Irate living-room fans swamped the station with furious calls and letters demanding their regular wrestling back. Order was restored when Gorgeous George returned, much to the pleasure of Ernie Sanders, resident manager of WOC-TV who likes to see everything run smoothly.

Pleasing people is an easy job for this gracious, neatly graying at the temples personality. Announcing was his forte for many of the 23 years he enjoyed in radio. The show he did at WHO in Des Moines for a fruit company undoubtedly was successful, for Ernie recalls with a chuckle, "I knew my apples, I knew my bananas and I knew my pineapples!"

Obviously he knows his economics, too, for WOC-TV has been operating in the black for 2 of the 3 years since Ernie cut the ribbon for Iowa's first glamor medium.

Ernie sees television and movies as separate entities, realizes that TV can't ape Hollywood. "Movies are made to entertain people," he notes, "television to entertain persons."

Appealing to 3 or 4 living-room enthusiasts is more of a stumbling block for a comedian than entertaining a movie audience. One person sparks the laughter for 499 others in a movie theater, while amusing a small group at home is infinitely harder.

WOC-TVs announcers are virtually household gems around these parts, but Ernie says building of personalities is not policy, but fairly accidental. It's the natural thing to do, he observes, if an announcer is good you use him more and more. However, he places strong emphasis on local programming, takes pride in WOC's capable personalities.

Once a week Ernie meets with key people on the staff -- goes over kinks in the operation. With 90 people working behind the scenes, Ernie must keep a fatherly eye on what's going on.

Occasionally, as will happen, a negative slips into an announcer's copy -- violating B.J. Palmer's policy "No Negatives!" If Ernie isn't quick to catch it, a phone call from B.J. will. Although he'll heatedly assert, "They'd better read the copy."

The Army called Ernie from his WHO announcer post to serve in the horse cavalry. He served in the European Theater, later became Chief of American Forces Network, the radio service to Army troops. Judging by Ernie's exact remembrance of his Army interment -- "5 years, 7 months and 22 days" -- he was pretty anxious to return to civilian life.

As resident manager, Ernie looks after national accounts, makes frequent trips to national advertising agencies, "takes the story of the market" to other managers of the 108 television stations operating. A frequent puzzler is where are television costs going to level off. Ernie personally feels the spiral is reaching its top now.