Progressive Radio Network Sampler from 1976

This Sampler of the News Blimps was created in 1976 as a sales tool to market the show to radio stations.  It’s a “demo tape” that includes four Blimps interspersed with testimonials from Program Directors about the value of the show. At the time, we had not yet branded each episode with the News Blimp name.  The shows were called News Blimps, but at the end of each one we plugged the Progressive Radio Network.

It was an era of “us vs. them.”  The new, young way of thinking and acting butted up against the Establishment.  “Never trust anyone over 30” was a rallying cry. The samples chosen for this demo exemplify the mission of PRN: to speak directly to an alternative audience -  young music-radio listeners - about topics truly important to them.  

The first Blimp describes a new device which supposedly enhances the experience of listening to music. The second piece offers useful facts on how to determine if the government has a file on you and how to apply for your own Freedom of Information report.  Blimp number three profiles a NASA study that encourages the development of orbiting space colonies to beam solar energy back to Earth. And the final offering showcases a record album of a mother’s womb to be used to help soothe infants.

Since we were in the same “demographic” as our listeners, we tried hard to present stories that we cared about in an intelligent and useful manner.  The amazing thing to me is how many of these issues remain unresolved forty years later.

Ben Manilla

Executive Producer 1976-78