Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1952)

ABC MEET TO ELECT EIGHT DIRECTORS ABC ANNUAL stockholders meeting, to be held April 8 at 2 p.m. in network's headquarters in New York's RCA Bldg., will elect eight directors "to serve until the next annual meeting and until their successors shall be elected and shall qualify, or until the merger of the corporation with United Paramount Theatres . . . whichever shall first occur," according to proxy statements sent to stockholders. ABC proposes reelection of full present board, including Board Chairman Edward J. Noble, President Robert E. Kintner, Vice Presidents Earl E. Anderson, Robert H. Hinckley and C. Nicholas Priaulx; Alger B. Chapman, member of law firm of Chapman, Bryson, Walsh & McConnell; Franklin S. Wood, of law firm of Hawkins, Delafield & Wood; Owen D. Young, honorary board chairman, General Electric Co. Mr. Noble holds 901,667 shares of ABC stock (153.38% of outstanding shares) not including 17,500 shares held by member of his family and 46,500 shares owned by Edward John Noble Foundation, according to proxy statement. BMI TV CLINICS BMI will hold series of three regular television clinics patterned after radio clinic series started three years ago. Two-day workshop sessions will include speakers from all levels of the television industry. First clinic will be May 19-20 in New York, second May 22-23 in Chicago and third May 26-27 in Hollywood. Series of radio clinics, with three to five going on simultaneously in diff^erent parts of the U. S. and Canada, starts April 24. Topics for discussion at TV clinics based on questionnaire survey of video stations, according to President Carl Haverlin. VOICE APPROPRIATION HOUSE Appropriations Committee Friday clipped $52,351,500 from Administration's request of $266,056,510 for State Department. State Department had asked for $36,727,086 for construction of nine broadcasting "projects." Committee eliminated two of them, both "double shortwave plants." Included in seven projects to be completed are two "vagabond" projects involving shipborne high-powered radio-relay bases. Other five will be located overseas. THEY'LL SCRATCH AGAIN FOURTH annual "Scratch" of the NARTB (NAB) Plea Circus, comprising ex-executives along with representatives of firms regularly making the district meeting circuit during the regime of ex-President Neville Miller, will be held Tuesday, April 1, at 6 p.m. in the Conrad Hilton Hotel. Mr. Miller was president from 1938 to 1944 and is self-appointed president of National Assn. of the Alumni of NARTB (NAB) Flea Circus. A separate Flea Circus convention had been planned, he said, but the idea was dropped to avoid conflict with the national political conventions. In this Issue— Where's the money coming from to support a nationwide system of television? Some answers are suggested in the special economic study in this issue. It's a thorough presentation by the Broadcasting • Telecasting staff of facts which can help broadcasters analyze their business and figure out their future. See "Business Barometer" beginning on Page 32. 30th convention of NARTB opens today at the Conrad Hilton Hotel; Chicago (Page 27). There's a jammed agenda (Page 8) containing workshop sessions on a variety of subjects intended to help make radio and TV more efficient advertising media. Organizationally within NARTB an unusual spirit of unity prevails. But not everything in Chicago will be rosy. One big problem, how to maintain network radio rates, will be the central topic of a special meeting of the Affiliates Committee this afternoon at 4 p.m. It's a problem that is made the more acute by recent attempts by major advertisers to poke new holes in network rate cards (Page 29). Though nowhere to be found on the general convention agenda, the network problem is bound to dominate the Hilton's corridors. Are radio networks in their present form obsolete? This challenging question is raised in a special editorial. Page 27. BAB promises to unveil half a dozen new member sei'vices at its sales session this afternoon in Chicago. Page 31. There are hints that the Civil Aeronautics Administration may throw a monkey wrench in some telecasters' plans to build tall antenna towers. Here's a report of a hitherto unreported meeting on the subject attended by officials of the Air Transport Assn. and the CAA. Page HI. Seven big spending advertisers make major radio-TV moves in week. Page 29. A veteran engineer, Raymond M. Wilmotte, in a special article, wonders whether UHF really will work on a practical basis. He doesn't think it promises to be as good as the FCC and some other engineers think it will be. Page H6. ABC, in next three weeks, will open $3 million worth of new radio studios in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Page 178. Upcoming April 3-5: American Assn. of Advertising Agencies, spring meeting. The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. April 4-6: American Women in Radio & Television, second national convention, Statler Hotel, Detroit. (Other Upcomings page 148) Closed Circuit (Continued from page 5) because of stunning 72 to 22 vote at Bocj Raton last November. OFT-HEARD complaints about optical stan dards of TV film may bring revival of forme NARTB Recording Standards Committee dur ing convention. WHEN TV ALLOCATIONS finally are hande. down, there will be much travail, it's expected over education reservations far beyond num ber of non-commercial stations that conceiv ably will be built. One anomalous situatior it's understood, is reservation of educations VHF for both Denver and Boulder, Col., abou 30 miles distant. There are other instance where small towns are given reservations be cause they are "educational centers." WONDEROUS MAN is Senator "Big Ed Johnson (D-Col.). Given to lambasting FC< for its shortcomings, his appearance befor Senate Appropriations Subcommittee 10 day ago was in support of restoration of two mil lion dollars nicked from proposed 1953 fiscf year appropriation by House. His argumer that it would be non-recurring expense to tak care of television allocations and that senatoi would hear from their constituents if allocc tions are held up, was devastating. Thus FCC gets money back, it will be largely b( cause of Sen. Johnson's thrust. AGENCY choice to guide Democratic adve: tising fortunes through '52 political campaig is now on the desk of Frank E. McKinney, n< tional committee chairman. Announcement e: pected to be made this week following present; tions by half dozen agencies. It's understoc competition now is reduced to two. IT NOW develops that Elliott Roosevelt Cuban plans [Closed Circuit, March 24] e: compass not only acquisition of RHC Cadei Azul, looking toward TV network operatic but also setting up of TV receiver factory market sets at $79.50. WHAT WILL happen to 38 domestic statioi (22 owned, 16 leased from private bro^ casters) when Voice of America complet plans for four new one-megawatt (1 millit watts) outlets in U.S.? That's problem pe plexing new International Information Admi istration. New stations (two under constru tion, two others on blueprint) would have mo power than all 38 in operation now. EDWARD STANLEY, manager of pub aff'airs and education of NBC radio netwoi looking for replacement for Margaret Cuthbe network's supervisor of public affairs pi grams. Miss Cuthbert resigning this summ but will probably continue as consultant NBC. DUANE JONES COMPLAINT FOR THIRD TIME, complaint of Duane Jon head of Duane Jones Co., against nine forir employes has been sustained. Latest edict ; fusing to dismiss complaint was handed do' by N. Y. Supreme Court Justice Ernest E. Hammer on Thursday. Suit expected to co to trial in late spring. Also named in co plaint are Manhattan Soap Co. and Frank Burke Jr., vice president and director of t) company. Mr. Jones' former employes ! now part of Scheidler, Beck and Wen agency, which services Manhattan Soap count. Page 6 • March 31, 1952 BROADCASTING • Telecast!