Radio daily (Feb-Mar 1937)

6 RADIO DAILY Wednesday, March 31, 1937 M AIM NN Cr AMERICA Highlights in the Development of Outstanding U. S. Radio Stations: No. 16 of a Series UIIL— ST. LOUIS 100 Watts, Night, 250 Watts LS.— 1,200 fcc. l. a. Benson c. w. Benson Vice Pres. Gen'l. mgr. WIL, oldest commercial station in St. Louis, is owned and operated by Missouri Broadcasting Corp. Established in 1922. WIL was just an idea of Lester A. Benson's. Today the station has earned the title of "The Biggest Little Station in the Nation." Because of its phenomenal growth, WIL now is equipped to present an interesting variety of programs 17 hours daily to a listening audience of over 1,500,000. Care has been taken in every phase of modern day broadcasting by the owners in order to build WIL to its present standing. Realizing the importance of a well balanced menu, special events, musical, educational and civic programs are given equal share in the broadcasting day at the station. The music library, equipped with 10,000 records, can present almost any current or standard favorite at a moment's notice. Seven 15minute news spots are on the daily fare, with news flashes of importance aired as soon as they are available. WIL was the only station in the St. Louis area to employ its own news gathering agency. Today direct wires from the leading news services of the nation are connected with the WIL studios. For many years a composite transmitter was used by WIL. But with radio improvements noted daily, a change was made necessary. Today a new Western Electric H.gh Fidelity transmitter has just been installed with Chal Stoup, chief operator and engineer of the station in charge. Sixteen stories above street level stands a new 190 foot vertical radiator antenna. Weighing 9 tons, this antenna is balanced on four porcelain insulators. Through short-wave station KIFF, WIL is ready to broadcast from any point in the state via its mobile unit. WIL's staff has been hand picked by the owners. Lester Benson is president and general manager and C. W. Benson is vice-president. Edgar B. Shutz, commercial manager, a former newspaper executive, established a sales department that today can take credit for the long list of commercials heard daily over this station. Neil Norman, program director, and David Pasternak complete the list of executives. NEW IIMMNS Signed by Stations WDSU, New Orleans New Orleans — Eleven new accounts recently added by WDSU include: General Foods. 30 one-minute spots; General Mills, 77 baseball games; Carter Medicine, renewal, 260 spots; Kirschman's Furniture, 15 minutes daily for a year; Kross Lumber Co., 030 spots; W. J. Marchand Co., 630 spots; Bernard & Grunning, 13 halfhour shows St. Regis Restaurant, 13 half-hour shows; Jefferson Bottling, 546 spots; Radio Sharp, 78 spots; Double Cola, three spots daily, 26 weeks; Rhythm Club. WMCA, New York Bisceglia Bros. Wine Corp.. "Anice Ives — Everywoman's Hour," 13 weeks, through Gardner Advertising Co. KCMO, Kansas City Glendale Beverage Co., mystery thriller disks, 13 weeks; Faultless Laundry, 100 spots. WCCO, Minneapolis Western Grocer Co., morning program; Gluek Brewing, increase from 5 to 10 minutes on Rollie Johnson's sport review; Household Magazine, featuring Hugh Aspinwall and Ramona Gerhard, thrice weekly. WWL, New Orleans Nehi, half-hour weekly disk, through James A. Green; Norge, two 15-minute disks weekly. WGCM, Gulfport Carter's Little Liver Pills, spots: Chevrolet's Musical Moments, 15-minute disks, three times a week; United Drug (Rexall), Magic Hour disks, program, 15 minutes, 15 weeks. WBAL. Baltimore Empire Laundry & Dry Cleaners is sponsoring "Matching Minds." new Monday feature being aired by Louis Azrael, using students from local schools. Dr. Ellis Places Disks Pittsburgh — Dr. Ellis Sales Corp. (wave set) through Walker & Downing is placing a series of five-minute WBS transcriptions on WOR, WCAU, Cooperate with Cotton Week National and Regional radio advertisers will co-operate this year to help celebrate National Cotton Week, May 31 -June 6. C. K. Everett, manager of promotion of the Cotton-Textile Institute is in charge. To date only a few spot announcements have been set, with work concentrating on tie-ups with coast-to-coast network shows. It is expected that many national advertisers on NBC, CBS and Mutual will devote a few minutes of their programs to highlight cotton. and WMAQ. On WOR disks are used three times weekly, and twice weekly on the latter stations. WHO, Des Moines Acme Feeds Inc. is the latest sponsor to be added by the Songfellows quartet for a Monday evening period, 8:30-8:45. KFI, Los Angeles Associated Distributors (Essence of Life face cream) , 15-minute weekly musical program, 12 weeks, through | Kastpr & Sons, Chicago; Lever Bros., [ six spots weekly, also nine spots : weekly on KECA, 52 weeks, through Ruthrauff & Ryan, New York. Church on WNEW The Church of the Nazarenes has purchased time on WNEW over a period of 52 weeks. 8:30-9:30 p.m. on Sundays, the broadcast starting April 3 from the New York station, and subsequently from Paterson. The Reverend Estelle Crutcher will conduct the services. Boston Marathon on NBC Boston — NBC will broadcast the start and finish of the Boston A. A. Marathon on April 19 over the Blue network. Start of 25 mile race will be heard 12:05-12:15 p.m., with the finish scheduled for 2:35-2:45 p.m. Coverage will be handled by WBZ's special events division under the direction of Arthur Feldman. Whiteman for Loew's State Paul Whiteman and orchestra have been booked to play a week's engagement at Loew's State on Broadway, opening May 13. Booking follows that of the Drake Hotel, Chicago. Shearer Opening Beauty Salon Newark, N. J. — Jimmie Shearer, for fifteen years manager of WHBI, is branching out, having leased a floor at 675 Broad St., where he will open a beauty saion. He will retain his radio connections. WOAI House Organ House organ issued throughout the year by WOAI, San Antonio, hereafter will be patterned after wellknown magazines, a different publication being imitated each issue. The first number was patterned somewhat after Life. Of 40 new national and local spot contracts signed by WOAI since Feb. 1, premium offers and contests are being conducted by 21. KTSM Data Folder A folder giving data on the El Paso trade area, "the fifth market of Texas," has been issued by KTSM. El Paso. Stores, sales, personnel and payroll by kinds of business are included in the survey. Strathmore Contest Strathmore Serenade, heard over WOR Sundays, 11-11:30 a.m. and sponsored by Levitt & Sons, inaugurated a four week contest on their program Sunday. Will award three prizes to entrants submitting the best letter on "What I Would Like in My Home." Prizes are: $250, $100 and $50. Contest ends May 1 and winners will be announced on the May 16 broadcast. WIP Space-for-Time Swap On a space for time swap between the Evening Ledger and WIP, Philadelphia, paper has Sam Serota, as Brother Bill, doing a "man of a thousand voices" in reading the daily funnies. To promote this circulation stimulant. Ledger is offering a lifelike 8-inch colored cut-out of a character in the comics, kids getting as many as they please for each three cents to cover postage. Cut-outs are mounted on cardboard and has a special easel-back arrangement to make it stand by itself. Characters are changed every two weeks. PHILADELPHIA Lester Joy, general manager of KYW, has been appointed to the Mayor's executive committee in planning a fete to mark the signing of the Constitution, and has also been made a member of the Red Cross .adio committee. Rev. Robert Fraser, blind singing evangelist, celebrates his 12th anniversary of broadcasting over WIP. Clarence Fuhrman, musical director of WIP, has been made an honorary member of the Philadelphia Skating Society and Humane Club, having supplied the music for the society's skating events for the past four years. Silent Stationery Stationery made of cloth is being used by WFBC, Greenville. S. C. the textile center oi the south. Besides the novelty of it, the cloth stationery has a smooth feel and is both durable and silent. KTUL Adds Plane Tulsa. Okla. — KTUL has added a j plane for dispatching continuity writers and salesmen to nearby state points and in-state jumps to save time. Came in handy when program set for Sunday afternoon faded on Friday and research had to be made in Bartlesville and script ready for rehearsal that night. Charlie Bush, continuity chief and a licensed pilot, hopped in plane and was there 30 minutes later. Returned with script material, wrote it, re-hashed it and rehearsal went ahead on schedule.