Radio daily (Oct-Dec 1949)

Section of RADIO DAILY. Thursday, December 8, 1949 — TELEVISION DAILY is fully protected by register and copyright SCENIC DESIGNERS STRIKE SETTLED TELE TOPICS THE PROTEST against crime shows filed with the FCC by the Southern California Association for Better Radio and Television may well have great portent for the future development of the industry. While careful consideration is often given to such protests by those in control of program content, it is most unlikely that such shows would be cancelled unless declining ratings made their continuance no longer a wise investment for the sponsor. The protests of a vocal, literate minority are always valuable; they make their peculiar contribution to a system of checks and balances. But in the end it is the mass that proves to be the deciding factor. Right now programs dealing in crime and violence seem to be doing very well. "Suspense," perhaps the goriest of them all, is firmly entrenched among the top ten. The rating of the blood-andthunder "Captain Video" is now higher than that of the gentle and appealing "Kukla, Fran and O'lie." Does the great number of crime shows reflect callousness of the broadcaster or the taste and preferences of the American public? We doubt that any two persons would agree on an answer. VA/HILE WE THINK that the current " " crop of crime shows do not, as a class, make good programming, we cannot go along with those who ur?e that all of them be axed. The decision for the broadcaster may be boiled down to "Do we give them what they want or do we give them what is good for them?" Were the latter course to be chosen the next question, which no one could answer, would be: "Who is to decide what is good for them?" However, we cannot favor a policy of laissez faire. Certainly there must be compromises, the most ob' vious of which is the scheduling of crime shows at late hours. Another course of action which we think should be taken is experimentation in programming to develop new shows that might successfully compete with the cliff-hangers. Such experimentation would be an expensive proposition but the rewards it could bring, financial and otherwise, could be tremendous. KJBC PROGRAMMING TOPPERS have ' ^ just about given up on their projected three-hour participating show for t Saturday nite and n"w are off on a new tark to combat CBS' K?n Murray Ed Wynn combo that starts Jan. 7. . . . Two of the wildest space-graHbing promotions in quite a while are oroducts of the staid Benton & Bowles (the agency, not the political team) — the Gaines dog food stunt and Abe Burrows' Benevolent and Protective Order of Bald Eagles. WXYZ-TV AN'n Test Not For Sale-Yet Detroit — A new wrinkle in salesmanship will be unveiled by WXYZTV next week when the station begins a 30-day test of early afternoon programming. Shows will not be offered for sale during the test period. "We are not asking advertisers or their agencies to gamble in this experiment," James G. Riddell, manager of the ABC owned-andoperated station, said. "Only if this early afternoon programming proves itself to be worthwhile will it be opened to advertisers." Titled "Pat 'n Johnny, program will be aired Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:30 to 5 p.m., and on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 2:30 to 4. Pat Tobin and disc jockey Johnny Slagle will be featured in a program of music, interviews, demonstration and commentary. Pabst An Added Sponsor Of DuM Bowling Cover Pabst Brewing Co. has signed to sponsor 15 minutes of the 45-m;nute pickups of the All-Star bowling championships in Chicago over Du Mont tonight and tomorrow. First half-hour of both programs will be bankrolled by Brunswick-BalkeCallender Co. Total of 18 stations will carry the programs, which begin at 11 p.m. Fred Wolf, Detroit bowling commentator, will be behind the microphone. N. Y. C. Film Unit Aids Station's Pub, Service To help publicize New York's water shortage and the need for conservation, the city's TV film unit, headed by Cliff Evans, has prepared a one-minute film spot announcement featuring a talk by Commissioner of Water Supply Stephen J. Carney for distribution to all stations this week. At the request of several stations, the unit has made films of the depleted supplies in three main reservoirs and these will be given to outlets for use in newsreels and special shows. Tomorrow the unit will send a cameraman to the reservoirs in a Police Department plane to film air views of the dwindling reserves. New Spot Business Reported By WNBT The Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp. and Benson and Hedges have both signed 52-week contracts for spots six days a week over WNBT, the station announced yesterday. Brown and Williamson will advertise Kool Cigarettes and give weather reports. The order was placed through Ted Bates and Co. Benson and Hedges will use the =:Dots for Parliament Cigarettes, Kudner is the agency. WNBT also announced that the Weston Biscuit Co. has renewed its sponsorship of the 7:00 p.m. station break on Tuesdays and the 10:30 p.m. station break on Thursdays. The order, for 13 weeks, was placed through Calkins and Holden. Coast TV Academy Sets Plans For '50 Awards Presentation West Coast Bureau of RADIO DAILY Hollywood — The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has completed plans for its second annual "Emmy" awards dinner to be held here on or about Jan. 24, 1950, it was announced by Harry R. Lubcke, of KTSL, president. Nine awards are planned. They are: (1) best live show; (2) best kinescoped show; (3) most outstanding live personality; (4) most outstanding kines"ooed personality; (5) best film for TV made and viewed in 1949; (6) best commercial for video (three minutes or less) live, film or kine; (7) best public service. cultural or educational program — live, film or kine; (8) technical award chosen by the Academy's technical committee after consideration of all technical achievements brought to its attention in 1949; (9) station achievement (inscribed plaque) for outstanding overall achievement in 1949. All nominations must have been on the air in 1949 in the Hollywood area and will be selected by a committee of seven agency and seven industry representatives, chosen by the seven Hollywood stations. Martha Gaston Bigelow is chairman of the awards committee. IV© Wage Increase Granted By %'ew Year's Pact The fifteen-day-old strike of the United Scenic Artists Local 829 against the flagship stations of the four networks and WPIX has been settled, it was announced jointly yesterday. The statement said: "Although the terms involved no change of basic minimum scales for scenic artists or designers, certain adjustments in hours and scheduling are expected to result in increased take-home pay for many scenic artists; while other individual employees are to receive merit review of their salaries. New costume design and student categories were created. "The new contract is to extend to Oct. 1, 1950." Although none of the parties would comment for publication, it was learned that virtually none of the union's demands was granted. The union had originally asked for wage scales equal to those paid in motion pictures and the legitimate theater— $135 to $185.50 a week. The old scale, which will not be changed in the new contract, was $75 to $145 a week. Bank Signs WTMJ-TV For College Court Sked Milwaukee — The First Wisconsin National Bank of Milwaukee has signed a contract to sponsor nine University of Wisconsin and Marquette University home games over WTMJ-TV during the 1949-50 season. Three of the games will be played at the Milwaukee auditorium, three at the Marquette gymnasium and three at the Wisconsin fieldhouse in Madison, Wis:onsin. This will be the first time that any basketball games will be aired from Madison. TV relay facilities between Milwaukee and Madison, a distance of 85 miles, were installed just prior to the start of the football season. Handling the account is the Marvin Lemkuhl agency. During the past football season, the Bank also sponsored nine Wisconsin and Marquette football games over WTMJTV. Larry Clark will do the play-byplay and George Man will direct. WOR-TV Sells Wrestling WOR-TV this week will resume Friday night wrestling pickups from Jamaica Arena, according to sports director Bob O'Connor. Matches will be sponsored by Frost Refrigeration, Inc., Brooklyn.