Broadcasting (July - Dec 1936)

le, which he said was controlled fc NBC, be placed on the 990 kc. tiannel to operate simultaneously Btfa WBZ and WBZA, "thus free tg a channel for which Labor has ;riven and to which Labor is just ' entitled." On this score, he said that NBC Iready has accommodated dupliated assignments on clear chanels on which its stations operate, here is no reason why this furrier duplication should not be auaorized, he asserted. Newspaper Ownerships :E ARGUED that the holding of nese clear channels without dupcation on opposite coasts "shows monopolistic tendency". Discussig newspapers and their relationship to radio, Mr. Nockels said a at at the advent of the art they ought to "kill the effect radio light have on the public." "In later years," he went on, failing in this attempt and reeogizing the fact that the printed Vord might soon be outdone by the jpoken broadcast message, they hen sought to render their own pportunity of molding public : pinion doubly secure by acquiring adio facilities. Then they operted these radio facilities in behalf : f the same interests for which the kept press had been operated or years. Not satisfied with own-ng one station, some single newspapers have sought ownership or ontrol of two or more stations, .nd in the last few years we have witnessed the development of a hain of radio stations owned and ontrolled by William Randolph iearst and operated by him in the \ ame manner as his newspapers ^.re operated for his personal bene:it and aggrandizement." ; Concluding, Mr. Nockels said hat Labor takes the position that here are but three ways out of • he situation with which broadasting is confronted today. He ^numerated these as follows: "(1) A reallocation of the wave lengths and a revision of the regilations calculated to make sure i'adio broadcasting is to be on the ;>asis of the greatest good for the greatest number; (2) a limitation ;>f all stations to a power of 10 iw., making them all virtually ocal stations, and serving only [ heir own locality, and with only me station in any locality to any >ne owner or controlling interest; <;3) that the Government take over md operate all radio stations in 3he United States. Labor hopes md trusts that the necessity for he last named alternative will not . >e forced upon us, but we are aeartily and thoroughly in favor if complete government control =ind operation in preference to complete control and operation by -rusts, press, magazine, radio networks and their closely allied in:erests." Mr. Nockels wound up with a threat of Congressional action if '"these trusts and monopolies and 7ested interests of an avaricious •apitalistic group of corporations knd individuals, seeking special privilege, are allowed to obtain :heir ends." KJR-WCFL Don't Interfere JNDER cross examination by 3hief Engineer Craven, Mr. Nock3ls explained that he was speakng on behalf of the A. F. of L. as well as WCFL. He brought out ;hat WCFL is an outlet of NBC jut stated that he is opposed to duplication of programs. In con nection with the simultaneous operation of WCFL and KJR on the same channel, Mr. Nockels said that there has been no interference whatever. KJR, he declared, is owned by NBC but leased to Fisher's Blend Station Inc. for $1 a year. Comdr. Craven asked the witness whether his testimony did not deal largely with the question "who should operate radio facilities" rather than the engineering considerations. To this, Mr. Nockels responded that Labor was opposed to "monopoly". James D. Cunningham, FCC attorney, then asked the witness why his station was applying for 50 kw. in Chicago. Mr. Nockels said that it wanted to get clearer reception in the Chicago area. Mr. Cunningham inquired whether 500 kw. would not improve WCFL's service even greater, and the witness replied that he was opposed to 500 kw. on the ground that it tended toward monopoly. Moreover, he said, the cost of operation would make it prohibitive. Finally, he said the American Federation of Labor had approved his statement prior to its delivery. Hogan Cites Advantage of HIGH FREQUENCIES OPENING of two additional frequencies in the 1500 1600 kc. "high fidelity band" for regu1 a r broadcasting on the ground that experimentation on the three channels opened up two *ir. Hogan years ago has proved broadcast operation feasible, was recommended to the FCC at the hearing Oct. 20 by John V. L. Hogan, New York consulting engineer and president of W2XR, New York highfidelity station. In a presentation in which he supported retention of clear channels and superpower on them and offered opposition to proposals for duplication and for limitation of power, Mr. Hogan also gave his views on every question of engineering raised by the FCC in its notice for the hearings. He disputed testimony of other witnesses that the lower frequencies in the broadcast band are much more desirable than those in the upper end of the spectrum. Both in his direct statement and under cross-examination by Chief Engineer Craven, he insisted that actual operating experiments disproved this theory. Clear and Shared Channels TAKING up the questions in the notice chronologically, Mr. Hogan said that he believed there were only two kinds of station service — clear channel and shared channel. He said he favored an increase in the number of clear channels and felt that there should be at least 40, as set aside in the original allocations. High frequencies, rather than the lower waves, he said, are desirable for clear channel service because of the value of sky wave propagation. Discussing shared channels, Mr. Hogan said there is no rule which can be applied as to the number of stations to be placed on such waves. This is dependent entirely upon the relative location of the stations and the area to be served. Mileage and frequency separation tables of the FCC, he said, should be used as a "rough guide" but he advocated in their stead a "service standard analysis" rather than any averaged or arbitrary calculations. He suggested there is probably no need for maintaining clear channels during the day unless situations develop where high power is used on low frequencies and where a second station in daylight might impair the rural coverage. He said he believed that all channels cleared at night could be shared during the day and suggested that no daytime stations on clear channels be permitted to operate at night. During the day, Mr. Hogan said, it is possible to put two 50,000 watt stations or even more on a channel without IBESUI/rSX COIT-VT MOST Let us acquaint you with our work. ^1 weed s company "\>UfW£D NEAR A SELL-OUT, SOfS & GUIS f Whoever it was that said time flies, he's right — time has practically flew at WD AY! A very few good mid-morn* ing, mid-afternoon and after10:30 periods are still available. Nothing else left .... So if you want to make your bid for this big Red River market, speak up, gents — speak up ! WDAY.inc. E3 N. B. C. FARGO N. D. Affiliated with the Fargo Forum FREE, JOHNS & FIELD, INC. NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES 940 KILOCYCLES 5000 WATTS DAY IOOO WATTS NIGHT BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising November 1, 1936 • Page 65