Radio daily (Oct-Dec 1949)

The National Daily Newspaper of Commercial Radio and Television VOL. 49. NO. 25 NEW YORK, MONDAY. NOVEMBER 7, 1949 TEN CENTS "SERIES," 7 YEARS, TO MBS-GILLETTE Say 'Language' Radio Slows Americanizing Washington Bureau of RADIO DAILY Washington — An FCC examiner challenged foreign language broadcasting Friday as a force to slow the Americanization of foreign born groups. Primarily because all 22 of its directors are Boston natives and residents of the Boston area, the FCC examiner, Hugh B. Hutchinson, recommended in an initial decision that the Pilgrim Broadcasting Company be granted a new AM station in Boston to operate with five kilowatts, daytime only, on the 950 (Continued on Page 6) Webs' Proposal To RWG Given Com. Mandelbaum Following a week of discussions, ABC, CBS and NBC on Friday wrote Commissioner J. R. Mandelbaum of the? Federal Mediation Service a package proposal for the settlement of their dispute with the Radio Writers Guild over the New York staff news and continuity writers. At the Commissioner's request, both sides have agreed to continue discussions through this week and meet at the call of Commissioner Mandelbaum. WCBS Lands Sponsors For AM-TV Election Cover Local coverage of the New York City arid State and the New Jersey election returns, tomorrow, will be sponsored on WCBS radio by the F. M. Schaefer Brewing Co.. and on WCBS-TV by the United Fruit Co., it has been announced by Edmund Chester, director of CBS News. National election returns were Continued on Page 61 Makes The Grade Bob Hope, California distributor for DuMont television distributors, who does some radio work on the side, has accepted the honorary presidency of the National Television Dealers Assn., Inc. Edwin A. Dempsey, the group's executive director, said Hope was named "because he is the most popular and widely-known television merchant in the country." No Paper Tomorrow Tomorrow is Election Day, recognized throughout the Union as a legal holiday. In observance, RADIO DAILY will not be published. Earle McGill Is Dead; Was RTDG President A requiem mass will be held at St. Ignacious Church in New York this morning at 10 a.m. for Earle Lewis McGill. local and international president of the Radio and Television Directors Guild, who died Thursday night in New York at the age of 52. McGill, regarded as the dean of radio directors, entered the broadcasting field from the legitimate theater and motion pictures. As a producer and director for CBS, he was credited with having developed many of the techniques now regarded as basic in the field. Among the many shows he directed for CBS (Continued on Page 6) 'Kate Smith Calls' Cuts Air Time In New Format Contract With Commissioner Chandler Includes All-Star Baseball Games; TV Options For 1950 Granted WITH Owners Acquire Balti. Home News Baltimore— Purchase of the Baltimore Home News, a weekly newspaper, has been announced by Thomas Tinsley, president of the Maryland Broadcasting Co., which operates WITH, Baltimore, and WLEE, Richmond, Va. Present operations and personnel of the Home News will continue unchanged, Tinsley said. The paper's business, advertising, and editorial (Continued on Page 8) RCA Victor to Sponsor 'Screen Directors' Show "Kate Smith Calls," ABC's Monday night show, will take on a new format and reduce its present broadcast time of 1% hours to one hour, beginning tonight. The show, which will henceforth be aired 9 to 10 p.m., EST, will include radio, stage and screen stars as guests. Miss Smith and her radio partner, Ted Collins, will launch the new format by interviewing Charles Buddy Rogers, another ABC star. The RCA Victor Division will sponsor "Screen Directors' Playhouse" on NBC's full network starting Jan. 6, 1950, from 10:00 to 10:30 p.m., EST, Thomas McCray, NBC national program manager, has an (Continued on Page 2) 'Opry' Cast To Entertain U. S. Troops In Europe The cast of NBC's hillbilly program, "Grand Ole Opry," selected by Air Force personnel overseas as "the show we would like most to see," will leave on Nov. 13 for a 20 1 Continued on Page 2) Commission Sales Preferred By Local-Station Managers Asbury Park, N. J— Sixty-four per cent of the small-market stations covered in a recent survey pay their time salesmen commissions from 15 to 20 per cent and this practice is regarded as the most effective way of getting sales results by most of the stations, it was revealed in a survey which was released to small market stations at the 2nd District, NAB, meeting at the BerkeleyCarteret Hotel Friday. The survey formed the basis of a discussion by small market broadcasters regarding their sales forces and sales approach and led to an almost unanimous opinion that commission salesmen produce the best results. Howard V. Cassell, general manager of WEOK, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., reported having five commission salesmen on his staff and added that in each instance they were out-of(Continucd on Page 8) A seven-year contract, involving more than $1,000,000, for the radio broadcasting of the World Series and All Star Baseball games (through 1956), has been signed between Mutual Broadcasting System, Baseball Commissioner Albert B. Chandler and Gillette Safety Razor Company. Under the seven-year deal, Mutual will serve during the Series more than 520 MBS stations, plus an auxiliary list of some 200 stations in the (Continued on Page 4) WNEW Denies Charge Of Unfair Firings The American Communications Assn., (CIO) released hundreds of helium-filled balloons in mid-Manhattan on Friday carrying pamphlets aimed, in the union's words, "at calling public attention to the recent unfair firing of two broadcast engineers by Station WNEW." A WNEW spokesman, meanwhile, declared that the station is an innocent bystander in a jurisdictional (Continued on Pa?e 4) KYW Ad For Girl D. J. Brings 1300 Replies Philadelphia — For overwhelming evidence that radio has lost none of its magic appeal, check with any staffer at KYW — but wait until he's had a few days' rest. A total of 1,300 girls responded to the station's (Continued on Page 2) Cancer Benefit Details oi a $200,000 contest were announced on Walter Winchell's broadcast for Kaiser Frazer on ABC last night. A total of 1023 cash prizes ranging from $10,000 downward will be awarded for the best names submitted for the firm's new low-priced car. Kaiser-Frazer will match each prize with an equal amount for the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund.