Broadcasting (Oct - Dec 1945)

BROADCASTING, at deadline EI ■vAAAAAMAAAAAAAA/Va Closed Circuit MBS President Edgar Kobak may not have known it, but he was almost drafted for Assistant Secretary of State — job now held by William B. Benton. OPA Director Chester Bowles was first choice but sold Administration on his ex-partner in Benton & Bowles, advertising agency. BYRON PRICE, ex-censor who made news last week with his "inside Germany" report to the President, recently was offered top news job at State Dept. He turned it down. He has been reported slated for various high positions, including second man in new Eric Johnston motion picture setup — but here's best bet of week: He'll return to AP not as executive news editor but as head man. THE INSIDE ON MAYOR LAGUARDIA— and it may be "outside" now for announcement could have been made since Broadcasting press time: The "Little Flower" will go on American first Sunday following end of his term of office with weekly 15-minute commentary on current events. Sponsor will be William H. Wise & Co., New York book publisher. Agency, Huber Hoge & Sons, New York. Time, 9:30 to 9:45 p.m. Talent cost, $100,000 for 52-week series. WORST IS YET to come — in questionnaires. FCC's legal lights, goaded by Commissioners Durr and Denny, both of whom delight in paper work, are talking up quarterly or even possibly monthly financial, program and other reports from stations. AMERICAN BROADCASTING Co. may have new stockholder soon. Robert Kintner, top vice-president handling public affairs and related activities, may acquire 12%% interest released by Ex-Vice-Chairman Chester LaRoche. THERE WILL BE FIREWORKS on final disposition of 740 kc with 50 kw in San Francisco. FCC last week set for hearing Brunton Bros', application to sell KQW for $950,000 to CBS. Previously Commission has been importuned to shift KQW from present 740 kc assignment with 50 kw potential to KSFO San Francisco assignment on 560 kc with 5000 w regional. KSFO, an independent owned by Wesley I. Dumm, then would get 740 kc and an open road to 50 kw. Battle for 740 has been waged by two stations for several years. Commissioners Wakefield, Jett, Wills wanted to grant transfer conditioned upon frequency switch in favor of KSFO. Commissioners Walker, Durr and Denny voted "no" and it goes to hearing. Chairman Porter was in Bermuda attending British Empire radiotelegraph parley. ONE POWERFUL farm group, with a strong lobby in Washington, is seeking to obtain surplus walkie-talkies and handie-talkies for its membership. RFC reported hands tied until Army releases transceivers, and noted they (Continued on page 86) comin Dec. 6: Industry AFM Committee, Hotel Statler, Washington. Dec. 7: NAB Employe-Employer Relations Committee, NAB Hdqtrs., Washington. Dec. 10-11: NAB Program Manager Organization Committee, BMB Board Room, N. Y. Dec. 13-14: NAB Finance Committee, NAB Hdqtrs., Washington. Dec. 17-18: NAB Code Committee, Palmer House, Chicago. Bulletins STATEMENT of policy was adopted Friday afternoon by House Un-American Activities Committee, which will regard all information it obtains as confidential pending formal investigation. Move is designed to meet criticism of commentators who say mere fact that their scripts were being reviewed by Committee hurt their professional reputation. ARTHUR GAETH, Mutual correspondent covering Nuernberg trials of Nazi war criminals, on Friday recorded several minutes of testimony of Rudolph Hess, who denied charges he is insane, and rushed them to RCA Communications for transmission to Mutual in America, which on ten minutes notice cleared time and put recorded voice of Hess, followed by Gaeth's English translation, on network at 3:15 p.m. NON-SECTARIAN Anti-Nazi League is taking survey of major networks and some local stations to determine whether proper balance is being maintained among liberal, conservative and reactionary forces, by newscasters and commentators. Business Briefly CAMAY SWITCH • Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, has switched the entire responsibility for Perry Mason Show 5-weekly on CBS to Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample, New York. Program was formerly handled jointly by Pedlar & Ryan for Camay soap and DancerFitzgerald-Sample for Spic and Span. Reason for switch was that Spic and Span will be plugged more extensively with only occasional mentions of Camay. SATEVEPOST PRE-GAME SPOTS • Curtis Publishing Co., Philadelphia, will sponsor fiveminute Post Parade on WHN New York immediately preceding 15 of the station's exclusive broadcasts of 29 intercollegiate basketball games at Madison Square Garden, starting Dec. 5. Other 14 pre-game spots will be occupied by Basketball Hi-Lites, sponsored by Buddy Lee Clothes, Brooklyn. MacFarland, Aveyard & Co., New York, is agency for Curtis; Henry Bach Associates, New York, for Buddy Lee. WHITEHALL PLACES • Whitehall Pharmacal Co., New York (Hill's cold tablets), with John B. Kennedy thrice-weekly on WFBR, also starting a 19-week announcement campaign on WIRE WINS WHN WAAT KDKA WWSW WWVA WMMN WLS WJR WTAM WFBR KYW WEEI WKRC WJAX WCHS WGBF WDZ WFLA WGY WOW WHAS. Agency, Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample, N. Y. BIG WINE SERIES • La Boheme Vineyards Co., Fresno, Cal. (wine), sponsoring daily announcements for 13 weeks on WNEW WKOR WMCA WOV WHOM New York and WAAT Newark, plus quarter-hour portion of Make Believe Ballroom on WNEW Tuesday and Thursday, and portions of Confidentially Yours on WNEW on Mon., Wed., Fri. At least 80 stations are starting da?ily spots for La Boheme wine for 13-week contracts. Agency, Biow Co., New York. Changes In Copy Limits Urged By NAB REVISED limits on length of commercial copy were recommended Friday by NAB Sales Managers Executive Committee, meeting at Hotel Roosevelt, New York (see story, page 14). After meeting with William S. Hedges, NBC; Jan Schimek, CBS, and Willard Egolf, NAB, representing NAB Code Committee, the executive committee voted to recommend to Code Committee and NAB Board that on musical clock, participating and announcement programs, advertisers be limited to three announcements within any quarter-hour period and that time devoted to commercials not exceed 20% of total program time. Executive group also recommended that commercial time on five-minute news programs be reduced from present 90-second limit to 75second maximum. Frank E. Pellegrin, NAB Director of Broadcast Advertising, reported to the executive committee on the Joske clinical radio test. Hugh Feltis, president of Broadcast Measurement Bureau, reported on progress of bureau. Arthur Hull Hayes, WABC New York, chairman of Subcommittee on Standardization of Rate Cards, submitted report on recommendations of his committee for uniform size, minimum essential information, uniform definitions of types of programs and announcements, clarity in stating copy limitations, desirability of spelling out all rates and of keeping discounts as simple as possible. Five sample rate cards, prepared in accordance with the five basic discount formulas most generally used, were submitted as part of the report. Subcommittee recommended that if approved by SMEC the report be submitted to AAAA Timebuyers Committee, and if it also approves, be printed by NAB for member stations. Page 4 • December 3, 1945 BROADCASTING • Telecasting