Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

Broadcasters Held Exempt From Tax On Power by NAB Petition Compares Stations To Communieation Lines BROADCASTING stations are entitled to the same classification as radio communication companies under the 1932 revenue act, the NAB contends in a brief filed with the Internal Revenue Bureau in opposition to the imposition of a three per cent tax on electrical power utilized. As the act specifies that only commercial and domestic consumption of electricity are taxable under the act, the bureau has already exempted public utilities, railroads, all communication companies and other industries. Four points are set forth in the NAB brief and are supported by quotations from the Congressional Record and the United States Supreme Court. The points, as summarized, follow: "1. That the operation of a broadcasting company is similar to the operation of a radio communication company. "2. That insofar as the consumption of electrical energy is concerned, a broadcasting company's activities are no more commercial than the activities of a telephone, telegraph or radio communication company. "3. That the activities of a broadcasting company meet the same standards of processing: as all of those other activities specifically excluded by the regulations from paying the tax. "4. That it employs electrical energy primarily as power and not incidentally as related to a commercial activity, and the physical attributes and the mechanical operations have no similarity whatsoever to commercial activities. "For the reasons set forth above the NAB believes that there was no intention on the part of Congress to place an added burden on the broadcasting industry any more than on any other industry specifically excluded by the regulations," the petition concludes. Social Club is Formed In N. Y. for Radio Men THE SOUND CLUB, a new social organization for radio men, has been organized with clubrooms on the four tower floors of the St. Moritz Hotel, New York. Thursday dinner dances and Tuesday roundtable luncheons are features. Eight committees have been named with the following chairmen: announcers, Graham McNamee, NBC, and Ted Husing, CBS; artists, Reinald Warrenrath and Frank Crumit; program, Lewis Reid, WOR; equipment, Laurence M. Cockaday, editor of Radio News; public relations, G. W. Johnstone, NBC; house, Frank Johnson, Thomaston Laboratories; technical, Jack Poppele, chief engineer of WOR. Romeyn 3cribner, Thomaston Laboratories, is chairman of the board of control. Birds Make Debut RADIO listeners tuned to WHP, Harrisburg, breakfasted recently to the cheery song of native birds singing in that sylvan habitat overlooking the Pennsylvania capitol. The pickup was made from a wooded knoll adjoining the WHP transmitting plant. Two microphones were used, one planted deep in the woods and another at the edge of the clearing where Leo A. Luttringer, of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, described the birds as they took their "bows." The program, arranged and directed by Tom Meehan, manager of WHP, proved popular and plans are being made for another similar broadcast. Bans Radio Frauds THE CITY council of Richmond, Va., has brought its advertising ordinance up to date by including radio, billboards and signs in the section dealing with dissemination of fraudulent advertising. The ordinance formerly specified only printed material. REPLYING to an inquiry by the Policyholder's Service Bureau of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., James M. Skinner, president of the Philadelphia Storage Battery Co. (Philco radios) makes a statement regarding his company's use of broadcast advertising — particularly its presentation of Leopold Stokowski and his Philadelphia Orchestra in their hour and three-quarters CBS network offerings— that at once reveals an enlightened attitude toward radio and a conviction that broadcast advertising pays. Philco during the week of Aug. 15 staged a transcription broadcast for five consecutive nights over 123 stations, using 615 broadcast periods in all. "We always have used spot broadcasts, or at least our dealers have, with more or less constancy, but these again have been governed by the advice of our local agencies," said Mr. Skinner. He added, regarding the network presentation : "During the past year, our principal broadcasting has been the concerts of the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Leopold Stokowski using1 all stations in a coast to coast system and supplementary shortwave transmission to carry these concerts to foreign countries. "Our object in selecting Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra was because we believed it advisable, almost our duty to broadcasting and to radio, to give the music loving radio owners of the world an opportunity to enjoy often, the world's finest music under direction Commission Drops 7 Off Field Force ANOTHER reduction of personnel was effected by the Radio Commission Aug. 16 in compliance with the provisions of the economy act. Seven employes attached to the constant frequency monitoring station at Grand Island, Neb. were dismissed. These dismissals, together with other economies ordered at the station, will save approximately $14,000 a year. Other employes must be dropped from the fie^ force, however, to meet the estimated deficit of $35,000 for field service operations this year. Fifteen employes were released from the Washington office of the Radio Commission several weeks ago. Reductions in the field force followed inspections by officials of the Commission. Utilization of commercial electric power instead of manufacturing current at the station will save an additional $3,500. Each employe in the field service will be required to take five days legislative furlough each month, beginning in August and continuing until 24 days have been absorbed. Test cars are to remain idle during August 'and September in order to save another $1,500. of America's greatest musical director. These were not studio broadcasts but actual full length concert broadcasts direct from the Academy of Music while the distinguished and colorful audience was present. "With these broadcasts, we held the air for an hour and threequarters, (first) to avoid cutting the concerts to fit a predetermined program period; (second) to impress upon the public as well as upon other broadcasters the quality of program that today's broadcasting and receiving facilities make possible; and (third) to prove our contention that it is not good business to originate too large a percentage of programs in the studios nor to have the listening hours cut up into so many short periods. We believe that a program must be of a quality to attract an audience and to hold an audience, and we think there should be enough of it to satisfy an audience. Only by these qualities do we believe that a program will impress its sponsorship enduringly upon a listening audience. "We do not infer by this that all programs should run for an hour and three-quarters, but we are mindful of the fact that vaudeville lost its hold on the public. We think the vaudevillian rapidity of act presentation should be avoided in radio because listeners usually hope to settle down, relaxed, for a considerable period — perhaps an entire evening. When changes from one program to another are so frequent as to get the listener all jittery, radio, it seems to us, is being abused instead of used." New Portable P. A. System A NEW convenience for political candidates, as well as other public speakers, has been announced by Western Electric Co. It is a complete public address system so small that it fits into a suitcase and may be carried by hand. The entire equipment, including the case, weighs only 70 pounds. It includes an amplifier, loud speaker, control unit and the necessary connections. Designed by the Bell Laboratories, the system is built for use with the lapel microphone, developed by the same engineers and introduced at the Democratic national convention. The case into which the equipment fits is 19% inches square and 10% inches deep and contains a bracket for carrying spare vacuum tubes. A three-stage amplifier is used. Each of the first two stages employs a single vacuum tube, while the last stage uses two tubes in a push-pull circuit. The amplifier has an adequately uniform frequency characteristic between 70 and 7,000 cycles and an undistorted peak output power of 3 watts. The power supply equipment inside the amplifier unit itself consists of a transformer, a Western Electric full wave rectifier tube and a filter circuit. This equipment provides direct current for operation of the amplifier, the loudspeaker and the microphone. The filaments of the vacuum tubes are operated on alternating current directly from the transformer. The loudspeaker is of a dynamic type and is mounted on a wooden baffleboard in front of the carrying case. The Western Electric lapel microphone is IV2 inches in diameter and is a carbon button transmitter encased in soft rubber with a metal clip for fastening to the user's clothing. The microphone control unit consists essentially of a network through which the current for the microphone is obtained; a repeating coil which couples the microphone to the amplifier and an external or remote volume control. The volume is controlled by means of a potentiometer which is connected to the microphone control unit by a 30foot cord. As accessory equipment, a control cabinet is available which permits the connection of any one of five microphones to the amplifying system. This cabinet provides noiseless switching and facilities for supplying current to the microphone. Fan Mail Undaunted DESPITE the 50 per cent increase in the first class postal rate radio fan mail continues as heavy as ever, according to a survey bv CBS. In fact, a check of the mail received a month before and a month after the new rate went into effect revealed a one per cent increase for the latter period. Programs of Quality and Some Length Held Desirable by President of Philco James M. Skinner Explains Sponsorship of Stokowski And Philadelphia Orchestra and Use of Disks Page 14 BROADCASTING * September I, 1932