The deejays kept us entertained, but the newsmen kept us informed. B. Bruce Jenkins, George J. Jennings (replaced "W" for "J" because it sounded better), John K. Anderson...these were the Giants of News "at :45"...they say this "scooped" the other stations, who gave the news at the top of the hour.
I believe B. Bruce Jenkins was there fairly early in KAAY history and was there quite a while...can anyone pin down his employment dates, please?
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News as facts is important, not like the dramatized stuff we're fed today....thanks guys....
(Note - based on the Flying Wallendas accident item, I place the date of this aircheck as Nov 5, 1963 -- Greg)
Bud S. (staceys4@hotmail.com)
And let's not forget News Director Gene Stewart and Bill Summers (Bill Stracener). Bill claimed credit for a series of news stories that defeated a proposed Arkansas Constitution. He read the whole thing, found its weaknesses, and exposed them on the air. KAAY also had one of the first female newscasters in Arkansas in the early 1970s, but I cannot recall her name.
ReplyDeleteHollis, that first female newscaster may have been Mary Donald?
ReplyDeleteIt was Mary Donald. She was possibly the first female newscaster on Arkansas radio and certainly the first Black woman. Mary (not her real name) was very good and deserved to be first. I wonder what became of her.
ReplyDeleteMary Donald's real name is Delores Handy.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wbur.org/about/people/delores-handy