Broadcasting (Apr - June 1960)

our urging for a raising of the level of advertising in its media. I think that your Dr. Stanton (CBS president Frank Stanton) has furnished leadership and leadership of integrity to television, as have many others. And I am very pleased at the response of television, of the printed media, of advertising leaders, to our urging that the level of advertising be raised, and I think that it will. And we intend to do our job and see that it is.” Mr. Kintner reiterated his view that regulation of advertising is “the joint responsibility of both government and business.” FTC issues 72nd payola complaint A Los Angeles record distributor has been charged with making payola payments to a radio station, as well as to disc jockeys and other station personnel of radio and tv stations. This is the third payola complaint which alleges that station management shared in under-the-counter payoffs. In a complaint issued last week, the Federal Trade Commission charged Pacific Record Distributors paid off radio stations — as well as d.j.’s and others — for playing its records over the air. The complaint against Pacific was one of three issued by the FTC last week. The other two are gospel music record manufacturer Nashboro Record Co., Nashville, Tenn. (Nashboro label) and distributor Portem Distributing Inc., New York. The FTC charged that Portem also made payola payments to other personnel of broadcast stations, as well as to disc jockeys. Respondents have 30 days to file answers to these complaints. Last week’s complaints bring to 72 the number of citations issued by the FTC against record companies and distributors in the drive to clean up the payola stench. Consent judgments have been entered in 24 cases. The FTC has informed the FCC that 110 radio stations are involved in payola transactions. Tv’s effect on majors cited at Hill hearing The difference in tv and radio revenues received by the New York Yankees baseball club ($1,400,000) and the Washington Senators ($125,000) in 1959 gives the former an advantage in the baseball talent market, Branch Rickey, president of baseball’s new Continental League, told the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee last week. He said the new league plans to pool twothirds of tv revenues. Former Sen. Ed Johnson (D-Colo.), chairman of the Continental League’s legislative committee, said he has advocated reduction of tv baseball blackouts to a minimum and compensation of “injured parties” (i.e., minor league clubs). Tv, he said, is “here to stay” and baseball must adjust to it. He is a former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and former president of the defunct Western League. The subcommittee is considering a bill (S-3483) which would require tv blackouts of games in any area within a 75-mile radius if a local team in a different league were playing at the same time unless the local team gave permission for the telecast. More calls for shift to all-uhf in Echoing earlier comments approving |he FCC’s proposed rulemaking to shift Fresno, Calif., to an all-uhf commercial operation (Broadcasting, May 9), replies filed last week with the commission boosted still further the proposal to make that city a uhf stronghold. Reply comments filed by ABC; San Joaquin Valley Community TV Assn. Inc.; KFRE-TV (ch. 12) and KJEO (TV ch. 47), both Fresno; KYLD (TV ch. 17) Bakersfield; and KCOY Santa Maria all nodded in favor of the proposal, KFRE-TV Fresno, a vhf facility, said that it concurred fully with the “virtually unanimous opinion of all parties” that Fresno should be all uhf and further suggested that proceedings be instituted to convert Bakersfield, Calif, to an all-uhf operation. The commission’s proposal to re-allocate ch. 12 Fresno (now assigned to KFRE-TV) to either Santa Barbara or as an educational non-commercial facility in Fresno did not meet with such unanimous approval, however. A reply filed by ch. 3 station KEYT (TV) Santa Barbara stated that the city had most serious limitations in its ability to support even a single tv facility and the advent of a second station in the market could very well mean that neither station would survive. But the Santa Barbara Tv Assn., comprised of businessmen and civic leaders, also filed a reply and asked that the channel be assigned to Santa Barbara and stated that the group was prepared to file an application for a station. Thomas B. Friedman, a consulting engineer from Pacific Palisades, Calif., stated in a new comment that “the logical assignment of ch. 12 is to the Guterma, Roach turn pleas to ‘no contest’ Two former Mutual Broadcasting System officials, on trial for failing to register as foreign agents for the Dominican Republic reversed their previous not guilty pleas and pleaded nolo contendere (no contest) last week — a day and a half after the trial started in U.S. District Court in Washington. The new pleas were submitted by Alexander L. Guterma and Hal Roach Jr. Mr. Guterma is the former president of MBS; Mr. Roach the former MBS board chairman. The two were indicted last year for failure to register as foreign agents after they arranged a $750,000 deal with Dominican officials to disseminate Trujillo propaganda over the MBS radio network. None of the items ever appeared over MBS. Federal Judge Joseph R. Jackson said he would pass sentence later. Mr. Guterma is under a four years, 11 months jail sentence and $160,000 fine for stock fraud (Broadcasting, Feb. 22, 1). This grew out of failure of his companies to file proper registrations with the Securities & Exchange Commission and the New York Stock Exchange. The new pleas came after two witnesses had testified for the government. $1 million suit A civil damage suit for $1 million against a newspaper which discriminated against advertisers who used the local radio station got underway last Monday in Cleveland federal court. The suit, filed in 1951, was instituted by WEOL-AM-FM Elyria-Lorain, Fresno Lompoc-Santa Maria area and the public interest, convenience and necessity so dictates.” KCOY Santa Maria supported this position in its reply and added that the switch would meet all of the mileage spacing requirements established in the rules. Both Mr. Friedman and KCOY supported the switch to uhf for Fresno and Bakersfield. The commission had rejected an earlier proposal by Mr. Friedman to move ch. 12 to Lompoc-Santa Maria on the grounds that the area contained a population of only 15,000 and was serviced by two other stations (KSBY [TV] San Luis Obispo and KEYT [TV] Santa Barbara). The new reply ups the area’s population, based on current census reports, to 52,000 people. Mr. Friedman also notes that the two stations now servicing the area frequently carry the same programs. 86 (GOVERNMENT) BROADCASTING, May 23, 1960