Broadcasting (July - Dec 1937)

VeM7 Names for FCC Given President ^ivo Posts IS' oil Vacant; Craven, Gary, W heat Thought Leading "AC ED with the necessity of maktwo appointments to the FCC, icluding: the chairmanship left acant by the sudden death of Liming S. Prall on July 23, Presient Roosevelt is considering the ualifications of a number of candiates with the uppermost thought f injecting new leadership and dding strength to the agency and hereby checking the wave of critiism heaped upon it. To the list of three men — each n the FCC executive staff — who ad been most prominently menoned for the vacancy which ex5ted prior to Mr. Frail's demise, as been added several other ames, it is understood. T. A. M. raven, retired naval officer and ie FCC chief engineer; Carl I. •'heat, telephone rate counsel, and [ampson Gary, general counsel, ■ere those considered for the vaancy created by the retirement months ago of Dr. Irvin Stewrt. All three also are being condered in connection with the Prall acancy, but new names have been dvanced to the White House, with 16 final selections remaining seriisly in doubt at this writing. jl Other Names Mentioned As Broadcasting went to press, '!ports flew thick and fast through ficial Washington that other men . public life were being consid■ed for one or the other of the incancies. The Administration is reported • be seeking someone of the Jos)h P. Kennedy type for the chairanship. Mr. Kennedy, an Admintration trouble shooter, once was 'lairman of the Securities & Exlange Commission and now is lairman of the Maritime Comission. Among other names mentioned as 'hder consideration, in addition to ['e three "merit" candidates, were: I Breckinridge Long, former Asistaut Secretary of State under 'Vilson. and former Ambassador to taly. a native of St. Louis, now in .Europe on a vacation. . Rep. Abe Murdock (D-Utah). Ifrving his third term in the House. : lawyer and a member of the Jiilieiary Committee. Rep. William D. McFarlane (D,"ox.). also serving his third term, .'ho loosed a vigorous attack on Hidio last month, at which time he idvoeated favorable action on the "''jnnery Resolution (H. Res. 92) " 'r an investigation of radio gen' rally. i Denis Driscoll. chairman of the lennsylvania Utilities Commission 'ud former Congressman, who first ■as mentioned for the Stewart vaincy. and whose candidacy preimably has been revived with the aening of the second vacancv. Edward F. McGrady. of Boston. DW Assistant Secretary of Labor. former labor leader and former ?sistant administrator of XRA. In the case of Comdr. Craven, •10 two years ago left a lucrative •^suiting practice at the behest tthe President to become chief i.neer, spontaneous support from _ , broadcasting industry is known ' have developed. Comdr. Craven, ^wever, asserted July 30 that he •3 not sought either the commis^nership or support as a candite. He added he hoped the devel opment would in no wise cause embarrassment in any quarter. General Counsel Gary, formerly a high ranking officer in the diplomatic corps, served on the FCC for six months immediately upon its creation in 1934, having been appointed to serve until such time as Mr. Prall could qualify by virtue of the latter's service as a member of the House. Mr. Wheat has won much praise for his work during recent months in the FCC telephone investigation, and has been credited with initiating negotiations which have resulted in substantial reductions in long line telephone rates. He is now vacationing with his family on the Pacific Coast, being due to return to Washington Aug. 12. In high official circles, it was indicated that only one of the three members of the FCC staff, whose names were advanced, has a "probable" chance of appointment. The second appointee, it was indicated, might be an individual never before identified with communications in any way, on the theory that a fresh mind would infuse a new viewpoint and exercise a strong hand. It is evident that the White House has in mind a revamping of the FCC personnel alignment, presumably with one of the newcomers to become the chairman. Thus there might be a rather sweening revision of assignments on the agency insofar as the makeup of the three divisions is concerned. The President, it is believed, is considering the chairmanship in the light of the new appointments. The I'eport was current that he might appoint Broadcast Division Vice Chairman Norman S. Case to the chairmanship, in spite of his status as a Republican. A former governor of Rhode Island, Gov. Case has known the president personally for years, and is said to be held in high esteem at the White House. Should the appointments be made prior to Congressional adjournment, than the appointees would have to be confirmed by the Senate if they are to take office and drawregular pay. Because of the agitation for an inquiry into the FCC, it is suspected in many quarters that Senator Wheeler's Interstate Commerce Committee might take that opportunity for an inquiry into regulatory methods. On the other hand, should the appointments be made with Congress in session but confirmation not be forthcoming, then the appointees would have to serve without pay. The other alternative — that of recess appointments after Congress adjourns — would permit the appointees to serve with pay but they would have to be nominated and confirmed for service beyond the recess of C ongress, which ends in January, 1938, irrespective of the date of adjournment. That the President is giving deep thought to the vacancies on the FCC has been clearly evident to observers on the radio scene. Mr. Prall's death came as a blow to the Administration, since he had been a close friend of the Chief Executive and was the White House contact for the FCC. Mr. Prall thrice had been appointed chairman of the FCC by the President, the last appointment having been made last March 11. Mr. Prall was reappointed to a seven-year term as a member of the FCC on July 1, 1935. Thus, the person appointed to fill his unexpired term will serve until 1942. In the case of the vacancy created by the retirement of Dr. Stewart, the appointment will be for 7 years. Both of the vacancies are Democratic. The law specifies there shall not be more than four members of the same political party on the FCC. There are already three Republicans — Case, Brown and Payne. The two incumbent Democrats are Sykes and Walker. Craven and Gary are Democrats as are all the others save Wheat, who while a registered Republican from California, is reported to have voted for the Roosevelt ticket in the last two presidential elections. A fourth Republican, it has been pointed out, could be named to the FCC without contravening the law, though such an appointment is improbable. Further evidence that President Roosevelt is devoting more than casual thought to the entire radio structure was given on July 22 when he wrote NBC President Lenox R. Lohr on the occasion of the dedication of NBC's new Washington studios. Departing from the usual type of congratulatory message, the President warned against the placing of obstacles in the path of radio progress. "It is not within the province of reactionaries to put obstacles in the way of orderly development nor to mark boundaries beyond which radio may not go," he said. He also predicted the perfection of television and facsimile, declaring in the case of the latter that it may not be long before radio will make it possible "for us to visualize at the breakfast table the front pages of daily newspapers or news reports, no matter how remote we may be from the place of their nublication and distribution." While there was no White House elaboration of this expression, it was interpreted as meaning a renewed expression of confidence in Radio by the American Plan from the Chief Executive, along with an admonition to anti-radio interests that its progress cannot be interfered with. The attitude of the Administration against newspapers generally because of the anti-New Deal sentiment during his political campaigning, it is felt in some quarters, was reflected in his statement regarding "reactionaries." Another development on the national radio front which aroused speculation was the retention by Powel Crosley Jr., president of the C r o s 1 e y Radio Corp., operating WLW and WSAI, Cincinnati, of Charles Michelson, publicity director of the Democratic National Committee, as public relations consultant. Promptly following the announcement July 26 [see page 10] Washington's corps of correspondents sought to tie into this affiliation many political implications. It is known that Mr. Michelson, who retains his post with t h 3 Democratic National Committee, received the approval of party leaders before accepting the post. It was emphasized too that his employment, at a reported salary of $10,000 per year, has no connection with the WLW quest for regular authority to use 500,000 watts, which it has employed experimentally for the last three years. The combination of these develIContinued on page 81) August J, 1937 • Page 13 SAFETY TROPHY AWARDED WXYZ Michisan-Mutual Network 'Lone Ranger' Series Wins Annual Trophy of C. I. T. Corp. KROADCASTING ANNUAL radio program award of the Commercial Investment Trust Safety Foundation, New York, was presented July 23 to King-Trendle Broadcasting Corp., Detroit, owner and operator of WXYZ, for the effective safety contribution made by the Lone Ranger Safety Club. The program has been a regular Monday, Wednesday and Friday night feature broadcast of WXYZ, Detroit and the Michigan Network since Jan. 1, 1936 and of MBS since Sept. 28, 1936. The bronze plaque for radio excellence was set up by the CIT Safety Foundation early in 1936, along with a similar award in motion pictures and a number of cash prizes given annually to newspaper men, school teachers and students. The committee which designated the Lone Ranger program for the 1937 award was composed of 0. H. Caldwell, formerly Federal Radio Commissioner and present publisher of Radio Today; Edgar Kobak, formerly vice-president of NBC and now vice-president of Lord & Thomas, and C. C. McGill, director of public relations of the Automotive Safety Foundation. The Lone Ranger Safety Club has a membership of over a million boys and girls who have signed safety pledges countersigned by their parents or guardians. On alternate Wednesdays the program is devoted to a meeting of the SAFETY AWARD— George W. Trendle, president of WXYZ, Detroit, receives from John W. Darr (left) the C.I.T. Safety Foundation plaque award bestowed upon The Lone Ranger program "the most effective radio promotion of safety for the year 1936". Safety Club with frequent addresses by outside speakers prominent in safety work. In its decision the committee gave special consideration to the tangible evidence of widespread influence and popularity of the broadasts as borne out by the large membership and the participation of parents. Formal presentation of the bronze plaque was made as a part of the Lone Star Ranger program July 23 on MBS. Broadcast Advertising I