Building Blocks: Buckeye CableSystem's Communications Revolution, From Printer's Ink to Cable to Fiber

by Tom Dawson

Overview

Building Blocks is the history of Buckeye CableSystem. Buckeye is part of a family empire started in 1900 by the son of an immigrant in upstate New York. This book is a fascinating tale of the family’s progression into the fourth generation and through the myriad of daily newspapers, radio and television stations, cablevision firms, a telephone company, a fiber-optic construction company, and other related communications and advertising firms which the family owns or has owned.

This book shows some of the trials and tribulations faced by family members as they employ a nimble strategy to compete with the industry behemoths. It also examines the unique factors that have spelled success for 50 years and looks at what the competitive future holds for smaller cable and Internet firms Buckeye’s size.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761866244
Publisher:	Hamilton Books
Publication date:	07/23/2015
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Tom Dawson spent some 23 years as a writer and editor on two Ohio daily newspapers, including seventeen with The Blade of Toledo, owned by Block Communications, Inc., which also owns Buckeye CableSystem. In 1986, he transferred to Buckeye. During his career there, he coordinated design and construction, new business development, community affairs, and government relations dealing with all regulatory and compliance issues for the cable company. In 1994, Dawson was named vice president/regulatory affairs of Buckeye TeleSystem, a sister company.

He retired in 2009 after 40 years with the Block organization, but went back in 2010 as a consultant dealing with the same issues as before he retired.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: The Early Years
Chapter 1, “She wanted pictures with her radio” Cable’s earliest days, from concept to reality
Chapter 2, “We were doing it the hard way” Twice the channels, but twice the problems: Buckeye begins to grow
Part II: Building for the Future
Chapter 3, “Our localness and service will set us apart” At Buckeye, the customer has always been right
Chapter 4, “He who owns production owns the client relationship” Expanding into advertising sales and production
Chapter 5, “You couldn’t get a dial tone in Sandusky when that call-in show was on” In Toledo and points beyond, Buckeye extends its reach
Chapter 6, “We spent the money to continue the business” For Buckeye’s service area, a new high-fiber diet
Chapter 7, “We’ll do whatever we can to help Toledo reach its full potential” Voice, video, data, home security: Fiber optics boost Buckeye’s capabilities
Chapter 8, “They’re leaders in technology and communications” The company’s trophy case gets increasingly crowded
Part III: What to Provide the Viewers, and at What Cost?
Chapter 9, “We experimented with everything we even had a fish tank on camera” In Buckeye’s early years, programming and production were decidedly ad hoc
Chapter 10, “We can give viewers something they won’t see elsewhere” No tower, no transmitter: TV5 debuts as a different kind of broadcaster
Chapter 11, “Everybody wanted to be part of the excitement” BCSN becomes a local-sports sensation
Chapter 12, “Their demands are outrageous on their face” Negotiating with satellite programmers and large broadcasters: not for the faint of heart
Part IV: The Future
Chapter 13, “Broadband is the business” For cable, telecom, and media in general, the times they are a-changin’
Appendix

Editorial Reviews

Building Blocks offers a glimpse into local history. .. thrown in with anecdotes about the 50 years of growth.

The Senior Partner

[This book] is full of fascinating history and anecdotes.. . .It is a book that ought to appeal to anyone in the cable industry, especially if they need to figure out how to cope with the bewilderingly fast changes in technology and viewer habits and preferences.

The Blade

Dawson’s readable, fast-paced writing style makes Building Blocks a must read for anyone interested in how the cable industry got started and is a great read for those wanting to learn more about the cable business. It is a great all-American story of how an immigrant family becomes a leader, and stays a leader, in the media business and is a great reference for anyone interested in Toledo business history. The story of Buckeye and the Block family businesses is closely intertwined with the vibrancy of the Toledo community. While Building Blocks is a well-researched piece on the cable industry, its lessons in how to run a customer-friendly business can be applied to any industry.

Jonathon McGee