Editing Mutual Broadcasting System (section)

==== Rise of the call-in talk show ====
[[File:Larry King.jpg|thumb|201x201px|Larry King]]
Outside of news and sports, one of the few primary network programs initiated by Mutual during this era rapidly became one of the most successful in its history—the first nationwide, all-night call-in [[talk radio]] program, which launched on November 3, 1975, with [[Herb Jepko]] as host.<ref>{{harvp|Cox|2002|p=84}}.</ref><ref name="MRTS-72-77">{{Cite web |last=Johannessen |first=Kenneth I. |date=2009 |title=1972 - 1977: Coming to Life |url=http://www.mutualradiotributesite.org/mrts_history10_coming_2_life.html |access-date=February 12, 2023 |website=Mutual Radio Tribute Site |archive-date=February 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212212058/http://www.mutualradiotributesite.org/mrts_history10_coming_2_life.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Jepko's show, which originated from [[KSL (AM)|KSL]] in [[Salt Lake City]] in 1964 as ''Nitecap'', was fed by Mutual for eight hours beginning at midnight [[Eastern Time Zone|ET]], allowing for stations on the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] to carry it live. Mutual also signed up 12 high-powered AM stations to ensure coast-to-coast reception.<ref>{{harvp|Rose|1978|pp=47–48}}.</ref> Jepko so determinedly avoided controversial topics on the program that some callers simply talked about the weather where they lived. Fellow broadcaster [[Hilly Rose]] said of Jepko, "he is the exact opposite of [[Joe Pyne]] and 99% of the successful talk show hosts in America. If (he) were any nicer, he would make [[Mary Poppins (book series)|Mary Poppins]] look like a witch."<ref>{{harvp|Rose|1978|p=47}}.</ref>

In May 1977, Mutual dropped Jepko's show, replacing it with the husband-and-wife team of [[Long John Nebel]] and [[Candy Jones]] from [[WMCA (AM)|WMCA]] in New York City, whose program fared little better than Jepko's.<ref>{{harvp|Rose|1978|p=40}}.</ref>{{r|MRTS-72-77}} Nebel and Jones left Mutual by the end of the year and Mutual then hired a virtually unknown local talk show host at [[WIOD]] in [[Miami]]: [[Larry King]]. On January 30, 1978, the ''[[Larry King Show]]'' made its national debut on Mutual.<ref name="tb81">{{cite news |last=Davies |first=Tom |date=January 4, 1981 |title=The Radio 'King': From Midnight to Dawn |pages=C1, C3 |work=Toledo Blade |location=Toledo, Ohio |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19810104&id=7DBPAAAAIBAJ&pg=3792,4986335 |access-date=November 28, 2014 |archive-date=February 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203235454/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19810104&id=7DBPAAAAIBAJ&pg=3792,4986335 |url-status=live }}</ref> Initially broadcast over 28 stations, by late 1979, King's increasingly popular all-night program was being carried by nearly 200 stations.{{r|NYT19820502p33sec2}} With a nightly audience of around 2 million listeners,<ref name="LATKingObit">{{cite web |last=McLellan |first=Dennis |date=January 23, 2021 |title=Larry King, TV broadcaster and talk-show host, dies at 87 |url=https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2021-01-23/larry-king-dead-at-87 |access-date=February 12, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times |archive-date=January 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129051714/https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2021-01-23/larry-king-dead-at-87 |url-status=live }}</ref> the ''Larry King Show'' continued to attract new affiliates to the network during the early 1980s.<ref name="NYT19820502p33sec2">{{Unbulleted list citebundle|{{Cite news |last=Goldman |first=Kevin |date=May 2, 1982 |title=Radio's Latest Boom: Late-Night Talk Shows |page=33-Section 2 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/02/arts/radio-s-latest-boom-late-night-talk-shows.html?sec=&pagewanted=1 |url-status=live |access-date=February 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210033718/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/02/arts/radio-s-latest-boom-late-night-talk-shows.html?sec=&pagewanted=1 |archive-date=February 10, 2023}}|{{Cite news |last=Flamberg |first=Daniel |date=June 20, 1982 |title=TV Mailbag—About Radio Talk Shows |page=33-Section 2 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/20/arts/l-tv-mailbag-about-radio-talk-shows-223943.html?n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes+Topics%2FSubjects%2FR%2FRadio |url-status=live |access-date=February 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210033718/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/20/arts/l-tv-mailbag-about-radio-talk-shows-223943.html?n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes+Topics%2FSubjects%2FR%2FRadio |archive-date=February 10, 2023}}}}</ref><ref name="c82">{{cite web|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1982/11/22/midnight-snoozer-pbibt-wasnt-very-long/ |title=Midnight Snoozer |publisher=[[Harvard Crimson]] |date=November 22, 1982 |first=Thomas J. |last=Meyer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630072829/http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1982/11/22/midnight-snoozer-pbibt-wasnt-very-long/ |archive-date=June 30, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> King, like Jepko, generally steered clear of contentious topics and gave regular callers to the program pseudonyms or nicknames.{{r|c82}}

Originally a five-and-a-half hour program, the last half hour was relaunched as ''[[America in The Morning]]'', a morning news magazine hosted by WCFL alumnus [[Jim Bohannon]], in September 1984.<ref name="Broad19840910p58">{{Cite magazine |date=September 10, 1984 |title=Mutual: 50 and counting |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1984/BC-1984-09-10.pdf |magazine=Broadcasting |volume=107 |issue=11 |pages=58, 61, 64 |access-date=February 15, 2023 |via=World Radio History |archive-date=January 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131024228/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1984/BC-1984-09-10.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="RadOnAITM">{{Cite web |date=September 12, 2019 |title=WWO News ''America In The Morning'' Celebrates 35th Year |url=https://news.radio-online.com/articles/n37462/WWO-News-America-In-The-Morning-Celebrates-35th-Year |access-date=November 3, 2019 |website=Radio Online |language=en-US |archive-date=November 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103073004/https://news.radio-online.com/articles/n37462/WWO-News-America-In-The-Morning-Celebrates-35th-Year |url-status=live }}</ref> King continued with his Mutual call-in show until 1994, long after his move to television in 1985 as host of ''[[Larry King Live]]'' for [[CNN]].{{r|LATKingObit}}<ref name="LAT19940624">{{cite web |date=June 24, 1994 |title=Today's Talk-Radio Topic: The Future of Talk Radio |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-24-ca-8138-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018022909/http://articles.latimes.com/1994-06-24/entertainment/ca-8138_1_talk-radio |archive-date=October 18, 2015 |access-date=November 2, 2015 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> King's success soon prompted NBC Radio and ABC Radio to launch [[NBC Talknet]] and ABC TalkRadio, respectively, both featuring call-in shows airing into the late-evening and overnight hours.{{r|NYT19820502p33sec2}} The ''Larry King Show'' also won a [[Peabody Awards|Peabody Award]] for Mutual in 1982.<ref name="LATKingObit" />

Mutual made additional ventures beyond talk programming and newscasts. Along with the network's existing sports coverage, Mutual was the national radio broadcaster for ''[[Monday Night Football#MNF on radio|Monday Night Football]]'' from 1970 through 1977.<ref>{{harvp|Cox|2002|p=83}}.</ref> Mutual began nationally distributing ''[[Wheeling Jamboree|Jamboree USA]]'' from [[WWVA (AM)|WWVA]] in [[Wheeling, West Virginia]], on February 23, 1979, marking the first time in years that the network featured a regularly scheduled live music program.<ref name="Broad19790305p129">{{Cite magazine |date=March 5, 1979 |title=Program Briefs: Mutual jamboree. |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1979/BC-1979-03-05.pdf |magazine=Broadcasting |volume=96 |issue=10 |page=129 |access-date=February 12, 2023 |via=World Radio History |archive-date=January 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131030905/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1979/BC-1979-03-05.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Jamboree USA'' also became the first music program on radio to be transmitted by satellite;<ref name="Billb19791103p3">{{Cite magazine |date=November 3, 1979 |title=Mutual gains FCC OK for satellites |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1979/Billboard%201979-11-03.pdf |magazine=Billboard |volume=91 |issue=44 |pages=3, 28 |access-date=February 12, 2023 |via=World Radio History |archive-date=March 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307133247/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/70s/1979/Billboard%201979-11-03.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> the new technology now further enabled Mutual to offer additional music programming to affiliates, including [[Anthology|anthologies]] and concerts.<ref name="Billb19800628p4">{{Cite magazine |last=Callahan |first=Jean |date=June 28, 1980 |title=New Mutual Web P.D. Will Increase Music Broadcasts: Morgan In Move After Natl Survey |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1980/BB-1980-06-28.pdf |magazine=Billboard |volume=92 |issue=26 |pages=4, 23 |access-date=February 12, 2023 |via=World Radio History |archive-date=January 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131074223/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1980/BB-1980-06-28.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>