Broadcasting (Jan - Jun 1944)

iR©AP€ASTOIN€ and aJj^/ Broadcast Advertising W fol. 26, No. 21 WASHINGTON, D. C, MAY 22, 1944 $5.00 A YEAR— 15c A COPY 'Bulletin' Buys WPEN: Cowles in N.Y. Westinghouse Gets KEX; WNBC to O'Neil; KTBS-KTHS Swap will become a \ Iowa Broadcas sumably will operation^, h By SOL TAISHOFF IN A record-breaking siege of station transactions, a half-dozen transfers involving approximately $1,725,000, were completed last week. The transactions, subject to FCC approval, were: (1) Sale of WPEN Philadelphia and WPEN-FM, by the Arde Bulova interests to the Philadelphia Bulletin for $620,000. The Bulletin is headed by Robert McLean, president of the Associated Press. (2) Sale of WNBC Hartford, by the Bulova interests to W. O'Neil, president of General Tire & Rubber Co. and of the Yankee Network, for $220,000. (3) Purchase of WHOM Jersey City, covering the New York area, by the Iowa Broadcasting Co., headed by Gardner Cowles Jr., for $350,000 net (overall price, including receivables, of $403,000) from Joseph Lang and Paul F. Harron and their wives. (4) Purchase of KEX Portland, Ore., sister station of KGW, by Westinghouse Radio Stations Inc., from the Portland Oregonian for $400,000. (5) Exchange of KTBS Shreveport, La., sister station of KWKH, by the John D. Ewing newspaper interests to a group headed by John C. McCormack, former general manager of both stations, for KTHS Hot Springs, Ark. No monetary consideration involved. (6) Sale of WFPG Atlantic City, by a score of stockholders, including Rep. Elmer H. Wene (D-N.J.), Democratic nominee for senator, for $83,775. Duopoly Sales Several of the transactions were prompted by the FCC's "duopoly" regulations. At least a half-dozen others are in the offing. A quick check of sales of standard stations consummated during the last few months, still awaiting FCC aproval, shows a total of a dozen transactions involving considerations totalling approximately $5,000,000. These include sale of WQXR New York to the New York Times for approximately $1,100,000; WJJD Chicago to Marshall Field, Chicago Sun publisher, for a total of $750,000; WINX Washington to the Washington Post for $500,000; WIBC Indianapolis to the Indianapolis News for $440,000; KSO Des Moines by the Cowles interests to Kingsley H. Murphy, Minneapolis newspaper executive, for $275,000; WCOL Columbus to the Pixley family for $250,000; and KID Idaho Falls to a group of Idaho businessmen, for $101,000. Another dozen transfers, however, are pending, based on transactions which antedated the FCC's duopoly order barring dual ownership of stations in the same or overlapping areas. The Cowles purchase of WHOM is seen as the forerunner of other station acquisitions by Gardner Cowles Jr. and his brother, John Cowles. T. A. M. Craven, member of the FCC who retires June 30, Takes Executive Post; Dr. Irvin Stewart Mentioned UPON HIS retirement from the FCC on June 30, Commissioner T. A. M. Craven, will become vicepresident of the Iowa Broadcasting Co., with headquarters in Washington, Broadcasting learned last week from Gardner Cowles Jr., president of the Cowles stations, executive editor of the Des Moines Register-Tribune and Look. With the formal announcement last Tuesday at the White House that Commissioner Craven had notified the President he did not seek reappointment, confirming the story published in Broadcasting May 8, Mr. Cowles stated that Comdr. Craven would hold a top executive post with his stations. He also will supervise expanded IBC operations in radio, which already include ac ice-president of the ting Co. and presupervise Eastern lcluding WHOM. Negotiations for the acquisition of other outlets by the Cowles group in the East are understood to be in progress. Bulova Interests With the sale of WPEN and WNBC, subject to Commission approval, Mr. Bulova, head of the watch company, is left with the unrestricted control of two stations—WNEW New York and WCOP Boston. He has already contracted for the sale of WOV New York to the Mester Bros., food merchants, for $300,000 (set for hearing by the FCC) and for the disposition of WELI New Haven to Col. Harry C. Wilder, operator of WSYR Syracuse, WTRY Troy, and WKNE Keene, N. H., for $225,000. It is understood that WNEW will be retained by Mr. Bulova and his associates, including Milton F. Biow, head of the advertising agency. Mr. Bulova, under the WPEN quisition of WHOM Jersey City, subject to FCC approval. Other stations in the East also may be acquired and the organization contemplates a large scale television and FM development program, probably seeking the limit of six FM stations under a single ownership, as well as the maximum of five television stations permitted under the regulations Comdr. Craven will have executive duties beyond those of a strictly engineering nature. Dr. Stewart Mentioned The only name heard mentioned for the Craven post was that of Dr. Irvin Stewart, former member of the FCC, and who was Commissioner Craven's predecessor. Dr. Stewart served on the FCC from 1934 until 1937, when he resigned to join the Carnegie-endowed Committee on Scientific Aid to Learning as director. Since 1940 he has WELI-WOV-WNBC transactions, would realize approximately $1,350,000. It was expected the WCOP transaction, if completed, would yield in the neighborhood of a quarter of a million dollars. Harold A. Lafount, former radio commissioner and general manager of Bulova station operations, is identified in the ownership of certain of these stations and is the licensee of WORL Boston. It is presumed Mr. Lafount will retain that station. Both the WOV transaction and that contemplated for WCOP would grow out of the FCC duopoly order, which covers management as well as ownership in the same areas. Announcement of the sale of KEX was made jointly by Walter Evans, vice-president of Westinghouse, and Palmer Hoyt, publisher of the Oregonian. The transaction, after approval by the FCC, would become effective on Dec. 31. It was announced that the disposition of KEX by the Oregonian complies with the recent duopoly order of the FCC. KEX, an af(Continued on Page 5h) been serving as executive secretary of the National Defense Research Committee, highly important scientific agency created to handle secret war developments. A native of Fort Worth, Dr. Stewart participated in the framing of the Communications Act of 1934 as aide to Speaker Sam Rayburn, then chairman of the House Interstate & Foreign Commerce Committee. He was former radio expert of the State Department and has attended a number of international radio conferences on allocations. During his tenure on the FCC, he was chairman of the Telegraph Division at the time the Commission was separated. He participated in consideration of broadcast matters, however, then considered by the FCC en banc. A Democrat from the District of Columbia, Commissioner Craven will be succeeded by one of like political faith so there will be re(Continued on Page 58) Comdr. Craven to Join Cowles Station BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising May 22, 1944 • Page 7