What’s this about Murphy Martin replacing Vern Lundquist for the Dallas Cowboy radio broadcasts? KRLD has confirmed that Martin will be doing color commentary during the games, but no official word has been given regarding Lundquist’s future.
Money, Martin’s desire to get into sports broadcasting and some professional rivalry appear to be the prevailing factors. Money, because KRLD is already paying Martin a handsome sum for dropping in on weekday afternoons to read news copy. Why not use him more, especially when Martin has been bucking hard to get into sports? And a little professional rivalry – the grapevine says KRLD and WFAA haven’t been on the best of terms lately. They’ve pirated a few employees from each other, and recently WFAA signed on as the CBS radio affiliate. That piqued KRLD, the current CBS affiliate, which CBS will drop this summer. Sources speculate that KRLD manager John Butler doesn’t really want to hire any WFAA people, including Lundquist, for his station’s broadcasts. There is an outside chance Butler may reconsider.
Speaking of Murphy, when he makes a comeback, he flat makes it big. A couple of months ago, just after he joined KRLD, Martin performed what has to be a first in the annals of broadcast moonlighting.
The occasion was a luncheon of the Dallas Ad League, honoring Stanley Marcus. A buzz went through the crowd when Martin was spotted sitting at the head table with Mr. Stanley, son Richard Marcus and other dignitaries. “What the devil is Murphy here for?” asked someone at the luncheon during the introductions.
The answer was soon forthcoming. After opening amenities, the master of ceremonies introduced Martin and said, “Now Murphy Martin will deliver the noon news.”
From all reports no one took the announcement seriously until Martin, in his best contrabass, boomed “In Cambodia today . . . .” from the podium. Slowly it sunk in that yes, indeed, Martin really was delivering the noon news at the Hotel Adolphus luncheon. Remarked one observer, “It was pure Twilight Zone.”
Martin’s performance was recieved with mixed reactions. One audience member commented, “I think it was a nice touch. Another whispered, “This is the most frightening thing I have ever seen.”
Just when the Times Herald was beginning to get it all together, someone in management came up with the idea of encouraging employees to sell subscriptions. What better way to do it than by holding a contest? A contest for all employees (except circulation) including reporters, who presumably have better things to do than hawk subscriptions. Flyers announcing the contest were sent to reporters, who looked at them, laughed, and tossed the flyers in the trash.
Some of the prizes were really super: $25 Sanger-Harris gift certificates; portable televisions; trips to Hawaii or Las Vegas. To qualify for the Hawaii trip, for instance, a reporter has to sell at least 30 subscriptions, and at least 3,000 subscriptions must be sold before a drawing to pick the winner can be held. So selling 30 subscriptions is no guarantee that a reporter would win anything – he also has to win the drawing. It sounds rather hare-brained.
Over at the Dallas News they are still having problems deciding what’s news. The News had the story about the $1.5 million lawsuit against Mel Price, former county commissioner, 12 hours before the story finally broke in the Herald. The story was killed by night city editor Harvey Bogan, citing a rule that the paper doesn’t publish stories about civil law suits. The News finally got around to running the story on a Friday, hours before Price committed suicide.
Dallas law enforcement officers are still simmering after WFAA radio talk show host Ed Busch tipped 20th Century Motor Car hoaxer Elizabeth Carmichael of her impending arrest. A WFAA newsman was told confidentially about plans to arrest Mrs. Carmichael, and he told Busch, whose scheduled guest that evening was Mrs. Carmichael. Busch telephoned her to inquire about the situation, and that’s the last anyone ever heard from Elizabeth Carmichael.
Station manager John Dew apologized to local law enforcement agencies, which had even been considering filing charges against Busch for hindering the apprehension of Mrs. Carmichael, an offense punishable by a year in the county jail, a $2,000 fine, or both.
Busch had done Mrs. Carmichael more than one favor – he had given her hours of time on his talk show to promote her “Revette” motor car, a three wheeler which she claimed would get fabulous gas mileage and was more impact-resistant than steel. The whole thing turned out to be a hoax which defrauded investors of thousands of dollars. The model car, assembled with all sorts of oddball parts, was apparently never intended for operation.
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