NAB reports (Mar-Dec 1933)

are being made and more will follow and be employed by advertising agencies in behalf of their clients. “The large national advertiser already has his suspicions as to claims for coverage, and is after the truth. He knows that the listener will, with few exceptions, time to the stations affording programs most free of interference. A few years ago, atmospheric and man-made electrical disturbance was tol¬ erated to a degree hard to comprehend today. All of which indicates that with new standards of performance, something will have to be done, and done soon, if we would maintain our present rate cards. “WLW is called the nation’s station by its announcers. We have also heard cleared channels spoken of as national channels, giving the impression that such stations not only carry programs of a more broad or national interest than others, but also actually serve the entire nation, or a large part of it. ‘ ‘ The designation ‘ ‘ regional station ’ ’ I understand as in¬ dicating one covering the interests of a given trade area or community possessing common problems and capable of reach¬ ing listeners in an adequate manner. A local station may be presumed to cover a limited area as, for instance, a small city, — the intent being to take care of matters of peculiar in¬ terest to listeners residing therein. “When the Federal Radio Commission gave consideration to regional coverage, it doubtless concluded that 1 kilowatt was sufficient and that one-tenth of a kilowatt would be satis¬ factory where local coverage only was desired, while cleared channel stations were given 5 kilowatts. However, it ap¬ pears that 5 kilowatts was found to be insufficient, and al¬ though a quota charge of 5 units was made against each full¬ time station of that power, this charge was not changed when such stations increased power to 10, 25, or 50 kilowatts. It would seem, therefore, that no quota difficulty should arise for stations of other classifications, if there is economic, social, and engineering justification for a general increase in power. I believe economic and engineering evidence is available to substantiate the contention of many that the Commission should modify its orders, so as to increase power on regional and local frequencies. “Given a sufficient increase, these stations will be able to regain much lost ground, for the reason that their programs have or should have many items of local and sectional interest not carried by cleared channel stations. By thus bringing back original scope and cementing their audiences, the revenue will return to pay for improved output, for advertisers will find that after all five or six, 50 or 500 kilowatt stations won’t do the job any more than will a Chicago paper take the place of one published in Duluth. “The North American Conference on Eadio to be held in Mexico City may result in some change in the present alloca¬ tion or frequencies in the United States. But it would seem that power increases or other improvements in public interest should not be delayed on that account. “I firmly believe that the American plan as opposed to the British, Canadian or any other is superior and best suited to our temperament. However, the relative standing of local and regional stations must be maintained with that of the cleared channel station if we would continue broadcasting in private and not governmental hands — otherwise a strong bar will be let down to those advocating public ownership and operation. “That we may continue the American plan with greater profit to the public and to the industry, I ask for regional and local stations with the privilege of improving service through a more just and scientific allocation of power. “With your permission, I now present C. B. Persons, WEBC’s engineer who will continue along more strictly en¬ gineering lines. ’ ’ POWER INCREASES FOR LOCAL AND REGIONAL STATIONS By C. B. PERSONS ME. PERSONS: “I am employed by Station WEBC, which operates on a frequency of 1290 kilocycles, a channel shared by six other stations. WEBC’s power output is 1 kilowatt at night and 2% kilowatts daytime. WEBC is located at what is known as the Head-of-the-Great Lakes — the western most port of Lake Superior. WEBC has studios in both Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin — these cities being separated by the St. Louis River. The transmitter is located two miles from the business district of Superior and six miles from the business district of Duluth. The total population of Duluth and Superior is approximately 150,000. “While many of the statements I will make apply speci¬ fically to Station WEBC, I believe that these statements will apply in a degree to all regional stations. I am not ac¬ quainted with the problems of local or cleared channel sta¬ tions, or stations on frequencies lower than 1000 k.c. It is my intention to disc-uss two general facts. First, the fact that the present power allocations to regional stations are in¬ adequate. Second, that higher power levels for regional stations will not create an undesirable situation. ‘ ‘ The present power levels allowed regional stations are either wholly inadequate or else the term “regional station” has been misapplied. My interpretation of the expression “regional station” is a station giving serviceable signal to all listeners in the city in which it is located, and in the trade area of that city. A local station then would be a station giving a serviceable signal to all listeners within the city in which it is located. The Federal Radio Commission has desig¬ nated some forty channels, as “cleared channels.” Because cleared channel operation provides possibilities not found in other services for long distance transmission, I would say that the particular field of usefulness of a cleared channel station ivould be to give national coverage, or to give a serviceable signal to all listeners within the country in which it is located. “With the possible exception of a few local stations in small cities, I can think of no instances where these defini¬ tions are borne out in practice. Yet, I cannot believe that the Federal Radio Commission has intended other meanings for the words ‘ ‘ cleared channel, ” “ regional ’ ’ and ‘ ‘ local. ’ ’ To expect a regional station to only give local coverage and a national station to give regional coverage, with occasional national coverage, is not in keeping with the apparent in¬ tended meaning of those words. “Suppose we proceed on the basis that the term regional station means a station that gives a serviceable signal to all listeners within the trade area of the city in which the station is located. I would define the term “trade area” as the area surrounding a city, from which the merchants of that city draw their trade. It is the area from which people travel to a particular city to buy and sell, and these people are bound to that city by social and political ties. When a merchant in a city places advertising, he does so with the view of reaching all people who are likely to come to his establishment. This means that he must reach, in addition to inhabitants of the city in which he is located, the inhabitants of the surrounding trade area. When the average city merchant, wholesaler or manufacturer chooses radio advertising, he attempts to choose a radio station that effectively covers the territory from which he draws his trade. This type station is logically the regional station. He assumes that the regional station reaches all inhabitants of his trade area. He is told by station solicitors that the station covers that territory, and he is charged for his advertising on the basis of trade area coverage. “But do regional stations lay down a serviceable signal over their trade area? In our case, I have grave doubts. This is a point over which there is constant conflict between the Commercial Department and my department. The solicitors, in good faith, represent the station as giving a trade area coverage, and when they get a kick back from the advertiser, it is passed along to me with resulting arguments. If we were giving good trade area service, there would be no kick backs from advertisers, or complaints from listeners. “Now the question immediately arises in one’s mind: Is WEBC’s transmitter operating so inefficiently as to lay down a field strength below that recognized as average for stations of our power? I can quickly dispose of that possibility. Be¬ cause of what appears to be a very favorable location, our transmitter lays down a field strength of 200 millivolts per meter, at a distance of one mile, with an antenna input power of 1 kilowatt. The generally accepted standard for antenna input powers of 1 kilowatt at a distance of one mile is 125 millivolts per meter. We find ourselves doing a somewhat . Page 168 .