Broadcasting (Oct - Dec 1950)

STRIVING for a settlement of the Press-radio feud, network and newspaper executives in the first weeks of 1934 came up with a plan for a Press Radio Bureau to supply news to broadcasters. Operating under the supervision of a seven-man committee, with one member from the American Newspaper Publishers Assn. and one from NAB, the others representing the three major news associations — AP, UP and INS — and the two networks — NBC and CBS. The newsnaper members were to select an editor who would process the news wires of the three news services and prepare two five-minute newscasts a day, with not more than 30 words bein'r devoted to any one tonic. The broadcasters were to stand all costs of the Bureau's operations; the newscasts were to be broadcast without sponsorship and at times not before 9:30 a.m. or 9 p.m., calculated to do the least harm to newsstand sales. CBS was to drop its news collecting activities and NBC was to agree to stay out of that field. The newspaper group promised that any news of "transcendental importance" would be supplied to radio when it broke, without waiting for the regular deadlines, and the networks agreed to keep their commentators concentrated on generalizations and background material rather than spot news. Dubious about the plan, NAB withheld its approval, but the networks agreed and the Bureau was established with James W. Barrett, former city editor of the New York American, as editor. Haverlin Proposes Co-op News Exchange Whatever the network thought of the new arrangement, it was anything but satisfactory to many stations who wanted a more liberal supply of news, with freedom to broadcast when they pleased and under sponsorship if they could sell it. They did not have to wait long for someone to volunteer to serve them. Before the Press Radio Bureau had moved its first radio bulletin, Carl Haverlin, sales manager of KFI and KECA Los Angeles, had wired broadcasters in major markets throughout the country asking whether they would be interested in joining in a cooperative news-exchange set-up. Continental News Service, which since 1931 had been supplying news bulletins to WBZ-WBZA Springfield-Boston and other stations, opened a Washington bureau and began to sign up stations for an expanded news service. The Haverlin sponsored Radio News Assn. having failed to get going as a cooperative venture, was refinanced by Stanley Hubbard, owner of KSTP St. Paul, who at 1934 Mr. Hubbard tempted to get Herbert Moore, who had been associated with Paul White in the CBS news organization during 1933, to head up its operation. When that plan fell through, RNA affiliated with Continental and Mr. Moore set up his own news service for radio under the name of Transi'adio Press Service. A half-dozen other organizations were also organized for the purpose of supplying news to radio stations but they lasted only a few weeks or months and by mid-summer, Transradio Press, which in June had absorbed Radio News Assn., was the chief if not the only competitor of the Press Radio Bureau. With a clean beat on the Dillinger killing to its credit, Transradio signed stations rapidly and in November could claim some 150 station clients, compared to about 200 subscribers to the Press Radio Bureau bulletins. Meanwhile, at the demand of the broadcasters using its bulletins, Press Radio Bureau had moved up the deadline for its evening newscast from 9 to 6:30. Yankee Network Sets Up Own News Bureau Yankee Network, in addition to getting the Transradio service, also had established its own news bureau which the network maintained at a cost of about $1,500 a week. Many stations had organized local news staffs with varying degrees of success. KNX Los Angeles at first asked its listeners to contribute to the support of its news collection, but soon found sufficient news sponsorship to more than cover expenses and returned the contributions. On Dec. 18, Judge C. Bowen of the Federal District Court in Seattle rocked the newspaper world by dismissing the suit of AP against KVOS Bellingham for alleged news piracy in a decision that upheld the unrestricted right of radio stations to broadcast news after it has been published. AP immediately filed an appeal from this revolutionary legal dictum which would do away with the association's property rights in its news. In June Congress passed and the President signed a new communications act that abolished the Federal Radio Commission and replaced it with a new Federal Communications Commission controlling telephone and telegraph as well as radio communications, enlarging the body from five to seven members to take care of its added responsibilities. The new Federal Communications Act substantially reenacted the old Radio Act of 1927, except that 100 w stations were exempted from the restrictions of the Davis amendment wherever they would not interfere with signals of other stations; the broadcasting of lottei-ies was pro hibited; the Commission authority was extended over stock control as well as licenses; foreign studios were forbidden except with specific Commission authorization; the Commission was authorized to originate modification of station licenses; the appellate provisions were altered to permit appeals from denials of construction permits; the Federal Courts were authorized to enforce compliance with the law and the regulations of the Commission; finally, the Commission was instructed to report any suggested amendments to Congress by Feb. 1, 1935. When the first FCC took office July 1, its members were: Judge E. 0. Sykes, charter member of the Radio Commission, named chairman of the FCC with a sevenyear term; Thad H. Brown, only other Radio Commissioner appointed to the new body for a six-year term; Paul A. Walker, Oklahoma Democrat, five-year term; Noi'man S. Case, Republican, former Governor of Rhode Island, for a fouryear term; Dr. Irvin Stewart, Texas Democrat formerly a radio expeil of the State Department, for a three-year term ; George Henry Payne, New York Republican, former member of the New York City tax commission, for a two-year term, and Hampson Gary, Texas Democrat who had been Minister to Switzerland under Wilson, for a one-year term. Spearman Is Named FCC General Counsel The Commission named Paul D. P. Spearman, who had been assistant general counsel of the Radio Commission, general counsel. Herbert L. Pettey, secretary of the Radio Commission, was given the same post at FCC. Dr. C. B. JollifFe retained his position as chief engineer, with an assistant engineer for each of the three divisions of the FCC: Lt. E. K. Jett for telegraph, William G. H. Finch for telephone, and Andrew D. Ring for broadcasting. Mr. Gary was named head of the broadcast division, with Mr. Brown and Judge Sykes as the other members. In the fall the FCC held a hearing to determine whether it should recommend to Congress that a fixed percentage of the nation's radio facilities should be reserved for assignment to non-profit public service organizations such as schools and churches or that all stations be required to devote a fixed proportion of their hours of operation to educational and public service programming. The educators who testified were agreed only in that radio could be put to better educational use that it had up to that time; they presented no specific plan on which they were agreed for Commission action. The most definite testimony came from Henry A. Bellows, legislative chairman of NAB, who said that an analysis of affidavits from stations showed that during the first six months of 1934, 16.7-/: of all broadcast hours had been devoted to some form of educational programs, with l^.SVf. of the evening hours so utilized. At the conclusion of the hearing there was every indication that the FCC was satisfied that the current system of individual station responsibility for operation in the public interest was better than anything else that had been proposed. On the basis of a review of the quota system for equalizing the allocation of radio facilities throughout the country required by the Davis amendment, initiated by the Radio Commission the year before, the FCC broke down the system into day and night quotas, the latter remaining much the same, but the daytime quotas expanded, paving the way for daytime power increases. Clear Channel Probe Ordered by Commission Acting on the petition of 13 clear channel stations, the Commission ordered an investigation of the clear channel allocations. After the industry promised full cooperation at an informal confei-ence on Nov. 9, the Commission two weeks later laid plans for an exhaustive study of remote listener service rendered by the clear channel stations. The Federal Trade Commission decided that it also should take a look at what was going on the air. In June the FTC asked stations to begin sending in all of their commercial sci-ipts. In July the FTC cited ten advertisers for hearings and, with more than 80,000 scripts to examine, asked stations not to send any more for a while. Out of a total of over 160,000 commercial continuities reviewed, the FTC reported subsequently, more than 140,000 were filed without question and about 20,000 set aside for a second look, of which the FTC estimated perhaps 1,000 would be acted on. In addition to the FCC and FTC, the NRA Code Authoi-ity was also supervising the broadcasters' activities. In January the Authority adopted ironclad rules to prevent rate manipulation, requiring stations to publish rate cards conforming to the AAAA pattern and absolutely forbidding acceptance of per inquiry business. In May, when NRA Division Administrator Sol A. Rosenblatt proposed that the entire broadcasting industry increase its payroll 10% and at the same time reduce the work week 257c, from 40 to 30 hours, the Authority recommended (and secured) the rejection of that idea, pointing out that in the last half of 1933 employment of broadcast technicians had increased 11.9%, the weekly hours of this group had (Continued on page 88) Page 86 • October 16, 1950 BROADCASTING • Telecasting