Broadcasting (July - Dec 1938)

and 1930 respectively, whereas the continuity carried over WLW was dated this year. Power of FCC to Rule On Products Questioned When Mr. Porter introduced FTC documents involving Cystex as well as Kolor-bak, Mr. Patrick objected to their relevancy, declaring that all of the actions antedated the carrying of the programs by WLW. Moreover, he said there was nothing in the orders condemning the products as such but that they simply related to certain continuities broadcast in the past. He added he did not think the Commission could pass on whether the particular continuity involved followed FTC edicts. When Mr. Porter argued that it was a matter for the Commission to determine whether the programs were in the public interest, Mr. Patrick said that hundreds of products are involved in FTC proceedings and that if the Porter contention were upheld, it might be possible to bar all of these products from radio advertising. Mr. Porter said he felt the testimony was important in the light of the WLW contention of "super-service". The cross-fire became so heated that Chairman Case finally concluded that he would be forced to reserve ruling as to whether the testimony was admissible. Mr. Porter again offered for the record the exhibits covering transcripts of WLW programs made by the Grand Island monitoring station at his request. Mr. Patrick said that at the time these were originally offered he had objected to their materiality rather than their accuracy. He stated he had now had the opportunity to examine them and that he wished now to challenge both their accuracy and materiality. In reciting his reasons, he said the transcript did not cover the entire broadcast days and did not show the entire programs. Moreover, he declared the transcripts were studded with "question marks, asterisks and blanks" indicating that many portions were unintelligible. Mr. Porter, however, contended that the querying of certain statements which were not clear bv the reporter was indicative of the fairness of the transcriptions. Thereupon, Mr. Patrick argued that if these records were introduced and held competent, he would also seek to bring out that the onehalf millivolt signal 50% of the time of WLW does not constitute service as evidenced by the fact that the monitoring station at Grand Island could not pick up and transcribe the program service. He said too that in order to appraise the competence of the exhibits it would be necessary to ascertain how the transcripts were made, by whom, and the type of equipment employed. The matter of introduction of the exhibits again was left hanging fire. Says Sponsor Referred Continuities to the FTC On redirect examination by Mr. Patrick, Mr. S h o u s e said that Kolor-bak has been broadcast over a large number of stations for four or five years. Many important stations have carried it. Moreover, he declared that United Remedies, placing the account, has been most FAMILY lives on 165,000 farms and has an annual income f 203,610,000 This large group of farmers, like the rest of the WOWO family, is prosperous. They spend liberally but carefully. They purchase the products advertised over WOWO. Especially important to an advertiser is their continuous buying power which is due to their many sources of income. In the state of Indiana, for example, the eleven leading products account for only 24% of the total farm income. WESTINGHOUSE RADIO STATIONS, Inc. FREE & PETERS National Representatives ♦Residents within the WOWO Primary Area These farmers depend daily upon WOWO to furnish them markets, news, educational features and entertainment. Ul o Ul 1 FORT WAYNE. • INDIANA 1 10,000 Watts; I 160 Kc. NBC Basic Blue Network INDIANA'S MOST POWERFUL RADIO STATION! meticulous in requesting stations J not to change continuity because the company has held it had ' checked the continuity with the I Trade Commission. He said that \ Kolor-bak has been off WLW since ] April because of expiration of the contract. Regarding Cystex, Mr. Shouse " said the program had been offered WLW by its representative at a time when he was in Washington preparing for the June 6 hearings on rules and regulations. The account was accepted subject to cancellation, he said, because of his 1 enforced absence. On his first trip back to Cincinnati, even though the client had agreed to make material changes in the continuity, he said he cancelled the program because he felt it did not accord with "good taste" standards. Reference to internal bodily functions were objectionable, he said. The contract could have been a 52week account, he said, but it ran only from the last week in May to the middle of June. Bedding Claims Valid, But Account W as Dropped Regarding the Chicago Bedding Co. account, Mr. Shouse said the copy contained a line to which objection had been raised. This statement was that a mattress equal to the quality of the $39.50 product was offered at $17 on the direct sale basis. He said he had no reason to believe it untrue since a mark-up of 150% in furniture is not unusual. After broadcast of several of these programs, a furniture dealer contended some of the claims were too strong and as a result of conversations and investigations, it was decided to discontinue the program because it was not "important to us." He added he had gone over the situation very carefully and that he was reassured as to the validity of the claims but that in spite of this the account was cancelled. Again taking up questioning of Mr. Shouse, Mr. Porter asked whether the Kolor-bak continuity, a passage from which he had read into the record, constituted the type of continuity that accorded with WLW policy. After argument as to the propriety of the question, Mr. Shouse said that taking into account the time of the day, the type of the product involved and the policy of WLW on such accounts during this year, he felt copy of that character was acceptable to the station. Commissioner Craven asked whether any difficulty was experienced in getting advei'tisers to change continuity. Mr. Shouse said this varied from account to account and that there was no hard and fast yardstick. In connection with Tlggi Ready! YOU can have for the asking a new 32-page book showing the most startling survey in Chicago Radio History, field intensity surveys and data that prove these stations America's greatest publicity investment! WGESWCBD-WSBC Chicago Page 56 • August J, 1938 BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising MM