Formed in September of 1934, the Mutual Broadcasting System aspired to be the largest radio network in history, as much in defense against the competition from CBS, NBC's 'Red' and 'Blue' networks, and ABC as for any other economic reason. The other three competitive networks of the day were very well funded, very politically connected, and had already carved out a huge chunk of the American Radio Market for themselves.
'The Mutual' was the David to the other stations' 'Goliath' in those days, but the scrappy, resourceful amalgamation of four of the larger independent radio stations (WOR, WGN, WLW, and WXYZ) began to set their sights on both a larger audience and the opportunity to expand out of the Northeast and into the Heartland. Detroit's WXYZ, especially, had 'The Lone Ranger' to contribute, and this early Western Adventure Serial already provided a lot of advertising and growing popularity to the expanding markets. And it's no coincidence that the same station later produced The Green Hornet. Both serials were written by Fran Striker and George Trendle, hence the rumored connection between The Lone Ranger's true identity (John Reid) and that of his 'grandson', Britt Reid, alias 'The Green Hornet'.
Brace Beemer atop Silver
By the early 1940's, Mutual Broadcasting was indeed arguably the largest true 'network' of radio stations for its time, but with few exceptions most of those 200 - 300 radio stations were small, low-wattage, local stations. This economic fact necessarily limited it's appeal as a 'Network' due to most stations' inability to extend their influence beyond the 250 - 1000 Watt range of their transmitters.
Advertising revenue has always been the only means for a radio station of any size to expand it's broadcast reach, and with the vast majority of Mutual's stations serving small, local communities--and markets--the network wasn't necessarily 'the sum of its parts' just yet. Some might argue that it never really was.
The Lone Ranger's Code of the West: An Action-Packed Adventure in Values and Ethics With the Legendary Champion of Justice. Jim Lichtman, Mark Palmer (Illustrator), Fran, Jr. Striker
Paperback: 261 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.00 x 8.00 x 5.25
Publisher: Scribbler's Ink; (December 1996)
ISBN: 0964859106
Average Customer Review:
The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction. Maxim Jakubowski (Editor)
Paperback: 586 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.79 x 7.79 x 5.13
Publisher: Carroll & Graf; (August 1996)
ISBN: 0786703008
Average Customer Review:
The Radio Station, Fifth Edition.Michael C. Keith
Paperback: 336 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.75 x 10.00 x 8.09
Publisher: Focal Press; 5th edition (March 2000)
ISBN: 0240803884
It didn't take a great deal of resources in those days to produce local radio dramas, comedy, adventure and variety, and since that's about all most of Mutual's smaller stations could compete with, they came up with some wonderfully innovative and enduring programming to make up for their lack of resources, especially in the juvenile adventure series genre.
While its true enough that Mutual was 'owned by its stations' and not the other way around, a few of those stations were real powerhouses. WOR (New York), WGN (Chicago), and the West Coast collection of Don Lee stations held most of the controlling shares in the System.
WOR's Home Towers Installation c. 1922
WOR and WGN in particular more than paid their way for their controlling shares, providing a great deal of the better shows and material that was picked up and distributed throughout the Mutual System in the late thirties and through the 1940's.
Don Lee as well, out on the West Coast, began to come up with some great shows for syndication.
Mutual-Don Lee's Radio City, Hollywoodland HQ
The War Years saw the transition of The Mutual Broadcasting System away from the control of hundreds of smaller stations and into the control of a succession of corporations; General Tire and Rubber, in the early 1950's, then Armand Hammer, the Hal Roach Studios, and Albert G. McCarthy. Then in 1960, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) purchased the Network. In the end it transferred to the Amway Corporation, and then to Westwood One on the West Coast, where, alas, it finally resides as a network entity without even it's name to remind us of it's rich heritage. Ironically, Westwood One is ViaCom's (Infinity Broadcasting) Radio Content Marketing and Sales company now. Yes, that means the old MBS has become the 21st Century's CBS Radio.
