Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1956)

POLITICAL BROADCASTING ONE OF A SERIES What Makes a Radio Station Great? to Rural Listeners! Venezuela Got Its Hogs The Breeders Got a Premium Murray Cox Got Kudos When representatives of the Venezuelan government recently came to Texas to buy 1080 purebred hogs they were faced with a problem. Within three weeks they had to locate an exact number of certain breeds in certain weights. Head of the Texas Swine Breeders' Association thought immediately of Murray Cox, WFAA's well-known farm editor. Tracked down at Texas A & M College, Cox put out a hurry call on his farm program broadcasts. Result: Venezuela got its hogs on time, the swine breeders got a premium on the sale, and Murray Cox added another "mission accomplished" to his long list. Cox's excellent farm news and market reports are responsible for the fact that 42.1% of North Texans having a station preference say that the best farm news is on WFAA.* This is a mighty prosperous audience and a mighty productive market— we might add. If you want to sell them — or any other North Texas market . . . ask your Petry man about WFAA. *Whan Study — A. C. Nielsen, N.S.I. WFAA 50.000 WATTS . 5000 WATTS . D A L L A S NBC* A B C • T Q N WFAA is a groat radio station Edward S. Pefry & Co., Representative • •••••••••••••• JOHNSON BILL SEEMS SURE TO PASS; AMERICA FIRSTER DEMANDS EQUAL TIME Sixty-seven senators have lined up behind majority leader's measure to eliminate some of the equal time problems created by the political broadcast laws. Meanwhile, Chicago splinter candidate claims broadcast time equal to Eisenhower's. Mutual awards facilities to Democratic demand. PARTIAL RELIEF from the provisions of federal laws and rules subjecting broadcasters to the whims of minority candidates loomed last week as two-thirds of the U. S. Senate indicated support for legislative action. This hope developed as a vivid example of the dilemma appeared in Chicago when Lar Daly, an America First candidate for the GOP nomination for President, demanded equal network time to answer President Eisenhower's broadcast explaining why he would stand for reelection [B»T March 5]. Mr. Daly also is a certified candidate for governor of Illinois. Another instance of the pressures applied by law (Sec. 315 of the Communications Act) developed as Mutual Broadcasting System met a second Democratic request to answer the President by offering equal time to Paul M. Butler, Democratic national chairman. All networks denied Chairman Butler's first request for equal time but MBS heeded his contention that networks owed a "moral obligation' to provide free time. Sen. John J. Sparkman (D-Ala.) appeared for the Democrats last Wednesday (10-10:20 p.m. EST). John B. Poor, MBS executive vice president, had offered the time to Chairman Butler "for a spokesman who is not a candidate for public office this year." He said MBS specified the speaker must not be a candidate on the ground a precedent would be set if a candidate spoke, with danger that a flood of free-time requests would come from opponents. Other networks had not replied to Chairman Butler's request at the weekend. Senate approval of the bill (S 3308) which would allow broadcasters to deny equal time to small minority and splinter party presidential candidates seemed virtually assured as the number of Senators co-sponsoring the measure rose to 67. Introduced by Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson (D-Tex.), the bill would allow broadcasters to present presidential and vice presidential candidates of the major political parties on an equal time basis without being required to furnish equivalent time to candidates of such splinter groups. The measure has been referred to the Senate Rules Committee. This committee meets Wednesday and is likely to report favorably on the measure, which then would be referred to the Senate Privileges & Election Subcommittee. A spokesman for the latter group told B»T last week that^in view of the heavy endorsement by senators and because extensive hearings on Sec. 315 (a) already have been held by the subcommittee in considering the Hennings bill (S 636) on election campaign laws [B«T, April 25, 1955, et seq.] — Senate leadership may request an early report, and the measure may go to the Senate floor without a subcommittee hearing. The Johnson bill leaves Sec. 315 (a) intact as it regards all but presidential and vice presidential candidates. The parties of those candidates, to be eligible for equal time, must have polled 4% of the votes at the last presidential election or must present a petition with names totaling 1% of the vote at the past election. The bill also would raise the legal ceiling for political committees from the present $3 million to $12.3 million and increase the amounts which may be spent on behalf of a candidate for senator or representative. It also would allow income tax deductions for individual contributions up to $100. Sen. Johnson's bill, approved by the leadership of both Democrats and Republicans in the the Senate, is looked upon as a compromise between the present provisions of Sec. 315 (a) and a proposal by CBS President Frank Stanton. The Stanton plan (S 2306 in the Senate, HR 6810 in the House) would relieve broadcasters mm SEN. JOHNSON of the equal time requirements in presenting any candidate on news, forum, debate and similar type programs. A bill (HR 9668) identical to S 3308 has been introduced in the House by Rep. Stewart L. Udall (D-Ariz.). The measure is in the House Administration Committee. The Daly request had networks and politicians in a dither at the weekend. His time request was made in letters to these network executives — Robert Sarnoff, NBC; Frank Stanton, CBS Inc.; Robert Kintner, ABC, and Harry Trenner, MBS. His action had lawyers scurrying through law books and Illinois state records to see if there was some way out of the incongruous and compulsory offsetting of President Eisenhower with a qualified candidate of a splinter group. Mr. Daly is director of an organization called America First Republican National Committee, which he claims operates in 42 states. Known as "Never Say Die Daly," he has been a candidate for President and for governor of Illinois for a score of years. His activities include such groups as America First, Daly Labs, and American Stool & Chair Co. Text of Mr. Daly's identical letters to network officials follows: "I am a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States, and am officially certified as such for the Illinois Republican ballot, for the primary election to Page 42 • March 12, 1956 Broadcasting Telecasting