You may not have known the name Dick Block even if you consider yourself to be a true fan of media history and content. His most recent full-time executive position ended more than three decades ago, and his first was in the days where UHF over-the-air television was the disruptive equivalent of Netflix. And UHF itself has been defunct for 15 years.
But if you happen to know anyone well enough who has worked in local television in the last six decades, or anyone who has taken a class at the University of Southern California in the last three, the name Richard Block will immediately trigger warm memories and appreciation. And I’m proud to say I’m part of that extremely long list.
It’s an easy argument to make that were it not for Block’s vision and dedication, the entire concept of counterprogramming would never have advanced quickly enough for all else that followed to have been deemed worthy of support. As DEADLINE’s Natalie Oganesyan detailed in her story that finally dropped yesterday:
His tenure on the business side of things within the entertainment industry included serving as the top executive of Kaiser Broadcasting, where he conceived of and executed a plan to build independent television stations in seven of the top ten national markets: Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Francisco.
You might know the name Kaiser, as in Henry J., if you’ve recently visited a Permanente clinic with that name or if you’re an auto buff who has seen one of his eponymous coupes at a classic car show. Perhaps you knew that he once owned the Jeep line as well, seeking to make the vehicles that were popularized during World War II into something more mainstream. Henry J wanted to sell a lot of those cars, and he saw television as a way to do it efficiently. Wikipedia reveals his solution:
In 1957 Kaiser partnered with Warner Brothers and ABC to sponsor the television series Maverick, promoting household products including Kaiser aluminum foil and Kaiser Jeep vehicles.[48] In support of his Hawaii ventures, Kaiser induced Warner Brothers to copy the formula of its popular series 77 Sunset Strip as new TV series Hawaiian Eye. Though actually filmed at WB studios in Burbank, California, the show featured private detectives based at Kaiser’s Hilton Hawaiian Village.[48][49] (The Hilton Hawaiian Village was featured in Hawaii 5-0 with many scenes filmed at the resort.)
Kaiser didn’t know television, and he certainly didn’t know independent television. But Dick did, as he saw how competitive many earlier ones were in markets that had ample VHF signals (channels 2-13). The markets Kaiser invested in were largely ones where no such opportunities remained; educational television (PBS’ ancestor) had already commandeered the more desirable frequencies that CBS, NBC and ABC had not. Heck, at the time ABC was barely competitive as a network. But counterprogramming and younger-appeal content eventually narrowed that gap and Block, as he told me, believed if people were going out of their way to find something different to watch they’d be motivated enough to even seek out the handful of TV manufacturers that were selling sets that were capable of receiving channels 14-83. Block led the charge to convince the holdouts it would be smart business to follow suit; more importantly; he devised reasons for people to want to watch them.
He championed the concept of “internal networking”–developing enough local shows for stations to be self-sufficient and develop their own in-market identities. A character called “The Ghoul”, who hosted his Cleveland station’s horror movies, was eventually used across the entire group. He lobbied Paramount to release Star Trek reruns to his stations fresh off their early cancellation by NBC. With a mere 79 episodes in the can, it fell far short of the theoretical “100 episode minimum” stations tended to believe was necessary for rerun stripping. But a show with a strong fan base that was bombarding NBC with letters was one he was convinced would go out of their way to find these neophyte stations and yes, buy those TVs.
He eventually took his bag of tricks to the immediate ancestor of FOX, Metromedia TV. A group that already had had the success with local news in many of its markets that Kaiser did not achieve, Block was instrumental in securing the ability for these operations to access CNN coverage and, equally as importantly to CNN, have access to these stations’ reporters for breaking local news stories in their cities. That access made those news operations more credible and, in many cases, higher-rated.
That’s around the time when I first met him in the art-covered hallways of Metromedia’s KTTV. Dick was almost always holding court in the lobby, ready to greet syndicators, including many of my division’s competitors. My teammates and I always liked to somehow be lurking in the vicinity when those meetings went down; Dick would inevitably invite us over and say something to spark a debate. Inevitably, we’d learn something about some pending deal or perhaps a project falling out of bed elsewhere. As I later learned, Dick took a special liking to me because I was a more recent hire and younger, so I was somewhat naive to the infighting and culture clashes that had been brewing within Metromedia since a group from Boston took over top management. Dick would throw me copies of the presentations his vendors left behind, “so you could be smarter than your bosses when it comes up”.
Years later, when Dick was firmly entrenched in consulting and academia, we’d regularly guest lecture at each other’s classes. I spent seven years teaching for UCLA Extension, and I knew no one who had a firmer grasp on the evolution of broadcasting than Dick. We’d often schedule our appearances during a week when the schools would meet in football or basketball. He was especially willing to wear cardinal and gold just to tick off my students.
More recently, especially during the early days of COVID, our frequent check-ins became less so; eventually lapsing into none for several years. I’m not proud of that fact, especially now. As someone who is ready to get on a soapbox to ask why people can’t make time for others like me who perhaps haven’t had a big shot position for a while, I plead as guilty as anyone I admonish in this case. I never did send follow up e-mails and I rarely called. And the reason that was eventually cited as to why he wasn’t getting back to me was that he was too damn busy. Well into his 90s, Dick kept a regular teaching schedule, office hours and an active social life. Yes, he’s an inspiration to me, as I know he was to so many others I’ve been exchanging memories with of late on a text thread.
And yes, I knew about Dick’s passing long before Oganesyan chose to share it with her readers. A mentee of his posted a wonderful tribute and de facto obituary to him on LinkedIN weeks ago; a friend of mine who rarely calls me did so days before that. I toyed with writing someone before this but, yet again, I cop to being distracted. I would have to have told Dick at least one more time how meaningful his counsel, acceptance and courtesy was over the years. Far too few of us seem to truly appreciate someone who helped us early on until after they’re gone. I’m sorry to say I made the mistake of being one of those people myself.
So I’m hoping this may serve both as testimony to what he meant to me, and why his work should mean something to you. And it’s certainly a string around my finger to make sure others getting up there in years know how I feel about them, distractions be damned.
Now I can only hope my resolve and New Year’s resolution is echoed by others as well.
Until next time…
1 thought on “Memo To Self: Never Wait To Check In”
Thanks, Steve, to this reflection about my dad, and about taking advantage of every opportunity to express words of appreciation. They are even more applicable within families.
Please write to dickblockmemorial@gmail.com if you plan to be at the event for him on Nov. 17 and I will keep you posted.