Broadcasting Telecasting (Jul-Sep 1955)

closed circuit TV RATE INQUIRY • FCC's Common Carrier Bureau has instituted investigation into reasonableness of coaxial and microwave rates of AT&T, as first phase of study of network rules as applied to tv. Under personal direction of Harold G. Cowgill, bureau chief and former operating head of uhf ch. 17 WTVP (TV) Decatur, 111., staff in New York is accumulating factual data to be submitted to fourcommissioner committee working under Congressional mandate and with $80,000 special fund. Committee is Chairman McConnaughey and Comrs. Hyde, Bartley and Doerfer. B»T COMMON Carrier Bureau needed no special authorization since it is functioning under Docket No. 8963, instituted in 1947, which is still open as to rates. New York staff directed by Jack Buckley, chief of field staff. Bureau hopes to clean up its task before FCC gets into other phases of network study, to update 1941 chainmonopoly regulations, and which cover contentions made to Senate Committee that small market operators can't afford tv line or relay charges. Otherwise, FCC inquiry is in suspense, awaiting appointment of director in charge, who presumably will select his own staff of six or eight. Recruiting difficult, because of short tenure and low $80,000 budget. B*T AGENCY LIQUIDATION • Horace Hagedorn, president of Kiesewetter, Baker, Hagedorn & Smith, New York, is expected to join Sullivan, Stauffer, Colwell & Bayles, along with $1.2 million La Rosa (foods) account, it was understood Friday as KBH&S, announced it will liquidate between now and end of current year. H. M. Kiesewetter, who founded firm 25 years ago, retires to devote himself to management of personal interests; Samm S. Baker has joined executive staff of Donahue & Coe, and H. B. Smith is withdrawing from advertising field to enter another business. B»T BOTH sides in toll tv issue are keeping their eyes on Friday, Sept. 9, date on which reply briefs are due before FCC. Original briefs, filed last June 9, brought unprecedented comments, with total count on documents received reaching nearly 12,000 — about equally divided between pros and cons, aside from those containing multiple signatures. B»T IN THE FAMILY • Despite recurrent reports last week that Anheuser-Busch ( Budweiser) would leave D'Arcy Adv. Co. for another agency, you can probably make book account will stay. Here are facts: (1) Budweiser has heard pitches from N. W. Ayer & Son and J. Walter Thompson Co. and D'Arcy is slated to make its presentation Sept. 9. (2) Budweiser has signed for 1956 St. Louis Cards (owned by Anheuser-Busch) radiotv schedule of 100-plus radio stations and KTVI (TV) St. Louis for television. (3) P. J. Orthwein, D'Arcy president, is on board of brewery and is married to President August Busch's sister. Another Orthwein is an A-B vice president. B«T REORGANIZATION of D'Arcy 's St. Louis office is in offing within next month or so, to be pegged along departmentalization lines. Harry K. Ren fro, who has been serving as radio-tv director and account executive on Budweiser-Cards baseball, is understood to be slated for new overall radio-tv director's post to be created. B»T POLITICAL TARGET • Fact that former President Harry S. Truman is taking cracks at what GOP has done in way of using "influence" at FCC as well as among other government agencies may be harbinger of things to come in upcoming presidential campaign. FCC also has been singled out for criticism by other Democratic leaders in attacks upon Republican administration. B«T JOSEPH L. RAUH JR., national chairman of Americans for Democratic Action, who has figured in public eye in attacking administration, is expert in broadcast law and may barge into that field also. Mr. Rauh, native Cincinnatian, served as assistant general counsel of FCC in charge of broadcast matters from May 9, 1940 to May 27, 1941 under General Counsel Telford Taylor. B»T RADIO SPLASH • Lincoln-Mercury, Detroit, planning giant spot announcement radio campaign in nearly 500 markets effective Sept. 19. Campaign will run for seven or eight weeks. Agency: Kenyon & Eckhardt, New York. B»T THEODORE I. OBERFELDER, who resigned his ABC vice presidency after "20second" session with ABC President Robert E. Kintner, hopes to land berth on West Coast. He received what he regards as "most generous" severance pay from ABC, terminating 11 years with network organization, latterly as vice president in charge of W ABC-TV New York. B»T RETREAT FOR AIR FORCE? What happens to existing government tv stations when commercial outlets are ready to serve same area? Test case will soon arise out of commercial application for ch. 8 at Presque Isle, Me., by engineer Thomas B. Friedman [B»T, Aug. 29]. At stake is ch. 8 operation of Limestone, Me., air base. Although low-power operation, base station has program logs printed in Presque Isle newspaper and is reported serving 15,000 receivers [B«T, July 4]. B»T KEY Defense . Dept. and FCC officials expressed conviction that Air Force at Limestone would be obligated to relinquish station operation in face of commercial tv service. Gentleman's agreement to this effect exists under Interdepartmental Radio Advisory Committee. Defense Dept. official says this agreement is unenforcable, but that Defense policy would compel government station to bow out. Course of action apparently not so clear when commercial radio station claims unfair competition from government tv as in case of KUAM Guam threatened with proposed military tv outlet [B»T, July 4]. B«T MANANA • Mexican communications authorities expected to notify U. S. government by about Sept. 15 on acceptance or rejection of bi-lateral agreement on am radio allocations [Closed Circuit, Aug. 15]. While optimism generally has been expressed on an accord, reports trickling in are that Mexico's industry group, representing existing stations, favor plan but that some members of government delegation want additional concessions which U. S. delegation has insisted would not be considered. B»T INDICATIVE of new line of thought on FCC in relation to uhf-vhf problem were comments last Friday of Comr. Robert E. Lee at West Virginia Assn. of Broadcasters meeting in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. In off-the-cuff remarks, he viewed uhf as secondary service for foreseeable future and said he was predisposed toward dropins on vhf channels, reduction of separations and use of directionals, with existing uhf'ers to be given first crack at such assignments. He's also hopeful that number of vhf channels can be increased through trades with military and possibly with existing fm allocations, although he's disposed to handle latter rather gingerly. Comr. Lee is expected to expose his overall allocations philosophy on Sept. 20 at first of NARTB's area meetings in Chicago. (See Hyde comments, page 62). B»T TV HOME COUNT • Fund of new facts on U. S. tv homes due from U. S. Census Bureau in fortnight. Statisticians at weekend were nearing end of compilations showing for U. S. and four regions: Number of tv households with one set and with two or more; table of tv households by number of dwellers; nationwide tv ownership by size of urbanized areas, with five-way breakdown; ownership inside and outside standard metropolitan areas (will not show individual areas). Broadcasting • Telecasting September 5, 1955 • Page 5