NAB reports (Jan-Dec 1948)

N A n O N A 1771 N St., N. W 535 Fifth Ave. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. New York 17, N. Y. Phone DEcatur 9300 Murray Hill 1-1963 CHARLES A. BATSON, Editor JUSTIN MILLER, President A. D. WILLARD, JR,, Executive Vice-President C. E. ARNEY, JR., Secretary-Treasurer KENNETH H. BAKER Director oi Research RICHARD P. DOHERTY Director of Employee-Employer Relations HAROLD FAIR Director of Program Depart¬ ment ROYAL V. HOWARD Director of Engineering DOROTHY LEWIS Coordinator of Listener Activity (New York City) FRANK E. PELLEGRIN Director of Broadcast Adver¬ tising DON E. PETTY General Counsel ROBERT K. RICHARDS Director of Public Relations ARTHUR C. STRINGER Director of FM Department The final national judging, just completed, brought to its climax the contest which began as a feature of National Radio Week last October, supervised by the three co-sponsors and endorsed by the U. S. Office of Education and Dr. John W. Studebaker, Commissioner of Education. Contests were first conducted in schools, then in communities, and afterward by states, by means of transcriptions made by the contestants. Local radio dealers gave prizes of radios to winning schools and students. On the state level, 38 states and Alaska entered con¬ testants, representing approximately 20,000 high school students in about 500 communities. Twenty of the state winners were boys but the pre¬ liminary screening of entries to 12 found seven girls and five boys among the finalists. For the purposes of the final judging, the nation was divided into four geographical districts, each con¬ taining 12 states and with the nearest territories to each assigned to that section. Finalists Selected. Three finalists were selected by the sponsors’ screening judges in each of the four sections, and the final judges listened to the transcrip¬ tions of three contestants in each section. The panel of national judges was made up of: General Omar N. Bradley, Administrator of Vet¬ erans’ Affairs; Attorney General Tom C. Clark; Father Edward J. Flanagan, founder and directors of Boys Town; Mrs. Oveta Culp Hobby, exec, vice-president of the Houston, Texas, Post, operator of Radio Station KPRC, and wartime director of the WAC; U. S. Sen¬ ator Warren G. Magnuson (D-Wash.) ; Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN, Chief of Naval Operations; and James Stewart, motion picture star. Preliminary to the contest’s first stages, most par¬ ticipating local radio stations programmed a series of five talks on the subject, “I Speak for Democracy,” transcribed for the purpose by Justin Miller, NAB president. The talks were intended to serve as models and background information for the students taking part in the contest. Plans for the luncheon, and for the visit of the four winners to Washington, are now being made. They will include a special tour of the capital, with visits to Congress and other governmental activities. — Entertainment for the girls will extend over three days, including the day of the awards luncheon. They will be guests of honor at a tea to be given by Mrs. Justin Miller, wife of the NAB president. Mouse Hearings on Petrillo in First Week; NAB President Calls H im 'Economic Pirate' (Continued from jmge JtS) panics, and radio manufacturers, to cope with recent AFM bans. A conjecture as to the fate of companies attempting to use Petrillo methods developed during a series of questions by Rep. Graham A. Barden (D-N. C.). The North Carolina representative read provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act, and asked: “Do you know of a single one of these Petrillo has not violated, at least in spirit?” “In spirit, certainly,” Judge Miller said. “I’d like to take them one by one to be sure of the facts.” Monopolistic Practices. Rep. Barden proceeded to question the NAB President on monopolistic practices, asking whether a clear-cut distinction between monopolies of goods and services could be given. “I have never been able to find such a distinction for myself,” Judge Miller said. “So I wouldn’t try to formulate one. Under the principles of the anti-trust laws, they are inextricably tied together.” “If your association or the recording industry were to monopolize as Petrillo does,” Rep. Barden asked, “how long do you think you could stay out of jail?” “Only long enough for a good prosecutor to get busy and put us there,” the NAB President replied. The Committee’s hearing began with a statement by the chairman. Rep. Hartley, Jr., who outlined the work of the sub-committee in preparing the interim report on complaints against Petrillo. The interim report, which characterized the AFM president as exercising “tyrannical power,” recom¬ mended the revision of the Taft-Hartley Act to forbid monopolistic practices by labor unions. Questioning of the NAB President by Rep. Richard M. Nixon (R-Calif.) brought forth the story of the AFM suggestion of intercession to obtain veto of the Lea Act. Describing a series of three meetings with Petrillo, which ended suddenly and without further contact in spite of NAB letters asking resumption. Judge Miller said: Asked Intercession. “During the time of these meet¬ ings, the Lea Bill was in the legislative process. After the third meeting, I had a telephone call from Joseph A. Padway, the union counsel, who said that I could prove my good faith in saying we wanted to agree by interceding with President Truman to have him veto the Lea Bill. I told him that he overestimated my power and that I wouldn’t attempt to do it if I could.” Throughout his formal statement and his testimony, (Continued on next page) JANUARY 19, 1948-44