Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

STATIONS Katz Agency Begins On Expansion Project The Katz Agency, station representative, is expanding. Involved are the election of three new vice presidents, a 50% increase in office space and the appointment of 20 more people to the sales staff by next March 15. Elected to vice presidential posts: Daniel Denenholz, who is in charge of researchpromotion; Morris S. Kellner, radio sales manager since 1952, who is in charge of radio sales, and Scott Donahue Jr., tv sales manager since 1952, who is in charge of tv sales. All three are company directors. The Katz Agency moves to larger New York quarters March 1. The firm has signed a lease for 25,200 square feet on the 29th and 30th floors of a newly-constructed building at 666 Fifth Ave. Katz now is located at 477 Madison Ave. The representative's current staff of 261 — of which 162 are in New York — will be brought up to "at least" 280 by March 15. $100,000 in Religious Shows Canceled by New KABC Manager KABC Los Angeles is dropping all of its commercial religious programming as of the first weekend in December. Seven network and eight local programs are affected, a total of seven hours, 55 minutes each week. The decision, entailing a loss of approximately $100,000 a year in station revenue, reportedly was made by John H. Pace, who on Dec. 1 becomes general manager of the ABN-owned outlet [Stations, Nov. 11]. Mr. Pace also is assuming responsibility for the operation of KGO, the ABN-owned radio station in San Francisco; DENENHOLZ KELLNER DONAHUE According to Eugene Katz, president of the Katz Agency, the new growth will be necessary to maintain "comprehensive agency, advertiser and client servicing in the face of growing competitive requirements." Mr. Denenholz, with the firm since 1931, supervises advertising, publicity, research and sales data activities; Mr. Kellner joined Katz in 1932, and Mr. Donahue was sales manager at WPIX (TV) New York before he moved to the Katz Agency in 1950. The client relations department continues to be in charge of Edward Codel, who is a vice president. it is believed probable the same no-commercial religious programming policy will be put into effect there. KABC will continue to carry three religious programs as a public service and without payment. They are Message of Israel, The Christian in Action and Pilgrimage. WKTX Announces Target Date WKTX Atlantic Beach, Fla.. has announced a Jan. 1 target date for completion of construction. The 1600 kc facility (1 kw, daytime) is owned by W. H. Adams Jr., owner of the Jacksonville Fishermen's Supply Co., and Mrs. Adams. Robert K. Lynch, station manager and formerly engineer with NBC and ABC, reports selection of the WKTX staff is underway. The station will specialize in music programmed to adult tastes. Pearson Opens in Des Moines, Closes Office in Minneapolis John E. Pearson Co. has opened an office in Des Moines, Iowa, in the Des Moines Building, it was announced last week by John E. Pearson, head of the station representative firm. At the same time the company closed its office in Minneapolis. According to Mr. Pearson, this move was planned to strengthen and consolidate sales efforts with both clients and agencies in Minneapolis, Des Moines, Omaha, Kansas City and Denver. Frank Frost is to transfer from the Pearson office in Chicago to head the Des Moines office. Connie Connor also is moving from the Chicago office to assist Mr. Frost. In another move to strengthen agency and client contacts in the Southwest, Ralph Widman, who has been with WFAA-TV Dallas, was named manager of the Dallas office effective immediately. MR. FROST MR. WIDMAN DATELINES Newsworthy News Coverage by Radio and Tv e&mm:/....: : . =".'..* ' ' PITTSBURGH — WJAS here spent 85 cents for toll charges and came up with a jetborne interview with Gen. Curtis LeMay during his record-breaking flight from Buenos Aires to Washington, D. C, Nov. 13. News Editor Herb Morrison of WJAS, a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve, called Andrews Air Force Base in Washington and was connected with the general's jet tanker while it was flying over Venezuela. Speeding toward its 6,325-mile record, the plane was doing 510 miles an hour against headwinds at the time of the interview. SAN DIEGO — Those who , appeared on the "People in the News" segment of This Day on KFMB-TV San Diego, Calif., Nov. 10, weren't in the news before their tv appearance. But they and the station had got nationwide coverage by the time of their second appearance Nov. 13. Richard Mikesell, professional hypnotist of San Diego, put housewife Billie Tatum in a trance on the 7:30 p.m. telecast Sunday. It was the beginning of a three-day experiment in teaching Spanish by hypnotic suggestion. After being exposed to recorded Spanish lessons at the hypnotist's offices for three days, Mrs. Tatum was brought back to take her place once more among "People in the News" on the Wednesday show. Quizzed by a Spanish interpreter, Mrs. Tatum was found to remember some of her subconscious teaching, but no conclusions about the experiment were drawn on the program. Harold Keen, moderator of the KFMB-TV program, later announced that "equal time" would be granted a professor of San Diego State College to comment on the hypnotic test. CHICAGO — The 100,000th newscast in a 12-year series of hourly broadcasts by WIND Chicago, cooperating with the Chicago Daily News, was ticked off at 8 a.m. Nov. 14. Arthur Hall, general manager of the Daily News, and Ralph Atlass, general manager of the Westinghouse station, were on the milestone program, presided over by Bernie Allen, WIND'S morning news editor, who has been with the station nine years. Mr. Atlass and Mr. Hall profiled growth of their outlets during their 12-year association and looked forward to its continuation. WALKER TALKS Former President Harry S. Truman was covered for the first time last week by a WRCA New York newsman with a walkie-talkie, and Mr. Truman expressed lively interest in the device. In New York for a visit, he was accompanied by a herd of newsmen on one of his early-morning "constitutionals," including Gabe Pressman, news director of WRCA-AM-TV New York. He noticed Mr. Pressman's walkie-talkie and asked what it was. Mr. Pressman explained the device and its functions, and Mr. Truman quipped: "Gosh, that's the first time I've been covered by one of those, though one time a man covered me while on roller skates." Mr. Pressman's coverage of the "constitutional" was carried live on WRCA's early-morning Pulse show. Page 94 . • November 18, 1957 Broadcasting