Broadcasting Telecasting (Jul-Sep 1954)

MORE "FIRSTS" FOR WLAC'S ESSO REPORTER Nashville station pioneered in electron coverage 25 years ago. Still leads the field. 9:30 PM, SENATOR ESTES KEFAUVER, in his headquarters in the Maxwell House, came to WLAC's Esso Reporter first to broadcast his' (2 to 1) victory message. 10:30 PM, CONGRESSMAN J. PERCY PRIEST discussed his landslide win with F. C. Sowell, WLAC's general manager, a practice the two have observed for 14 years. The popular Tennessee Congressman always makes WLAC his first port of call. 11:25 PM, GOVERNOR FRANK G. CLEMENT made the first acknowledgment of his overwhelming victory to listeners tuned to WLAC. As always, Your Esso Reporter was "ready." When it's LEADERSHIP that's wanted, either in public relations or advertising, most people turn to . . . WLAC Broadcasting Service of Life and Casualty Page 18 • September 6, 1954 OPEN MIKE Much Ado About O EDITOR: In the issue of Aug. 30 in the first paragraph in your lead article I note that "American advertisers will be using television time at a rate of better than $6 million a month." This statement leads me to several conclusions: 1. "Better than" is a phrase used in Broadcasting • Telecasting to signify 10 times the printed figure, or 2. A number of American advertisers are getting a bargain we would like to know more about, or 3. The sentence should read "an American advertising agency (which shall be nameless) will be using television time at the rate of better than $6 million a month." Having discounted the possibility of a typographical error, it would be very gratifying to uncover the real truth in this statement of yours. Would you please clarify this in your next issue? Rod Erickson Vice President Young & Rubicam EDITOR: The next important piece of research the broadcasting industry should undertake is whether the editors or the typographers ball up the figures. For instance — the Aug. 30 issue of Broadcasting • Telecasting says in the headline and in the first paragraph of the lead story that television time sales will be $6,000,000 a month this fall. With B»T publishing office in Washington, little bittsy figures like $6,000,000 should never be tolerated. You mean $60,000,000, don't you? Newspaper headline writers and typographers do it, too. And even on the financial pages. Really, B»T, we ought to take better care of our millions and billions. T. F. Flanagan, Managing Director, Station Representatives Assn. {EDITOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Messrs. Erickson, Flanagan and a score of other readers who quickly spotted the typographical error that reduced B-T's printed estimate of the fall volume of advertising on tv from a reasonable $60 million to a ridiculous $6 million.] BBC Plaque Fund EDITOR: As one of the grateful recipients of BBC service during the last World War, when I was director of news and special features for the BlueABC Network (1942-46), I most certainly want to subscribe to B»T's BBC Plaque Fund. Enclosed please find my personal check. . . . Congratulations on B»T's carrying the ball on this most worthy objective .... G. W. (Johnny) Johnstone Dir., Radio-Tv Pub. Rel. National Assn. of Mfrs. Sound Economic Principles EDITOR: We were both pleased and flattered to be the subject of a feature article in Broadcasting • Telecasting's Aug. 9 issue. However, I take issue with your implication that television mail-order is simply a vehicle "for the pitchman to unload the contents of his duffle before the cops arrive." Television mail-order, as stated in the article, is founded on the soundest economic principles. While I agree that in tv mail-order, as in any business enterprise, there may be problem-children in our midst, most of the items offered for sale in mail-order films are legitimate buys backed by a standard manufacturer's guarantee; most of the firms operating in this field are well founded financially and are represented by recognized agencies who would disagree that mailorder is an unpleasant medicine to Be swallowed because the doctor has money. You might be interested to know that we are mightily impressed by the readership B«T commands. Our address was incorrectly given as 208 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago (actually it's 218 S. Wabash Ave.). Through this morning [Aug. 25], in addition to a flood of calls and notes from old friends in the industry with whom 1 have been out of touch for years, we have had 42 pieces of mail addressed to 208! Herschell G. Lewis Lewis & Martin Films Inc. Chicago Boxed EDITOR: In your article regarding WHOL Allentown, Pa., on page 48 of the Aug. 23, 1954, issue you used our frequency —1320— in the article. WHOL's frequency is 1230. Will you make a correction of this, please, in a special box? Oggie Davies, Mgr. WKAP Inc. Allentown, Pa. Readers Want Radio Logs EDITOR: With what we believe is one of the shortest editorial notes testifying to the effectiveness of radio, we enclose the following clipping from the Hutchinson News-Herald. The background of it stems from the fact than Hutchinson currently has Kansas' only vhf tv station which has been in operation for more than a year. The tv logs were maintained during the interim the radio logs were deleted . . . Thought you might be interested that radio is still effective in a market which has prided itself upon its degree of tv saturation. John W. Powell, Mgr., KWBW Hutchinson, Kan. [EDITOR'S NOTE: The clipping, from the Aug. 21 issue of the "News-Herald," reads: RADIO LOG TO RETURN The Radio Log for the past three days has been omitted from "The News-Herald." This was done to sample public opinion, to see if it were still read. It was. It will be returned to the paper on Sunday.] Facts of Life EDITOR: I must call your attention to an error in the Aug. 23 issue of your usually most reliable publication. On page 7 in the last paragraph of the story relative to Weed being named to represent W ABC-TV you say: "John Blair & Co. (radio) and Blair-Tv (tv) represent ABC-owned WLS." You know very well ABC does not own WLS. Will you please make a correction of this lapse and acquaint your staff with the facts of life? Glenn Snyder, Mgr. WLS Chicago [EDITOR'S NOTE: WLS Inc., licensee of WLS Chicago, authorized to operate full time on 890 kc with 50 kw, is a voluntary merger of WLS and WENR, which formerly shared time on that frequency. Agricultural Broadcasting Co., former licensee of WLS, owns 50% of WLS Inc.; American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres Die, former licensee of WENR, owns the other 50%. Assignment of the former licenses to the new corporation was approved by the FCC March 10 (B»T, March 15).] Broadcasting • Telecasting