I have been interested in television since I was five or six years old, since KFYR-TV began broadcasting from Bismarck, North Dakota in 1953. I can remember – I am not sure why – sitting in front of my parent’s first black and white television, watching the “test pattern” (the one with the Indian chief), before the station began its abbreviated broadcast day (in the late afternoon). 

In those days, I lived in Riverdale, North Dakota, about 60 miles north of KFYR’s temporary transmitter, which was, for a while, atop the North Dakota State Capitol (pictured above). Since rabbit ears would not pick up the station’s signal from that distance, my dad installed an antenna on the roof of our house. From time to time, he would climb up on the roof to fine tune the antenna – to better receive the signals from the two commercial television stations in Bismarck (KFYR/5/NBC and KXMB/12/CBS).  

I became more interested in television in 1966, when during my senior year in high school, I began working as a cameraman at KFYR-TV, which was then part of the Meyer Broadcasting Company. I am pictured below manning “the” stations only functional camera during a parade in downtown Bismarck. At that time, I was zooming in on my sister, a baton twirler in the parade. Grandma said it looked like Marianne was coming through the TV screen; one of the perks of my job. The “cameraman” also setup the studio (e.g., props, lights, and microphones) for all the live programs and commercials. 

I worked at KFYR for two years while attending the local junior college, and during the summer of 1969, after my junior year at North Dakota State University. During that time, I moved up the ranks quickly from cameraman – to projectionist – to controlman. 

The “projectionist” loaded all the slides and films used during the day. There were a lot of slides and films in those days, as the station did not have a videotape machine (when I started). A lot of our programs (e.g., local movies and ABC shows) were also on film. 

The “controlman” was responsible for the local or network video and audio being broadcast – via the buttons pushed and switches switched (correctly or incorrectly). The busiest time of the day came during the 6 PM and 10 PM news/weather/sports blocks. The controlman was also responsible for the videotape machine when it was later installed, but it was used infrequently at first. 

During my junior college years, I was the controlman on Friday (4 PM to signoff), Saturday (2 PM to signoff), and Sunday (2 PM to signoff). Signoff was usually between midnight and 1 AM, depending on the length of the movies being shown on Saturday nights. For my effort, I was paid between $1.25 and $2.23 an hour. Not bad money back then and I had a great schedule for a college student. I could even study between the commercials and station breaks during quiet times. 

Philip Meyer, a florist, got into the broadcasting business when KFYR radio (590 AM) went on the air in 1925. Many of the first broadcasters in the Midwest operated their stations as sidelines – to promote their other businesses and to sell merchandise. I found it interesting that some, like Meyer, were florists and seed companies (e.g., Earl May Nursery’s KMA and Henry Field Seed’s KFNF). One of my favorite radio stations was WLS in Chicago (Marshall Fields “World's Largest Store”). In many cases, these “sidelines” became more profitable than the original businesses. 

In addition to KFYR, Meyer Broadcasting owned television stations in Minot and Williston, North Dakota. While I was working for Meyer, the company started an FM station in Bismarck (with the then almost mandatory classical music). A few years later they started a fledgling cable system (Bismarck Mandan Cable TV). At the time, I could not figure out why anyone would pay to watch “free” TV? Years later, and thousands of dollars poorer, I am still trying to answer that question – but the question has morphed to “how much and to who?” 

I continued to follow the broadcasting industry while attending North Dakota State University and working at WDAY-TV in Fargo. I would read Broadcasting magazine and dream about someday owning a one-horse radio station in Montana (if I could afford it). My interest in broadcasting expanded into communications in general when I began to work for AT&T. More details on my working careers can be found in BS2: an Autobiography. 

I have returned to Bismarck over the years and visited KFYR twice. The station has remained at the corner of Fourth and Broadway, downtown, over the years – on the second floor of the building that the Hoskins-Meyer floral shop first occupied in 1898. As you would expect, the control room and studio have changed radically over the years, as technology has changed. Most commercials today are digital and computerized; projectionists are few and far between. When my wife and I last visited the studio in 2021 we posed (below) on the weather set. It has changed significantly since the days when “chalk on chalkboard” was the technology that Karl Johnson used to note the highs and lows of the day. There were no “green screens” in those days. 

Note: All the above was meant to be the introduction to a book review. Alas, the introduction has gotten out of hand. My next post (planned) will be that book review – a review of John Malone’s Born to Be Wired.