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As we visited. with friends one night, the subject of television naturally came around and David said he thought a television dog show would be very interesting and popular. Our friends agreed that it would in their opinion make a very good show. One friend commented "Dave, why don't you put on a TV dog show?"

David thought the matter over and the idea for "Canine Comments" began to take shape. Our hobby was breeding and showing pure-bred dogs and we had a small kennel. Our project had never been a profitable one, however, as we spent far more money on our dogs than we ever made out of them or ever hoped to make at that time. But we did know dogs and most of the dog people in Dallas and surrounding towns, so David decided to give his idea a try.

He visited the program director of the television station which was still looking forward to its opening. The program director was interested, but he said they would have to see how many sponsored shows could be scheduled before they would know if there would be time to schedule "Canine Comments" on a sustaining basis. He asked David to come back a few days before the station opened when he could tell him more.

When David did go back he took a sponsor with him. In fact, he had found two prospective sponsors, both men interested in the new advertising medium and dogs. So "Canine Comments" has been a sponsored show from its first program.

THE FIRST show was to be televised by remote control from the State Fair grounds as the big Texas State Fair was then in progress. The station opened with much local interest and fanfare on a Saturday night. David's program was scheduled for Sunday, the second day of telecasting. As we nervously awaited the first show, the other important event I mentioned was about to take place. Just a few hours before the show was to go on I went to the hospital.

There was David, torn between his first television show and his first child. The doctor finally decided for him. He told him to go on to his show and come back—he thought there would be enough time. So he went.

He arrived in time to get the dogs properly arranged and their owners briefed on what to do. One of the dogs scheduled to appear had not shown up and the sponsor's product which was to be shown had been sent to the station instead of the fair grounds. A frantic call was put in for the sponsors product (it was a home heating plant—not exactly the type of article that can be tucked under one's arm in a hurry). However, it got there before the program was over so the sponsor was happy. But David was about ready for the hospital himself when he got back to me. With quite a natural first show jitters, the dog that didn't show, the sponsors product misplaced and worry over his child being born during his absence, he had an exhaustive test before the television camera. The next day he knew that if he could put a show on with all those complications, he could do it under any circumstances and that ended TV nerves from then on.

Now when we celebrate our son's birthday we also celebrate the anniversary of "Canine Comments" and since that first show in 1949 it has certainly come a long way. It is now the oldest regularly scheduled program on Channel 8 in Dallas and in the Southwest. It is the first show from the Southwest to be syndicated for national distribution on film. It has won two national awards for outstanding service to dogs. It has become a radio show and magazine in addition to television. An unprofitable hobby has been turned into a profitable one, and it all started with an idea for a television show.

WITH ALL the interest in all parts of the country as new channel permits are being granted and new stations opening at such a fast rate, it is a hobby (or business) that is worthy of consideration by anyone who wants to get his own hobby before the public. Of course, everyone can't put on a dog show and I'm sure everyone won't want to, but there are so many other hobbies that can be entertaining television shows and can be started just as "Canine Comments" was begun.

The first thing is to be sure your hobby is one in which there is widespread interest or at least where such interest can be easily created by an enjoyable show. The next consideration is whether or not your idea or hobby can be easily televised. There cannot be too much movement as space is usually at a premium. Only one set is usually available, which confines the show to the thing itself. That is the thing the show is about.

Many of the following interests are now being televised successfully by large and small stations: Cooking shows, dog and pet shows, hobby shows, sports shows, interesting occupations, women's interest shows, book reviews, quiz shows (children and adults), amateur shows, gardening, exercise, fashion and on and on. You may have an entirely new idea as was the dog show in this area. If you do, then so much the better.

There are generally speaking three types of television stations. The first is the new station just opening. I list this one first because it offers you your best chance. The reason is that the program schedules are not complete and changes are being made weekly to provide viewers with the kind of entertainment they want to see. If you can establish yourself on a station of this sort with a program that can be enjoyed by a wide variety of people, then you may be sure of regular scheduling and a sponsor.

The second type station is the already established one but located so that it is not yet accessible to the cable which carries the national shows into all parts of the country. Although their program schedules are complete, these stations are still looking for programs of interest to their viewers, and they are replacing programs all the time.

The third and the hardest station to get on is the older established station which is on the cable. This type station gets all of the national shows off the cable and also has its tried and true local productions. Such a station is not impossible to get on but you'll have to work much harder at it.

We have had the cable here since last summer and Dallas has two stations. We get all the top national shows but both stations still carry many of their most popular local shows.

THE MAGIC word for a pass into almost any television station is sponsor. If you have a sponsor your worries about getting on a station are over. Then your worry is pleasing your sponsor so you can keep him. The thing that pleases sponsors most is the fact that more people watch his show than any other show, which means more prospective customers for him.

Getting a sponsor is merely selling a businessman on the idea of advertising on television with your show. If you are enthusiastic about your idea you can usually communicate your enthusiasm to a sponsor. He may refer you to his advertising agency. If he does, do the same thing with them, that is, try to sell them on your idea. Sell the idea first.

For instance, David sells his dog show by showing a sponsor how many dog owners there are in the community, how much interest people have in dogs, the popularity of dog shows, the many magazines which feature dogs on their covers. After selling dogs to a prospective sponsor he then sells himself.

Any business is a good sponsor prospect. Since "Canine Comments" has been on, it has had a heating company, a drug store, two appliance companies, a dog food company and a car dealer, all of them sponsors whom David obtained for himself.

Get a rate sheet from your television station which will show cost of time on the station at different hours of the day and night. Also be sure you know their policy on contracts. Some stations sign thirteen-week contracts, some twenty-six-week or fifty-two-week contracts. Some stations have a two-week cancellation clause, some have a four-week cancellation clause. All contracts have some cancellation clause.

Add to the cost of television time the amount of money you expect to receive for doing the show. You can offer to do the show for no payment until you can prove your idea is a good one.

The rate of payment varies, sometimes greatly, with the type of show; the station the show is on; the size of the town; the number of sets in the area. So all the figures I am giving are general.

A once-a-week fifteen-minute show can pay anywhere from $25 to $50 a show. A daily thirty-minute to one-hour show of the women's interest interview or cooking school type will pay more; less per show, but much more per week. These shows usually have several sponsors in order to pay for the cost of the show.

We have a friend who originated a kid's show which he sold to a department store. They pay him $150 a week; he is on thirty minutes every week day. It is no longer a hobby with him but a full time job. He makes personal appearances in the store and at schools and playgrounds in the community.

One word of warning! Don't price your services too high. After all, the main purpose is to get on television. Then, when you have proved your idea is good and you have a substantial number of viewers you will feel justified in asking for more money.

Incidentally, the amount of money you are paid for your show is not the only compensation you will receive. This is especially true if you have products or services to sell. You can't sell them on a show being sponsored by someone else, but when your program and your name become well known, people will recognize you as an authority in your field. You'll be getting calls about your hobby and interested people will be asking questions and seeking your advice. We get daily calls from "Canine Comments" viewers wanting to know where to buy various breeds of dogs, information about dog training, boarding, books on dogs and dog supplies. These extra possibilities can be very profitable to you too.

THE OTHER method of getting your show on the air is to approach the program director of the station in your area and sell him on your idea. If you can convince him, then he will schedule your program usually for a trial period to test results and see if a sponsor can be obtained. With this method you usually will not receive any pay until the program is sold or is proved popular enough to be sustained by the station.

Don't worry about having experience. David hadn't had any when "Canine Comments" was begun. If you have had some kind of experience in radio or public speaking then that is in your favor, but it isn't essential. Television is so different from any other form of entertainment that it has a technique all its own. You are going into the homes of your city and talking to small family groups. The medium of television is intimate, informal and personal. This is especially true in the type of show I have been discussing—the interview type show.

What is essential is that you know your subject well and are able to handle an interview capably. You must draw information out of people who are not too talkative, especially after they have had a look at the camera. Then you must learn politely but firmly to interrupt those who are too talkative. Television runs on time. At an exact time the sponsor's message has to be relayed and at an exact time the show must close.

"CANINE COMMENTS" is a program devoted to the advancement of pure-bred dogs in the great Southwest area. It features dogs of all breeds. It is an ad-lib show done completely without script. It runs fifteen minutes and usually features an interview with a dog judge, trainer, veterinarian, members of dog clubs or just dog owners. Of course, the dogs are the center point of the show and you couldn't find better television performers anywhere than dogs—long recognized as the biggest scene stealers in show business.

When the local show was such a success the Liberty Broadcasting System invited "Canine Comments" to their network as a daily radio show, "The Dog Story of the Day." Later David thought if Dallas liked the show, people in other cities would like it just as well. We went to Hollywood where David found a TV film distributor that thought as he did about "Canine Comments." A series of fifteen-minute films were made and have now been released to television stations throughout the country.

The latest medium "Canine Comments" has found is a magazine by the same title for dog owners with articles on care, training, health and stories about dogs and their owners.