Broadcasting (Jan - June 1941)

President, Knox, Early Favor Voluntary Censorship of News Publication of British Battleship Arrival Leads To Official Requests for More Supervision HANDICAP FOR FILM Radio Picture Exploitation Hit by Copyright CALLS for increasing voluntary control of news on tho part of broadcasters and newspaper publishers were voiced in three closelytied quarters during the last week — President Roosevelt, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, and White House Press Secretary Stephen T. Early. The spurt in censorship talk resulted from a needling of the news situation early last week when several newspapers published pictures and news stories on the arrival of a damaged British battleship in New York harbor. No Aid to Enemies Commending radio and the press for their cooperation in handlingcertain situations arising from the war, particularly such events as the arrival of the battleship for repair at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox last Monday asked still further voluntary censorship to avoid giving any information which may benefit the Axis powers. "The Lease-Lend Act makes the United States a repair base for British war vessels," Secretary Knox declared. "It is true that many people can see these ships as they arrive and depart and before they are swallowed up in Navy yards. It is also true that enemy agents can report these movements; but it seems to me only sportsmanlike that the keen American press refrain from giving a report of these ships for the benefit of Britain's enemies. At the present time this sort of reporting is of inestimable military value to the Germans. "If a British warship arrives in a British yard for repair the fact does not appear in print, broadcast or picture. The British people know how vital it is to keep that sort of information down to the minimum. Since the United States kas promised to give all aid to Great Britain, so far as repairs are concerned, it seems to me that it is our patriotic duty to keep such information about British war vessels to a minimum. That minimum, to my way of thinking, is to print nothing. I sincerely believe the thoughtful press will agree with this opinion." The few papers publishing accounts of the arrival of the ship drew fire from President Roosevelt at his press conference last Tuesday. The President declared that he considered the papers' editorials, published the day following the news stories to explain their stand, the lamest excuses to try and .get square with their readers that he had ever heard. He said it was interesting to note that at the same time other newspapers were editorially advocating legal censorship. "I'd much prefer to go along with the overwhelming majority of newspapers at this time," President Roosevelt declared in commenting on the action of newspapers and press services in omitting mention of the ship's arrival. He indicated that at present nothing else was in sight but this type of voluntary control of news. Early's Viewpoint Following up the situation at his own press conference last Wednesday, Mr. Early reemphasized President Roosevelt's stand, terming the plan for voluntary control "not a censorship, but an attempt to avoid censorship". "All this will work out on voluntary ground. It's got to," Mr. Early declared, citing the educational value of the New York incident. "We don't want censorship. The newspapers don't want censorship. The President doesn't want it, I don't want and Lowell Mellett does not want censorship." When it was pointed out that some control must necessarily be exerted on outgoing messages from the United States to foreign countries if the voluntary plan is to work. Secretary Early indicated this was an important question for study by the Defense Communications Board headed by FCC Chairman James Lawrence Fly. Completing Disc Code COMMITTEE representing the transcription industry met with executives of the American Federation of Radio Artists last Wednesday and Friday to clean up the last details of the AFRA transcription code, which is expected to be signed this week, according to Emily Holt, AFRA executive secretary. Same procedure will be followed as with the network code, Mrs. Holt explained, with the transcription producers signing the contracts and the advertising agencies writing letters acknowledging the terms. KEYS, Corpus Christi, Tex., was Ki'imted a license to cover its construction permit by the FCC April 10. Station was authorized bv the FCC last Oct. 29 to use 250 watts on 1490 kc. ALTHOUGH 20th Century-Fox Studios produced a cavalcade of radio titled "The Great American Broadcast," the firm is not able to use that media to full effect for exploiting the motion picture. Primarily a musical, the film has eight songs by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren, none of which can be plugged on the networks because of the current radio-ASCAP controversy. To offset loss of network plugs, 20th Century-Fox is framing special exploitation musical trailers to be used in theatres and plans a series of music transcriptions to be released on more than 200 stations with ASCAP license agreements. Although he will not be given screen credit and at his own request too, Ted Sherdeman, NBC Hollywood writer-producer, collaborated in writing the screen play. Joseph Aiken, sound man on the picture, doubled as technical advisor. He was technical assistant on the first big public event broadcast, the election of President Harding, in 1920. He has done much subsequent radio work, pioneering in early musical broadcasts. BMVs SHEET SALES 1,165,000 IIS YEAR APPROXIMATELY 1,165,000 copies of BMI popular songs were sold during the radio-owned music publishing house's first year of operation, reports Julius P. Witmark, general sales manager. He added that this figure does not include the songs of the other companies affiliated with BMI. "BMI," he said, "may well be proud of its sheet music sales total when it is considered that during 1939, a banner year, the total sales of popular sheet music produced by 130 ASCAP publishers was 16,000,000." Breakdown of BMI's ton selling songs during the last year follows: I Hear A Rhapsody 190,000 There I Go 150,000 You Walk By 110,000 I Give You My Word 90,000 So You're the One 80,000 High on A Windy Hill 70,000 It All Comes Back to Me Now 70,000 Practice Makes Perfect 70,000 May I Never Love Again 60,000 Wise Old Owl 50,000 25 other BMI songs 225,000 Consumer Group Lauds Power of Broadcasting In Education of Public SOCIAL EFFECTS of national defense activity and media for consumer education were discussec. at the third National Conference on Consumer Education, held last week at Stephens College, Columbia, Mo. About 500 educators, governmental spokesman, housewives and business representatives attended the conference sponsored by the Institute for Consumer Education, supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Harriet Elliott, Consumer Commisisoner of the National Defense Advisory Comrnission, advocated combating unjustified price rises, speculative forward buying, and "scare" advertising which she described as "advertising which tends through fear of price increase to induce consumers to make purchases." In a roundtable discussion led by Hilda Smith, director of the Worker's Service Program of the WPA, the increased use of radio in consumer education program was urged. Work of the General Federation of Women's Clubs with their weekly Saturday morning broadcast, the marketing programs sponsored by the U. S. Department of Agriculture and the Farm & Home Hour were commended. In tl.e case of the first named, it was pointed out that broadcasts sponsored by that organization are devoted to some informative selling angle in dramatized form, and participants urged the greater use of independent stations for consumer education programs. In a roundtable led by Keith Tyler, director of evaluation of school broadcasts of Ohio State U, it was generally agreed that radio was one of the most powerful media through which the consumer educator could work and one which at the present was not being used to its fullest advantage. BULL SESSION luncheon had these Hollywood executives, representing agencies and network, discussing various problems in radio. They are (1 to r), James Fonda, Lord & Thomas radio production supervisor; Robert Temple, account executive of Raymond R. Morgan Co.; Roger Huston, Southern California manager of Radio Sales, the CBS national sales division; and William Gay, production assistant to William Moore, West Coast manager of Wm. Esty & Co. SIXP & G SERIALS ON CBS REALIGNED PROCTER & GAMBLE Co., Cincinnati, continuing to realign its radio schedule after the recent removal of its programs from the NBC-Blue [Broadcasting, March 10], on April 28 will rearrange the six P&G serials on CBS. Programs involved in the changes are : Life Can Be Beautiful, 1-1:15 p.m., on 37 stations for Ivory soap, will add five stations of the CBS Southeastern group, and will advertise Ivory Flakes instead of soap. Woman in White, 1:15-1:30 p.m., currently on 34 stations for Camay, after April 28 will advertise Oxydol. and will add 16 CBS outlets and 25 CBC stations. The program will be broadcast on the 25 Canadian stations via transcription at 10:30-10:45 p.m. Right to Happiness, 1:30-1:45 p.m., on 38 CBS and 17 CBC stations for Crisco, will add six midwestern stations. Road of Life, 1:45-2 p.m., on 26 stations for Chipso. will add seven midwestern stations which will carry commercials for Dreft. The O'Neills on 17 stations for Ivory soap and The Goldbergs on 22 stations will exchange time when the former is moved into 6-5:15 p.m. period, while the latter is shifted to 5:15-5:30 p.m. The Goldbergs, which now advertises Oxydol, will be on for Duz after April 28. The Camay and Chipso accounts are handled by Pedlar & Ryan. New York ; Oxydol by Blackett-Sample-Hummert, Chicago; Crisco. Duz. Ivory soap and Ivory Flakes by Compton Adv., New York. The Ivory Flakes account will be transferred to Benton & Bowles, New York, after July 1. BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising April 14, 1941 • Page 11