Broadcasting (Jan-June 1933)

JUN 17 IS33 ©CIB 193352 cltlA Broadcast Advertisingr VOL. 4 NO. 12 WASHINGTON, D. C. JUNE 15, 1933 $3.00 PER YEAR— 15c A COPY Post Office Upholds Ruling on Fan Mail By SOL TAISHOFF New Solicitor Says Predecessor's Finding as Published In Broadcasting Applies to the Entire Industry CONFUSION arising from an interpretation of the postal regulations governing the handling of fan mail has been clarified by the Post Office Department in a ruling affirming a previous order making payment of additional first class postage unnecessary, and p 1 a cing it in full effect. The action will save the radio industry money which otherwise would have to be disbursed in the forwarding of audience mail from station to program sponsor via essential intermediaries. The original ruling of the department, rendered March 14 by the then Solicitor, Horace J. Donnelly, was based on a series of questions submitted by WGN, Chicago, through its Washington counsel, Louis G. Caldwell and Arthur W. Scharfeld. Published for the first time in the April 1 issue of Broadcasting, the ruling elicited much favorable comment among advertisers, agencies and stations. Not Circularized IT DEVELOPED, however, that the ruling was not circularized throughout the service and that post office officials in cities other than Chicago were not familiar with it. They disallowed requests for authority to forward fan mail in conformity with the ruling on the ground that it had never been promulgated. As a result, inquiries were addressed to Broadcasting and to the National Association of Broadcasters regarding the status of the ruling. The matter promptly was taken up with the Post Office Department by Philip G. Loucks, managing director of the NAB, and the editor of Broadcasting. Karl A. Crowley, who recently became Solicitor of the department, upon being consulted affirmed the ruling of his predecessor, Mr. Donnelly, and made clear that the interpretation is applicable to all stations. Refers to Published Report IN A LETTER to Mr. Loucks, dated June 8, Solicitor Crowley stated : "At the request of Mr. Harllee Branch, Executive Assistant to the Postmaster General, I have re-examined and con THE CONFUSION which resulted from the failure of local postal officials throughout the country to give broadcasters the benefit of Post Office Department's ruling on a WGN inquiry last April should be ended with this clear declaration by the new solicitor that fan mail can be forwarded to program sponsor via any essential intermediary without additional first class postage so long as it is not opened in route. In sustaining his predecessor's interpretation, Solicitor Crowley referred to BROADCASTING'S April 1 report of the previous ruling as being accurate a;nd comprehensive. sidered the ruling of Mr. Donnelly, my predecessor as Solicitor for the Post Office Department, dated March 14, 1933, relating to the forwarding of 'fan' mail by radio stations to the sponsors of radio programs directly or through essential intermediaries. "The ruling has been approved and is now in effect. The ruling referred to is published in full text in the April 1, 1933, issue of BROADCASTING Magazine." In discussing the matter with Mr. Loucks and the editor of Broadcasting, Solicitor Crowley declared that the article which appeared in the April 1 issue of that publication covered the whole matter comprehensively and accurately. Postmasters, he declared, will be guided by the ruling as published in that issue. NAB Circularizes Article UPON RECEIPT of the letter from Solicitor Crowley, Mr. Loucks, in behalf of the industry, sent to all broadcast stations a reprint of the article which appeared in the April 1 issue of Broadcasting, together with a covering letter and a copy of the Crowley ruling. Stations were asked to contact their local postmasters immediately, and apprise them of the Washington ruling so that they may govern their dealings with all branches of the industry accordingly. Solicitor Crowley declared that no further elaboration of the original Donnelly ruling is necessary beyond the article and text of the ruling itself as published last April. As stated in that article, the ruling means that thousands of dollars annually will be saved to the industry. The opinion eliminates all important restrictions heretofore invoked on the movement of audience mails. In the past, the Post Office Department has required that fan mail forwarded from station to network to program sponsor or agency carry additional first class postage at the regular rates. Third Fan Mail Ruling SINCE the advent of commercial broadcasting, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent by the industry in forwarding of fan mail because of the department's interpretation of the laws giving it an exclusive monopoly in the carrying of mails. The forwarding of radio mail was prohibited without the payment of three cents per fan letter (under the current scale) regardless whether the letters were shipped in bulk by express or some similar method. The ruling is the third to be handed down by the department on fan mail. It followed a revision of the regulations promulgated on Feb. 15 in which network-affiliated stations were allowed to forward such mail, unopened, in bulk, via fourth class parcel post without the payment of additional first class postage. In that ruling, however, the department held that in forwarding the identical mail from network headquarters to sponsors, advertisers or agencies, additional first class postage was necessary, WGN Raises Question THE FIRST RULING was made last December upon inquiry by CBS. The department at that time held that fan mail might be forwarded from affiliated station to network headquarters by express or similar method without payment of additional first class postage, but not by parcel post. Thus, the Feb. 15 ruling broadened the scope of the December decision to cover parcel post, but did not touch upon the most important point — the movement of mail from station to sponsor without payment of additional first class charges. It was following the Feb. 15 ruling that counsel for WGN queried the department on this broad question. They pointed out that both of the previous rulings were made with particular reference to chain stations and it was desirable to ascertain how far these regulations would apply to independent or non-chain stations. Must Not be Opened THE WGN letter was referred to the then Solicitor Donnelly, who held, first, that the fan mail rulings apply with equal force to network and non chain stations and that no distinction is made by the department between classes of stations. Throughout the ruling Mr. Donnelly emphasized that fan mail must be forwarded unopened to the sponsor, to be eligible for handling without additional first class postage. "If the fan mail is to be opened by some person before it reaches the advertiser," the ruling states, "it may not be sent outside the mails to such person without payment of postage. If, on the other hand, it is handled one time or several times before it reaches its ultimate destination, viz., the office of the sponsor of the program, but June 15, 1933 • BROADCASTING Page 5