Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1958)

GOVERNMENT continued JUSTICE EYES TALENT AGENTS • MCA, William Morris under antitrust investigation • Publisher, composer complaints against BMI also involved I he Dept. of Justice has decided to rip the veil from the shadowy figure of the It) percenter — the talent agent. Victor R. Hansen, assistant attorney general in charge of the government s antitrust division, acknowledged last week that an investigation has hegun and that it includes the giant Music Corp. of America, the William Morris Agency — and BMI. Mr. Hansen was not explicit on wh\ BMI was included in the talent agency roster. He stated that complaints have been received hv the Justice Dept. alleging that unless composers are represented by big talent agencies the\ cannot seem to get their songs published or played over the air. MCA was most recently in the news with its $50 million purchase of Paramount Pictures' 750-film. pre1948 libary for tv showings [At Deadline, Feb. 10]. 1 he government's investigation paralleled an interest in talent agencies and the MCA film acquisition by Sen. Joseph O'Mahoney (D-Wyo.) [Closed Circuit, Feb. 241. Sen. O'Mahoney is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and is chairman of its subcommittee on copyrights, trademarks and patents. He is also active on the Judiciary's antitrust subcommittee. Neither the Music Corp. of America nor the William Morris Agency professed to know about the investigation as of late last week. Neither had heard from the Justice Dept.. it was said. Morris Schricr. vice president of MCA in charge of legal affairs, said MCA had not had notice of an antitrust inquiry. Michael Halpern. attorney for William Morris, stated. "We have not had a word" from the government. "It's all pretty foreign to us at the moment." he added. He indicated that when William Morris knows what it is that the government is preparing against the agency it would then be prepared to issue a statement. Talent agencies, of which MCA and William Morris are the acknowledged leaders, represent performers who account for up to 90% of the names in television. This is in addition to their representation of talent in the stage, screen and night club fields. Their take from television alone is estimated to be about $50 million a year [Lead Story, Oct. 21. 1957]. The investigation has been underway for some time, Mr. Hansen told Broadcasting last week. It grew out of the Justice Dept.'s interest in all facets of the entertainment business, he added. The investigation primarily will concern television and records, Mr. Hansen stated. He emphasized that this was a preliminary investigation and was not based on specific complaints or indictments. He did admit, however, that the department had received "numerous" complaints from small music publishers claiming that they could not get their music played on the air. The Justice Dept.'s chief trust buster also alluded to testimony given to Congress two years ago which alleged that 90% of the music played on radio and tv consisted of BMI tunes. He referred, he said, to the hearing conducted by the Ccller Antitrust Subcommittee in September 1956. The Justice Dept. study will look into the relations of the talent agencies "one to each other." Mr. Hansen stated, as well as what effect these relationships, if any. have on individual composers, writers and actors and their work. The Justice Dept.'s interest in talent agencies. Mr. Hansen recalled, is an offshoot of its investigation into tv network practices. One of the areas which has been mined, Mr. Hansen said, has been networks' alleged control of talent. The Justice Dept., Mr. Hansen stated several months ago, is waiting to see the outcome of the FCC's Barrow Report hearings before making any moves in that direction. The hearings on the Barrow Report begin today in Washington before the FCC en banc (see separate story, page 64). The Justice Dept. has filed an antitrust suit against a number of tv film producers, alleging that they required tv stations to buy films in packages. This was outlawed in the Paramount Pictures antitrust consent decree in 1941. This suit is still pending. FTC Hears Tobaccomen On Cigarette Testing The government is setting its own filter trap to catch unreliable cigarette advertising claims. It is doing this with the help of the proposed victims — major tobacco manufacturers— which sent executives and research directors to Washington last week for two days of hearings at the Federal Trade Commission. Independent laboratories also were represented. They were invited to suggest standards for measuring content of tar and nicotine— which many cigarettes claim to have "less" of than competitors. Presumably, when the FTC decides on a set of standards, advertising copy will be regulated more carefully on filtration and specific tar and nicotine claims. Witnesses in Washington Wednesday and Thursday described their own testing •methods — mechanical smoking machines, butt lengths used, standards for frequency and duration of puff, etc. — all set up with the "average smoker" in mind. The FTC also has to protect the "ultimate" or excessive smoker, however, it was emphasized by Charles E. Grandey, director of the bureau of consultation, as hearings got underway. Tobaccomen who testified didn't have any ready ideas on how to protect the "ultimate smoker." Setting up such criteria involves such imponderables as ultimate butt length, how much smoke the ultimate consumer takes into his mouth, how frequently, how long. etc. British smokers, it was revealed during testimony, smoke cigarettes to a bun several millimeters shorter than the average U. S. smoker. The goal of the FTC during its hearings on cigarettes is to back up a portion of its 1955 advertising guides which forbid direct or implied claims about nicotine and tar content without competent scientific proof. The guides go on to note that this applies to filter comparisons as well. After testing criteria are established, the consumer should "be able to know in milligrams what he receives," in the way of nicotine, tar and other substances in cigarette smoke, it was stated at the hearing last week. The hearings got underway one week after a report by the House Committee on Government Operations severely criticizing the FTC for its regulation of filter cigarette advertising and saying that FTC "failed in its statutory duty" to prevent deceptive practices. Tobacco representatives indicated a willingness to adopt whatever standards the commission adopts. Spokesmen for the American Medical Assn. and the Consumers Union commended the FTC for its effort in this field. The FTC invited those interested to submit additional comments during the 30 days following the hearing. Participants, in addition to independent laboratory people, were representatives of the country's 10 major cigarette companies: American Tobacco Co., Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., Larus & Bros., Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co., P. Lorillard Co.. Philip Morris Inc., R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Riggio Tobacco Corp., Stephano Bros, and United States Tobacco Co. Tobacco trade groups also sent observers as did several government agencies, including the U. S. Public Health Service, which in June 1957 issued a report linking "excessive" cigarette smoking with lung cancer. NLRB Examiner Favors KTRB A charge against KTRB Modesto. Calif., filed with the National Labor Relations Board by National Assn. of Broadcast Employes & Technicians, would be dismissed under a recommendation by NLRB Trial Examiner Howard Myers. The examiner found the station had not engaged in an unfair labor practice when it discharged a combo man who left the transmitter unattended. He found also that a wage increase had not been granted to induce employes to refrain from joining the union. Utah Vhf Grant to Cache The FCC Thursday announced grant of a construction permit to Cache Valley Bcstg. Co., Logan, Utah, for a new tv station to operate on ch. 12 with 2.95 kw visual and 1.48 kw aural. Estimated construction cost is $49,600. Both first year operating cost and revenue are to be approximately $35,000. Among the owners: President Herschel Bullen (41.6%), realtor, and SecretaryTreasurer Reed Bullen (31.5%), general manager of KVNU Logan, which is owned by Cache Valley. Page 66 • March 3, 1958 Broadcasting