Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

Commission Reviews a Year's Work Report to Congress Notes Progress in Administrative, Technical and Judicial Fields During 1932 WITHOUT a single recommendation for new legislation, the Radio Commission on Dec. 5 submitted to Congress its sixth annual report covering the fiscal year 1 9 3 2, Mr. Lafount which ended June 30. A simple chronology of the Commission's activity during the 12 months, the report covers administrative, technical and judicial developments in all branches of radio but not program or entertainment activities. Submitted to the Lame Duck session of Congress, the report bore the signature of Harold A. Lafount, acting chairman. The present Congress expires March 4 and will be so occupied with urgent relief and revenue legislation that radio is not likely to receive serious consideration, except for possible amendment of the copyright law. Congress still has before it recommendations urging drastic revision of the Radio Act of 1927, submitted by the Commission just a year ago, but these are expected to die with the adjournment of this legislature. Work Increases IN HIS PREFACE to the report, Acting Chairman Lafount summarized the commission's activities. The volume of work, he said, continues to increase but of necessity must be handled by reduced personnel. There were more than 40,000 matters which required formal consideration by the Commission, as against some 30,000 the preceding fiscal year. Changes in Commission procedure, effected under the Rules and Regulations which became operative Feb. 1, have resulted in vastly improving the conduct of hearings before examiners, M r . Mr. Baldwin Lafount said. Greater safeguards to the interests of all parties are provided, and issues are more clearly defined. Generally speaking, he declared, the cases which came to hearing during the last year were more complex, involved more issues and entailed more extensive technical testimony than cases heard during the preceding fiscal year. "These factors," the acting chairman continued, "have enabled the Commission to render more accurate decisions, which in practically all instances have been upheld by the courts on appeal. "Progress has been made in the matter of so grouping applications as to permit the hearing of those involving common issues at the same time and place, thus saving to applicants or licensees much of the expense incident to repeated trips to Washington for the purpose of participating in hearings. Also, the practice of taking depositions in different parts of the country of witnesses unable to appear in Washington, or when the expense involved in bringing witnesses to Washington is out of proportion to the importance of the case, has been extended and has proven a decided benefit to a licensee who, in the position of a respondent in the matter of an application for his facilities, is not required to go to such great expense in defending his right to the facilities which he has, as formerly. These, the outstanding forward steps in the matter of hearings, have resulted in more expeditious handling of cases before both the examiners and the commission." Cost of Regulation IT COST Uncle Same $454,197 during the 1932 fiscal year to sustain the Commission, according to the report of James W. Baldwin, Commission secretary. The Commission held 177 formal meetings and sat en banc to hear 18 cases. It granted 40,218 applications, denied 260 and dismissed 235. During the year 252 docket cases were considered, of which 76 were granted, 24 were granted in part, 142 were denied and 10 were withdrawn. 12 Stations Deleted THE BROADCAST section of the license division received 2,519 applications during the year, as compared with 3,784 the preceding year, it is shown in the report of William P. Massing, division chief. He attributed the decrease in large measure to the lengthening of the license period from three to six months on April 16, 1931. Twelve stations were deleted during the year, as compared with 13 in the previous year. Two stations were consolidated and eight new stations were authorized, making a total of 606 authorized stations on June 30, 1932, as against 612 on the corresponding date in 1931. During the fiscal year 13 new experimental television stations were authorized, as against three deletions, so that at the end of the period 31 such stations held licenses. A score of temporary broadcast pick-up stations were authorized and five were deleted, leaving the total at 21. A sharp increase in the work (Continued on page 2U) AN APPRAISAL OF TELEVISION Progress Noted But Numerous Obstacles Still Exist, Radio Commission Tells Congress FOLLOWING is the Radio Commission's appraisal of the status of television, as contained in its annual report to Congress covering the fiscal year 1932, which ended June 30: "While no startling inventions have come to light in television during the past year, the progress that has been made has been marked by a steady improvement in the detail of pictures transmitted. This improvement has been made possible through increased attention to technical details in the optical pick-up system, in the photo-electric cell and amplifying systems, and in the actual modulation of the radio waves emitted. This development has in a general way paralleled the progress that was made in the early stages of sound broadcasting. "Much attention has been given to the part of the spectrum in which television emissions will best fit. Although there are at the present time four 100-kilocycle bands between 2,000 and 3,000 kilocycles assigned to television, it has been evident for a considerable time that this space is not sufficient to meet the requirements of this new and growing art to furnish entertainment to the public. The experimenters have turned to the unexplored regions above 30,000 kilocycles. The work at these frequencies has shown signs of real promise as a future locus for this service, and the Federal Radio Commission has assigned wide frequency bands in this region for experimental work in television. Proposals have been received by the commission from the industry to increase the space in this band in order to protect the future of television. "Although considerable progress has been made in scanning methods, using both the mechanical type of scanning and the electrical or so-called cathode-ray type of scanning, it appears that many new developments must still be made before television can be accepted as a satisfactory entertainment service. While attempts have been made to broadcast scenes covering large areas, the majority of television stations have limited their transmissions to faces of one or two performers at most. This type of program, while of interest because of its novelty and usefulness for experimental work, has a very small amount of sustained 'look-in' interest. Such programs fall far short of what the public has been led to expect in the way of entertainment, considering especially the fact that the technical improvements made during the last few years in sight-and-sound motion picture technique have created in the mind of the public a desire for very high technical standards of performance." Long -Wave Parley Plans Await Sykes WITH the American delegation to the International Radio Conference at Madrid due to return to this country just before Christmas, preliminary plans are being made for holding a North American conference for redistribution of wave lengths and possibly widening the broadcast band into the long waves. The conference will be held in consequence of the convention's approval of reservations for regional agreements on widening of the band below 550 kc. It is understood that an informal invitation to hold the conference in Mexico City, probably next April, was extended to all North American countries by the Mexican delegates at Madrid. Havana and Washington also have been suggested for the meeting. Should the preliminary discussions consume more time than anticipated, the conference may be deferred until summer. This country's marine and government interests, which vigorously opposed all proposals to open the long waves for broadcasting, are expected to confer with representatives of broadcasters, through the NAB, and with State Department and Radio Commission officials, prior to the drafting of final plans for the conference. Until Judge E. O. Sykes, chairman of the American Madrid delegation, returns to Washington, no definite arrangements will be made. Judge Sykes and the delegation are expected to arrive in New York Dec. 22 on the S.S. Manhattan, the Madrid Conference having come to a formal close Dec. 9. NBC Slages Auditions For Four New Clients; One Two -Hour Feature AT LEAST four new accounts were being auditioned by NBC in New York during the last fortnight, one of them being reported as a two-hour variety program to be featured Saturday nights for an unnamed client. Walter O'Keefe, who left the Lucky Strike Hour Dec. 12 and was succeeded by Howard Claney, doing strictly straight announcing instead of carrying on the "Magic Carpet" theme, is being considered for master of ceremonies. Best Foods, New York, is reported considering George Olsen's orchestra and Ethel Shutta for a new program to be called "Musical Groceries" to replace the Scrappy Lambert-Billy Hill program which has just expired. William Gaxton and Victor Moore have been auditioned for the program. The Molle Co., Bedford, O., (Molle shaving cream) has been auditioning various musical programs for an NBC account, including The Revellers and Frank Black's orchestra. Runkel Brothers, Inc., New York, (cocoa) has been auditioning a dramatic script about life in the Northwest, and B. A. Rolfe, Inc., New York, has been auditioning a script called "Track Around the World." Page 12 BROADCASTING • December 15, 1932