Variety (Jan 1949)

88 BAftlO-TEUBVlSIOIV Vfedn^gday, January 26, 1949 ACLU's Defense of Balto Stations In Court Tilt on Jury Tampering Via Air The Baltimore supreme bench-f' rule making publication oii any: matter that "may prevent- a fair trial or im^properly influence the court or jury" a subject for con- tempt is scored in a memorandum prepared by James L. Fly on be- half of the American Civil Liber- ties Union. Memo will be submitted today (26) to the Baltimore criminal court which will hear contempt pro- ceedings against WBAL, WFBR, WCBM, WSID, WITH and James P. Connolly, WITH commentator, Stations are charged with broad- casting reports of the arrest of Eugene James, who was accused of murdering an 11-year-old girl last July. James had made dam- aging statements and admissions j to the police, who gave them to the broadcasters. However, the court bars publication.'.of such facts, on. the grounds that they prejudice a fair trial.; . . , Fly, who. is an ACLU board member, submitted the statement as "amicus / curiae" (friend of the court), having an interest in the case although not a party to it. The - civil liberties group memo says . that the court policy (Rule 904) shovild be declared invalid, "as a continuing and ever effective, sys- tem of censorship and a suppres- sion of free speech and press." ACLU brief points out that newspapers were not involved in ' tlie contempt case because they generally seek advice of the judges before publication* "How- ever benevolent, this, we submit, is censorship!" the Fly statement de- ■ -Clares.'•■■ The civil liberties group argues that while, on the one hand, fair trial must be guaranteed, on the other hand, right of free speech must be protected. Therefore, the argument goes; the court' should not be abl^ to make a blanket rule restricting publication . of facts about persons arrested. Instead, the press should be permitted to report the facts freely, with the court having the right to launch contempt proceedings only when the administration of justice is inr • teiiered w.ith.-s The Fly m6mo says it is of great significance that "the contempt charges do not allege that a fair trial was made improbable. Nor is it easy to believe that in Balti- more the publication of facts re- garding an accused at the time of his arrest—however drastic the published statements—would ren- der this court incapable later of ' assuring a fair trial." : ■ Lange Suspension Won't Affect Operation in U.S. Suspension of Robert Lange, head of the French Broadcasting System's North American Service, and of producers Ben Smith and Pierre Grimblat, is a temporary measure, Radiodiffusion Francaise announced this week. Action was taken following "non-application of certain administrative ruling," French network offcials said, and I bears no relation to the findings of the. Gour des Comptes exposing irregular expenditures of several ministries in France. The suspensions are not affect- ing activities of the French Broad- casting System in North America, which is :prepping 'a new series of goodwill exchange shows. News Interest Perks There was no slackening of listener interest in news pio- grams in 1948. That's the gen- eral significance of. a< survey made by Hooper for WOR, N.Y„ which shows last year's audience up 8% over '44-^ which was both a war and an election year. According to the report, seven WOK newscasts had an average Hooper of 3^9 in 1948, up slightly from '47's 3.8. Four of the seven WOR news stan- zas covered registered gainst with the 9 a.m. spot soaring 40% over the previous vear's figure. Top rated news shows on the station are 6:30 p.m., with a 5.8, and 8 a.m., with a 5.4. KDKA Workshop To Take Classes to Pitt U. Pittsburgh, Jan. 25. With 'beginning of its second semester middle of. next month, KDKA Teachers Workshop will be expanded to include additional classes at Univ. of Pittsburgh, School is under the supervision of Mrs. Victoria Corey, Westinghouse station's educational director. First two classes of the new semester will be held at Pitt. Members of Workshop will then attend classes at KDKA studios for nine weeks/ after which they'll go back to the university for final four sessions. Designed to prepare_ teachers for better use of radio for" classroom purposes, workshop is held for two hours every Wednes- day afternoon and' participants are given full graduate credits by Pitt, i . Mrs. Corey conducts workshop in 1 cooperation with Dr. J.. A. Miller, | of Pittsburgh Board of Education,' and university officials.; KDKA) staff members also take part at in-1 tervals in demonstrating special- f ized : departments of .radio to the I class..' ■ ,■ I Halifax Broadcasters Get Bum's Rush Because Of Ban on Hockey Games Halifax; Jan. 25. When four staffers of CJCH here started preparing to broadcast a hockey game in the Forum, three policemen ushered them to the exit. The coppers questioned the sense of the oi-der but they had to do their duty, they announced. • . It is believed to be the first ejec- tion of a broadcasting unit any- where. The group bouncing developed from a ban on aU broadcasting of games of the Halifax and Dart- mouth clubs in the Maritime Hockey League. Although the Forum is owned and operated through a commission from the city council, the ban emanated from the- two dubs. Both claimed the broadcasts had. been the cause of falling paid attendance at all the games. Station claims that the chief factors in the drop have been poor brand of hockey and an overdose of it. Halifax and Dart- mouth are .sister communities on Halifax harbor. Both clubs play all : their home games in. the Forum. The clubs maintain th6t attend- ances have improved from 1,000 to 1,500 since the ban ■ went on.- CJCH has been specializing in air- ing sports contests since it was founded about two years ago, and enlarged a year ago.- Affiliated with the morning Chronicle and afternoon Star, it has continued functioning although both dailies pulled a sudden stop several weeks' ago; having been merged with the Herald and Mail, which owns and operates CHNS also. In behalf of CJCH, it is claimed the station will not fold, as it has been showing a profit, whereas the Chronicle and Star were financial losers. DuMont's WDTV>le Pitt. Station, Comes To Terms With ABC, CBS Pittsburgh, Jan. 25. DuMont TV web has finally come to terms with CBS and ABC for channeling through some of big video shows from those two net- works into WDTV here. So far, however, no agreement has been reached With NBC although nego- tiations are still in progress. DUMont-owned WDTV, Pitts- burgh's sole tele operation, had announced prior' to the teeoff simultaneously with opening of' coaxial cable two weeks ago that flock of CBS, ABC and NBC pro- grams would be picked up locally. But apparently- there was some kind of a hitch in the meantime, inasmuch as DuMont programs were all WDTV got out of New York for the first 10 days of op- eration. Fact that station had made a flock of local sponsor, commit- ments as a result, gave the town a vidieo diet of . film m&inly, since operation here isn't equipped yet to televise live shows, and some Of the celluloid was pretty bad. That, on top of second-rate in- augural program, didn't build up too much good-will for WDTV in initial phases of its existence. How- ever; inaugural doing in Washing- ton, together with the better web shows , that c a m e channeling through from last midweek on, put video in a much better light around town and the early disappointment has been gradually wearing off and a certain amount of. enthusiasm is now replacing it. ' TV Viewers Continued from page 31 ; ABC Snares Bankroiler For 'What's My Name' ABC's"^ "What's My Name" re- turns to the airwaves under spon- sorship of the Homemakers In- stitute and Servel Gas Refrigerator Dealers, via BBD&O. Until it went off, "Name" had been bankrolled by General Electric. Show, which stars Arlerie Fran- cis and Johnny Olsen, will be heard Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. Sale of the quizzer and "National Barn Dance" brings ABC's new biz total to $500,000 in one week. KDKA's Men of the Year Pittsburgh, Jan. 25. Two KDKA staffers, Johnny Kirb.v and Honipr Martz, were honored here last week in annual "Man of the Year" Awards by Junior Chamber of Commerce, Klrby; the only local singer to win a lead in past summer season of outdoor opera at Pitt Stadium, was named the Man of the Year in music and Martz, who. directs Westinghouse station's Farm Hour, got the nod in agriculture. KPIX Personnel Changes , . San Francisco, Jan. 25. Several personnel changes and additions at KPIX. San Francisco's first television station,' are. ' an- nounced' by Philip G. Lasky, vee- pee and general manager of KPIX and AM sister station KSFO. R, W. Wassenberg of sales staff has been transferred as operations .manager of KPIX. Announcer Bob Hanson is AM assistant to KSFO- KPIX program director Keith Kerby allowing the latter more time to devote to KPIX program- ing. George Janda and Herbert Brett are new TV production assist- ants. Both Janda and Brett were formerly with WBKB, Chicago. I continually interrupting and mak- i ing commercials when acts are ex- I pected. Too much of that < is un- ■ necessary and annoying. The talent I on the £!d Sullivan show, though, is ! far ahead of the Berle show." Survey revealed that even the format of a show can be irritating if repeated too often, with viewers especially showing a tendency to abandon wrestling after its early peak in popularity. Among the shows that haven't started to wear on audience nerves is Bob Smith's "Howdy Doody," despite its across-^ the-board slotting. Why "Texaco" as a once-weekly offering draws some adverse comments and "Howdy" can get by five times a week is still open to speculation^ Pointing up the need for a con- tinued check on blue material, some viewers objected strenuously to such advertising as the Simmons commercial; depicting a woman're- tiring on a mattress, or the shaving spots showing men in their under- shirts. Suggestive stage business and under-dressed actresses also got a severe panning, with viewers stating specifically they objected to such things in their own living rooms, with the family grouped about the set. - Tele's effect on sports events also came in for considerable discussion. According, to one viewer: "I'm sure the set has reduced my bar attend- ance. We have more bottled beer at home now. No, the set hasn't prompted me to attend any events in person. Why should I buck the crowds when I can sit here in com- fort and see the same thing?" Nov- elty factor was ruled out in most cases .by viewers, with the consen- sus apparently being: "We've had our set over a year and We Watch more than when it was new. This is due to better programs, more Sta- tions and stations on the air longer." Inside Television Problem of publicizing television coverage of the Pres. Truman In augural last week was something of a headache to Washington publi^ relations folk serving network video stations. While the various in augural events were televised from D. C, the programs were pooled as an "industry presentation" arranged in New; Yorfe . Scope of the inaugural parade required more video cameras and cameramen than were available in Washington, * Radio publicists find that television has introduced new wrinkles in station affiliations. Until re'cently, ABC's standard D. C. affiliate^ WMAL, had both ABC'and CBS affiliations in its television station' Now CBS video affiliation is with WOIC, new Bamberger Co. television station) while network's - standard affiliation is with its key outlet WTOP. NBC is only major standard station network which has both its own sound and television stations in Washington... Du Mont, which does not' Operate in standard broadcast field, also' has a video outlet in ' the Capital. One member of the D. G, radio fraternity has suggested that It < would avoid confusion if henceforth pooled industry telecasts'Were also given pooled news coverage. In another move designed to cut the .price of television, receivers General Electric this week announced production of a new BVzinch viewing tube, first of its size ever made. New tube; a metal type simitar to RCA's 16'inch job, will cost no more than the standard seven-inch model but will give 50%-more picture space. Production of sets incor-' porating the tube is expected to get under way this year. US Television, meanwhile) announced prices on two news consolettes, one with a 15-inch all-glass cathode-ray tube and the other with a 16-inch glass-metal tube. Both will sell for $625 and include FM radio, as well as TV. Viewing surface of both is about the same,'since the all-glass tubr has a, flat face, as compared with the l!B:<4nch model's curved surface. As a special followup to this year's television clinic, staged last weefci end at the Hotel Waldorf-Astoria, N. Y;, CBS tele officials are holding a "capsule clinic" for all network personnel interested in the new me- dium Friday (28) night. Web TV toppers are expected to cover much of the'same information handed out to affiliate'station operators in their talks to the homeoffice employees. Meet is scheduled for 7:30 to' 10:30 p.m. GBS television is now negotiating with one of the independent stu- dios for a picture package deal similar to the one inked five , weeks ago with Eagle-'Lion. KTTV exec asserted that all available material of any value whatsoever has already been used. Web is angling for a deal consisting of fairly recent films such as were encased in the E^L group, E-L package consisted of "Enchanted Forest," Eddie Dean and Tex Ritter westerns and Michael Shayne murder mysteries, Pix were made in 1945 and '46. AFRA IN NEW WCFL PACT;: GAC Packaging Talent For WINS 2 ARBITRATIONS Video on Low Coin Basis Using Experience'Angle Chicago, Jan. 25. American Federation of Radio Artists last week inked a new pact with WCFL, calling for retroactive and future pay. increases to an-^ nouncers, actors and singers. Nego- tiations are continuing with WJJD. Minimum base pay for announ- cers will jump $11.25 weekly to $114.35 May 1. Pact calls for retroactive increase from Nov. 1, '48, $91:85 to $103.10. Actors and singers get comparable boosts. Chi AFRA also won two arbitral tiqnSi first since 1943. Former ABC staffer Joe Wilson was awarded two weeks' vacation pay on his switch to WBKB, and Ed Prentiss received $600 against Feature Pro- ductions in settlement of unex- pired contract. Penny Heads Up Walker Rep Operations in Atlanta Atlanta, Jan. 25. Royal E. Penny will head up the Atlanta branch office of the Walk- 'er Cq., radio station reps, as of Feb. It Earl Harper, former head of the Walker Co. operations throughout the south, will go to Norfolk, to manage a new fulltime independent station there. Penny was formerly head of the Raymer Co. office in Atlanta and. has also been closely allied with GBS station relations throughout^ the south and southwest, having at one time beeA .sales mafta'ger of WBT, Charlotte. He'll work closely on new policies with Frpd- eric E. Lake, one of the principals of the Walker Co. Univ. of Utah, KDYL Set Up Production Course Salt Lake City, Jan. 25. A practical television production course has been arranged by the Univ. of Utah in cooperation with the city's video outlet, KDYL- W6XIS. The nine students in the first class are assigned to the station as stage managers, two a night. Course has been added to the university's radio division of the speech department, The students will be expected to assist in in- struction of other students of the department. Indianapolis—L. O. Fitzgibbons has been appointed general man- ager of Radio Indianapolis, Inc., stations WXLW and WXLW-FM. Fitzgibbons has served as commerr cial manager of WOC, Davenport, ■ la., for the past nine years. I Hollywood, Jan. 25. General Artists Corp. is building two television packages with which it hopes to keep clients busy here if nitery bookings are slow. -Har- old Jovien, west coast video top- per for agency, is putting together a Negro revue type show and an- other tentatively titled "Ernie" Felice and His Girl Friends." Jovien said GAC can ask its clients to work at close to scale for the agency package whereas it is the agency's -business to .-pull coin up as high as possible when appearances are requested on other package show;. Agency has sent out feelers to NBC and CBS on the programs and is working out budgets now. Well worn ''experi-^ ence'Mine Will be tossed at clients; Agency is planning on kinescoping of shows in the future. Planned line of the "Ernie Felice" show is a 15-minute. five per week program. Jovien hopes to insert GAC femme vocalists on a two per week basis when they are in town. Friday will be set as a "discovery night." Jovien said that Kay Starr, Peggy Lee, Jo Staf- ford, June Christy, Connie Haines, Marion Hutton, Virginia Maxey and Jeri Sullivan would all be con- tacted. Negro revue will , use entertain- ers when they are in town, buildr ing V shows around those available. Those under the GAC belt are Louis Jordan, Cab Calloway, King Cole Trio, Mills Bros., Deep River Boys, Nellie Lutcher, Connie Jor- dan, Trenier Twins, Eddy Hayward Trio and Paula Watson. Agency has also inked Bobby Worth and is making a pitch;to peddle his KLAC-TV video show. CBS Switches luigi' Back, Makes Way f or Lum-Abner Unable to romance a sponsor foir the Cy Howard-created "Life With Luigi" show, which was recently installed in the Sunday night 8:30 period, CBS has acceded to the wishes of General Motors (Frigi- daire Division) and has put Its "Lum and Abner" into the time. However it's just for the balance of the season, P&G moving its Red Skelton show into the 8:30 time in the fall. "Luigi" has moved back to the "L and A" Sun- day 10 o'clock niche. Switcljes went into effect this past SijKj(i4aV For a while General Young & Rubicam, wf^AJr ggtlousW mulling sponsorship or,iff ••li^"