Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

BROADCASTI The NEWS MAGAZINE of VOL. 1, NO. 2 WASHINGTON, D. C. THE FIFTH ESTATE NOVEMBER 1, 1931 S3. 00 PER YEAR — 15c A COPY Broadcasters Unite to Strengthen Position By SOL TAISHOFF Record NAB Convention Moves to Correct Regulatory Flaws, Resist Invasion of Rights and Avoid Commercial Pitfalls WITH industrial stability the keynote, the National Association of Broadcasters adjourned its ninth annual convention at Detroit on October 28, after charting a course for voluntary elimination of flaws in the broadcasting structure, correction of defects in radio laws and regulations and vigorous opposition to schemes which threaten the security of the industry. Convening on Oct. 26, the broadcasters swept through three days crammed full of radio business. _ A score of resolutions, dealing with fundamentals in broadcasting and designed to render possible the more orderly development of radio by the American plan were presented, debated, amended and then carried without a single dissenting voice. Means of improving business along solid lines were discussed openly and freely in an open forum of idea exchanges among the delegates. Led by President Hoover, key men in public and industrial affairs addressed the broadcasters, each painstakingly pointed to the pitfalls that beset so young and successful an industry. Each had something to say about advertising, and the theory was developed that there is not too much advertising » on the air but that there is still too much of it poorly done. Upon the shoulders of Harry Shaw, WMT, Waterloo, la., fell the mantle "of NAB leadership for the ensuing year. By unanimous vote he was elected president of the association to succeed Walter * J. Damm, WTMJ, Milwaukee. J. J. Storey, WTAG, Worcester, Mass. and Paul W. Morency, WTIC, Hartford, Conn., were unanimously elected vice presidents, succeeding E. M. Spence, WPG, Atlantic City, and 0. D. Fisher, KOMO, Seattle. M. A. Howlett, WHK, Cleveland, was elected secretary-treasurer, succeeding Mr. Morency. Immediately after taking office President Shaw named his executive committee, reappointing as its members Henry A. Bellows, vice president of CBS, Frank M. Russell, vice president of NBC, and William S. Hedges, WMAQ, Chicago. Mr. Bellows was named to succeed Mr. Hedges as chairman. To. fill vacancies on the board of directors, Mr. Bellows, Leo Fitz "YOU HAVE given me a real task to carry on the sound policies laid down by my predecessors. During the months to follow we will be confronted with many serious problems. Now is the time for earnest and aggressive leadership backed by a united industry. For my part I can only pledge my loyalty, my time and my energy to the advancement of radio." Harry Shaw Patrick, WJR, Detroit, and E. B. Craney, KGIR, Butte, Mont., were reelected. Quin A. Ryan, WGN, Chicago, and Mr. Damm were elected new members of the board. Philip G. Loucks was reappointed managing director by the new board. All committees were carried over by President Shaw until such time as new appointments can be made. The Opening Session: PRESIDENT Walter J. Damm, WTMJ, Milwaukee, opened the three-day session promptly at noon Monday. He introduced Mayor Murphy, of Detroit; who delivered an address of welcome, answered in behalf of the association by Mr. Hedges, chairman of the executive committee and past president. By remote control from Washington, President Hoover then addressed the association, his words being carried to the radio audience also over NBC and CBS networks. Harking back to radio's early days, when as Secretary of Commerce he directed its destinies, the President praised the industry's achievements and commended as fortunate the * determination that broadcasting should be a private enterprise, freed of the restraints of governmental monopoly. Because of a bronchial cold, Maj. Gen. Charles McK. Saltzman, chairman of the Federal Radio Commission, was unable to take part in the broadcast program. His address was read by Secretary James Wk Baldwin of the Commission from WRC, Washington. Mr. Baldwin told of the many problems confronting the broadcasters in the production of programs to satisfy the desires of the American listen * er. He emphasized the paucity of * wave lengths and the incessant clamor for more and more stations in all parts of the country. He called attention to the new engineering orders of the Commission. America will keep its broadcasting the "best in the world," Mr. Baldwin said, after denning the differences between the so-called American plan and the European system. In Europe, he explained, the stations give the listeners what the government wants them to hear, while in this country the people are given what they want to hear. He doubted whether this country wanted the European system. President Damm closed the halfhour radio ceremony with an answer to the "insinuations" that radio has sold itself out to advertising, and that this country should go to a system of government oper ation. If the British system were adopted in the United States, it would require a tax of from $20 to $25 per set, he estimated. "It is not difficult to visualize what would happen if anyone proposed such a tax in this country, especially if the program were originated and planned according to the whims of some governmental body," Mr. Damm asserted. After outlining the operations of the American system, and the ideals and objectives of the organized broadcasters, Mr. Damm said every conceivable effort will be made to bring to listeners "the best in entertainment, information, * religion, culture and education." A resolution extending to President Hoover the gratitude of the NAB for his speech was offered by Alfred J. McCosker, WOR, Newark, and was seconded by unanimous vote. A second resolution sensing the NAB's disappointment over the illness of Gen. Saltzman which prevented his attendance, and the hope for a speedy recovery, offered by Harry C. Butcher, director of the Washington office of CBS, also won a unanimous second. Both were referred to the Resolutions Committee to be drafted formally, pursuant to regular procedure. Senator White Speaks: IN AN address that held the delegates spellbound for its forthrightness, Senator Wallace White, Jr., Republican, of Maine, co-author of the Radio Act of 1927, and former chairman of the House Merchant Marine Committee, traced radio's legislative history. He punctuated the chronology with frank expressions of lax regulation, erroneous interpretations and misguided efforts and pointed ominously to the legislative pitfalls that seem to lie directly ahead. In substance, the Senator supported the 1927 act after four years of administration under it. Radio and the advertising agency were discussed by John Benson, president of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, who advocated as a foremost need a strong and influential NAB. This gives the agencies somebody to deal with who can speak for the radio industry as a whole, he said. Declaring that no agreement has as yet been arrived at about station coverage or any joint plan evolved to measure it, Mr. Benson November 1, 1931 • BROADCASTING Page 5