Broadcasting (Oct - Dec 1945)

BROADCASTING at deadline Closed Circuit FORGET REPORTS FCC Chairman Paul A. Porter leaving anytime soon to enter Kentucky politics. Incidentally, he has turned down at least four offers to enter private industry in last several months. LOOK FOR return to FCC of Lt. Col. George 0. Gillingham as director of information about first of year. He has been public relations officer of Chemical Warfare Service for nearly four years and is a veteran of both World Wars. Earl Minderman, present interim director, expected to undertake heavy assignment of writing FCC's war history, including Board of War Communications, which likely will entail year's work. NEW AND radical departure in "freedom of expression" sphere will erupt at American Civil Liberties Union session in New York Nov. 24. Morris Ernst, left-winger attorney and general counsel of ACLU, expected to pop his plan against "duopoly" in newspaper, radio or motion picture operations, wherever properties may be located, on ground that they should be competitive because they control marketplace of thought. SLATED for new job at FCC (with $9,000 salary) is Charles S. Hyneman, former director of Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service, now a controversial subject in Congress. Civil Service Commission approved new setup last week. IF EX-SENATOR D. Worth Clark, of Idaho, is appointed Secretary of the Interior early next year (and prospects are better than even), radio for first time will have an ownership voice on Cabinet. Sen. Clark, close friend of President Truman, owns 10% of KJBS San Francisco. MOST chaotic outfit in Washington, Surplus Property Administration, is about to become important marketing agency. Naming of board for new War Assets Corp., surplus war property sales agency, means improvement of consumer, capital and producers goods will get under way. RFC, present disposal unit, planned extensive advertising campaign and had money to spend when desirable goods became available. WAC is expected to dispel confusion and tackle job of moving billions of property, trying not to upset present production and distribution. THERE'S talk again about change in the White House secretariat. Charles G. Ross, news secretary, who hasn't been too well, may return to his chief correspondent's post with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch which owns KSD. He was loaned to the White House for two years when President Truman took office. THERE IS new "Junior Commission" setup at FCC. Every Monday morning sharply at 9 a.m., heads of all departments and their chief assistants meet with Chairman Paul A. Porter to discuss week's work. Regular attendees: General Counsel Rosel Hyde and (Continued on page 106) coming Nov. 19-20: Assn. of National Advertisers, Hotel Pennsylvania, N. Y. Nov. 19: Consolidated hearing on CP applications 1240 kc 250 w for Rochester and Geneva, N. Y. Rm. 2232 New P. O. Bldg., Washington, D. C, 10 a.m. Nov. 21: British-U. S. Telecommunications Conference, Bermuda. Nov. 24: American Civil Liberties Union forum on future of American liberties, Hotel Biltmore, N. Y., 10 a.m. Nov. 26-30: NAB Sales Managers Exec. Com., Roosevelt Hotel, N. Y. Bulletins NEW YEAR's Day bowl games will be broadcast by major networks. Rose Bowl game, sustaining, will be broadcast from Pasadena, by NBC, and will go out to Armed Forces Radio Service. Bill Stern will announce. CBS will broadcast Orange Bowl game, sponsored by Gillette Safety Razor Co., Boston, through Maxon Inc., New York. Ted Husing and Jim Dolan will announce. American will broadcast Sugar Bowl game, sponsor not yet announced. Two games will be broadcast on Mutual, Cotton Bowl, New Orleans, and Shriner's EastWest game, San Francisco. Both will probably be sponsored. WORKING DRAFT of regulations governing use of BMB reports by subscribing stations and networks was completed Friday by Bylaws & Procedure Committee and Technical Research Subcommittee on reports, forms, copy and restrictions. Copies go now to BMB board members for adoption at the next board meeting early next year. Joseph Allen, advertising manager, Bristol-Myers Co., Bylaws Committee chairman, announced retention of John Bastin Griffith, New York attorney, as BMB counsel. BOJB HOPE, Eddie Cantor, Frank Sinatra, Danny Kaye and other top artists will take part in Thank Your Stars, War Bond show on CBS, Thanksgiving night, CBS Victory Loan Day. Network also will broadcast Americans at Thanksgiving, with pickups from Plymouth, Mass., Chicago, West Coast, Tokyo and Berlin. LOW-COST TV TUBE ALLEN B. DuMONT Labs., Passaic, N. J., has developed a cathode-ray tube as basis for low-priced television receivers now appearing on market. Called Type 7EP4, tube is 7-inch, provides normal screen image of 5% x 4*4. Screen may, if desired, be increased to 6V8 inches wide. Business Briefly MORE ATLANTIC SPORTS • Atlantic Refining Co. will sponsor Detroit-Cleveland pro football game in Detroit Thanksgiving Day on WWSW Pittsburgh and WIBG Philadelphia. Broadcast will be handled by Byrum Saam and Joe Tucker. Agency, N. W. Ayer & Son, N. Y. POULTRY JOURNAL SPONSORS • Smilin' J Ed McConnell beginning today (Nov. 19) is Isponsored by American Poultry Journal, Chicago, five weekly. Stations are WEAF KMMJ (four weeks), WMAQ WTAD WOWO WIBC j WEEI WCCO KFEQ KXOK WOW WHAM WGY WSYR KFYR WADC WKRC KDKA WRVA (17 weeks), KFDM WFAA WBAP KPRC KTSA (12 weeks). Beginning Dec. 3 show will run four weeks on: WHBF WROK WGBF KROS KDTH KFJB KGLO KSCJ WEAF KMMJ WEAU WTAQ WKBH WIBA WRJN WHBL. FCC ADOPTS FM SET NUMBERING SYSTEM CONFIRMING predictions of previous week [Closed Circuit, Nov. 12], FCC late Friday adopted numbering system beginning with 201 to designate frequencies of stations on FM receivers. Action was taken following conference with NAB which urged decision to pro-j, vide uniformity in sets now coming into production. Under new system, first commercial fre-l quency (88.1 mc) will be designated 201. second (88.3 mc) 202, and so on to No. 300. All FM stations in 88-108 mc band "and in probable extensions thereof" will thus be given channel numbers with three digits, said FCC, which will not be disturbed by future expansion of the band. NAB, through new FM Dept., had proposed that designations start with No. 1 for highest frequency in FM band, No. 2 for next highest, and so on downward. Commission, however, thought system should provide for extension of band either upstairs or downstairs without changing number of digits in station designations. Commission action was welcomed by Robert P. Bartley, director of FM Dept., who expressed satisfaction with "the cooperative and, efficient manner in which the Commission has moved with us to bring FM quickly to the homes of the people. Manufacturers can now, proceed in equipping sets with the simplified dial which listeners may easily tune and there need be no fear of later changes that would cause confusion. AFRA CODE EXTENSION URGED! RESOLUTIONS advocating extension oi AFRA code of fair practice to cover work on commercial phonograph records as well a; transcriptions and live broadcasts; creation o: committee to study tax legislation and recom , mend appropriate union action; addition oi representatives of a non-network station an<J sound effects men to board of New York loca of AFRA, and creation of a committee to in vestigate group insurance for AFRA mem bers, were adopted at annual New York AFR^ membership meeting. Page 4 • November 19, 1945 BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertisin,