Broadcasting (Oct - Dec 1945)

NAB Strengthens Small Market Plan J. Allen Brown Named Pellegrin Assistant In Expansion EXPANSION of NAB operations, promised with advent of Judge Justin Miller as president and A. D. Willard Jr. as executive vice-president got under ^^^^^ way last week. ^MP^™\ President Miller J named J. Allen Mf <SP* **« Brown, general ' ^BfcJlr manager of ■Pf ; WFOY St. AugoHMW ustine, Fla., Sj ; I sistant to Frank ' B E Pellegrin, director of broadMr. Brown cast advertising. Working in consultation with the NAB's new public relations counsel, Edward M. Kirby, revision of departmental functions at Washington headquarters was started, with Willard D. Egolf, director of public relations, appointed special legal counsel, effective Nov. 15 [Closed Circuit, Nov. 12]. Mr. Kirby is making a thorough study of all phases of NAB public relations activities. He has taken temporary quarters at the NAB Washington office. Radio Veteran Mr. Brown is a 12-year radio veteran. He reports to the NAB Dec. 1 and will be assistant director of broadcast advertising. His acquisition brings an extension of NAB activities directed toward small market stations and he will serve as secretary of the Small Market Stations Committee headed by Marshall Pengra, manager of KRNR Roseburg, Ore. In addition he will work on development of additional retail radio advertising, a major 1946 activity on the program of the broadcast advertising department. Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Pellegrin said: "The addition of Mr. Brown to our staff is the first move in an expansion plan authorized by President Justin Miller to render increased service to small market stations and to develop further the field of retail radio advertising. "Further additions are planned but the most urgent need is being filled now. There are 424 stations in the small markets classification; numerically these represent nearly half the radio industry. "While all NAB departments have been serving the needs of these stations in sales, research, engineering, etc., it has long been felt that there should be an experienced executive on the NAB staff to work particularly with this group and to coordinate the work of all other NAB departments in the solution of their problems." Mr. Brown's first radio job was as producer-announcer at WJBY Gadsden, Ala., also serving as promotion man. In 1938 he moved to WHMA, new station in Anniston, Ala., where he became sales manager. The next year he was named general manager of KXOX Sweetwater, Tex., which he launched. He returned later to WHMA as general manager, going to New Bern, N. C, in 1942 to open WHIT where he established a record by going on the air with 100 weekly sponsored programs of news and news features. WFOY Success Later in 1942 he became general manager of WFOY and the station within 30 days enjoyed a 94% increase in news program sponsorship, and increases of 150% to 250% annually in general business lines over the previous year's billings. He was associated at WFOY with Frank King, president of Florida Broadcasting Co. and former NAB director, and Glenn Marshall, president of Fountain of Youth Broadcasting Co. and member of the NAB Small Market Stations Executive Committee. Mr. Egolf joined NAB in February 1943 as assistant to the president and later as public relations director during the service of Col. Kirby as chief of the Radio Branch, Bureau of Public Relations, War Dept. He is a member of the American Bar Assn., Oklahoma State Bar Assn. and Federal Communications Bar Assn. During his NAB service he actually served as special counsel. By relinquishing the duties of public relations director he will have more time for legal matters. He prepared the revision program which resulted in adoption by the NAB board Aug. 7 of the present Standards of Practice. No successor has been named for the vacancy created by resignation of Barry T. Rumple, director of research (see story page 34). Mentioned for the post has been Paul F. Peter, its former occupant and now executive secretary of Broadcast Management Bureau. NAB Finance Committee will meet in early December to consider the 1946 association budget, now being drawn up by C. E. Arney Jr., secretary-treasurer. Mrs. Helen Harper Shultz has become temporary secretary to Mr. Willard who has been without a secretary since death of Mrs. Louis Collins Nov. 4. Mrs. Shultz has been working with Gladys Hall in assisting Capt. Harry C. Butcher, Naval aide to Gen. Eisenhower, in preparation of his forthcoming book. She was Mr. Willard's secretary when he was general manager of WJSV (now WTOP) Washington and later was traffic manager of WTOP. Guy della-Cioppa, Taylor, Rejoin CBS Doug Coulter Given New Post In Commercial Program Div. NAB to Elect Eight New Directors; Second Meeting Series in March-April EIGHT NAB districts will elect directors at the two series of district meetings scheduled to start Jan. 7 in Los Angeles. The first series [Broadcasting, Nov. 12] will conclude Feb. 8. Even-numbered districts which will elect directors in 1946, with present directors, are: 2d District (N. Y., N. J.), Kolin Hager, WGY Schenectady; 4th District (D. C, Va., W. Va., N. C, S. C), Campbell Arnoux, WTAR Norfolk; 6th District (Ark., La., Miss., Tenn.), Hoyt B. Wooten, WREC Memphis; 8th District (Ind., Mich.), John E. Fetzer, WKZO Kalamazoo; 10th District (la., Mo., Neb.), John J. Gillin Jr., WOW Omaha; 12th District (Kan., Okla.), William B. Way, KVOO Tulsa; 14th District (Col., Utah, Ida., Wyo., Mont., S. D.), Hugh B. Terry, KLZ Denver; 16th District (Ariz., So. Cal., N. M.), William B. Ryan, KFI Los Angeles. Schedule of the second section of district meetings, likely to start in mid-March, is being drawn up by C. E. Arney Jr., NAB secretarytreasurer, in consultation with district directors. Arrangements are complicated by difficulty of making hotel reservations at suitable times. Two scheduled meetings have been cancelled, the 11th District (Minn., N. D., S. D., part of Wis.), slated for Jan. 22-23 in Minneapolis, and the 7th District (Ohio, Ky.), slated Feb. 11-12 in Cincinnati. They will be held in early spring. Inability to get sufficient hotel space caused the cancellations. At least a month will be allowed NAB headquarters officials to dispose of accumulated business after the end of the first swing. Plans under discussion would provide resumption of meetings about March 18, running through to the end of the month in the Midwest and Northeast, then concluding in the South early in April. Schedule of meetings in the first bracket follows: 16th District (S. Cal., Ariz., N. M. ), Hollywood Roosevelt, Hollywood, Jan. 7-8. 15th District (N. Cal., Nevada, Hawaii), Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco, Jan. 10-11. 17th District (Wash., Ore., Alaska), Hotel Olympic, Seattle, Jan. 14-15. 10th District (Iowa, Neb., Mo.), Fontenelle Hotel, Omaha, Jan. 25-26. 14th District (Mont., Col., Wyo., Idaho. Utah), Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, Jan. 28-29. 12th District (Okla., Kan.), Tulsa Hotel, Tulsa, Feb. 4-5. 6th District (Ark., La., Miss., Tenn.), Peabody Hotel, Memphis, Feb. 7-8. Mr. Coulter DAVIDSON TAYLOR and Guy della-Cioppa, both returned to CBS after service abroad under Col. William S. Paley, CBS president, were last week appointed director of programs and assistant to the president, respectively. Douglas Coulter, vice-president formerly in charge of programs, was given the newly created post of director of commercial program development. Announcement of these changes does not nullify the possibility Mr. Paley will assume the titular post of chairman of the board, turning the presidency over to Paul Kesten, executive vice-president, who ran CBS during the more than two years that Mr. Paley was overseas in war service. Instead, the new appointments indicate that Mr. Paley intends to take an active part in CBS operations, especially in the network's programming activities. Coulter to Study Needs As director of commercial program development, Mr. Coulter will be responsible for studying the program needs of advertisers and advertising agencies, and to work with them on problems of the selection, change and improvement of their individual programs and of the overall program structure of the network. He will also serve as program counsel to account executives in the CBS sales department and will have charge of the sale of programs produced by the network's program department. Mr. Taylor, who was Mr. Coulter's assistant until entering government service in 1943, assumes executive responsibility for the network's program operations, including creative planning and administration of both sustaining and commercial programs. Coming to CBS from WHAS Louisville in 1933, he was successively announcer, director, producer, script editor, director of serious music and assistant director of programs. In Europe, Mr. Taylor succeeded Mr. Paley as chief of radio of the Psychological Warfare Division of SHAEF and later was chief of film, theater and music section of the Information Control Division, U. S. Forces, ETO. Mr. della-Cioppa was a member of the CBS program department (Continued on page 93) Page 18 • November 19, 1945 BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising