Broadcasting (July - Dec 1942)

FLYING HIGH is Dave Young, former sports announcer of KABC, San Antonio, as he receives the Sporting News Trophy voted annually to the most popular baseball announcer in the Texas League, from Early Wilson, station president. Knovsm to the Army as Cadet David Olds, he is currently qualifying as a lieutenant in navigation. The award was for 1941, marking his second consecutive selection for the honor, and was presented as part of the ceremonies of soldiers' night at the San Antonio park. position, he said he certainly had "no objection to that approach". The case of KOB, Albuquerque, operating under a special service authorization on 770 kc, clear channel on which WJZ, New York, is dominant, was brought into focus by Rep. Sanders. He asked particularly whether the situation was one wherein the parties could not litigate because of the type of authorization given KOB, which was not in fact a license, recalling the court decision in the WLW case involving this issue. Mr. Fly explained, after consultation with his counsel, that KOB was one of the stations left without an assignment under the Havana Treaty reallocation and that it has operated on different frequencies in the quest for a permanent spot for it, without injury to ether stations. He said it was unlike the WLW case, since there the question was pure experimentation, and the FCC concluded that the experiment was over. Purely An Engineering Problem, He Explains k Asserting that KOB would either have to be closed down or a home found for it, Mr. Fly said it was purely an engineering problem and if a frequency could be found that would do a good job without get 50,000 WATTS CLEAR CHANNEL Exclusive NBC Outlet MINNEAPOLIS • SAINT PAUL Represented Nationally by Edw. Petry Co. ting on either an eastern or northern station clear channel, the Commission would be glad to do it. Describing KOB as "one of the best stations in the country", Mr. Fly pointed out that it is seldom that interests are found willing to make substantial investments to serve a sparsely settled area. Mr. Sanders commented that if the Commission could issue special service authorizations of the KOB type in one case, it could do it "in others" and inquired whether it was desirable to have Congress lay down the policy. Chairman Fly said such steps would tend to make it more difficult for the Commission to function. Asserting that "radio waves don't stay at home", Mr. Fly pointed to the international implications of radio and said the FCC, faced with the problem of maintaining "the best broadcasting system in this country", must be able to meet these critical situations as they arise. He warned against taking away the FCC's power in this regard. When Rep. Sanders asked whether WJZ could not appeal the KOB authorization because it doesn't have a regular license and therefore would have no standing in court, Mr. Fly asserted he thought this was incorrect, but that he had not made the requisite legal study. He added that if a regular license was insisted upon for KOB, the station might have to go off the air. Rep. Sanders commented that "you can take them off the air anyway", and Mr. Fly countered that this assumed the Commission was arbitrary. "If that is the assumption here, you ought to abolish the Commission and get another," he said. "We may as well not have this Commission at all and go back to 1926." Describes Letter Commenting On Bill Referring to a letter dated Sept. 18 from Chairman Fly to Chairman Lea, commenting on the Sanders Bill, Mr. Sanders asked whether this was the result of an FCC meeting or Mr. Fly's personal opinion. The chairman said it was WCMR Influencing Sales FAR Beyond Pontiac In cities . . . villages . . . farms . . . for miles and miles around Ponfiac . . . the messages of national, regional and local advertisers are heard over WCAR's 1000 streamlined watts. if WCAR PONTIAC, MICHIGAN or the Foreman Co. • Chicago • New York official and had cleared through the Bureau of the Budget. Chairman Fly could not recall whether the matter was actually taken up at a meeting or circulated among commissioners. He said he had no doubt that the Sanders Bill was discussed at Commission meetings on several occasions, but did not recall precisely how it came up. He added it was not at all unlikely that the letter was circulated but that this had no bearing on the facts. The letter itself was drafted by the FCC law department and "was not any more my property than that of any other commissioner," he said. Asked by Rep. Sanders whether it would not be desirable to have such legislative matters considered by the Commission as a whole, Mr. Fly said he thought it was. He added there is some divergence of opinion on the FCC and he thought the Committee would find that Commissioner Craven disagreed with some portions of the outline of his testimony on the Sanders Bill, which previously had been distributed to Commission members. Rep. Sanders then alluded to a Dec. 12, 1941 Commission document dealing with activities of a committee created for the organization of a censorship office, on which the FCC was represented. Mr. Fly recalled this meeting was called a few days after the war and that FCC Chief Engineer E. K. Jett and Attorney Harry Plotkin had attended these sessions and had continued their contacts. Rep. Sanders then quoted an extract dealing with control of "views and opinions" over the air and the statement that the FCC had the power to revoke licenses on that basis. Youngdahl Told His Opinion Is 'Moonshine' Agreeing with the statement, Mr. Fly said it related to war activity and to possible subversive use of radio. He disagreed violently with Rep. Sanders' contention that this stemmed from a peacetime law, asserting it was directed to wartime application. When any station violates a fundamental law, the FCC can refuse to let it continue operation, Mr. Fly said. Mr. Fly said he had no objection to the suggestion of Rep. Sanders that there might be a grant of power in wartime to meet special conditions, but said that "we're looking for things to worry about". He commented that there had been no serious difficulties on subversive use of stations since the war. When Mr. Fly pointed out that 90% of the FCC's work was devoted to the war and that, with all Three cities thriving with diversified industry, plus 29 prosperous urban communities — in the midst of 11,000,000 acres of the nation's richest farm land. Mr. Emil F. Halbach, Vice President, Halbach-Schroeder Co. (leading Department Store) : "We have used a 15-minufe program on WTAD six times a week for several years, and additional spots from time to time. The fact that we are continuing speaks for itself." Now's the Time to Get WTAD ''Pulling'' for You — Because Radios keep Tuned to ^BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising July 6, 1942 • Page 59