Houston Radio Discussions - UPDATED

AS OF 2/10/14, THE OLD SITE HAS BEEN REACTIVATED.

Radio Discussions

Readers of this blog are probably aware that the Radio Discussions message boards have ceased operations abruptly.

Houston community forum HAIF has made available forums devoted to Houston Radio and Houston Television. There are already several threads in existence and the owner/manager of HAIF, who is himself a former broadcaster, is initiating discussions with RD to see if he can acquire their archived discussions.

You will be able to read the threads at the links above but to contribute to discussions you will have to become a member of HAIF.  This will almost certainly be easier that trying to activate an account on RD.

In addition to other amenities, the software HAIF runs on will allow for the insertion of pictures in posts which could be a nice enhancement to some discussions.

UPDATE:  A link to a further explanation of the history and demise and another (sparsely populated BUT RAPIDLY GROWING) alternative discussion site, an old competitor of RI/RD which does have local and regional boards.

A Trove of 70s Memorabilia

Here is an extensive collection of material relating to the cultural situation in Houston during the 1970s consisting mostly ads from counter culture publications. 

The material was originally posted on HAIF's Historic Houston forum but was moved to Picasa.  The original post spawned a discussion which can be found here with additional material of interest.

Although this is not really about radio it does illustrate some of the culture of the day which influenced the programming of numerous stations.  This will appear as a link on the sidebar under History Links.

Houston PBS - KUHT - Celebrates 60 Years

I didn't see any advance publicity and missed the first broadcast but will catch the re-broadcast tonight. 

TV Guide Listings

KGUL-TV/KHOU-TV 60th Anniversary - Update

As noted in a recent post, Channel 11 is celebrating its 60th Anniversary this year.  The station has posted a series of articles with great flashback photos online.

The Sammy

The Texas Radio Hall of Fame has created the first named award, The Sammy, dedicated to pioneering women in Texas broadcasting.   J.C. Webster of KLUV, KNUS, KLIF and KMGC is the first recipient.

Mary Nash 'Sammy' Stoddard herself sent me notice of this, enclosing a short bit from the Tom Taylor Now newsletter:

"Mary Nash “Sam” Stoddard was a pioneering woman in Texas radio, and now the Texas Radio Hall of Fame establishes an award to honor women in the business – naming it “The Sammy.” Stoddard herself continues to broadcast on a regular basis, and she tells this NOW Newsletter she’s got a new Power Point presentation about her career, starting with her as a 15-year-old on KULP, El Campo in 1954 and going on to Waco and then Dallas at KVIL. There she was the “Girl named Sam,” a very early example of a fulltime female jock in a major market. She later married KVIL morning man Mike Stoddard, and she worked at four other stations and networks after leaving KVIL"

Thanks, Mary, and congratulations on your long career.

Texas Radio Hall of Fame

Mary Stoddard

Tom Taylor Now

A Day in the Life -

- of a Galveston radio listener, Sunday, February 2, 1947.   KGBC had signed on the previous day but there were no listings in the Galveston News for that day; these are the first published listings.  The News also published the listings for the three Houston stations whose signals would reach Galveston.  The only other Houston AM on the air at that time, KTHT, was still operating on 1230 kc with only 250 watts and probably was not listenable to most Galvestonians.

An ad published in the News on Saturday, February 1, for KGBC's first day was posted here.

Rick Roberts - RIP

Long time Houston radio legend Rick Roberts passed recently.  Here's the Chronicle story.

Viewing Alert - KHOU Anniversary

Heads up:  the sixtieth anniversary of KGUL/KHOU, Channel 11, is this week.  I understand the station is going to be presenting some features, something to be on the lookout for.

I hope they're also posted online.

Myron Anderson - RIP

Longtime host on KTSU-FM, dead at age 64.

The Chronicle story.

Doug Brown - RIP

The long-time Channel 13 weatherman, who also worked at KHOU-TV, has died.

The Chronicle story.

McGuff's Blog, with pictures and comments.

He had one of the nicest, most reassuring presences on Houston TV.