Broadcasting (Jan - Jun 1944)

LUTE GUiCHER SAYS OF KNOXVILLE— "Durn place is growin' faster'n a dandy lion crop. So many humans stirrin ' 'round 'pears like a big fray goin' on nite and day. I sure wud dislike tryin' to hand feed 'em all. Wud take a mountain o' cornbread and sass. Seems like they all works so steddy in Knoxvul they just go 'round pantin' like a critter with the heaves!" LUTE IS RIGHT! According to Sales Management's "Retail Sales and Services Forecast" for June 1944, with June 1943 as a base of 100%, Knoxville showed an increase to 160.0% . . . leading the nation! Everyone is busy as a beaver. Believe us — no one is sitting around under a magnolia tree sipping mint juleps and watching the clouds float by! INCIDENTALLY Why not wire or write John Ballard, WBIR, today for availabilities on the station that gives you the needed coverage in the concentrated Knoxville market? WBIR Blue — Mutual KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE "The Home of TV A" WLAP KFDA WCMI Lexington, Ky. Amarillo, Texas Ashland, Ky. -Huntington, W. Va. Mutual Network Blue and Mutual Mutual Network All Four Station! Owned and Operated by Cilmore N. Nunn and J. Lindsay Nunn Giveaway Policy Of Y&R Watched Such Shows Distort Survey Figures, Franco Claims ALTHOUGH the new Young & Rubicam policy of not placing business with stations broadcasting money give-away programs was being watched with interest, there were no indications last week of its general adoption by the advertising agency group. Policy was adopted by Y & R for purely practical reasons and not from an evangelisitc fervor, according to Carlos Franco, manager of the agency's time buying department. "We have no wish to be crusaders," he said, "but neither do we want to encourage the continuation of a practice which we feel is contrary to our own best interests, as well as to those of other agencies, advertisers and radio stations." 'Kidding Agencies' Mr. Franco explained that since, a couple of years ago, WFIL Philadelphia started picking names out of the phone book and giving away radios, with the result that the rating surveys in that city were thrown out of line, the practice has spread to other cities with like results. He said that these stations are in effect kidding the agencies which buy time on the basis of warped surveys and are penalizing those stations who attemept to build audiences through good programming instead of by giving away dollars. "Accordingly," he said, "we prefer to use those stations who are not distorting survey figures, and we shall do so as far as possible." Admiral Contest ROSS D. SIRAGUSA, president of the Admiral Corp. has announced a new type of merchandising cooperation in the radio and household appliance field. Distributors' stores will be modernized to stimulate business for retail merchants and develop distinctive characteristics of store appearance. Highlight will be a dealer contest to develop ideas, with prizes being complete store remodeling jobs. Grove Expands TO PROMOTE its new product, Defender Multiple Vitamins, Grove Labs., St. Louis has signed for the Sunday 1:55-2 p.m. period on the full Blue Network for 52 weeks starting July 2. Sponsor is undecided as to the format, according to Donahue & Coe, New York, which has been testing for the product through its regular spot schedule for other Grove vitamins. AMI Continues AMERICAN MEAT Institute, Chicago, will continue sponsorship of The Life of Riley, half-hour dramatic program heard 2-2:30 p.m. Sundays on 157 Blue stations. Agency is Leo Burnett, Chicago. NO RIVALRY HERE WIOD, WQAM Join Share Election Returns RIVAL STATIONS in Miami, WIOD and WQAM, forgot competition May 2 when they joined forces to bring the complete Democratic primary election returns to the public. James LeGate, manager of WIOD, and Fred Mizer, WQAM manager, engineered the plans. Station staffs worked on statistics and kept a steady flow of returns to announcers. A comptometer operator kept up a running tabulation for both stations. WQAM furnished its public address system, which was installed in the office of Carl Holmer Jr. Dade county registrar, for use of radio and newsmen, candidates and their workers. WIOD's public address system was installed on , the main floor of the Dade County i courthouse. Broadcasting returns are Marvin Burick, WIOD announcer (1), and Harry Muntan, WQAM announcer (r), while Mr. Holmer supplies late information. DU MOIST STATION NOW COMMERCIAL W2XWV, Du Mont television station in New York, last week went on the air with its new call letters WABD, signifying that it is now out of the experimental class and licensed as a full fledged commercial station. "It is a change in name only for | the present," Sam Cuff, commercial program director, explained. Until the manufacture and sale of television receivers is resumed and there is an audience large enough to interest advertisers, WABD will continue its present policy of cooperating with advertisers and agencies by making its facilities available for their experiments, without charge. Work on WABD's new studios is! well along, Mr. Cuff reported. They will be dedicated with a series of! special telecasts during the week of July 10-15. An agency programming service under the direction off Eleanor Balz, formerly of WRGB! Schenectady, has been set up. < WOR Sales Boost WITH RENEWALS for the first] quarter of this year breaking all; previous records, WOR New Yorkfj reveals an 8% increase in total! sales over the same period of 1943.1 The record-breaking renewal total,! interpreted as a desire on the parti of advertisers to retain their time! on the air, was 18% over last] year's total. Station reports 93 new sales for the same period. Page 32 • May 15, 1944 BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising