Mike Biel

Offers Some Thoughts

The following offers some thoughts from Mike Biel to Jerry Klein via e-mail with a copy to me, Gerry Wilkinson. I've saved this e-mail and have re-read several times and still find his comments of interest. That's why I'm posting them here for all to see. Mike is referring to pictures that Jerry Klein had recently posted in the Jerry Klein Annex of the WRTI "Old Gang" Web Site.

On your caption for Peter, Paul & Mary #5, the mic is a 77, not an 88. The 88 was a shitty little dynamic mic which we used in a couple of control rooms as talkback mics. And the big diamond shaped mics are 44s, 44BX and 77DX. (Original copy said RCA 88, now corrected to RCA 77)

The color picture during the Janis Ian program is Control B which was master control. In fact, in addition to the 77 that is on the counter in front of the console, that is an 88 off to the left on a gooseneck. You also see that mic in the B&W photo #20 of you (Jerry Klein). And while I am at it, in picture 22 you say that there are some people in the control room. That is not the control room. That is Studio A. See the blackboard? (Original copy said Master Control, now corrected to Studio A) Remember we had windows from A into Studio B and from A into Control B. That's the basis of the Karl Malden story in your script. The color picture of you, Florence, and Mickey is also in Control B. Note the 3rd class licenses.

Since you are posting some WRCP pics, I guess I have to dig up one of our WEEZ survey sheets with our picture. I don't believe those cheesy hats! We at WEEZ would never have stooped that low!

The circumstances of that picture of Roberts in the news interview set was that he was looking up for inspiration. :-) I had my TV production labs at WFIL. Had they stopped that by the time you had those classes? Lew Klein taught them.

Is that a MOUSTACHE in that WCAU picture??? And those SIDEBURNS!! WOW!

Looking at your script, that comment from Blenheim about the bars being let down on R 'n' R, "for my money, realistically," I NEVER knew he felt that way. Since I was the one who took his call that time when a Frank Sinatra record was pronounced as being too R 'n' R--and that was when I immediately started to change the policy--I always thought he resented it a little. We had to fight every step of the way. Ed and I even had a meeting with him before that experimental underground Broadside. I guess we were more convincing than we thought.

I have pictures of the first WRTI staff. (Mike will be sending them along soon).

Good grief, Jerry, your last line in the show hit the nail right on the head, but I don't think that you meant it that way "And now, WRTI is prepared to turn its back to the past and start of in search of the new horizons." It sure did turn it back on the past and every standard that Roberts, Blenheim, and Dusenbury discussed in that show. Good job.
(What grade did you get?) {GRADE WAS "A."}

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