Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

Beer Advertising IF BEER returns, the advertising business will boom, Roy Dickinson writes in the July 7 issue of Printer's Ink. And, it is presumed, radio will gets its share. An estimate is given that 847 brewers would spend at least $13,000,000 in advertising the first year the Volstead act is "liberalized." One brewery alone would spend $300,000. EDMUND B. RUFFNER, formerly of the radio department of Erwin, Wasey & Co., New York, has joined the radio department of Benton & Bowles, of the same city. Mr. Ruffner once served on the announcing staff of NBC. Edward H. Gardner, formerly with the Chicago office of the J. Walter Thompson Company, has also joined the staff of Benton & Bowles. ACCOUNTS being handled by First United Broadcasters, 201 No. Wells St., Chicago, of which Hugh Rager is managing director, include Willard Tablet Co., Chicago (medicines); Fan Rau, Inc., Des Moines (cosmetics), and Hanlins Wizard Oil Co., Chicago, (liniment) . CRITCHFIELB & CO., 8 So. Michigan Blvd., Chicago, places radio advertising for: Alligator Co.; American Institute Food Products; Atlas Brewing Co.; Chef Boiardi Food Products Co.; Coco Cod Co.; Durkee Atwood Co.; Letz Mfg. Co.; Minneapolis Shoe Co.; Pratt Food Co.; Process Corp.; Tennessee Products Corp.; Zinsmaster Baking Co.; Zinsmaster Hol-Ry Co.; National Home Magazines, Inc.; Raladam Co. F. R. Steel is director of radio. CALKINS & HOLDEN, 247 Park Ave., New York, handles radio accounts for: Red Book magazine; Richard Hudnut, New York. Donald Peterson is in charge of radio department. STATION NOTES GENERAL OFFICES and production department of WIBO, Chicago, have been transferred from the north town studios to the Pure Oil Building in the Loop district. The morning broadcasts will continue from the studios at 6300 Broadway, and the afternoon and evening productions will continue to originate in the Chicago theater studios in the Loop. CFJC, Kamloops, B. C, has been taken over by the Kamloops Sentinel, which is relocating the transmitter to provide complete British Columbia coverage and building a new uptown studio. R. G. Harness is station manager and Gerrard J. Quinney is technician. C. R. CUMMINS, owner of WRAK, Williamsport, Pa., has bought the mechanical equipment of the Scranton Sun for use in the Williamsport Times, which he will publish soon. KYW, Chicago, has signed a half dozen new radio stars, including Drs. Pratt and Sherman, and has remodeled its studios. OHIO STATE University, Columbus, O., has just issued a pamphlet titled "A Questionnaire Survey of the WEAO Radio Audience" in the interest of the station which it operates. The survey deals with the coverage of the station, the listening habits of its audience, popularity of programs, etc. WBEN, Buffalo, utilized two short wave channels in broadcasting the Buffalo Centennial Celebration events, July 9 and 10. One of these features was the national outboard motor boat races. The equipment, authorized by the Radio Commission, was constructed by WBEN engineers. THE TRANSMITTER of WREN has been moved from Lawrence, Kans., to Tonganoxie, 13 miles closer to Kansas City. WREN began operations from the new site June 26. WFAA, Dallas, celebrates its tenth year on the air this month. THE NEW 10 kw. RCA Victor transmitter of WWL, New Orleans, will be on the air before the end of the summer, reports Father Wallace Burk, director of the station, owned and operated by Loyola University. KRE, Berkeley, Cal., has opened an additional studio in downtown Oakland. The studio, from which a large part of KRE's programs will originate, is open to the public. CBS will reopen WJSV, Alexandria, Va., recently leased, on or about Oct. 1, according to Harry Butcher, Washington director, who will manage the station. A site for the new transmitter has been found on the George Washington Memorial Highway overlooking Washington and near the Potomac River bank. Colonial architecture will be used in erecting the studio and transmitter house in keeping with aims of the National Planning Commission. A NEW TYPE of pickup is being used by the WGN Symphony Orchestra heard over WGN, Chicago. Comprising a shielded microphone to alleviate accoustical distortion, it was designed by Jack Pierce of the WGN engineering staff. WIS, Columbia, S. C, has begun operation of its new Western Electric 304-A grid modulated transmitter, together with Western Electric 9-A speech input and dynamic microphones in the studios. WCSC, Charleston, S. C, has started work on its new transmitter over the salt marshes adjacent to the Ashley River. Western Electric equipment is being used. WHB, Kansas City, has opened its new studio on top of the Scarritt Bldg. KFBI formally opened its new studios at Abilene, Kan., July 14 and has since kept open house. The station is owned and operated by the Farmers and Bankers Life Insurance Co., Wichita. WISN, Milwaukee, dedicated its new studios with a midnight broadcast July 15 over the CBS network. CANADA'S first television station was to go on the air about the middle of this month as an adjunct of CKAC, Montreal, operated by La Presse. Using Western Television Co. equipment, the station is to operate on 2,100-2,200 kc, over a synchronized sound track of 349 meters. PROGRAMS of WBNX and WMSG, New York, are being transmitted temporarily over the transmitter of WCDA at Cliffside Park, N. J. PROGRAM NOTES FREDERICK STARK, of KHJ, Los Angeles, recently staged a veritable sound effect man's jamboree under the program title of "Street Scenes." Some of the sound effects produced were: Noise of the "El" or elevated railways of New York; the drone of the subways; the ferries in New York harbor; the famous "night noises" of Brjadway; the hubbub of Harlem, the Ghetto, Bronx and other sections of the city; sport effects at the Polo Grounds; and Coney Island Ballyhoo and atmosphere. UNEMPLOYED musicians of Los Angeles have been formed into 60 to 80piece symphony orchestra broadcasting alternate Sundays over KNX, Hollywood, Cal., by remote control from a city park. Musicians' Union, City Park Board of Los Angeles and KNX split expenses to aid players. JOSEPH I. ARNOLD, professor of sociology and economics, State Teachers College, Bridgewater, Mass., talks each Monday night on "Current Events" over WAAB, Boston, and the Yankee Network. KFYR, Bismark, N. D., presented an interesting and original program recently in the form of circus yarns told by the Old Clown, Ed Dingman, featured soloist with Harry Turner's orchestra. KFWB, Hollywood, has inaugurated a new sustaining feature called "The Antique Shop." Tunes will be strung together with word pictures describing odd sights and tomes in a musty book stall. WWNC, Asheville, N. C, and the Asheville Citizen-Times, which owns and operates it, are collaborating in sponsoring a contest for summer food recipes solicited from housewives. Three winners are to be announced in a special tabloid section of the newspaper featuring food accounts to appear July 20. A STOCK company consisting of talent drafted from various departments of the NBC in New York, launched a series of broadcasts over that network on July 8. William Rainey, of the program department, sent invitations to all talented NBC employees to participate. DUKE MEYERS, "radio globe trotter" of KFRC, San Francisco, has inaugurated a "news parade" once a week in the form of condensed summary of the week's news. "PATSY LEE, Your Girl Friend," is a new program on KJBS, San Francisco, every afternoon. Period is sponsored by spot announcements and includes both singing and records with advertising worked into continuity. "SLIM AND SPUD," comic strip of The Prairie Farmer, has been adapted for radio presentation and is broadcast Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 2 p. m., CDST, over publication's station, WLS, Chicago. Malcolm Clair writes the script. JOHN SHEPARD, 3rd, president of the Yankee Network, was interviewed during the inaugural program of "Yankee Network Personalities," Monday night feature on WAAB, Boston, and the Yankee Network. Bob Donahue, of the network press department, conducts the interviews. WSB, Atlanta, again this month in cooperation with the Georgia State College of Agriculture, Athens, and the U. S. Department of Agriculture started a broadcast of up-to-the-minute peach market news. A summary of the peach market is carried daily except Sunday at 2:45 p. m. The feature was inaugurated last year and proved of inestimable value to Georgia peach growers. COOPERATING with WHK, Cleveland, the merchants of Lorain, O., and the Lorain Journal this month have been conducting a radio audition contest in a local theater to develop new talent. Regular eliminations are held for amateur singers and musicians between 15 and 25. After the finals July 24, the winner will be given a spot on the WHK program schedule. EQUIPMENT NEW VISUAL FREQUENCY monitor orders placed with Doolittle & Falknor, Inc., Chicago, sup..lementing list of 30 published in the June 15 issue, include: WHFC, WKBB, WCLS, WGBU, WIBX, WIBU, KFXF, WEDC, WSBC, KGKY, WSYR, WGH, WHOM, WRR, KGFW, WWAE and WHBD. RCA VICTOR Co., Camden, N. J., has assigned R. V. Beshgetoor to Buenos Aires as managing director of RCA Victor Argentina, Inc. A University of Michigan engineering graduate and formerly with General Electric Co., Mr. Beshgetoor will have charge of all Argentina sales, including those of broadcast equipment. WESTERN ELECTRIC Co. is supplying equipment for the transmitting and receiving units to be installed in Central America and the Bahamas for the new A. T. & T. radiotelephone service being projected from Hialeah, Fla., near Miami, to Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela and the Bahamas. THE FEDERAL TELEGRAPH Co. has been awarded a contract to furnish 30 wavemeters to the Airways Division, Department of Commerce. THE FOTO-VOICE Co., Norfolk, Va., has installed a new 33 1/3 r.p.m. turntable in WPHR, Petersburg, Va. Progress on Copyrights (Continued from page 10) from the Federal Radio Commission, shall refuse to allow any legitimate advertiser or sponsor of radio programs the use of such stations for the broadcasting oi his advertisements or sponsored programs at a reasonable price foi the privilege therefor, such advertiser may appeal to the Federal Radio Commission to fix such reasonable price or fee, and upon tender of same he shall be entitled to the use of said broadcasting station or stations for the broadcasting of his advertisements or programs. The reasonable price or fee so fixed shall be limited to an amount which will justly compensate the owner or operator of the station for the use made thereof, and shall in no event exceed the amount of a reasonable fee or price which, under similar circumstances would have been charged by the owner or operator of the radio broadcasting station for the use thereof. In determining the amount of such just compensation or of such reasonable fee the prices currently paid for similar broadcasting privileges under similar circumstances shall be considered. Upon payment of a reasonable fee, as found by the Federal Radio Commission, the advertiser or sponsor of programs may, in the discretion of the Commission, be entitled to continue the use of such station at the same rate of payment for such reasonable period as the Commission may deem just." Dead for This Session THE BILL was referred to the Committee on Merchant Marine, Radio, and Fisheries, where it is destined to repose, at least until the next session in December. It is doubted whether the measure was intended seriously, since it is inconsistent with established law, and would, if adopted, place all stations in the class of public utility common carriers. The second LaGuardia bill (H. R. 12844) follows closely the language of the Chindblom amendment by proposing to make the same terms and conditions applicable to patented radio equipment. Referred to the Patents Committee, it would provide that recovery, in patent infringement suits byj pools or monopolies should be lim-, ited to a reasonable fee fixed by a court and that the infringer thereafter must be licensed to use patents upon payment of fees regularly charged other licensees. Page 22 BROADCASTING • July 15, 1932