Broadcasting Telecasting (July - Sept 1951)

FCC Roundup (Continued from page 87) ing goods store; J. S. Mclntyre, insurance agent; J. D. Ewing, attorney; E. M. Shreve, owner farm loan company; K. S. Ackley, owner service station; H. C. Bauman, physician. Filed July 13. Chehalis, Wash. — Mid-State Bcstg. Co., 810 kc. 1 kw, day; estimated cost $18,220; operating cost $60,000; revenue $70,000. Principals are President Glenn E. McCormick (49.6%), president and Yz owner KSLM Salem, Ore., and 23.3% owner KORE Eugene, Ore.; Vice President Paul V. McElwain (50%), vice president and M> owner KSLM, and 38.3% owner KORE; Secretary John W. Kendall (.4%), president and 51% owner KWWB Walla Walla, Wash. Filed July 13. Blountsville, Ala. — James L. Ginn tr/as Blountsville Bcstg. Co., 730 kc, 250 w, day; estimated cost $7,770; operating cost $18,000; revenue $24,000. Mr. Ginn is a student at Valparaiso Technical Institute and holds a 2nd class radiotelephone license. Filed July 13. Tallahassee, Fla. — Andrew B. Letson, 1010 kc, 250 w, day; estimated cost $11,450; operating cost $28,000; revenue $36,000. Mr. Letson is secretary and 26% owner WCNH Quincy, Fla. Filed July 17. Rockford, 111.— George Basil Anderson, 1330 kc, 500 w, day; estimated cost $25,986.55; operating cost $36,000; revenue $40,000. Mr. Anderson is owner KJSK-AM-FM Columbus, Neb. and KJAN Atlantic, Iowa. Filed July 18. Big Rapids, Mich.— Frank D. Tefft Jr., 1400 kc, 100 w, fulltime; estimated cost $3,664.15; operating cost $31,810; revenue $38,220. Applicant has some equipment on hand and will lease transmitter. He is owner of Tefft Radio & Television Sales and Service, Alma, Mich. Filed July 18. TV APPLICATIONS Green Bay, Wis. — Green Bay Newspaper Co., Ch. 2 (54-60 mc), 130 kw visual, 15 kw aural, antenna 503 feet; estimated cost $193,500; operating cost $138,100; revenue $132,000. Applicant is licensee of WJPG-AM-FM Green Bay. Filed July 13. Lima, Ohio — Northwestern Ohio Bcstg. Corp., UHF Ch. 35 (596-602 mc), 16.1 kw visual, 8.05 kw aural, antenna IN MONTREAL it's Canada's FIRST station — wise in the ways of PROGRAMMING, PROMOTION and MERCHANDISING . . . gives you the coverage and the listenership needed to do a real selling job in this rich market area. U. S. Representative — Weed & Co. 237 feet; estimated cost $194,000; operating cost $120,000; revenue $150,000. Principals are President George E. Hamilton (50%), owner of 80 shares Class B non-votine; stock in WALE Fall River, Mass.; Vice President Robert W. Mack (42.74%), no other business interests; F. E. Mack (7.27%), owner Mack Camera Store. Filed July 17. Grand Rapids, Mich. — Booth Radio & Television Stations Inc., UHF Ch. 23 (554-560 mc), 200 kw visual, 100 kw aural, antenna 500 feet; estimated cost $279,742; operating cost $150,000; revenue $100,000. Applicant is licensee of WJLB Detroit, WBBC Flint and WSGW Saginaw. Filed July 17. Fargo, N. D. — WD AY Inc., Ch. 6 (8288 mc), 64 kw visual, 32 kw aural; estimated cost $319,000; operating cost $180,000; revenue $180,000. Applicant is licensee WD AY Fargo. Filed July 18. TRANSFER REQUESTS WGEM Quincy, 111.— Acquisition of control Quincy Bcstg. Co., licensee, by Quincy Newspapers Inc. through purchase of 237 shares from Parker S. and Mildred I. Gates for $25,000. Transferee owns 465 shares now and will own 702 shares (70.2%) after transfer. Filed July 12. KEC A AM FM TV Los Angeles; KGO AM FM TV San Francisco; WENR-AM-FM-TV Chicago; WJZ-AMFM-TV New York — Assignment of licenses from ABC to American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres Inc. following ABC and UPT merger (BROADCASTING • TELECASTING, May 28 et seq.). Each ABC shareholder receives $7.50 in Paramount common stock (measured at $19 per share) and $7.20 of preferred stock measured at par value and entitled to cumulative dividend of 5% per annum in preference to common stock. Filed July 13. WXYZ-AM-FM-TV Detroit, Mich.— Transfer of control from ABC to ABPTI as per above. Filed July 13. WSMB New Orleans, La. — Transfer of control WSMB Inc. to City Stores Inc. (50%) and AB-PTI (50%). City Stores takes over interest held by dissolved subsidiary corporation, Maison Blanche Inc., and AB-PTI applies for interest now held by United Paramount Theatres Inc. per merger above. Up to now, WSMB has been NBC affiliate, but will attempt to secure ABC affiliation after transfer. Filed July 13 and 14. WBKB (TV) Chicago— Assignment of license from Balaban & Katz Corp. to CBS for $6,000,000, with adjustments. Balaban & Katz is owned 98% by United Paramount Theatres and transfer is necessitated by ABC-UPT merger per above. AB-PTI requests right to retain WBKB call letters for its WENR-TV assignment. Filed July 17. WMMB Melbourne, Fla. — Transfer of control Melbourne Bcstg. Corp. from J. F. Turner Sr.. J. F. Turner Jr., J. H. Wiekham and H. N. Jessup to Henry Dravneek throueh sale of 337 shares (67.4%) for $50,550. Mr. Dravneek is former owner of Henry Dravneek Inc., advertising photography firm in New York. Filed July 17. WORC Worcester, Mass. — Assignment of license from Alfred F. Kleindienst to Ridio Worcester Inc. for $75,000. Principals are President George Taylor (25.5%), secretary and 121/4% owner WHIM Providence; Vice President Robert T. Engles (25.5%), president and 12%% owner WHIM; Josiah W. Gitt (35.4%), publisher of York Gazette, York, Pa.; Carson L. Taylor (13.6%), general solicitor for Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. Filed July 17. WLAV-TV Grand Rapids, Mich. — Assignment of license from Leonard A. Versluis to Grandwood Bcstg. Co. for $1,382,067.93. Assignee is licensee of WOOD Grand Rapids. Filed July 18. WSKI Montpelier, Vt. — Transfer of control Montpelier-Barre Bcstg. Co., licensee, to Nathan Greenberg and Charles W. Grinnell through purchase of 3,639 shares for $35,000 from several present stockholders. Purchase represents all of outstanding stock except one share. Mr. Greenberg is director of Capital Savings Bank, Montpelier, and Mr. Grinnell is director Civil Defense Agency State of Vermont, District 3. Filed July 12. Deletions . . . TOTAL deletions to date since Jan. 1: AM 19, FM 48, TV 0. New deletions, effective dates and reasons follow: WHHM-FM Memphis, Tenn.— MidSouth Bcstg. Co., license, July 12. Economic. Se no tors Hear Coy (Continued from page 19) towers, the chairman observed. This factor also would conserve steel. Commenting on how soon a TVless city, such as Denver (as Sen. Johnson suggested), could obtain a channel, Chairman Coy said that assuming the freeze ends in late September, Denver would be "lucky" to have a station on the air by Labor Day of 1952. Fireworks on educational TV began with the opening question of Sen. Kem: Why does the FCC reserve a channel for educational non-commercial purposes in an area where no educational institution now has or is likely in the forseeable future to have funds necessary or where they are not willing to construct and operate a non-commercial educational television broadcast station? FCC's chairman said the reason the Commission reserved these channels was because the educators had come into hearings and said they wanted them. It was indicated at the time that funds for such operations would be found and so FCC went along, he said. Sen. Kem cited a letter from the president of the U. of Kansas City, who objected to a reservation in the area as "harmful" because if a larger number of stations were made available for commercial purposes they could be used then for educational programs on a parttime basis. Reserving TV Channels If the educators don't want the channels, there is no reason to hold them for a valuable resource only will go to waste, Chairman Coy commented. Sen. Johnson brought up his plan to make every TV licensee reserve time on the specific channel on which he operates for educational programming. Chairman Coy said he did not believe FCC had the authority to fix a percentage of TV time for each broadcaster to set aside for educational programs, a proposition that drew immediate support from Sen. Benton, who was an observer at the hearing. Chairman Coy said he would ask FCC's general counsel to send an opinion on the matter to the committee. Sen. Benton said Sen. Johnson had put his "finger on the key" of the whole situation because if such a percentage method could be worked out, there would be "far less reason for special reservations." Sen. Benton and Chairman Coy tangled on another aspect. The Senator suggested that FCC change its specifications from "non-commercial" to "non-profit" institutions for whom channels would be set aside. This suggestion was pertinent, according to Sen. Benton, because "I could imgaine a non-profit institution in its own interest engaging in some commercial practices on its station, including the idea that Sen. Hunt [Lester C. Hunt (D-Wyo.)] and I have discussed, that is, the sale of educational programs, much as the universities charge people to come to their n: time extension courses. . . ." Chairman Coy said he could agree and protested this inter tation. He said educational ii tutions should be regarded as ": commercial" and come in for ; cations on that basis because they asked for non-commercial that is what they got, and they have the right to apply fi commercial license (and thus time) on a competing basis 1 commercial applicants. "It would be a snare and delu for an educational institutior have a channel reserved for ii a non-commercial basis, and i they decide they want to us commercially, and still have same channel," he asserted. Sen. Benton pointed to the N Board of Regents' plan to ha\statewide educational network Senator said the board had rec mended 11 stations as aga FCC's proposal of seven rese tions. Chairman Coy said fl: that the board had scaled its quest down to only three. It was apparent that Sen. Bei was taken by surprise for he marked that he had not been av of the change. Going into the problem whether the educator has time, whether he has funds, to get television, Chairman Coy marked : You must have a determinatior the board of directors of the ins tion that they must want to do it. not think that we should give the cators time to be educated as to value of this thing themselves. Asked by Sen. Homer E. C; hart (R-Ind.) what is meant the term, educational progi Chairman Coy said that ui Commission rules an educate program "is one that is put or an educational institution and to do with the improvement of cultural background and un standing of the community." Hits Educators Attacking the educators' as" tions that radio-TV stations "misused," Chairman Coy said They ignore what those progi (news, music, discussions) do tow the improvement and education of people, and their understanding, instance, of good music and liking good music — and I do not like much the idea some of them seei have that all of the radio station the country have reduced this cou to a great big mass, and we are , one unit in it. Significantly, Sen. Benton, parting from his usual arch-< ical attitude toward commei broadcasting, agreed, saying think your point is valid." Displaying even an inabi among Senators to agree on w an educational program is, S The Nation's Richest Farm Market Survey average of 50.8% tuned every hour to good listening. Page 88 • July 23, 1951 BROADCASTING • Telecast