wasn't there also something about "Esso" being a profanity
> in a South American Native dialect?
>
A bit off topic, the Esso name is still used in other parts of the world, including Canada. I still see Esso oil sold in some stores.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

On-Topic:

Based on some research I did, there were once "Esso Reporters" on WBZ-4 in Boston and WJAR-10 in Providence.

Esso sponsored "Esso Reporters" throughout their entire region.

"Esso Reporters" go back to the "Golden Age Of Radio". I have three of Esso road maps from either 1940 or 1941 (I've collected road maps since I was a small child), and these maps include a list of radio stations with those carrying "Esso Reporter" programs spotlighted with an asterik ("With The Latest United Press Headlines"). Most were affiliated with one of the NBC networks (Red of Blue), but a few CBS affiliates also ran these programs. I have posted a partial list of radio stations (those in and near the areas covered by my three early 40's Esso road maps) carrying local versions of "Your Esso Reporter" in 1940 and 1941 on the Classic Radio board.

Somewhat off-topic:

The "Esso" area was New England, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Prior to the 1960's, Standard Oil Of New Jersey had used several names outside this territory: "Pate", "Carter", "Oklahoma", and "Humble" (the latter was originally used in Texas). All of these brand names (except Humble prior to 1960) used a white oval outlined in blue with red letters. Humble used a red oval outlined in blue with white letters. Around 1960-61, they adopted "Enco" everywhere except the Esso territory and Ohio, where "Humble" was used.

Given today's deregulatory climate, I think that Exxon/Mobil, if it wanted to, could probably get the O.K. to use "Esso" in all 50 states.

P.S.: The other day, I was visiting a Mobil station in my hometown of Norwood, Massachusetts, and saw plastic bottles of "Esso Uniflo" motor oil. Thinking this may have been intended for sale in Canada, I looked at the back label and sure enough, it was intended for sale in the U.S.----but only in the old "Esso" region! (and also in Texas, which during the 1960's was "Enco" territory)<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Joseph_Gallant on 11/24/05 03:26 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[TimL]

> On-Topic:
>
> Based on some research I did, there were once "Esso
> Reporters" on WBZ-4 in Boston and WJAR-10 in Providence.
>
> Esso sponsored "Esso Reporters" throughout their entire
> region.
>
> "Esso Reporters" go back to the "Golden Age Of Radio". I
> have a handful of Esso road maps from the 1940's (I've
> collected road maps since I was a small child), and these
> maps often included a list of radio stations with those
> carrying "Esso Reporter" programs ("Featuring The Latest
> United Press Headlines"). Most were affiliated with one of
> the NBC networks (Red of Blue), but a couple of CBS
> affiliates also ran these programs.
>
> Somewhat off-topic:
>
> The "Esso" area was New England, New York, New Jersey,
> Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington, D.C.,
> Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana.
>
> Prior to the 1960's, Standard Oil Of New Jersey had used
> several names outside this territory: "Pate", "Carter",
> "Oklahoma", and "Humble" (the latter was originally used in
> Texas). All of these brand names (except Humble prior to
> 1960) used a white oval outlined in blue with red letters.
> Humble used a red oval outlined in blue with white letters.
> Around 1960-61, they adopted "Enco" everywhere except the
> Esso territory and Ohio, where "Humble" was used.
>
> Given today's deregulatory climate, I think that
> Exxon/Mobil, if it wanted to, could probably get the O.K. to
> use "Esso" in all 50 states.
>
> P.S.: The other day, I was visiting a Mobil station in my
> hometown of Norwood, Massachusetts, and saw plastic bottles
> of "Esso Uniflo" motor oil. Thinking this may have been
> intended for sale in Canada, I looked at the back label and
> sure enough, it was intended for sale in the U.S.----but
> only in the old "Esso" region! (and also in Texas, which
> during the 1960's was "Enco" territory)
>

I have mentioned in several Cleveland Area Retroschedules "The Sohio Reporter" with Warren Guthrie on stations in Cleveland, Youngstown and Toledo from about 1949-61..Never saw "Humble" In Ohio

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Tim:

I think the name "Humble" was only in Ohio for a little more than a decade (early 1960's until the late 1972 switch to Exxon).

It's logo at the time was the same white-oval outlined in blue that Esso had, with the word "HUMBLE" in red capital letters.

 

[bpatrick]

> > Wasn't there also something about "Esso" being a profanity
>
> > in a South American Native dialect?
> >
> A bit off topic, the Esso name is still used in other parts
> of the world, including Canada. I still see Esso oil sold in
> some stores.
>
In fact, the producers of Night Heat would not film on any
street with an Esso station. Reason: the show was filmed
in Toronto and aired on both CTV in Canada and CBS in the U.S.
The producers were afraid that, since it's Exxon in the States,
U.S. viewers might catch on that the show was a Canadian
production and tune out; at least they didn't want to belabor
that fact.

 

[KMRichards]

> I think the name "Humble" was only in Ohio for a little more
> than a decade (early 1960's until the late 1972 switch to
> Exxon).
>
> It's logo at the time was the same white-oval outlined in
> blue that Esso had, with the word "HUMBLE" in red capital
> letters.

I thought the Exxon name came much later than that; the logo Joseph described used to be on the back of my Chevron (Standard Oil of California) credit card in the 1980s as being valid at those stations. Or perhaps was Humble still in states other than Ohio in the 80s?<P ID="signature">______________


</P>

 

[mjlarochelle]

Re: Canadian productions

> In fact, the producers of Night Heat would not film on any
> street with an Esso station. Reason: the show was filmed
> in Toronto and aired on both CTV in Canada and CBS in the
> U.S.
> The producers were afraid that, since it's Exxon in the
> States,
> U.S. viewers might catch on that the show was a Canadian
> production and tune out; at least they didn't want to
> belabor
> that fact.
-----------
Maybe some American viewers can fill me in on this, but if a Canadian production airs in the United States, why is it that you guys always have to have the Canadian references covered up in order to watch? The Littlest Hobo was pathetic at this, using a CFTO Channel 9 mic flag with "W" call letters, and inside-out Loblaws (Canadian grocery store) bags. Yet Degrassi did nothing to hide Canadian references, such as money or various landmarks in Toronto, and that aired on PBS.

I have never watched Da Vinci's Inquest, produced by the CBC, but how much does it have that is distinctly Canadian? I'm just asking since it is now in syndication south of the border.
<P ID="signature">______________
From WNBC-TV New York this is Liiiiive at Fiiiiive!</P>

 

[rugrats1]

Re: Canadian productions

> I have never watched Da Vinci's Inquest, produced by the
> CBC, but how much does it have that is distinctly Canadian?

For oned thing, at least on the original CBC telecasts, it was blatantly known that it took place in Vancouver, especially scenes where it began outside the coroner's office, where it specifically mention's "Vancouver".

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Re: "Your Esso Reporter"

Esso, Enco, and Humble were all phased-out in late 1972 and early 1973 (depending on the service station) in favor of Exxon.

However, Exxon/Mobil still uses "Esso" everywhere else it does business outside of the United States---and as noted earlier, they now sell Esso motor oil in the old Esso territory.

I'm puzzled as to why K.M. would have a Chevron credit card in the early 1980's that was good at "Humble". If it were an "Esso" logo and valid at Esso stations in Canada, then it would make more sense.

Or could it have been "Husky"??

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Re: "Your Esso Reporter"

Esso also had some sponsorship of early network television newscasts.

According to Brooks and Marsh, there was an "Esso Television Reporter" on NBC's W2XBS once a week during March and May of 1940 (likely it was a newscast simulcast with WEAF radio, which was broadcast from a TV studio so viewers could see an announcer reading news into the camera). Although NBC had just started up a network connecting New York to Philadelphia and Schnectady, we may never know if this (or other W2XBS programs of the period) were fed to the other two stations that made up the network.

Starting in August of 1945, there was a once (and later twice) weekly news program on NBC's fledgling network originally called "The NBC Television Newsreel", but Esso soon thereafter became the sponsor and the title changed to "The Esso Television Newsreel". Again, there's no available confirmation that it was seen in Philadelphia and/or Schnectady prior to early 1946. In any event, the show was shown on all three stations from early 1946 until it was cancelled in October, 1947 so NBC could prepare for the launch (in February of 1948) of a five-nights-a-week network news program.

The title "Your Esso Reporter" was actually used for a network television news program during the Summer of 1951. It was a weekly half-hour program on CBS (but broadcast only on those affiliates within Esso's "territory"; it was not seen in the Midwest) which reviewed the week's news and featured filmed reports from CBS correspondents in various cities.

 

[Markxxx]

Re:History of Standard Oil

This is a pretty cool site that explains the history of standard oil and how the "baby Standards" were formed then pulled apart then put back togther somewhat

Click here --> <a target="_blank" href=http://www.us-highways.com/sohist1941.htm> History of Standard Oil</a>

 

[KMRichards]

Re: "Your Esso Reporter"

> I'm puzzled as to why K.M. would have a Chevron credit card
> in the early 1980's that was good at "Humble". If it were an
> "Esso" logo and valid at Esso stations in Canada, then it
> would make more sense.

It had a lot of the "other Standard Oil companies" listed, with logos, including "Esso", "Enco", "Humble", the squared off "Standard" logo, "Amoco" (as well as the variants that had the words "Standard" or "American" in the same logo).

Maybe Standard Oil of California kept showing those logos far into the Exxon years (although I don't remember the Exxon logo being on there with the rest) because they were never told by the others that the conversion of station identities was completed? I certainly don't know why.<P ID="signature">______________


</P>