Broadcasting (Apr - June 1960)

QUALITY TREND Audience taste, wants increasing, PAB hears Advertisers and broadcasters must prepare to serve “a younger, richer and better-educated audience with better tastes, more leisure time and an altogether different kind of life,” the Pennsylvania Assn, of Broadcasters was told during its May 18-20 meeting by Ed Jones, consumer advertising manager of Hamilton Watch Co. Speaking Thursday at the PAB’s annual meeting held at Wernersville, Mr. Jones said broadcasters should upgrade and update their station and programming policies. He cited the trend toward good music and the growth of consumer acceptance of fm radio as reflecting the changing tastes and qualityconsciousness of the American public. Every third radio set sold is a portable and there are over 40 million auto radios, he reminded. Pointing to radio’s opportunities, he said the medium must seek its own identity “not as a substitute for television but as a compelling interpreter of people’s new-found interests, hopes and dreams.” Hamilton Watch uses magazines catering to higher income families plus spring and pre-Christmas radio, Mr. Jones said. Currently Hamilton is buying good music on 70 stations (mostly fm) in 50 markets, with commercials, tailored to the programming and audience. Cecil Woodland, WEJL Scranton, presided at the meeting as PAB president. The session included panels on the radio-tv future, with a review of economic developments by Charles H. Tower, NAB economics-personnel manager. Wage-hour trends, programming, insurance, semi-automatic programming, sales and administrative procedure were discussed. Retail Assistance ■ William W. Davis, vice president of The Globe Store, Scranton, Pa., suggested radio and tv stations should work closely with department stores, becoming familiar with each retailer’s specific operation and advertising policies. Presentations should be made on a store’s needs, he said, criticizing salesmen who say “a good spot has just opened up” or who propose a 13-week campaign. “The medium is either good for us 52 weeks of the year or it’s not good at all,” he said. Mr. Davis said copywriters should understand FCC and Federal Trade Commission regulations, aiding retailers in avoiding violations of rules. He said Globe feels stations subscribing to the NAB tv code and radio standards “provide valuable insurance” against accidental retailer infractions of FCC and FTC rules and regulations. George Skinner, director of radio programs services of The Katz Agency, New York, said many stations that leaped into the top-40 format and found the going too competitive have changed to middle-road or serious music. All but four Los Angeles stations have dropped out of the overcrowded top-40 category, he said, adding, “the format has changed but the competitive picture hasn’t.” Program Challenge ■ The shift of a half-dozen stations to good music can’t be called a trend, he said. He advised station operators to study their markets carefully and decide what area has been left uncovered. “The key to success in radio programming is to disregard the boundaries set by former successes or failures and to provide the kind of radio that a respectable percentage of the audience wants to hear,” he said. Mr. Skinner saw two challenges to radio — the need to use originality and ingenuity in programming and creation of opportunity to learn the business. He emphasized failure to develop new talent, with insecurity of employment a discouraging factor keeping young people out of the profession. Gerald A. Bartell, head of Bartell Family Radio, said “there’s a boom in good music” and added there always has been a market for this type of music. Broadcasters must become more socially conscious, he said, and more thoughtful and resourceful. “Those who cling to a pat formula may discover somebody else has come up with a better one,” he said, noting formulas are good only so long as they work. A dynamic programming concept is emerging, he said, including developing a quick, intelligent reaction by personnel, constant audience studies and sensitivity to social and economic forces. Turnabout Television and movie producers of cops-and-robbers dramas have turned to the police departments of almost every major city, at one time or another, for technical assistance in making their stories authentic. In Miami, however, the police have requested such television product as training aids for their staff and for civic groups. WCKT (TV) Miami has established a lending library of feature and syndicated crime films at police request. A member of the Central Services Div. of the Public Safety Dept, explained, “Most of these films have been previously authenticated by other police departments and this makes them ideal for training demonstrations.” Heritage fm operation begins ‘in-the-black’ Heritage Fm Stations, a group of fm stations located in 25 major U.S. markets, begins operations with its first outlet in-the-black, according to Rogan Jones, president of International Good Music Inc., Bellingham, Wash., operator of the group. This was accomplished by selling a large portion of the availabilities before KGMJ Seattle goes on the air this week. Other Heritage fm operations slated to sign on in the near future are located in Portland, Ore., Denver, Los Angeles, San Bernardino-Riverside, Calif., Baltimore, Buffalo, St. Louis, Chicago and Boston. Mr. Jones said, “Through the use of latest developments in electronic automation techniques, we are able to present to fm listeners music reproduced under the highest possible standards in both transmission and programming.” It is planned that the stations will be fully automated. Heritage has appoined Erwin Wasey, Ruthrauff & Ryan, San Francisco, to handle advertising and public relations. William H. Barnett will be account executive and Frank A. Helton, account supervisor. National consumer magazines, radio, tv, newspapers, outdoor advertising and the trade press will be used for promotion, according to Mr. Jones. AB-PT hears about 49% gain in earnings American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres spent a harmonious hour with its stockholders in New York last Tuesday (May 17), with only token opposition to management policies expressed from the floor. President Leonard Goldenson reported a 49% gain in earnings over the previous year, which probably had something to do with it. Mr. Goldenson credited the television network with the greatest strides within the company. It contributed $172 million to AB-PT’s record $288 million gross in 1959, while the theatre division contributed $91 million. Tv was up to $35 million, while theatres were off $3 million from 1958. Mr. Goldenson said that first quarter earnings this year were a record $3.3 million (against $2.3 million in 1959) and that the second quarter also was expected to top last year’s. The new board of directors slate elected by stockholders includes one new name: Oliver Treyz, president of ABC-TV. Following the stockholders meeting, the board elected Robert L. Huffines Jr., chairman of Worth Fund Inc. and an AB-PT director since 1951, to its executive committee. I Re C< 62 (THE MEDIA) BROADCASTING, May 23, 1960