Broadcasting (Jan - June 1936)

Uncle Sam on the Air (Continued from page 9) MERCHANDISING SERVICE A PLUS to Advertisers is — The WIBX merchandising department cooperation in arranging window and counter displays . . . letters to the trade . . . checking sales . . . letters to jobbers . . . contact merchants and jobbers . . . and other advertising helps. There is no charge for this service, except for materials used. 106,000 -k Radio Families WIBX The Voice of the Mohawk Valky • CBS AFFILIATE UTICA, N. Y. April 9 on WNEW, New York, which is offering a weekly WPA Federal Theatre program. Highlights of Federal Theatre activities and dramatizations of current productions are broadcast. Department of Agriculture EASILY the No. 2 government broadcaster after President Roosevelt (who as President commands time on the air practically whenever he speaks, politically or otherwise) is Morse Salisbury, Chief of Radio Service, Department of Agriculture. His perpetual motion, you-and-me delivery six times a week is heard by millions who would rather go without lunch than miss the varied attractions of the remarkable pioneering NBC Farm and Home Hour, on a 50station WJZ network. The Department has been in the radio business ever since October 1928, when Frank Mullen, then NBC farm director, conceived and started the program. It supplements the network series by scripts sent to stations in all 48 states. On the Farm and Home Hour the Department regards itself as a sort of contributor of talent. The program consists of music and variety keyed from Chicago, shifts to Washington for news comments delivered by Hilmar Baukhage of the United States News, and then is taken over for 15 minutes to a half-hour, as a rule, by the Department. Special events are included in the routine, such as the forest-ranger dramas on Fridays, the Post Office talks on Thursdays FIRST COME FIRST SERVED of Spokane, Washington, Offers HiU-BiUy HiJinks JOJ J P.M. Thursday Nights The Northwest's Own Olde Tyme Radio Party — with Cast of 25 Capacity audiences of 400 every week in KFPY's Golden Concert Studio, since its inceptioiu (Admission by card.) A great program for direct merchandising of Foods, Beverages, Cosmetics, etc., and one that will ring the cash registers of your dealers throughout the Inland Empire. Arrange now for sponsorship. Write or wire — KFPy REPRESENTATIVES J. H. McGILLVRA, 485 Madison Avenue. NEW YORK and Palmolive Building, CHICAGO WALTER BIDDICK CO.. 568 Chamber of Commerce BIdg., LOS ANGELES and 601 Russ BIdg., SAN FRANCISCO and farm organization programs on Saturdays. A similar program, although only a half-hour in length, is the Western Farm and Home Hour broadcast on NBC Pacific and Intermountain blue stations. On Fridays the Western segment of stations joins the main Farm and Home group for a half-hour of conservation programming staged by the Bureau of Biological Survey, a branch of the Department of Agriculture. Mr. Salisbury acts as master-ofceremonies, weather diagnostician and introducer of speakers on the program. He ad libs all his material in an easy-going style that has won him a wide following. Specialists on cows, blueberries, spinach, preserving, weather, cotton, livestock and other topics close to the farmer and his family are brought to the microphone. A frequent guest is the Secretary of Agriculture, Henry A. Wallace, with other high officials of this widespread department often addressing their constituents. In these talks there occasionally is a definite New Deal slant that has been classed by the Republicans as propaganda. In the early days of the New Deal a good deal of high-pressure oratory was directed at the Farm and Home audience as officials discussed the merits of crop-curtailing programs and explained how the practice of continence by pigs would boost the farmer's income. The Department's use of spot broadcasting — free time, of course — embraces 300 stations. Daily scripts, running up to seven minutes, are distributed. Where there are state extension officials cooperating the scripts are sent to them instead of the stations. The state specialists supplement the continuities with localized angles and the Department places station relations in their hands. County agents read the scripts in many cases. Occasional questionnaires are sent to stations to determine if they wish to continue receiving the scripts but no effort is made by the Department to check up on stations. A generous consumer of station time has been the Resettlement Administration, under Rexford Guy Tugwell, which has just concluded a quarter-hour RCA transcription campaign embracing 473 stations. W B NEW yORK'S METROPOLITAN AREA IS A VARIETY OF NATIONALITIES-EACH OF WHICH IS A BUYING MARKET IN. ITSELF. The drive was designed to insta the Resettlement message in tl public mind. Discs were rotat' among stations to keep down tl cost. Several years ago the Depar ment's Food and Drug Administr; tion broadcast two series dealir with the merits of packaged foe and drugs. The series were tith Read the Label and The Veterc Inspector. They were designed give consumers information I which they could judge the qualil of packaged products. The Treasury DISTINCTLY of the "free-timt variety is the radio promotion < the U. S. Treasury Departmer Last spring Secretary Henry Mo genthau sent some announcemen to all stations with this reques "The Treasury appreciates yoi cooperation on other similar occ: sions and will be grateful if yc will broadcast the following a: nouncement at convenient times l to and including Wednesda March 27." The announcements told liste: ers how to go about exchangir their Fourth Liberty Loan bone for new securities bearing a muc lower rate of interest. Encouraged by the success <this nationwide generosity I broadcasters, the Treasury decide to go in for broadcasting in a bii time way to promote the sale < small-denomination bonds. In ear' summer it distributed a series ( quarter hour transcriptions. W men Congressmen, Treasury of cials and the Navy and Marii bands were the talent. Mrs. Roos velt started the series over a con bined network. Transcriptions were fed to sti tions through local postmasters { the rate of about one a week. A far as could be learned there wei no rejections by stations. During its bond campaign tl Treasury used printed media, pa; ing for most of the space. Tl Treasury right now is completir plans for a transcription series. James William Bryan, directc of advertising. Savings Bond D vision, is in charge of Treasury n dio activity. Federal Housing FOR concentrated promotion i large and frequent doses, the Fe<^ eral Housing Administration, let than two years of age, has put 1 shame some of its veteran conpetitors for free radio time amon, the government agencies. It we Aug. 15, 1934, that the then Fee MARKS /r THE / SPOT MARKET IK ITSELF. Rroadcaslinf( in EWUT languages bmides English WtmX "speaks the language of your prospect". V/BNX New York W"te For Booklet "Market Corerage" Page 56 BROADCASTING • April 15, 193i 3 ■I