Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1956)

Feb. 28: Crosley Broadcasting Corp. is left as only bidder for WHAS Louisville as Bob Hope and Fort Industry Co. drop out. March 7: NBC affiliates give network a vote of confidence at Chicago meeting. March 7: Hugh Feltis resigns as president of BMB to become general manager of KING Seattle. March 21: Fred Allen signs contract giving NBC exclusive rights to his services for radio and tv. April 4: NAB protests limitations on use of 540 kc channel proposed by FCC: to limit power to 1 kw and no use at all within 25 miles of some 224 military installations; points out that 1947 Atlantic City allocations made 540 kc a broadcast channel. April 11: Frank K. White, president of Columbia Records and previously treasurer and vice president of CBS, becomes presi dent of Mutual, succeeding Edgar Kobak, retiring to open office as business consultant. April 18: After stormy debate on convention floor, with expansion of Broadcast Advertising Dept. of NAB demanded, board creates Broadcast Advertising Bureau, names Maurice B. Mitchell as its director, operating under a board policy committee, and earmarks $100,000 to get it going. April 18: BMB wins a vote of confidence from convention and a loan of $75,000 from NAB. April 18: International High Frequency Conference at Mexico City comes to stormy end as U.S. delegation refuses to approve a pilot plan giving Russia and other countries a greater share of channel hours; Russia also refuses to sign. May 2: Two New York-Chicago channels added to AT&T coaxial cable service now provide three west-bound and one eastbound channel for tv programs. May 9: President Truman nominates FCC Comr. Edward M. Webster for reappointment to a 7-year term. May 9: FCC authorizes NBC to operate a uhf station at Bridgeport, Conn., for experimental rebroadcasts of programs of uhf WNBT (TV) New York. May 9: Arthur Godfrey was top CBS wage-earner in 1948 with pay of $258,450, not including the $123,624 paid by CBS to Arthur Godfrey Productions for "program services" nor the $58,441 AGP got from Columbia Records. Lowell Thomas was top "independent contractor" on the network, getting $402,300 for program services. May 16: CBS signs Frank Stanton to 10year contract to continue as president at base salarly of $100,000 a year, followed by 10-year consultant's contract at $25,000 a year. May 16: Don Lee Broadcasting System, 45-station Pacific Coast network, elevates President Lewis Allen Weiss to post of board chairman, promotes Willet H. Brown from executive vice president to president. May 1 6: Don McNeill, conductor of ABC's Breakfast Club, was paid $180,229 by ABC in 1948, top pay made by network for services. May 23: Mark Woods signs five-year contract with ABC to remain as president at $75,000 a year; Robert E. Kintner as executive vice president at $50,000 and C. Nicholas Priaulx as vice president and treasurer at $27,500; all provide for increases if earnings improve. May 23: Associated Actors & Artistes of America, parent AFL talent union, sets plans for new branch, Television Authority, to end conflicting claims of Actors' Equity, AFRA, Screen Actors Guild and others. May 30: FCC consolidates all major tv problems, including uhf-vhf allocations and color; plans hearings to start in August. May 30: Arkansas Supreme Court upholds Little Rock's city tax on radio stations. May 30: Rep. John Rankin (D-Miss.) introduces bill rendering networks, stations and broadcaster-commentators liable to suit by a person slandered in district where he resides "at the county seat" by law of Congress; FCC is "too slow," Rep. Rankin states. May 30: Disputing suggestion of FCC Chairman Wayne Coy that fm stations be forced to duplicate am programs when facilities jointly operated, Fm Assn. President William E. Ware declares that "such regulations would sound the death knell of fm." May 30: WORL Boston goes off air after fighting for license renewal since 1945. May 30: Longest direct tv pickup, 129 miles, made by KFMB-TV San Diego during dedication when it got and rebroadcast salute from KTLA (TV) Los Angeles without special equipment of any kind. June 6: FCC sanctions editorializing by broadcast stations within undefined limits of "fairness" and "balance" by 4-to-l vote, overriding eight-year old Mayflower decision; Comr. Frieda B. Hennock, dissenting, contends majority's standard of fairness is "virtually impossible of enforcement"; CBS announces it will editorialize "from time to time." Wichita Windy says: "Mary Gayle and Ernie keep Kansas viewers wide-eyed with LATE DATE. (Selected films from NTA Selznick, NTA 'TNT,' and 20th Century Fox packages — us other choice groups from Hollywood.) To sell KANSAS buy KTVH with unduplicated CBS-TV coverage, reinforced by local-impact programming." KTVH Kansas CHANNEL 12 CBS -BASIC Howard O. Peterson, General Manager Represented Nationally by H-R Television, Inc. Page 226 • October 15, 1956 Broadcasting • Telecasting