Broadcasting (July - Dec 1937)

Higgins Don Higgins Quits CBS To Form Publicity Firm nOXALD A. HIGGINS, acting diiVtor of publicity for CBS, has reined to start his own public relaons service. Until a successor is appointed Luther Reid, news editor, will act as temporary head of the Department. Mr. Higgins, who was named publicity director last spring when John S. G u d e was transferred to the network's station relations department as assistant to Herbert V. Akerberg, is a graduate of Kansas University. His first newspaper job was with the \ Kansas City Star, followed by six ivears with UP before he entered jradio in the nress department of JNBC. Transfering to CBS, he [served as news editor for more Ithan three years before his promotion. Luther Reid, who succeeded Hig: gins as news editor last spring, began his career as a reporter for the Washington Daily \ews, later becoming city editor and news editor of that paper. After several years with AP in Washington, Reid returned to his native state of Oklahoma to serve as managing editor of several papers, returning East in 1935 as special adviser tn Gen. Hueh S. Johnson. He joined CBS in the fall of 1936. Less Political Time on Air This Fall Causes Dip in Revenues of Networks First Dividend Declared On Its Common by RCA DECLARING its fir.st dividend in history on its outstanding common stock, amounting to 20 cents per share payable Dec. 21. together with a dividend of $31.25 a share on old preferred B stock and the regular quarterly of 8712 cents a .share on new convertible Preferred, RCA on Nov. 6 disclosed its earning statement for the third quarter of 1937 and for the first nine months of this year. Gross operating revenues of RCA and its subsidiaries, including NBC. aggregated $30,279,802 for the third quarter compared to $25,345,735 for the same period of last year, an increase of $4,934,067. Net income after all charges was $1,951,726. Gross operating revenues for the first nine months of this vear totalled $83,447,424, compared to $69,727,836 in the corresponding nine months of last year, an in crease of $13,719,588. Net income for the first nine months after all expenses and charges was $6,599,111. Pate Heads KNOW JAMES W. PATE has been appointed manager of KNOW, Austin, in addition to his duties as manager of WACO, Waco, and will divide his time between these two Hearst stations. R. E. Glasgow, of the WACO staff, has been appointed assistant manager of that station. On Nov. 9 KNOW was granted a construction permit to install new equipment and to change its vertical radiator and was also given the right to increase its daytime power from 100 to 250 watts. The WACO application for a similar power increase will be heard by the FCC on Nov. 30. POLITICAL business last year is cited as the reason national networks reported lower billings for the month of October, 1937, than for the same month last year. Total time sales of NBC, CBS and MBS for October, 1937, were $6,110,192, a loss of 9.1% from billings for the same month a year ago. For the year to date, however, these nationwide radio net\vorks still show incomes well ahead of those for the first ten months of last year, with a 1937 cumulative total of $56,475,997 as compared with last year's $47,362,200, an increase of 19.2%. Considered individually, NBCRed had an October income of $2,222,803, a loss of 8.1% from the month a year ago. NBC-Blue reported $1,116,936, a loss of 12.7%. CBS showed the highest income for the month, $2,564,259, but even that was less than last year's by 6.9%. Mutual's $206,194 was 14.7':^ less than October, 1936. Individual cumulative figures for the year, January through October, show NBC's combined networks totaling $31,630,854, an increase of 15.4% over the $27,496,632 for the ten months' period in 1936. CBS total of $23,339,801 beats last year's figure of $18,304,878 by 27.5%. MBS shows a slight loss for the year to date, its 1937 billings of $1,505,342 being 3.5^^ below those for the same period of last year. Cro88 Monthly Time NBC-Red % Gain Sales I9S7 Over mse 193C Jan. . $2,374,633 37.6% $1,725,172 Feb. 2.273.973 34.0 1.697.524 March 2.531,322 32.2 1.915.357 April _ __ 2.304.035 30.7 1.762.201 May __ _^ 2.261.344 37.0 1.650.046 June 2.211.560 48.4 1,490.426 July __ 2.018.920 25.1 1.613.148 Aug. 2.094.306 34.8 1.553.540 Sept. _ __ 2.057,513 3.2 1.993.371 Oct. __ __ 2,222.803 —8.1 2.417.743 NBC-BIoe 22.0^-^ $ 956.643 Feb. _ 1.021.809 0.5 1,016.776 March 1,082.961 — 3.5 1,122.516 April __ 973.802 —0.6 979.727 May __ 953.475 4.6 911.674 June 791.827 —4.9 833.030 July __ 688.630 —15.7 816.835 Aug. 690.671 —20.5 868.891 Sept. 793.068 —11.2 893.266 Oct. __ 1,116,936 —12.7 1,278.746 CBS Jan. _ _ $2,378,620 24.20i $1,901,023 Feb. 2.264.317 18.6 1.909.146 March 2.559.716 17.8 2.172.382 April • ._ 2.563.478 31.4 1.950.939 May __ 2.560.558 46.4 1.749.517 June 2.476.576 64.8 1.502.768 July __ __ 1.988.412 53.8 1.292.755 Aug. 1.955.280 58.6 1.232.588 Sept. . 2.028.585 10.3 1.838.932 Oct. — 2,564,259 —6.9 2,754,808 MBS Jan. $ 187,362 12.7% $ 166.266 Feb. .._ 202.088 24.4 162.358 March __ 220.256 15.0 191.483 April 173.746 24.3 139.834 May _ ___ 133.432 2.7 129.907 June 99.136 —5.1 104.510 July 84.362 —23.0 109.561 Aug. 79.556 —31.5 116.223 Sept. .__ 119.210 —29.4 168.919 Oct. _ ___ 206.194 —14.7 271.629 CBS Income Report GROSS income of CBS and its subsidiary companies from sales during the 39 weeks ending last Oct. 2 amounted to $24,926,420 compared to $18,898,721 for the same period of 1936, according to the consolidated income statement of the net-' work sent to stockholders early in November. Net profit after taxes and all charges amounted to $3,053,416 during the nine-month period of 1937, compared to $2,451,740 for the same period of 1936. CLEVELAND STUNT WHK-WCLE Start Celebrity Picking Contest WHK and WCLE, Cleveland, have started a promotion campaign using advertisements in all three local newspapers and spots on both stations to promote a secret celebrities contest, with $1,000 in cash to be awarded Christmas to listeners who identify 61 prominent Clevelanders who broadcast anonymously. Two daily broadcasts are carried, with newspaper copy listing names of 12 of the celebrities to aid contestants. Radio editors of local papers are judges, and are selecting celebrities as well. Listeners will submit letters not over 200 words long with entries, telling what broadcasting can do for Cleveland. ASCAP Mailing Index of Numbers Preliminary Compilation Now Covers 25,000 Numbers THE ASCAP index of some 25,000 of the most used musical compositions currently is being distributed to broadcasting stations who have requested it, E. C. Mills, chairman of the ASCAP administrative committee, announced Nov. 10. The index shows the title of the work, names of the composer, author and publisher and the name of the society, if any, having jurisdiction over the performing rights. It is designed for use as an aid to stations in checking copyright ownership. It also covers restricted compositions and the ASCAP plan is to keep it up-to-date by deletions and additions as they are made by members covering such restricted works. "It is the intention of ASCAP to supplement this preliminary index as rapidly as possible with additional titles as soon as the same can be prepared, until it shall cover practically the entire field of used or usable music," Mr. Mills informed Broadcasting. ASCAP also planned to add the names and addresses of all musical copyright owners as far as they can be ascertained. A large production job was entailed in devising the index, Mr. Mills pointed out. More than 2,000,000 gummed sheets, containing 10 titles to the sheet and perforated so that each title may be detached and aflSxed to a 3 x 5 filing card have been produced. This represents the first effort ever made to assemble a complete card index of musical compositions of the type used in public performances, Mr. Mills stated. The index is being furnished gratis by ASCAP to licensed stations, and constitutes a voluntary "good will gesture upon its part toward the broadcasting industry," he said. * * * FINAL ratification of the new contract of the Songwriters Protective Assn., is being held up fpr minor changes in language, which will probably be clarified within another week. The contract has been returned from the West Coast, where it received 100% approval by SPA members there. REAL DRAMA— Irving Reis, noted director of the CBS Drama Workshop, enjoyed some nice thrills landing a tuna. W. B. Lewis, CBS vice-president in charge of programs, snapped these shots showing Reis hooking and landing the tuna, and his final smile of victory. Reis on Jan. 2 will become a writer-director for Paramount. He is under a five-year contract to CBS, only six months of which have been completed and negotiations are under way to allow him to continue the Workshop program from Hollywood. He sails from New York Dec. 18 for Hollywood. Paramount contract, set by CBS Artists' Bureau, guarantees Mr. Reis the title of director after one year. Rev. Smith for Fr. Coughlin REV. GERALD L. K. SMITH, national chairman of the Committee of One Million, and former disciple of Huey Long, started Nov. 14 a series of 26 weekly broadcasts over an independent network of from 60 to 75 stations. This is practically the same network previously contracted for but dropped by Father Coughlin. The series is handled by the same agency, Albert M. Ross Inc., New York. New York outlets are WHN and WMCA. The broadcasts are officially claimed to be non-religious and non-political, but Rev. Smith, in his capacity as chairman of the committee, is definitely anti-Communist and anti-New Deal in his views. HAVING recently secured authorization for a new 100-watt local in Couer d'AIene, Ida., to be known as KGCI, Clarence Berger and Chester Howarth have applied to the FCC for another local on 1420 kc. in Wallace, Ida. BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising ISovemher 15, 1937 • Page 11