Broadcasting (Jan - June 1943)

Senate Again Opposes House's Action on Ousting of Officials Returns Deficiency Bill to Conference Committee After Spirited Debate on Report ! DETERMINED SENATE resist! ance last Thursday relegated the Urgent Deficiency Bill back to the conference committee when the Upper House for the second time refused to approve a House proposal to bar three officials, including Dr. Goodwin Watson and Dr. William E. Dodd, Jr., both of the FCC's Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service, from the federal payroll. The House lost no time in expressing its determination to insist on the amendment, voting unanimously on Friday for the third time to send the measure back to committee. Overriding the pleas of Sen. McKellar (D-Tenn.), chairman of the committee, who asked passage of the bill to permit payment of overtime salaries already voted for thousands of government workers, the Senate by a 52-17 vote instructed its conferees to continue opposition to the House proposal. Previously the measure had been i rejected 69-0 [Broadcasting, June 7]. As Broadcasting went to press the conferees were scheduled to meet again in an effort to break the deadlock. Sen. McKellar reported the bill after more than a month of consideration in the committee, admitting to the Senate that the House insisted on the amendment and that he felt unless the men were dismissed there would be no bill. He said he felt the courts would offer adequate redress if the men's rights were violated. House Action Attacked The report touched off a fiery debate on the floor, with Senator Overton (D-La.), a member of the Appropriations Committee, Sen. Clark (D-Mo.), Sen. Maloney (DConn.) and Sen. Downey (D-Cal.) spearheading the attack on the McKellar report. Characterizing the House action as a star chamber procedure, Sen. Clark declared "there is no possible justification under any theory of Anglo-Saxon law or under any theory of AngloSaxon justice which possibly could Z-Bar Stickers OFFICIAL auto stickers in Montana this year list three features in the state — vacationland possibilities, production for victory, and the Z-Bar Network: K G I R, KPFA, KRBM. Put out by the Montana Boosters, stickers come in several sizes, giving an outline of the state's boundaries in black on glossy, copper-colored paper. warrant such a procedure." Sen. Downey commented "I cannot condone the evil because of tfca hope that our courts might at some time undo the wrong." The debate reviewed previous arguments over legality of the action, with Sen. George (D-Ga.) maintaining that Congress had the right to deny funds to whomever it pleased. A spirited exchange between Sen. Overton and Sen. Connally (D-Tex.) centered around the legality issue, with Sen. Connally supporting the House action. 'Must Respect House' "The House conducted an investigation through one of its committees," Sen. Connally said. "I do not know what they developed, but they must have developed something. We must respect the House," he declared. Sen. Clark and Sen. LaFollette (Prog.-Wis.) pointed out that no record of the investigation, which was conducted by the Kerr Committee of the House under Rep. Kerr (D-N. C), was available either to the House or Senate. Sen. Milliken (R-Col.) remarked "this to me smells of ancient tombs in which liberty has been buried." LEFT-HANDED GENTLEMAN on the right is Elmer Stevens, president of Chas. A. Stevens & Co., Chicago department store, about to sign a 52-week contract with WBBM, Chicago, for a quarterhour Sunday evening newscast, Clifton Utley — News. L to r are Charlie Garland, assistant commercial manager, and Stanley Levey, time salesman, both of WBBM, and Mr. Stevens. Frances Hooper Agency, Chicago, handles the account. TO CONSERVE equipment and manpower all Canadian Broadcasting Corp. stations started Sunday schedules at 0 a.m. EDT, commencing June 27. Gould Asks Home Disc Exemption From L-265 AN APPEAL for a review of Limitation Order L-265 inosfar as it affects production of home recording discs has been submitted to Ray Ellis, director of the Radio & Radar Division of the War Production Board, by Sidney S. Gould, president, the Recording Corp., which claims to produce 90% of the nation's home recording blanks. Mr. Gould claims home discs should be exempted by the WPB because "not a single item required for the manufacture of home recording discs needs a priority" and that "neither priority steel nor priority machinery is required to proccess" these discs. CBS Group Joins Hitch-Hike Protest New England Affiliates Would Also Bar Cow-Catchers FOLLOWING the lead of the CBS midwestern affiliates, New England affiliates of that network, at a meeting in Boston last Wednesday, adopted a resolution urging that "immediate steps be taken to eliminate from network programs the use of hitch-hike, cow-catcher, or other similar announcements as soon as practicable." Announcement of the action by the first district CBS affiliates meeting was made by General Manager Franklin M. Doolittle, of WDRC, first district representative on the CBS advisory committee. District 7 of the CBS planning and advisory board on June 8, at a meeting in Omaha, adopted a similar resolution [Broadcasting, June 21]. Resolution Following is the full text of the New England affiliates resolution: WHEREAS the so-called hitch-hike and cow-catcher announcements presently used on network programs tend to lower the standards of good broadcasting, and, WHEREAS, such announcements are considered to be a violation of the responsibility placed upon radio station licensees to operate in the "public interest, convenience and necessity," and, WHEREAS, the use of such announcements was without consent of their affiliates, Now, therefore, be it resolved, that Franklin Doolittle, 1st District Representative of the CBS Advisory Committee, is instructed to convey to the proper officials of the Columbia Broadcasting System a request that immediate steps be taken to eliminate from network programs the use of hitchhike, cow-catcher or other similar announcements as soon as may be practicable. PA and UP Simultaneously Announce Atlantic Coast Network Plan to Speed Up Radio News Wires Drops Expansion Plans RADIO will be the beneficiary of new high-speed news wire service through both UP and PA, stepping up the circuits 50% as soon as facilities become available, according to almost simultanecus announcements made last Friday by the news-gathering associations. The rate of transmission on the news circuits serving stations, it was disclosed, will be increased from 40 words per minute to 60 words. The announcements were made by A. F. Harrison, sales manager of UP, in behalf of that organization, and by Oliver Gramling, assistant general manager of PA, which inaugurated its special AP radio wire in 1941. In behalf of the AP subsidiary, Mr. Gramling said that the change to the high-speed circuit will be made at the "first possible moment," in line with plans contemplated for the AP special wire since its inauguration. He mentioned the mechanical and technical difficul ties involved, stemming from wartime material needs. Mr. Harrison asserted UP had ordered all mechanical equipment for high-speeding for its coast-tocoast radio news wires and that it would give the organization "elbow room for expansion" of its news feature services and also enable a greater volume of foreign and sectional dispatches. The equipment has been ordered under high priority ratings and installations will be completed as rapidly as the AT&T can handle the assignment, he said. "This development, which has been our goal for several years, is the greatest single expansion of our radio news facilities since the UP inaugurated the first transcontinental wire circuit serving radio exclusively," Mr. Harrison said. "It will make available to broadcasters in every state the fastest radio news transmission system in existence." ATLANTIC Coast Network has abandoned for the duration its plans for expanded activities, Edward Codel, General Manager, said last week. Plans had included the construction of new network studios to facilitate ACN's program service to its member stations, but the shortages of material and manpower make such a venture extremely difficult, if not impossible, until after the end of the war, Mr. Codel stated. ACN, he said, would continue operations on a curtailed basis for the present. ACN is a regional network of 10 stations located along the Atlantic Seaboard from Boston to Washington, five of which are of the Bulova-Lafount group of stations. Harold A. Lafount, general manager of the Bulova radio interests, is president of this regional network. WSAZ, Huntington, W. Va., has appointed Branham Co. as exclusive national representatives. The station, a BLUE network affiliate, operates with 1,000 watts on 930 kc. Page 16 • June 28, 1943 BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising