Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1951-12-22
X ( N D RIx
CO M M Z N T S
SOME NAMES IN RADIO

Washington, d. C.--In my book,
j. B. Blayton is the biggest name
in radio. Blayton is the Atlanta
businessman, who, IN purchasing
Radio Station WEIRD, became the
first Negro to own a standard
commercial broadcast outlet.
Through the WEIRD operation,
our people are getting an excel
lent opportunity to learn the radio
industry from the ground up. In
connection with WEIRD, the Blay-
tons operate a radio school-so
there training and practical expert
ence are brought together.
Already graduates are going out
from WEIRD to other stations a
cross the nation. Young Larry
Faulkner, who is now program
director for the new interracially
ownered WSOK in Nashville, got
his training and practical expert
ence in the Atlanta station.
Ken Knight, WEIRD program
director, although in radio for a
number of years, became probably
the first. person of his race to
become station program director
as result of Blayton's venture
into radio ownership. The same
is true of ]. B. Blayton, Jr., who
is a station manager-firs
Jack Gibson, a rather sharp disc
jckey, who pulled out of Chicago
to go to Atlanta for work at
WEIRD, once told me that even in
Chicago his jockey-work wos con-
fined to talking about the records.
In Atlanta, ne had the experience
of doubling as studio engineer.
Jack is now at Louisville's WLOU.
Over the nation there are many
disc jockeys. Here in Washington,
Jon Massey, WWDC, Hal Jackson,
WUST, and Cliff Holland, WOOK,
are making decent livings turning
the plates. Holland, incidentally,
was recently moved to the spot of
program director at WOOk, the
mother outlet of the five-station
United Broadcasting Company.
My friend Paul E. x. Brown,
chief announcer at WEIRD and
publicity man for the Shriners,
tells me that when he was in the
disc jockey business in the Chicago
area in 1944-45, there now more
than seven Negro else jockeys in
all of the nation. Now almost
every sizable city mas one or more.
Brown started in 1912 as a
newscaster. This brings me to an
other area of radio in which
would like to call some names. The
greater portion of our people who
are in the news end of radio are
still doing "The Negro in the
News"
Some of our radio personalities,
even the disc jockeys, are getting
the opportunity to do general
newscasting. But l feel that Will
liam Boyd, the Phi. D. head of the
division of political science at At
lanta University, is about the
cream of the crop of radio news
men.
Heard three times week, at
WEIRD, Boyd is a keen analyst of
the news and his commentaries on
local, national and international
affairs are of sort that would
do justice to any network audi
ence. In the oponion of this cor
ner, Boyd is good example of
the opening opportunities in radio.
Out in the ST. Louis area, allow
ard Woods Reports" is a newscast
that deserves good mention. How
ard B. Woods, city editor of the
st. Louis Argus, carries a straight
news program five night a week
from WTMV, East st. Louis, Hi
nois. Heard in the Greater ST.
Louis area, Woods is sponsored by
one of that city's bigger banks.
We could mention William
Fowlkes of Atlanta who has two
WEIRD commentaries weekly. Paul
Brown, also of WEIRD, who does
the five-minute newscasts for that
station. And looking back a year
or so, there was DR.. Rayford w.
Logan, with a weekly commentary
on international affairs from
WWDC. Logan was believed to he
the first of the race to carry such
"a program.
we are just getting started in
radio, but the progress to date is
good. And from radio. the roads
lead to televesion, radio being a
type OF under graduate school for
TINS rapidly growing industry. :