Broadcasting (Jan-June 1933)

Food-Drugs Law Revision to Await January Congress Cosmetics Covered in Draft Sent to Attorney General THERE is little likelihood that the administx-ation's bill for revision of the food and drugs act to afford greater protection to the public will be considered at the current special session of Congress, but it is scheduled to become one of the first orders of business at the new session which convenes next January, according to the Department of Agriculture. Assistant Secretary of Agriculture R. G. Tugwell, has announced that a proposed draft of the bill, which now includes regulation of advertising of cosmetics, as well as foods and drugs, was submitted to the Department of Justice for review. Attorney General Cummings, however, has been out of town and there was no indication as to when the draft would be returned to the Agriculture Department with his opinion. Advertiser Responsible THE MEASURE is of importance to the radio and advertising industries because of the large number of accounts on the air sponsored by food, drug and cosmetic manufacturers. Responsibility for truth in advertising, however, would rest with the manufacturer, distributor or dealer, under the proposed legislation, and not with the medium used or the agency. Salient provisions of the bill prohibit misleading advertising of foods, drugs and cosmetics in newspapers, periodicals and over the radio; require full labels regarding ingredients of a product; empower the Secretary of Agriculture to define and enforce standards for different classes of foods, drugs and cosmetics; define as drugs, mechanical devices intended for treatment of disease and correction of abnormal conditions. Prof. Tugwell Explains IN HIS STATEMENT, Prof. Tugwell explained the new legislations as follows: "The most important provision in the proposed draft is the expansion of the act to include cosmetics and to regulate advertising of foods, drugs, and cosmetics. "The new draft does not propose censorship of advertising in advance of its use. However, under its provisions false advertising may be penalized by prosecution in the federal courts. Prosecution for false advertising will be directed against the source rather than against the medium in which it appears. This will put the responsibility for truthful advertising squarely upon the manufacturer, distributor, or dealer. "The truth or falsity of advertising will be measured essentially by the same standards as those employed to determine the truth or falsity of label statements. "The restrictions against adulterations have been strengthened, particularly in those instances where the public health is concerned. The requirements in regard to labeling have been broadened by the deletion of 'jokers' in the present law and by providing for sufficiently full infor Mr. Hill Hearst Syndicate Signs Hill for News Column HEARST'S King Features Syndicate, which supplies varied features to hundreds o f newspapers, apparently is not taking the "radio menace" to the press very seriously, for it has just signed Edwin C. Hill, ace CBS commentator, to do a column six days weekly under the same title as his sustaining broadcasts, "The Human Side of the News". Mr. Hill's first assignment took him to Washington to cover the Senate banking investigation, and he continued his broadcasts from WJSV there. Ed Hill, for many years star reporter of the New York Sun, took a leave of absence from that newspaper a year ago to try his hand at radio. He was an instantaneous success, as evidenced by his winning the 1933 radio editors' popularity poll conducted by the New York World Telegram. He appears three nights weekly in CBS sustaining talks, and on Friday nights puts on the "Inside Story" feature sponsored by Socony Vacuum and handled by Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, New York. SPICE OF RADIO Variety in Call Letter Breaks Pleases WCAU Fans Power Increase Topic Of NAB Section Meet HORIZONTAL increases in broadcasting statijSfjn power will be the principal subject of discussion at the meeting of the NAB engineering section in Chicago on June 26. The Institute of Radio Engineers will hold its annual meeting there at the same time. Dr. C. B. Jolliffe, chief engineer of the Radio Commission, has been invited to attend the meeting. The movement for a horizontal increase, such as the boosting of power of all classes of stations perhaps fivefold, has been gaining momentum in recent weeks and is being discussed particularly with reference to any possible revision of allocations which might be decided upon by the Commission following the North American Conference in Mexico City in July. mation so that purchasers may know just what they are buying. "When traffic in foods, drugs and cosmetics of any kind may be inherently harmful to public health and cannot be adequately controlled by the other provisions of the bill, the Secretary is authorized to place the manufacturers of such commodities under a license requiring the maintenance of sufficient safeguards. "A provision in the new bill authorizes the Secretary to establish food standards having the force and effect of law. The absence of such a provision in the present law, except for the limited field of canned foods, has seriously impaired the effectiveness of control and made enforcement more expensive. "The new bill defines as drugs, mechanical devices intended for the treatment of disease. It also regulates preparations and devices recommended for the correction of abnormal physical conditions which are not, strictly speaking, diseases." RADICAL changes in the presentation of call letter announcements every 15 minutes have been put into effect by Stan Lee Broza, program director of WCAU, Philadelphia. Most stations use the standard style: "This is XYZ, Hoskosh" or just "XYZ, Hoskosh". Recently, without any notice to the public, WCAU changed the method of call letter announcements, and within the next few days several hundred letters were received congratulating the station. Sixteen different announcements have been prepared, and it is only necessary to repeat every four hours. Samples of the variations in announcements follow: "WCAU in the city of Philadelphia," "The city Philadelphia, the station WCAU," "WCAU broadcasting from Philadelphia," "You are tuned in to WCAU in the city of Philadelphia." Yost and Pratt Resign Positions of Examiners RESIGNATIONS of Ellis A. Yost, of West Virginia, as chief examiner of the Radio Commission, effective July 1, and of Elmer W. Pratt, examiner, effective June 1, were formally announced at the Commission May 24. Simultaneously, it was announced that Ralph L. Walker, attorney in the legal division, had been transferred to the examiners' division, a post he formerly held, and that George H. Hill, also in the legal division, would become an examiner July 1. Mr. Yost plans to return to private practice of law, but has not yet divulged the details. Mr. Pratt will engage in private practice, specializing in radio, and will make his headquarters in Washington. Rosel H. Hyde, examiner, has been transferred to the legal division at a salary of $3,200. As an examiner, he drew $4,600. Mr. Walker retains his present salary of $4,600 as an examiner, and Mr. Hill will be increased from $3,800 to $4,600 upon assuming the examinership. Baker on RCA Board NEWTON D. BAKER, former Secretary of War and special counsel for the NAB in copyright matters, on May 19 was elected a director of RCA to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Owen D. Young, according to an announcement by David Sarnoff, RCA president. Mr. Baker is also a director of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the Cleveland Trust Co., the Carnegie Corp., the Lake Carriers' Ass'n and the Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New York. ORAL arguments in the case of KWKH, Shreveport, La., and WWL, New Orleans, will be heard by the Radio Commission June 14 instead of June 21. The examiner recommended that the Shreveport station, operated by W. K. Henderson, be deleted, and that full time on the 850 kc. clear channel be awarded WWL. Grocers Organize In Radio Campaign THE GROCERS' Radio League of New England, comprising the entire independent foods trade, wholesale and retail, in the six New England states, has launched an intensive, five-day-a-week schedule of Yankee Network broadcasts to carry messages of the independents to New England housewives. The plan was formulated almost six months ago and has been greeted enthusiastically by jobbers and wholesalers, as well as merchants. Jobbers who sell to independent merchants agreed to pay their proportionate share of the costs, which in turn they will pass on to the independent merchants so that the individual store owner is actually paying for the campaign. The main purposes of the broadcasts, as put forth by the Grocers' Radio League, are as follows: to restore a million dollars weekly in foods sales to the independent merchant; to promote strong propaganda for the local merchant; to combat propaganda against the independent merchant; to acquaint the consumer with the advantages of trading with an independent merchant; to create a New England-wide means of quick communication between merchant and consumer, not only for building greater sales but also to foster protective legislation and defeat unfavorable legislation. The present schedule calls for five programs a week, over Yankee Network stations in Boston, Provi d e n c e, Worcester, Springfield, Hartford, and Bridgeport New Haven, and it is expected that Bangor and Manchester will be added shortly, bringing the total expenditure for time and talent to nearly $2,000 weekly. National Oil Products Extends Test on WABC NATIONAL OIL PRODUCTS Co., Harrison, N. J., has expanded its test programs over WABC, New York, advertising its new product, Admiracion Soapless Shampoo. The original contract, which began in the early part of March, called for one broadcast per week over WABC, featuring fashion talks by Jean Wanamaker. On May 2 "Big Freddie Miller" was engaged to sing and play the piano. National Oil decided, instead of one weekly broadcast, to expand its radio schedule to three morning broadcasts 6ach week. Miller comes from the middle-west where he has built up a big following. He announces his own programs and works in the intimate style of Singin' Sam and Little Jack Little. Account is also spatting a few transcriptions on other stations. New CBS Rate Card RATE CARD No. 15, effective June 1, 1933, has just been issued by CBS, being the first revision since Sept. 1, 1932. No changes in rates are shown except in the case of the 50-kw. KSL, Salt Lake City, whose network rate has been increased from $190 to $250 per evening hour. Page 16 BROADCASTING • June 1, 1933