Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

TRADE ASSNS. BETTER REPORTING STRESSED AT PORTLAND, DENVER REGIONALS Broadcasters found their claims to new dignity challenged last week as the problems of electronic journalism were discussed at length by delegates and speakers at two NARTB regional meetings. The meetings were held Monday-Tuesday at Portland, Ore., and Thursday-Friday at Denver. Final meetings of the NARTB autumn series will be held this week (story, page 95). At Portland, Oregon's Gov. Robert D. Holmes charged that broadcasters, by and large, are failing to do a good job of news reporting (see page 138). His charges drew prompt response from a panel discussion, "New Dimensions of the Radio Newsroom," held following Gov. Holmes Monday luncheon address. Charles Herring, KING-AM-TV Seattle news director, called for higher radio-tv reporting standards and predicted broadcasters will continue to gain more equality with newspaper reporters. The subject of news freedom came up again Thursday and Friday at Denver. Howard H. Bell, NARTB assistant to the president, said broadcasters can only improve their journalistic position by uniting to secure equal footing with newspapers. He lauded Denver area broadcasters for their contribution to news access, recalling how their campaign had led to a ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court overruling Canon 35 of the American Bar Assn., with its ban on radio-tv court reporting, and giving presiding judges the right to decide if trials may be covered by camera and microphone. "News reporting is a profession and a highly skilled one," Gov. Holmes stated at Portland. "Radio and television cannot circumvent good reporting by simply subscribing to another wire service and then letting a good or sometimes not-so-good announcer read whatever strikes his fancy to the listening and viewing public." Defending the present news job that radio (at least at their own stations) is now doing, the Portland radio panel members reported a variety of methods for achieving that result. Richard Dunning, KHQ Spokane, Wash., declared that radio news has "no peer, no competition" because "we can give the news as it happens." He pointed out that this entails the responsibility to see that the radio news report is "accurate, timely and honest." Echoing Gov. Holmes, Mr. Dunning said that this job calls for trained newsmen. Jack Matranga, KGMS Sacramento, Calif., reported that his station broadcasts 32 newscasts a day with the services of only one staff newsman plus the AP radio wire, the AP sports wire, an arrangement with a morning newspaper for copies of its local news stories and a new affiliation with Don Lee-Mutual, made chiefly for access to network news programs. KGMS is getting a Volkswagen to use as a mobile unit for further news coverage, Mr. Matranga added. Robert Forward, KMPC Los Angeles, said "speed and mobility" are the keynote of KMPC's news coverage. The station's three mobile units provide fast on-the-spot coverage of local news events, he said, noting that one of them is kept in the field at all times except the late night hours to keep motorists informed of traffic conditions. National and international news is given fresh slants by beeper phone calls to all parts of the globe, Mr. Forward said. The fourth panel member, Richard Eimers of Associated Press' Portland bureau, said he has noticed an encouraging trend in the city's radio news reporting in recent years, adding, "Perhaps it's that you've made room for professional newsmen on your staffs." Good newsmen and good news announcers are essential to a good local news job, Mr. Eimers stated, warning that "no news service can cover your home town for you." Richard M. Brown, KPOJ Portland, moderated the Portland news panel. J. G. Paltridge, KLX Oakland, Calif., was moderator of another panel during the Monday afternoon radio session, "Our Best Program Idea." Mel Bailey, KEX Portland, described a key evening program, Portland P. M., combining music and human interest; and containing such segments as "City Beat," "While Portland Sleeps," "Night Life," "Back Stage" and others, as a program with the essential ingredients of community character and excitement, patterned to fit the station's personality. By recording Christmas music sung by college and high school choruses and choirs and played by school orchestras and bands, KITI Chehalis, Wash., secured program material for Christmas Day that won for the station a larger audience than for ordinary days "and every minute of it sponsored," Donald Whitman reported. A concept that a radio station is primarily a salesman of cake mixes, gas ranges and other articles purchased primarily by housewives led KBIG Avalon, Calif., at its inception five years ago to adopt the policy of middle-of-the-road musical programming, Cliff Gill explained. By programming the thousands of standard tunes thought to appeal to housewives instead of the 10 or 20 most popular with teenagers, KBIG has consistently ranked between fifth and eighth in audience among the more than 25 Southern California radio stations, Mr. Gill said, "and 91% of our listeners are adults, with purchasing power." Business was good locally but not nationally, he reported, with KBIG's representative calling for a change in program policy that would boost its ratings. Instead, KBIG changed its representative, and now its national sales are up 300%. The growing importance of radio during the evening as well as the daytime hours was stressed Tuesday morning during a radio session panel on "All Radio Time Is Good Time." Lew Avery, Avery-Knodel, reported in Portland that in the highly competitive New York market radio sets-in-use figures are up for nighttime as well as daytime hours and said that the problem is to find the kind of programming to attract those evening listeners. Bill Shaw, KSFO San Francisco, urged radio broadcasters to get bonus rates for special evening programming, pointing out that a buyer who is sold on a new program idea will be scared away, rather than attracted, if the pitch is closed with a cut-rate offer. Lee Bishop, KORE Eugene, Ore., discussed techniques for selling radio time to Main Street merchants, main source of business for small market broadcasters, and urged stations to have "practical rate cards, designed to meet the requirements of the retailer schedulewise and ratewise." Rate cards were also the theme of Art Moore & Assoc., who reported the success achieved by stations belonging to the Canadian Assn. of Radio & Tv Broadcasters in Canada following the creation of a standard rate card by that trade organization. The employment of capable newsmen by radio and tv stations also was urged by Mr. Herring during the concluding session of the Region 8 conference Tuesday afternoon. Describing attempts by KING-AMTV to break down barriers erected against camera and microphone, Mr. Herring predicted "continued progress on this problem in the coming five years." The proposed audit tv circulation study on which the tv board of NARTB will vote in January was presented in Portland Tuesday morning at a tv session by Thad H. Brown Jr., vice president for television, and Richard M. Allerton, research manager. The consensus seemed to reflect an attitude of watchful waiting rather than an immediate action. Particular interest was expressed in what the advertising agencies think of the study and a pilot study of their reactions was urged in advance of embarking on the nationwide audit. Decision also was reserved on the proposal to return the association's name to its original NAB, but the attitude here seemed favorable to the change. Resolutions proposed at Portland by a committee chairmanned by Mr. Gill, and adopted by Region 8, expressed the position that the FCC should not act on the question of toll tv in the broadcast bands without direction from Congress and urged the senators and representatives from the five western states to study the matter carefully and to direct the Commission not to act pending a policy determination by Congress. The group also pledged to support efforts by national and state organizations to remove restrictions against broadcast coverage of public proceedings; importuned the FCC not to make any basic changes in allocations until the completion of the TASO study, and urged all Region 8 broadcasters to assume responsibility for informing Congress and the public of the true facts about music licensing and the broadcasters. Thomas C. Bostic, KIMA Yakima, Wash., representing Dist. 17 on the NARTB radio board, was host director for the Portland meeting which was open to both member and non-member stations from Washington, Page 94 • October 21, 1957 Broadcasting