Broadcasting (Jan - June 1940)

New Television Requirements (Continued from page 87) In early spring, Chicago & Southern will in* augurate a new fleet of giant Douglas DC-3, 21 Passenger Planes. IT PAYS TO immm •it via "The Valley Level Route North, south, east or west — fast,_ comfortable planes are waiting to carry you swiftly and safely to your destination. Flying saves time, and time is money for business men. Successful men fly because they know the man who flies gets there first, sees more customers, signs more orders, makes more money for himself and his family. And they enjoy many real advantages over earthbound travelers because they avoid many tiresome days and nights on the road. They arrive at the end of their journey rested and refreshed, fit and eager for work or play. next time you plan a trip FLY Low Air Travel Fares New York-New Orleans $73.85 Boston-St. Louis 65.45 Cleveland-Memphis 43.70 Chicago-St. Louis 12.45 Chicago-Birmingham 40.28 Detroit-New Orleans 57.85 Pittsburgh-Memphis 45.70 10% reduction on round trips For Reservations Call Your Travel Agent or CHICAGO and SOUTHERN APi. lifted, 'The Valley Level Route" "shall not take precedence over experimental service, but shall be subordinated to it." Then the rules require that stations submit quarterly reports or forms prescribed by the Commission of their charges and costs, as well as of other pertinent information which may be of assistance to the Commission in evaluating the economic feasibility of television broadcasting as a regular service to the public on a commercial basis. It is with this provision too that some attorneys quarrel, on the ground that the law does not authorize the Commission to distinguish between experimental and commercial operations and that it has no jurisdiction whatever over rates, charges, or other fiscal operations of stations. Such control ■usually is vested in agencies regulating commercial carrier activities and since radio broadcasting is distinctly classified as a non-public utility in the law, it is felt that the Commission may be setting a precedent veering from the intent of the statute. Minimum Schedule In connection with operating requirements, the new rules specify that Class II stations shall maintain a minimum scheduled program service of ten hours per week throughout the license period. Class I stations, or those which will engage in technical research, will not be required to operate any specified number of hours and shall not operate to render a "regtilarly scheduled television broadcast service to the public." Both Class I and Class II stations can be assigned to the same frequency but no Class I station shall cause objectionable interference to a Class II station, designed to engage in research f.nd experimentation "for the development of the art in its program phases". In its unanimous report (Commissioners Case and Walker absent) the Commission emphasized the need for further improvement in the technical quality of television. It said it felt the public should have available various sizes of JIMMIE ALLEN says: "I believe I can give you bigger sales increases per dollar spent than you can get by any other method — let me prove it." Up to 650 transcribed episodes (World transcribed) available. Proven merchandising plan. You can buy rights for any book — 65 episodes per book. Write for price and information,— stating number of episodes wanted, radio stations, etc. Audition record sent $4.00 C. O. D. Money back when returned. RUSSELL C. COMER CO. 101 W. 11th St., Kansas City, Mo. screens and that it regarded as essential development of greater definition of image before widespread public endorsement of television will be realized. Justifying its action in declining to approve transmission standards, the Commission said that to have done so would have tended to freeze the art and result in an abatement of research. It added that nothing should be done "which will encourage a large public investment in receivers, which by reason of technical advances when tiltimately introduced, may become obsolete in a relatively short time." Efifective Date Some questions arose as to the Commission's intent in this statement, particularly whether it would view as improper widespread promotion by manufacturers to stimulate sales of visual receivers. In this connection a number of manufacturers, led by RCA, already are perfecting plans for sales and merchandising activities in areas having available visual transmission. While the rules permitting limited commercial operation do not become effective until Sept. 1, all other provisions of the new regulations are immediately operative. Nominally, the FCC can act immediately on pending applications for new television stations, of which there are 25, but it is expected that it will be in no great hurry to do so until the allocations questions are settled following the FM hearings. Similarly, plans of NBC, GE and perhaps others to establish television relays, looking toward networking of visual radio may be forced to await definite allocations policy stemming from the March 18 hearings. In repeatedly emphasizing in its report that television still constitutes an experimental operation, the Commission stated that it was not unsympathetic with the desire of manufacturers to recoup their pioneering investments in television. It pointed out that the loss to the public by premature purchase in a rapidly advancing field might in a relatively short time exceed many times the present total cost of research, estimated at some $25,000,000. Holding Back Standards "Such an economic loss in the long run can redound only to the harm of the industry," it was stated. "In view of the apparent proximity of improvements and of the resolution of disptited technical questions, these risks should be taken. The Commission is, therefore, reserving the matter of issuing standards for consideration at some future time." Asserting that standards of engineering performance ultimately should be issued, the Commission said that at the appropriate time it would endeavor to issue standards "promptly". In the interim, Fast Talking PROVING that the female of the species can talk faster than the male was the fact that a stopwatch recorded less than one minute required for the winner of a fast-talking contest on KDYL, Salt Lake City, to read a 261word commercial. She beat Chief Announcer Emerson Smith by five seconds. Contest was a tieup with the photoplay "His Girl Friday". it expressed the hope that the industry would make every effort to maintain a free exchange of ideas and scientific information and that attention will be directed toward building receivers capable, consistent with reasonable cost, of receiving or of being adjusted to receive any reasonable change in methods of synchronization. Such a practice will keep to a minimum the economic loss to those acquiring receivers at this state of the art, it said. Somewhat offsetting these words of caution, the Commission asserted that they should not be construed as an expression of a lack of confidence in television's future. Describing television as a "mighty achievement" the Commission said pioneers in the field have made great advances and that potentially television is of tremendous value to the public generally. THE VOICE OF MISSISSIPPI ma N.B.C Mississippi Exceeds National Business Gains Mississippi business gains exceed national average for second successive montli. See United States News. Feb. 23rd. Jackson Trade Area above 1939 level with percentage increases as follows: auto sales, 15.9; bank debits, 20.3: postal receipts, 05.0; building permits, 73.8; industrial electric power sales, 37.8; telephones in service, 9.7; electric connections, 8.8; natural gas connections, 13.1. To "UP" your business in the growing Mississippi marltet, invest your advertising dollars with WJDX, the dominant radio station in Mississippi. Owned and Operated By LAMAR LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI Page 68 • March 15, 1940 BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising