Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1959)

Tv termed the best medium for suburbia Tv outreaches newspapers in a market's suburbs and thus can carry the retailer's message beyond only the urban area. This was the thought carried to Denver by Howard P. Abrahams, Television Bureau of Adv.'s vice president for retail sales, in a talk Oct. 26 before a retail clinic sponsored by both the National Retail Merchants Assn. and its Denver unit. The vast coverage of urban and suburban areas has created a new marketing pattern for retailers, explained Mr. Abrahams, who outlined the growth to the suburbs in recent years led by young families who, he said, are the "people who need more of the things department stores sell." Suburban families, according to the TvB retail expert, earn and spend more than those in the city. Suburbia • The non-electronic media, Mr. Abrahams commented, do not reach all of the retailer's customers. In Birmingham, he said, 44 per cent of customers live in town where newspaper circulation is 72 per cent, but 56 per cent of customers are out-oftown where newspapers deliver only 28 per cent of their circulation. He cited the Charlotte retail trading area where tv circulation comprises 224,500 families, or 97 per cent greater than the total newspaper circulation. As to costs in Charlotte, Mr. Abrahams said a 543-line print advertisement costs $21.39 per thousand compared to a tv minute of $6.48 per thousand. And, he commented, in Davenport, a retailer would have to use 29 daily newspapers to reach his customers. Lee speaks in Wis. Emergency Technical Communications, including facets of the Conelrad Broadcasting System, were outlined by FCC Comr. Robert E. Lee in an address before the Wisconsin Broadcasters Assn.'s annual fall meeting in Madison Oct. 23-24. Hugh Boice Jr., vice president and general manager of WEMP Milwaukee, was appointed chairman of a state industry advisory committee to work with the commission in planning civil defense for Wisconsin. He will work closely with civil and military defense on availability of communications operations in the event of an emergency. His appointment was announced by Comr. Lee. WBA delegates also were appraised of recent industry developments by Percy Tannenbaum, director of the U. of Wisconsin's Mass Communications Research Center. The association re-elected Mig Figi, Waukesha, as president as well as other officers (see Fates & Fortunes). Social highlight was the Ohio State U. -Wisconsin football game in Madison Oct. 24. Opens brokerage firm Harris Ellsworth, former Republican congressman from Oregon, has anno'mcert the opening of a station-news paper brokerage firm to serve the Pacific Northwest. Mr. Ellsworth will headquarter at his home in Laurelwood, Ore. His mailing address will be P. O. Box Mr. Ellsworth 510, Roseburg, Ore. Phone Orchard 2-2426. Mr. Ellsworth was a member of Congress from 1942 to 1956. Upon leaving Congress, he served on the Civil Service Commission before returning to Oregon. A graduate of the U. of Oregon School of Journalism, he was the first manager of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Assn. He resigned that post to become editor of the Roseburg NewsReview and supervised building of that paper's KRNR Roseburg. He still owns stock in the newspaper and station. New Maine station WJAB Westbrook, Me., was slated to go on the air Nov. 1 with a top-40 format composed of big bands, rock 'n roll and newscasts. Personnel includes Raymond B. Durgin, station-sales manager, WCME Brunswick, Me., general manager; Walter J. (Mike) Norton, from WPOR Portland, Me., program director; Paramaz Baghdasarian, from WSMN Nashua. N.H., chief engineer. WJAB is on 1440 kc with 5kw. Taft second quarter net is $248,000 Taft Broadcasting Co. has reported a net income after estimated taxes of $248,000 for the second quarter of its fiscal year ending Sept. 30. This compares to the net income of $148,000 for the same period in 1958, Hulbert Taft Jr., president of the publicly held broadcasting entity, reported. This is an increase of 67%. For the first six months of the company's fiscal year, Mr. Taft announced, net income was $643,000 — 43.7% over the same 1958's period of $447,000. The company's board of directors approved a dividend of 10^ a share payable Dec. 15 to stockholders of record Nov. 15. The board also elected as vice presidents Roger B. Read, former manager of WKRC-TV Cincinnati and now in charge of administration and planning, and Donald Chapin, national sales manager for the Taft Stations. In addition to its Cincinnati WKRCAM-FM-TV stations, Taft Broadcasting Co. also owns WTVN-AM-FM-TV Columbus, Ohio; WBRC-AM-FM-TV Birmingham, Ala.; WKYT(TV) Lexington, Ky. It is now a minority owner of WBIR-AM-FM-TV Knoxville, Tenn.. but has bought 100% ownership pending FCC approval. KVUE (TV) on air KVUE (TV) Sacramento, Calif, began broadcast operations Nov. 1. Owned and operated by Capital Television Inc., (ch. 40 uhf). It is on a 4 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. schedule daily. The station will serve the metropolitan and greater Sacramento areas. Staff includes Lance Holien, operations manager, Richard Godon, sales manager and Jay Kloer, chief engineer. TV'S BIG BOOST TO The Television Bureau of Advertising which has an affinity for facts about the medium it promotes, has come up with this data on tv power usage: The electric power industry, says TvB President Norman E. Cash, receives over $511 million a year in new income created by usage of tv sets. As these same sets are replaced with color, power sales will increase to more than $700 million. In an independent analysis — after consulting power companies throughout the U.S. — TvB reported yearly POWER COMPANIES tv power usage in the regional sections of the country as follows: New England — $41.7 million, over $58 million with color. Middle Atlantic— $123.7 million, $173.7 million with color. East North Central— $115.7 million, $162.4 million with color. West North Central— $52.2 million, $73.3 million with color. South Atlantic— $58.6 million, $82.3 million with color. East South Central— $17 million, $23.9 million with color. West South Central— $46.6 million, $65.4 million. Mountain — $16.4 million, $23 million with color; Pacific — $39.7 million, $55.7 million with color. 72 (THE MEDIA) BROADCASTING, November 2, 1959