{{Infobox Radio Presenter | name = George Putnam | image = Perversion-for-Profit-putnam.jpg | imagesize = 300px | caption = George Putnam in Perversion for Profit (1965) | birthname = | birthdate = July 14 1914 | birthplace = Breckenridge, Minnesota | deathdate = | deathplace = | show = George Putnam | station = KCAA a nd Cable Radio Network (CRN) | timeslot = | show2 = | station2 = | timeslot2 = | style = | country = | prevshow = | spouse = | web = } George Putnam (born July 14, 1914 in Breckenridge, Minnesota) is an American television news reporter and talk show host. Putnam received a LL.D. from Bates College in 1985. Putnam's radio career began on his 20th birthday in 1934 at WDGY in Minneapolis. His voice can be heard on the well-known "One Day In Radio," when station WJSV in Washington, DC archived its entire broadcast day on September 21, 1939. Putnam's greatest work was achieved in the Los Angeles, California area, where he has been working since 1951. By the 1950's he had switched to television and hosted the highest rated newscast in the Los Angeles area. He anchored at KTTV 11, KTLA 5, KCOP 13, and KHJ 9 (now KCAL 9).In addition to his salary he was provided a Rolls Royce automobile while at KTTV and KTLA. He was replaced by news legend Hal Fishman in 1975. Putnam has long carried a grudge against Fishman stating on his radio show TALKBACK with George Putnam that he was back stabbed by Fishman. Putnam has made this claim for decades. It is noteworthy that when Fishman produced KTLA's 50th anniversery history in television,that footage of Putnam was not used,although Putnam had been the face of KTLA news in the 1960's and 70's before being replaced by Fishman. In 1965 he narrated a film entitled Perversion for Profit, in which he warned viewers about magazines containing nudity and homosexual material, referring to homosexuals as perverts and misfits. This film was financed by Charles Keating. However by the 1980's he changed his views stating on his radio show TALKBACK with George Putnam that he felt gays were born that way,that many of his friends and coworkers were gay and good people. For his contribution to the television industry, George Putnam has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6372 Hollywood Blvd. Putnam currently hosts Talk Back, a conservative talk show,that he has hosted daily since leaving the television anchor chair in 1975. It is flagshipped at KCAA 1050 in San Bernardino, California and distributed nationwide on the Cable Radio Network, on CRN1, from 3-5 PM ET. He is believed to be the oldest nationally syndicated radio host in America. In fact, he is one of the very few remaining active radio people (Daniel Schorr, Paul Harvey, and John Zacherle being among the others) who is older than the medium itself. Putnam also publishes a weekly column, "One Reporter's Opinion," on the Web site NewsMax.com; his most recent focus has been on the issue of illegal immigration from Mexico.[1] Putnam was widely believed to be the inspiration for the character of Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Link
- One Reporter's Opinion at NewsMax.com
- Perversion for Profit Part I and Part II.
