Broadcasting (July - Dec 1942)

ANNUAL DINNER for actors and writing-producing staff connected with the NBC comedy serial The Aldrich Family was held recently in the Shell Room, Radio City, New York, with members of the press, and client and agency representatives on hand. Laughing at some joke just before dinner are (seated) 1 to r: House Jameson, "Mr. Aldrich"; Kay Raht, "Mrs. Aldrich"; and Norman Tokar, "Henry Aldrich". Standing: Charles Wiggins, assistant advertising manager of Postum, product promoted by General Foods Corp. on the show; Francis van Hartesveldt, director of the program; Clifford Goldsmith, its author; and Tom Burch, contact man on the Postum account for Young & Rubicam, New York. Solemnity to Blend With Holiday Spirit In Special Netivork Neiv Year Programs WHERE THEY'LL DO THE MOST GOOD/ Complete coverage of the rich Gulf coast area . . . teaming with war irtdustries and a new listening public. Blue Net work KFDM BEAUMONT More Listening Shown During New York Strike DAYTIME RADIO listening during the period Dec. 8-14 was not as high as the corresponding two weeks in November at the time of the North African invasion, according to C. E. Hooper Inc., New York, although listening on Dec. 14, first day of the strike affecting distribution of eight New York newspapers, was 10% higher in the morning and 5% higher in the afternoon than it was on Nov. 9, first Monday after the Allied invasion. This increase in radio listening during the four-day strike is further substantiated by the fact that evening listening Dec. 15 and 16 was up 12V2% over the corresponding days in November, the Hooper study reported. CIAA Latin Discs U. S. SERVICEMEN of Latin American origin or background will be featured in a projected series of transcriptions to be offered to representative stations of Latin America by the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs. Production of the 13 quarter-hour programs is scheduled to start before the first of the year, with a crew from the CIAA visiting various training centers to make recordings of interviews with the servicemen. Those with musical talent will be invited to contribute musical numbers. Camp bands and choral groups may also be included. Another CIAA project is the preparation of Spanish and Portuguese versions of the OWI-Mutual series, This Is Our Enemy, for broadcast throughout Latin America. Series presents dramatized exposes of Axis brutalities, based on the accounts of eye-witnesses. Rabat Radio to OWl WITH the arrival of Milton S. Eisenhower in North Africa, the Office of War Information announced last week that Radio Morocco at Rabat is now being used by OWI for programs which may now be regarded as trustworthy. It broadcasts in French to the populace and in English for American troops, just as does Radio Algiers which was commandeered at the time of the American landings. Mr. Eisenhower, OWI associate director, left several weeks ago for Africa. He is a brother of Lt. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander of the American forces. THE NEW YEAR will be ushered in on the networks with the usual holiday entertainment, but with special features striking a solemn and retrospective tone in keeping with the times. Taking its cue from President Roosevelt's proclamation of New Year's Day, as a day of prayer. Mutual will present prayers written by representatives of leading denominations, every hour, on the hour Jan. 1, from 8 a.m. to midnight. Presented under the auspices of the Federal Council of Churches, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, and the Synagogue Council, the prayers will in most cases be read by the personality featured on the programs to be heard that day. Newscasters Plan Prayers Newscasters who will devote a minute of prayer, or who will read prayers submitted anonymously by religious leaders, will include Sydney Mosely, Boake Carter, Cal Tinney and Gabriel Heatter. A prayer will be included in the broadcast of the Cotton Bowl game, which is to be shortwaved to American troops overseas in addition to the domestic broadcast on Mutual. New Year's Eve will be marked on Mutual by an hour-long Review of the Year, a dramatic re-enactment of America's first year of World War II. Prominent editors and editorial writers will address NEC listeners from the editorial rooms of ten leading newspapers in as many cities, to give three-minute talks on subjects of their own choosing. New Year's Eve, from 11:30 p.m. to midnight. The round-up, on the general topic of problems facing the nation in 1943, will start in the office of the Christian Science Monitor, Boston, and after a series of cross-country pick-ups, will conclude with a broadcast from the editorial rooms of the New York Times. FROM CRUISER'S DECK Major Nets Carry Broadcast From 'San Francisco' RADIO made history Dec. 11 when the first broadcast to be picked up from the deck of a big warship was aired by the four major networks when the damaged heavy cruiser, USS San Francisco docked at San Francisco after taking part in a battle with the Japanese. Because only one pickup could be arranged, the various networks collaborated. NBC installed remote lines from the ship to a nearby toll point where others joined in. NBC, BLUE and MBS cleared time, then BLUE and MBS later rebroadcast transcriptions. Among those taking part in the historic broadcast were Com. Bruce McCandless, Lt. Com. H. E. Schonland, Capt. Walter K. Kilpatrick, Capt Albert France and Vice Adm. John W. Greenslade. Comdr. McCandless was decorated with the Congressional Medal of Honor for his part in the fight in taking command after the two senior officers were killed. Lt. (jg) Mel Venter, Coast Guard public relations. Twelfth Naval District, and for ten years with KFRC, San Francisco, was m.c. of the special broadcast. STRATEGIC IMPORTA^X'E of various war centers of the world are analyzed by Carveth Wells, explorer and engineer, in a series of quarterhour programs now being prepared by National Concert & Artists Corp., New York. REPRESENTED BY HOWARD H. WILSON CO. FIRST— BN THE SOUTH'S FIRST MARKET WREC MEMPHIS Coast Market Study BASIS for an analysis of the rapidly changing marketing conditions of West Coast advertising, an intensive research covering that shift was recently completed by CBS, according to George L. Moskovics, West Coast sales promotion manager. Designed to reflect changes in conditions, results of the study are now being compiled. They will serve as nucleus for a series of conferences among CBS West Coast sales executives. Interpretation of the marketing data precedes its presentation to eastern advertising agencies, advertisers and CBS executives by Arthur J. Kemp, West Coast sales manager of the network, it was said. "This program has met with favorable response from our listeners, and the announcers are enthusiastic." w j p f • More than five hundred radio stations are using programs prepared by ASCAP Radio Program Service. They are written by writers experienced in the problems of both the Program and Commercial Departments. They are available, without cost, to any ASCAPlicensed station. Write or wire at once. ASCAP Radio Program Service 30 Rockefeller Plaza • New York Page 24 • December 28, 1942 BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising