Broadcasting (July - Dec 1938)

FIRST VISITOR to record his voice on the "oral guest book" in the new $100,000 Interior Department studios was Earl Godwin, veteran Washington correspondent, NBC commentator, and president of the White House Correspondents' Assn. Watching as Godwin recorded his impressions of the swanky new government studios are (1 to r) Bernard C. Schoenfeld, chief script writer, Shannon Allen, acting director of the Department's Radio Section, Mr. Godwin, and Aubrey Taylor, assistant director of the Division of Information of the Interior Department. Modern Studio for Governmental Use Is Opened in Interior Dept. Building Three More Get Canada Licenses Power Increases Given Others By Dominion Authority By JAMES MONTAGNES THREE new licenses have been issued for Canadian broadcasting stations, according to W. A. Rush, Controller of Radio, Department of Transport, Ottawa. CHGB is the call of a new 100-watt FrenchCanadian station owned by G. Thos. Desjardins, located at Ste. Anne de la Pocatiere, Quebec, near Quebec City on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The station will operate on 1200 kc. At North Battleford, Sask., a 100watt station license has been granted to C. R. Mcintosh to operate on 1420 kc, but no call letters have been assigned as yet. The license granted to R. W. Starratt for a station at Kenora, Ont., has been assigned the call letters CKCA and will operate with 100 watts on 1420 kc. Power increases have been granted to CHWK, Chilliwack, B. C, from 100 watts to 250 watts; CFRN, Edmonton, from 100 watts to 500 watts; CHAB, Moose Jaw, from 100 watts day and night to 250 watts day and 100 watts night; CJRC, Winnipeg, from 1,000 watts day and 500 watts night to 1,000 watts day and night; CKPR, Port Arthur, from 100 watts to 1,000 watts. Church Station Sold CKFC, Vancouver, has changed ownership from the United Church of Canada to Standard Broadcasting System, with address 1504 Sun Bldg. This 50-watt station was reported sold in February to the Vancouver Sun, but the newspaper at the time officially reported that arrangements had not been completed. The shortwave license which went with CKFC, has also been taken over by the new company. There is no change in power as yet, according to word from Mr. Rush. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp.'s new 50,000 watt transmitter in eastern Canada will go on the air as CBA and will be located at Sackville, New Brunswick, operating on 1050 kc. CBK for Prairies on 540 Kc. The new CBC transmitter for the Prairies will go on the air as CBK on 540 kc, at present used by CJRM, Regina, not far from the proposed site of the new transmitter which has not yet been definitely fixed, according to Donald Manson, chief executive assistant of the CBC. Both CBK and CBA, transmitter in the Maritimes at Sackville, N. B., will use RCA 50,000 watt transmitters, it is officially stated. Type of radiators has not yet been decided. Construction of the two new transmitters is in charge of G. W. Olive, chief CBC engineer and H. N. Smith, CBC design and construction engineer. No date has yet been set for the approximate opening of either station, nor have station managers been appointed yet. Both stations will utilize the latest technical advances made in radio equipment since the construction of the other two CBC 50,000-watt stations built last year — CBL, Torono, and CBF, Montreal. UNCLE SAM'S first big-time radio studios, located in the north penthouse of the new Interior Department Bldg. in Washington, were opened for public inspection early this month. The new studios, estimated to cost about $100,000, will give offices and divisions of the Department of Interior completely modern reproduction and amplification facilities, although transmission facilities will be confined to regular private stations and networks, in keeping with government policy. Tentative plans call for direct line connection with Washington stations and through them with the networks and the Interior Department studios will probably be used as the origination point for many Government broadcasts. However, it is thought that present activities will be limited largely to producing transcriptions for use in particular localities. The National Park Service, the Office of Education and other divisions of the Interior Department which have already used radio extensively will likely be the largest users of the new facilities. Although the studios will be available for use by other government departments, when such use would be more convenient than broadcasting direct from network studios, they are primarily a development of the Interior Department, and are operated under supervision of the Radio Section of the Department's Division of Information. Shannon Allen, formerly with NBC and assistant director of the radio project of the Office of Education, has been appointed director of the Radio Section and Bernard Schoenfeld, former chief script writer of the Radio Project and author of the CBSOffice of Education Brave New World program, is chief script writer. Under the new setup, the Radio Section will be responsible for operation of the studios and will also coordinate requests for time from divisions of the Interior Department or the Public Works Administration, and will represent these agencies in their relations with commercial broadcast stations, which will handle the transmission end. To aid its cooperative work with users of the Government studio, the Radio Section has distributed a pamphlet of suggestions on building radio programs. . Quarters in the Interior Bldg. include two studios, one 41x24% feet, the other 22x13% feet, offices, reception room, artists' lounge and observation gallery, in addition to a control room fully equipped for amplification and transcription. Offices and waiting rooms are furnished modernistically, and the visitor's gallery is equipped with padded theater-type seats. The studios, of full floating construction, are finished in dark-stained birch, with acoustical treatment of walls and ceilings by Johns-Manville. Control room equipment is RCA throughout, with six RCA velocity microphones in the large studio and three RCA inductor mikes in the smaller studio. Presto recording equipment has been installed. Rewarded by Stork MR. AND MRS. WALT FRAME R, the Blessed Eventer and Nan Grayson, respectively, of W W S W, Pittsburgh, are parents of a girl born Aug. 7. Mr. Framer got his chance to beam for his family on the next day's Blessed Eventer during which he announces new babies in the Pittsburgh district. SIX-MONTH PROFIT OF CBS INCREASES IN ANNOUNCING a cash dividend of 25 cents per share on Class A and B stock of $2.50 par value, payable Sept. 9 to stockholders of record Aug. 26, CBS on Aug. 1 informed its stockholders that gross income from the sale of facilities, talent and wires during the first 26 weeks of 1938 ended July 2 amounted to $18,334,605, compared with $17,640,184 during the same period of 1937. After time discounts and agency commissions, the income for the first half of this year was $13,064,692, compared with $12,401,238 during the same period last year. Net profit for the first 26 weeks of this year was $2,578,192, compared with $2,523,813, the equivalent of $1.51 and $1.41 earning per share respectively, calculated on the 1,707,950 shares of $2.50 par value outstanding or to be outstanding. William S. Paley, CBS president, pointed out that the 1938 six months results "should not be understood as foreshadowing the full year's results since indications were that' the third quarter profits would be substantially below those earned during the third quarter of 1937." The CBS balance sheet for the first half of the year showed that $560,210 was set aside for Federal income taxes for the first half of this year, compared with $530,797 for the same period last year. NBC Yields Nearly Half Of RCA Six-Month Gross NEARLY half of the gross income of RCA and its subsidiaries during the first six months of 1938 was represented by time sales by the two NBC networks, according to an analysis of the RCA consolidated income statement for the six months ended June 30 made public Aug. 2. The statement shows a total gross income for RCA from all sources during that period of $45,254,304. NBC monthly time sales reports [Broadcasting, July 15] showed that the two networks grossed $21,023,674 before agency commissions and discounts during the same six-month period. RCA's consolidated statement does not break down income reports by subsidiaries, giving only the total for the whole "RCA family". The Aug. 2 report showed that the $45,254,304 gross income figure compared with $53,167,621 for the same period of 1937. Net profit for the first six months of this year was $2,524,756, equal after preferred dividends to 6.6 cents per share on common stock, compared with $4,647,385, or 21.9 cents per share, during the same 1937 period. My-T-Fine Series PENICK & FORD, New York (My-T-Fine desserts), on Sept. 12 or 19 will start a transcription campaign on 11 eastern stations. The program, titled The Mighty Show, will be heard Mondays through Fridays at 5:45-6 p. m. on WLBZ WEEI WPRO WORC WMAS WNBX WDRC WABC WOKO WIBX WBRK. Agency is BBDO, New York. THOMAS APPLEBY, Washington consulting radio engineer, is conducting a field strength survey for WDAS, Philadelphia. Page 36 • August 15, 1938 BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising