Media Machine

Home Channel News, Oct 25, 1999 by Monica Toriello

Print, TV, radio and now online communications inspire DIYers

Watch. Click. Print. Do. That's what Home & Garden Television (HGTV) is hoping its new offshoot -- the Do It Yourself (DIY) network -- is going to enable viewers to do. DIY, which was launched Sept. 30, is a television channel with a companion Web site (www.diynet.com) targeted towards serious home project enthusiasts who want detailed instructions along with the inspiration and ideas that a TV program generates.

HGTV's consumer research indicated that people look to TV for inspiration, but rely on other sources for easy-to-follow how-tos. DIY offers what could be a winning package: a Web-and-TV marriage.

If HGTV's success is any indication, then DIY should be a hit, too. After barely five years on the air, HGTV is now seen by about 55 million people and has more than 1,000 advertisers. It has spawned a Web site and a well-received bimonthly consumer magazine.

Whether HGTV and DIY will be mainstays in the field of home improvement media remain to be seen. They have a long way to go before they can claim the staying power of one brand whose longevity has proven its influence on American homeowners -- Better Homes & Gardens, born 77 years ago.

Edwin Meredith, the owner of Successful Farming magazine, in the early 1920s wanted to create a home and garden title "for the average family." The first issue of Fruit, Garden and Home was published in July 1922. It was renamed Better Homes & Gardens two years later, and by 1928 the monthly publication had 1 million subscribers, making it the first magazine without fashion and beauty features or fiction writing to reach that many readers. BH&G today commands a readership of about 35 million people, 85 percent of whom are homeowners.

"We offer a different perspective than the shelter magazines," said editor-in-chief Jean LemMon, who has held that post since 1993. "Other titles treat the home from an aesthetic standpoint, but we realize that our readers have to live comfortably, so the advice we give is practical, affordable and doable."

For example, in the 1920's, a feature on home mortgages in BH&G helped inspire middle-class Americans to buy their own houses. Moderately priced home plans featured in the magazine during the Depression gave birth to a building plan service in the early 1930s. Vegetable gardening tips appeared on BH&G's pages during food shortages caused by World War II.

In 1941, the magazine introduced the outdoor barbecue to America from its California birthplace; the barbecue quickly became a summer staple in the rest of the country. At the end of World War II, BH&G suggested the family room -- a more casual space than the living room -- for families that had been separated by war to spend quality time together.

LemMon predicted the magazine will spark yet another trend with the "learning center," featured in next month's issue. A room next to the kitchen that houses desk space and computer terminals, the room allows the kids a place to do homework or play on the computer under the watchful eye of mom in the kitchen.

But home improvement ideas and instruction don't have to be communicated visually. That's been proven by the fact that home improvement radio programs have been around almost as long as radio itself. As early as the 1920s, for example, paint maker Benjamin Moore was broadcasting decorating advice weekly through a fictional character named Betty Moore. The company's home decorating department staff scripted the show and personally answered the 400-plus letters that Betty Moore's listeners sent every day.

As of mid-1932, an estimated 100,000 listeners were members of the Betty Moore Triangle Club. The radio show lasted for three decades.

One of the longest-running home improvement radio programs still on the air is Glenn Haege's "Ask the Handyman," which first hit the airwaves in 1982. At four hours, it's also the country's longest how-to radio format. Haege's career included management stints with Sherwin-Williams and ACO Hardware. His voice is heard on weekend mornings in 48 states.

Airing across the country, today's slew of home improvement and gardening programs runs the gamut from regional shows like "Florida Gardening" and "Desert Gardening," to national programs like "Home Improvement USA" and "On the House with the Carey Brothers."

Even Martha Stewart is on the radio every day. America's lifestyle doyenne hosts a 90-second syndicated radio program, during which she offers one home improvement or cooking tip.

But radio is only the latest medium penetrated by Stewart's empire, which she built on the success of her early 1980s book, Entertaining. Now, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is a $200 million-plus company raking in revenue from book titles, a magazine with more than two million subscribers, a TV presence, a catalog and a product line sold through Kmart.

Around the same time that Stewart published her watershed book, another personality was emerging as a recognized home improvement expert. Bob Vila's TV career was launched when he began hosting "This Old House," which premiered in 1979 in the Boston market. The show was soon broadcast nationwide on public TV. Vila left in 1989 and went on to produce "Bob Vila's Home Again," which today is syndicated to more than 200 TV stations. Vila's name is now on a home design CD-ROM, a Web site and 10 books.