Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1953)

NETWORKS PERSONNEL RELATIONS — AWARDS Dose of 'Dragnet' A PROGRAM of NBC Radio's Dragnet series was "summoned" into court in Houston — as a witness for law and order. NBC said Justice W. C. Ragan had a recording of the program, which dealt with a juvenile gang war that ended in murder, played in his courtroom before the parents of 13 boys arrested for disturbing the peace in a high school "hair cut war." He was quoted as telling the boys afterward: "I've taken this step because I want to acquaint you boys with the law. I think you are good boys and punishment isn't the answer. But I don't want to see any of you up here again. . . ." White's Recorded Words Broadcast by NBC's Scherer THE long memory and persistence of Ray Scherer, NBC White House correspondent, gave the network a documentary last Tuesday that aroused nationwide interest and intrigued official Washington. ' When the House Un-American Activities Committee served subpoenas on ex-President Truman and other high officials in connection with the Harry Dexter White incident, Mr. Scherer recalled that NBC had recorded Mr. White's committee testimony in 1948. Hours of searching through a huge warehouse brought out a series of acetate recordings, believed to be the only ones in existence. Excerpts of Mr. White's voice were carried on the NBC-TV Camel Caravan at 6:45-7 p.m. by David Brinkley. A half-hour NBC Radio documentary at 10:30 p.m. was voiced by Mr. Scherer, Richard Harkness and Morgan Beatty. NBC's excerpts from testimony by the witness, who died three days after the hearing, included denials that he had been involved in Communist activities. Thomas, Edelman Sued BREACH of oral agreement suit asking $1,017,000 damages has been filed in Santa Monica (Calif.) Superior Court by screen writer Lewis Meltzer against comedian Danny Thomas, producer Louis F. Edelman of his filmed ABC-TV Make Room for Daddy and Martero Productions Inc. Mr. Meltzer charges Mr. Edelman engaged him last April to outline a format for a series of half-hour tv film programs to star Mr. Thomas with understanding that if it was approved he would be engaged as head writer with a 5 % share of the profits, receive royalties and screen credit. He contends the format was approved by Mr. Thomas and ABC-TV and used, but he was not employed nor paid in any way. Neither was he given screen credit, he said. AB-PT Dividends AB-PT board of directors has declared dividends of $.25 per share on both the outstanding preferred and common stocks of the corporation, payable Dec. 21 to holders of record on Nov. 25, it was announced last week by Leonard H. Goldenson, president of AB-PT. Page 78 « November 16, 1953 SAG SAYS TV FILM HELPED EMPLOYMENT FILMED video entertainment and tv commercials were credited with taking up slack in employment created by a lag in production of theatrical motion pictures, Kenneth Thomson, tv administrator of Screen Actors Guild stated in a report at an annual membership meeting in Hollywood last week. A "continuing fight" against "runaway" film production abroad also was promised by the group's board of directors, together with a pledge to promote additional film production in the U. S. Re-elected was the "administration" slate of Walter Pidgeon, president; Leon Ames, first vice president; John Lund, second vice president; William Holden, third vice president; Paul Harvey, recording secretary, and George Chandler, treasurer. The new board of directors includes Edward Arnold, Wendell Corey, Robert Cummings, Ruth Hussey, Frank Lovejoy, William Lundigan, George Murphy, Verne Smith, Georgia Stark, Lyle Talbot and William Walker, threeyear terms; Jimmy Lydon and Richard Widmark, two-year terms, and Robert Stack, oneyear term. Members of the A-Junior board, which sits with the board of directors of Screen Extras Guild, are George Boyce and Jack Mower. SAG board members whose terms did not expire this year are Gertrude Astor, Louise Beavers, Ward Bond, Chick Chandler, Fred Clark, Anne Cornwall, Nancy Davis, Rosemary DeCamp, Frank Faylen, Wallace Ford, Robert Keith, John Litel, Cliff Lyons, Philo McCullough, Emory Parnell, Ronald Reagan, George Sowards, Barry Sullivan, Regis Toomey, Lurene Tuttle, Robert Wagner and Rhys Williams. AMPP Refuses IATSE Bid For 5% From Old Movies DEMAND for 5% of the revenue from sale or lease of old theatrical motion pictures to television, made by film studio craft workers through International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes in negotiating a new basic contract, was turned down in early November by the Assn. of Motion Picture Producers. Although details of the rejection were not revealed, it is understood the door was left open for further discussion of the issue at a later date. The major studios and IATSE, however, agreed on a 5% general wage increase and establishment of the film industry's first allstudio pension plan, to be paid for during the first two years by the employers with employes also contributing thereafter. Yet to be ratified by IATSE Hollywood locals, the new four-year contract runs to Oct. 25, 1957. It contains a provision for reopening on wage scales and working conditions on Oct. 25, 1955. The only unions now receiving added money from the sale of motion pictures to television are the American Federation of Musicians and Screen Actors Guild. A. Rex Riccardi Dies A. REX RICCARDI, 52, first assistant to James C. Petrillo, president of the American Federation of Musicians (AFL), died last Wednesday in Memorial Hospital in New York. He had been on Mr. Petrillo's executive staff since 1943 and was designated several years later as first assistant. GMA Awards Pfeiffer 'Life Line' Trophy Radio women receive trophies from Grocery Mfrs. of America for food activities on radio. Researcher Arthur C. Nielsen cites statistics on use of tv in moving food MARY LOU PFEIFFER, director of women's activities, WRFD Worthington, Ohio, on Wednesday received the 1953 Life Line of America Trophy of the Grocery Mfrs. of America for a series of broadcasts on her Kitchen Kettle program which visited farmers, food processors, wholesalers and retailers to present vividly and directly its "Life Line" story of food from the farm to the table. The award was presented to Mrs. Pfeiffer by Paul S. Willis, GMA president, at a luncheon session of GMA's 45th annual meeting at the Waldorf-Astoria, New York. Mr. Willis also presented certificate of honor plaques to Esther Hotton, women's director, WTMJ Milwaukee; Cis Hadley, women's director, KCJB Minot, N. D., and Alma Dettinger, conductor of Other People's Business on WQXR New York. A similar set of awards was presented to newspaper food editors. Judges in the radio class included Helen G. Irwin, president, National Federation of Business & Professional Woman's Clubs; Herrell DeGraff Babcock, professor of food economics, Cornell U.; Olga P. Brucher, dean, College of Home Economics, U. of Rhode Island; Sol Taishoff, editor and publisher, B»T; Edward J. Malone, publisher, Grocer-Graphic. Speaking at a Tuesday session of the GMA meeting, Arthur C. Nielsen, president, A. C. Nielsen Co., warned that while "we have seen recently quite a few cases of highly successful pioneering in the use of television to move food products to consumers, the hazards appear to be substantial, because of the wide range encountered in cost per 1,000 homes reached." Mr. Nielsen pointed out that NTI records for selected evening network tv programs last December showed an average of $7.76 per 1,000, but a three-to-one range from $4.18 to $12.25. However, skillful use of research can reduce this basic hazard to manageable proportions, with "quite dramatic" results. He cited the sales effectiveness record of one network tv show as follows: Nielsen Rating (Per Consumer Sales Gain Nielsen Tv Index) vs. Year Ago (Per Nielsen Food Index) Non tv areas . . 5% Areas with 4-7 tv stations 6.1% 11% Areas with 2-3 tv stations 9.5% 13% Single-station areas 29.7% 31% Broadcasting • Telecasting Four Out of Five FOUR first place trophies out of five years of telecasting was the record racked up by WBAP-TV Fort Worth when the station received the Radio-Television News Directors Assn.'s top award for outstanding tv news reporting in 1953. On the air since Sept. 29, 1948, WBAP-TV received RTNDA's first place trophies in 1949 and 1951 for outstanding overall tv news programming and the association's 1952 top honor for outstanding coverage of a special event. Add to this: The station's news director, James A. Bryony has been elected RTNDA president for the coming year.