Broadcasting (July - Dec 1938)

Technician Status To Be Considered Wages -Hours Administration To Decide if Professionals THE STATUS of the broadcast technician under the new Wages and Hours law, to determine whether he is a professional within the meaning of the law and therefore not subject to the 44hour week maximum, will be discussed at a conference to be held in the near future, it was learned Oct. 12 at the Wages-Hours Administration. It is conceded that pay scales for technicians generally are far above the minimum specified in the law but the worK-week constitutes an issue in view of the fact that technicians at some stations are employed more than the 44-hour maximum. A conference on tentative rules regarding the denning of terms under Section 13 (A) (1), relating to "executive, administrative, professional" positions is planned with representative major industries in attendance, it was said. From this conference it is hoped the limitations covering these groups of employes will be evolved and will classify professional employes of various types, such as accountants, engineers and possibly technicians. Must Exercise Judgment Question arises as to whether broadcast technicians actually are professional or nonprofessional, since they must use discretion and judgment in the performance of their duties, such as monitoring of programs to cut off speakers who might make libelous or profane statements and other elements of discretion which fall outside the purely mechanical field. Radio artists are likewise considered professionals, while juveniles appearing on programs are expected to be exempted under the Child Labor provisions of the Act which do not apply to "child actors in motion pictures or theatrical productions." Wages-Hours officials felt that broadcast programs would fall in this category. Wages-Hours officials said that while musicians who might work more than the maximum hours might come in the professional category, it was noted that the musicians' union might seek a different arrangement and ask that hours of work provisions apply to members in the broadcast field. ABT In For CBS ANNOUNCEMENT was made Oct. 13 by the National Labor Re1 a t i o n s Board that Associated Broadcast Technicians had been certified for CBS as its exclusive bargaining agency for radio broadcast technicians and engineers of CBS at all stations except KMOX, St. Louis. A recent secret ballot, it announced, disclosed that 128 of the CBS technicians voted for ABT as against 68 for American Communications Association, CIO affiliate. STANDARD VITAMIN'S Corn. (Candicod) is planning : spot announcement campaign in about eight markets of the northeast, definite plans for which will be announced later this month. Peck Adv. Agency, New York, is the agency. Don Lee Patents Sold DON LEE Broadcasting System, Los Angeles, has sold patent rights of television synchronization equipment to RCA. Apparatus, invented by Harry Lubcke, director of television of the Don Lee network, is applicable to both receivers and transmitters. Sale, negotiated by Lewis Allen Weiss, general manager of Don Lee network, includes rights in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Germany. Don Lee reserves rights to continue use of the equipment in the United States. Firm also holds numerous other patents in this as well as foreign countries, on television apparatus invented by Lubcke. Don Lee Network has been televising radio shows since 1931 and has used ten and a half million feet of motion picture film during that time. Current broadcasts include live talent as well. Newspapers Get Control Of WGH, Newport News SALE of controlling interest in WGH, Newport News, Va., by James W. Baldwin, former NAB managing director, to the Daily Press Inc., publishers of the Newport News Daily News and TimesHerald, for $21,875 in cash, has been effected, subject to FCC approval. An application for voluntary assignment was filed with the FCC Oct. 11. Mr. Baldwin is owner of 175 shares or 66 % of the outstanding common stock of WGH, which he acquired about four years ago. The remaining 90 shares of issued stock are held by E. E. Bishop, general manager of WGH, and, it is understood, are not involved in the sale. Raymond B. Bottom is president and publisher of the newspapers and recently applied unsuccessfully for a new local in Newport News. The station operates on 1310 kc, with 250 watts day and 100 watts night. Olson Rug on Seven OLSON RUG Co., Chicago, on Oct. 10 started thrice weekly quarterhour disc or live shows on WJSV WBBM WCFL WJR WOR WBT WLW. Presba, Fellers & Presba is the agency. PROMINENT officials of Blackett-Sample-Hummert, Chicago, on Oct. 11 broached a plan whereby stations give rebates to clients to help defray mechanical costs of transcriptions. Blackett SampleHummert, which is geared to operate a large transcription department, stated that only 35 to 40% of revenue from network shows goes to the stations while station revenue from disc shows totals 70V>. ■ To equalize this differential, Blackett-Sample-Hummert officials proposed that a plan be devised whereby rebates would be made to the agency's clients, suggesting as alternatives time discounts, flat fee reductions of perhaps $10 per disc show, station pay cost of pressings, or straight 7%% rebates. It was emphasized by BlackettSample-Hummert that it costs a client $35,000 mechanical charges Maestro Returns ARTURO TOSCANINI Toscanini Again Directs NBC Symphonic Series SECOND series of Saturday night concerts by the NBC Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Arturo Toscanini was scheduled to begin Oct. 15, 10-11:30 p. m., on the Blue network. The famous conductor returned to New York from Italy on the Normandie, arriving Oct. 10, and on the following day he held his first rehearsal of the new season. Of the orchestra's 94 members, 74 are veterans of last year's series and 20 are newcomers. Mischa Mischakoff is again concertmaster, with Henri Nosco and Remo Bolognini as his assistants. The new series had considerable publicity when rumor arose that the Italian Government had taken up Toscanini's passport and that he would not be allowed to return to America. Inability of European correspondents to locate the conductor or to get any definite word from either his family or government officials kept the story on front pages for nearly a week, until Toscanini's arrival in France and his embarkation on the Normandie attested to the fact that he was still free to leave Italy. for five weekly quarter-hour shows on a 52-week basis. The agency argued that it costs a station no more to air a disc show than a network show, so client should not have to pay this added production charge. Implied threat of the agency was to set up a preferred list of stations, using only those willing to rebate. If this were done, it was argued by Chicago radio men that stations giving such rebates might be cited by other stations under the unfair trade practices act of the Federal Trade Commission. Blackett Sample Hummert officials discussed with station men and station representatives plans for absorbing the differential, stating that the agency's idea had nothing to do with representation and was not intended to cut representation fees. Opinion among Chicago radio men is that the Black Radio Given Major Role At Oct. 20 Convention Of Pacific Coast AAAA WITH the radio departmental playing a major role on its program, the first convention of the new Pacific Council, American Association of Advertising Agencies will be held at Hotel Del Monte, Del Monte, Cal., Oct. 20 and 21. Agency and radio men from throughout the coastal region will be in attendance at the two day conclave, of which David M. Botsford of Botsford, Constantine & Gardner, San Francisco, is chairman. Tom F. Harrington, manager, radio department, Young & Rubicam Inc. Hollywood, is chairman of the radio departmental, with the principal presentation to occur at noon Oct. 20 when representatives of a major network, an advertising agency, a radio artist and a large advertiser will present their views under the general subject: "What We Expect of Each Other." Jack Benny and Don Wilson of the Jello program, will uphold the artist's end; Donald D. Thornburgh, vicepresident of CBS in charge of the western division, will speak for the networks; Harold Deal, vicepresident of the Pacific Advertising Clubs and advertising and promotion director of Tidewater Associated Oil Co., Associated Division, will uphold the advertiser's end and Thomas McAvity of the Lord & Thomas Hollywood office, will speak on behalf of the advertising agency. More For Si-Noze SI-NOZE Co., Chicago (hay fever remedy), is using spot on the following stations : 100 two-minute announcements on KMA, Shenandoah; daily programs on WKBH, La Crosse, Wis., to run for 13 weeks; six musical programs a week on KRLD, Dallas; and 100 announcements on WNAX, Yankton, S. D. Other stations will be added, according to the agency, Frankel-Rose Co., Chicago. ett-Sample-Hummert plan is a "time chisel" and that if adopted it will simply cause stations to raise their rates to absorb it. John Shepard 3d, president of Yankee and Colonial networks, declares the mechanical cost problem is an industry matter to be reviewed by the entire industry. He said: "I have always believed there was justice in stations assuming the mechanical costs of transcribed programs the same as networks assume wire charges. The difficulty, however, is to work it out on a fair basis. Each station can conceivably allow for the cost of the individual pressings used on that station. But the question is how to allow for the proportion of the cost of the master in view of the fact that a different number of stations would be used on different programs. "Under no condition do I feel that a flat percentage should be used as there are altogether too many percentages added to our operating costs. I also feel a change of policy like this is an industry matter and should be taken up by a committee of the American Association of Advertising Agencies and the NAB and that individual stations should not agree to this until it is reviewed by the industry. I hope the NAB will make such a request." B-S-H Proposes Rebates From Discs; Station Men Term It a *Time Chisel9 Page 12 • October 15, 1938 BROADCAST KNG • Broadcast Advertising