THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 6, 1996 TAG: 9610040192
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ERIC FEBER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 82 lines
WFOS-FM 88.7, the radio station of Chesapeake Public Schools, has been running radio spots advertising the station's upcoming extensive election coverage. Each spot is a piece of American election history.
The ads contain the actual voice of Grover Cleveland, Richard M. Nixon's famous ``Checkers'' speech and other sounds from American election history.
The idea behind the ads is to get people involved in the election and teach a little history on the side, said Dennis McCurdy, WFOS broadcast instructor and creator of the ads.
``I think the spots have a historical as well as a entertainment value,'' McCurdy said. ``But I did them as a reminder that people out there have the right to vote and people should exercise that. Too many people are shirking that civic duty. I hope these spots will give also people something to think about.''
He said the ads were created at the WFOS studios on Cedar Road. The historic speeches, debates and reports were culled from archival records from the station's extensive archives and from McCurdy's own collection.
``Most are entertaining and informative, and one, I must say, is rather disturbing,'' he said. ``But quite a few of the speeches made by the candidates are very prophetic. It seems several, like a speech given by Adlai Stevenson, were looking into the future.''
The oldest campaign speech is one given by Grover Cleveland in 1892.
``It's been cleaned up and boosted but it's still very scratchy, historians still have trouble making out everything he was saying,'' he said.
Here is a list of the other radio spots, with a few comments by McCurdy:
William Jennings Bryan's 1896 ``Cross of Gold'' speech. ``He was one of the great orators or his day. This is a classic speech and in this day and age of sound bites it stands up.''
Theodore Roosevelt's 1912 ``Square Deal'' speech. ``This was delivered when Roosevelt was running as a candidate for the Bull Moose Party. He was running against William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson.''
A 1928 speech by Al Smith, Democratic candidate who ran against Herbert Hoover. ``Many people still couldn't get over Smith's raspy, New York voice. To many he sounded like a Damon Runyan character.''
A 1932 speech by Herbert Hoover. ``This one could have been said by Republicans today. It's a scathing attack and says much the same thing said by Republicans these days.''
A speech by Franklin Delano Roosevelt during his 1940 campaign against Wendell Willkie.
FDR's 1944 ``Fala'' speech. ``In this speech, Roosevelt mentions how the Republicans are now even attacking his dog Fala.''
Truman running against Thomas Dewey during the 1948 campaign. A speech made by Truman during his famous Whistle Stop campaigns. ``His whistle stops were very popular, and they're much like the train stops and bus speeches now made by Clinton.''
Nixon's 1952 ``Checkers'' speech. ``What else can one say?''
Adlai E. Stevenson's 1952 Democratic convention acceptance speech. ``This was years ahead of its time. It's still relevant today, and it's considered one of the greatest speeches in American politics.''
Highlights from the fourth 1960 presidential debate between Nixon and John F. Kennedy.
The famous ``Andrew West Tape'' made by West just as Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was shot in 1968 by a drunken Sirhan Sirhan in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. ``This is the most disturbing of the spots. It's pretty graphic, but I included it to show what violence can do to a democratic society.''
McCurdy said he also created the spots to remind listeners about the station's upcoming coverage, which in size and scope pretty much beats out all the other radio rivals, he said. In fact, several commercial stations will be using results fed to them by WFOS.
``We cover the entire election from its start until the polls close,'' he said. ``We cover it live with our own student reporters locally and we offer up-to-the-minute results from the region, the state and nationally from Mutual Radio Network feeds.
``We plan it out like a war campaign. We send reporters to every city, to most, if not all, campaign headquarters. I think we offer the most complete coverage of any radio station in the area. We've been doing it for the past several campaigns, and I think we do it well. I hope these spots get people interested in voting, in election history and in our Nov. 5 coverage.'' MEMO: To hear the historic presidential radio spots, tune in to WFOS-FM
88.7. They will be broadcast once about every two hours until Election
Day. For more information, call the station at 547-1036.
KEYWORDS: EDUCATION by CNB