Radio daily (Feb-Mar 1937)

2 RADIO DAILY Tuesday, February 9, 1937 Vol. 1, No. 2 Tues., Feb. 9, 1937 Price 5 Cts. JOHN W. ALICOATE : : Publisher Published daily except Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays at 1501 Broadway, New York, N. Y., by Radio Daily Corp. J. W. Alicoate, President and Publisher; Donald M. Mersereau. Treasurer and General Manager; Marvin Kirsch, Vice-President and Business Manager; Chester B. Bahn, Vice-President Charles A. Alicoate, Secretary; M. H. Shapiro, Associate Editor; John English, Advertising Manager. Terms (Post free) United States outside of Greater New York, $5.00 one year; $3, 6 months; $2, three months. Foreign, $10.00. Subscriber should remit with order. Address all communications to RADIO DAILY, 1501 Broadway, New York, N. Y. Phone Wisconsin 7-6336, 7-6337, 7-6338, 76339. Cable Address: Filmday, New York. Hollywood, Calif.— Ralph Wilk. 6425 Hollywood Blvd. Phone Granite 6607. Copyright, 1937, by Radio Daily Corf. All rights reserved. Introducing .... The Radio Daily (Continued from Page 1) directly facing those forces that would shell radio from without. • RADIO DAILY will tell you bright and early every morning, through its experienced and seasoned reviewing staff, whether it does or does not like certain programs. Fan slants will be left to the ian publications and daily newspapers. RADIO DAILY will not be concerned with the private lives of radio folk either within or without the broadcasting studios. RADIO DAILY has trained correspondents in every important city in the country, and, as far as news is concerned, will endeavor consistently to cover the country from Portland. Maine, to San Diego, California. • AND so. today. RADIO DAILY is moving in, bag and baggage. We'll break bread with you and argue with you. We'll laugh with you and probably share many of your irritations and heartaches. The important thing is that RADIO DAILY is here. Permanently. No noble experiment, but an efficiently planned and organized daily newspaper, operated by trained and experienced newspaperradio folk, to serve intelligently and thoroughly the far-reaching radio industry, in which, in time, it hopes to play no small, unimportant a part. FINANCIAL Monday, Feb. 8 High Low Close Am. Tel. & Tel 1823/4 182 182 Crosley Radio 26 25 '/4 25 Vi Gen. Electric 62% 62y4 625/„ North Am 303/4 303/8 30'/2 Stewart Warner .... 19% 19'/8 19V4 Zenith Radio 38y4 37'/4 373/4 NEW YORK CURB EXCHANGE Hazeltine Corp 17 16% 16% Majestic R. & T. . . . 4% 43/8 43/8 Nat. Union Radio 2% 2% 2Vi OVER THE COUNTER Bid CBS A 493/8 CBS B 49% Stromberg-Carlson 19% Net Chg. 'A + % — Vb + 1/2 + Vi Asked 5U/4 51% 20% A THE WEEK IN I \l 14 * . . . Six Important Bills Before Congress By M. H. SHAPIRO NOT a few happenings of importance to broadcasters took place in Washington the past week. These items include: Hearings called on Actors Bill, announcement being made that the hearings in question will begin on Feb. 17, relative to the familiar Rep., Dickstein of New York (H.R. 30) opus seeking to protect the artistic and earning opportunities in the United States of American artists. Hearing will be held by the House of Representatives Committee on Immigration and Naturalization and the bill is the same as that passed by the House at the last session of Congress but failed of passage in the Senate. Other bills concerned radio monopoly and operators; the Educational Commissioner established a radio script exchange in order to promote better educational radio programs throughout the country and to furnish local groups with scripts especially appropriate for educational broadcasting; the FCC established a flood emergency service and Chairman Prall of the FCC praised the work of the broadcasters in connection with the flood situation on the RCA Victor Magic Key Hour. While Representative Wearin of Iowa introduced a bill in the House (H. R. 3892) to amend the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit unified and monopolistic control of broadcasting and printed publications, a chain broadcasting investigation by a House Committee was sought by Rep. Wigglesworth of Mass. He also asked for an investigation of the FCC. Rep. Celler of N. Y. introduced a bill for construction of a Federal shortwave station for Pan-American noncommercial purposes. Perhaps more startling than the bills introduced in Congress was the unexpected and hitherto secrecy anent purchase prices of transmitters being suddenly revealed by the House Appropriations Committee. Transfers of stations at good-will prices of $1 up to the million and a quarter mark, were all busted wide open, and one transaction involving a 99-year lease came to light. (FCC licenses of course cover 6 months periods only.) ... .It further developed that the three major webs-NBC, CBS and MBS, controlled about all of the 40 clear-channel outlets. Big event in NBC last week was the signing of Arturo Toscanini for a series of symphonic concerts later this year. Odd angle is the fact that David Sarnoff's personal emissary Samuel Chotzinoff handled the deal abroad. Proposed series will be noncommercial and will most likely do much to offset the CBS monopoly on the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra. In Philadelphia, the once unmentionable social disease became o.k. for radio and WCAU inaugurated the first broadcast on Thursday of last week, under the banner of the local Medical Society. Radio station news men held a meeting in effort to form an organization of their own, but one not conflicting with the Newspaper Guild. First gathering was housed at the Hotel Roosevelt, New York M. H. Aylesworth, former NBC prexy and more recently Chairman of the Board of RKO got a rise out of the folks by joining Scripps-Howard organization. Commercial radio's first big executive seems to be slipping further away from radio, touching off a sentimental chord in many hearts. . . . But perhaps there is a sort of consolation in the wild rumor that he will head the NBC Blue Network when Scripps-Howard takes it over . . . .But such rumors were around nevertheless .... Another Aylesworth rumor was that he might head a world-wide news broadcasting system ....N. Y. musician union leaders sought to throw the harpoon into the CBS-Music Corporation of America agreement, on the grounds that MCS deducted a fee to take care of network wire costs, etc. Jack Rosenberg, fighting president of Local 802, A.F.M., believes that any such fee violates the A.F.M. ruling on networks being in the band booking business N. Y. musicians again took the bull by the horns when they got busy on a project to ban the playing of phonograph records by the unaffiliated stations. .. .following the lead of Jimmie Petrillo in Chicago Foreign From abroad came word that John L. Baird, inventor and founder of Baird Television, suffered the disappointment of his life when the Postmaster General announced that the British Broadcasting Corp., would henceforth use the Marconi-EMI system when transmitting tele programs. Until now, both Baird and Marconi methods had been used alternately during the experimental programs. Baird stated, however, that receiving sets sold by his organization were capable of receiving Marconi-EMI transmission. Standard now adopted in London is 405 lines per picture sent at the rate of 50 pictures or "frames" per second. TWA CUTS FARES Now Compare Low Cost Air Travel via TWA with Rail Rates Shortest, fastest, overnight coast-to-coast Non-stop between New York and Chicago TWA NEW YORK OFFICES 1503 Broadway, 70 East 42nd Street Air Travel Desk — .Peon. Station Telephone: MUrray Hill 6.(610 YOUR RADIO PILOT By AL TURNER I join entire broadcast fraternity in welcoming RADIO DAILY. It will prosper. It must. We shall find it indispensable. This week's Pilot Radio Weekly Award of Merit goes to Philharmonic-Symphony for fine broadj cast of the past week, over CBS. . . . We are gratified at the splendid reception being accorded this new award which has for its aim the keeping of broadcasting upon a high plane. Since we began 8 weeks ago, winners include Rudy Vallee, Fred Allen, Columbia Broadcasting System, President Roosevelt, March of Time, Kate Smith, etc. . . . Yest'y Benny & Livingstone rebroadcast to Lunnon . . . (wonder if the Britishers threw a Benny-fit?) T'nite Jolson again bends the knee famous 'round the world, reviving Sonny Boy. . . . new Swarthout Fireside Concerts (NBC, Wed., 10:30) promise to be note-worthy . . . hear 'em at best over. YOUR PILOT RADIO A1. Jolson By POPULAR DEMAND Pilot's masterful DOUBLE POWER (created by exclusive Tranex Beam Power Circuit) yields easy access to foreign or domestic stations, affords wave-splitting selectivity, amazing freedom from apt. house interference. Handsome All-Wave Model 23 gives perfect reception on either AC or DC current. Make the conclusive Side-by-Side test. Ask your dealer to demonstrate a Pilot directly alongside any other set of comparable price. Hear the difference! Phone STillwell 4-5455 for name of your nearest Pilot dealer, or Radio Information. Illustrated 1937 Pilot Folder on request. Superb Pilot Radios 29.50 to 147.50 Pilot RADIO CORP. "The Standard of Excellence" 3710 36th St., Long Island City