Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1961)

tered a partnership attempting to buy KFOX-AM-FM Long Beach, Calif. Before entering broadcast station ownership, Mr. Resnick produced a weekly program on WARL Arlington, Va. (Washington area), and on WTTG (TV) Washington. $5,000 fine set for KDAY 'teasers7 KDAY Santa Monica, Calif., is facing a $5,000 government fine for allegedly carrying "teaser" spot announcements in violation of FCC rules. The commission notified the station last week of its apparent liability for the forfeiture. This is the fourth such monetary sanction announced by the FCC but it is the first for a programming violation. The other three were against: KWDB Minneapolis (which was fined $2,500), KOMA Oklahoma City (facing a $10,000 fine) and WCUY (FM) (cited for $8,000) (Broadcasting, Dec. 11). According to the commission, KDAY entered into a contract last May with Poly-Sonics Inc., New York, to broadcast 200 three-second spots for $630. The spots stated simply "Remember June 25." The commission said that, between May 8-31, KDAY aired 171 such spots identifying neither sponsor nor product, thus violating Sec. 317 of the Communications Act and Sec. 3.119 of the FCC rules. Therefore, the commission said, it is apparent that KDAY is subject to a fine for "willfully or repeatedly" failing to comply with its requirements as a licensee. KDAY's statement that the violation through the teaser campaign was "unintentional" is not a valid excuse. No Excuse ■ An "ignorance of the law" plea is particularly invalid, the FCC told KDAY, especially in view of the commission's March 1960 public notice on sponsor identification which was mailed to all licensees and specifically referred to the prohibition against teaser announcements. In addition, the commission pointed out, the same order referred to a 1959 denial of a petition for rulemaking to permit stations to make announcements without identifying the sponsor. Alan Freed, KDAY disc jockey at the time the "Remember June 25" spots were aired, is associated with PolySonics and the teasers were designed to promote a Freed record hop in the Hollywood Bowl. The spots were aired on Mr. Freed's program which, it was reported, violated a contract KDAY had with World Wide Attractions prohibiting promotion of record hops on the Freed show except those of World Wide. World Wide also had a record hop 84 (GOVERNMENT) scheduled the night of June 25 and when the subject of the "Remember June 25" spots was disclosed by Mr. Freed, the station refused to air spots identifying the Freed hop, it is understood. Instead, it was reported, KDAY tied in the June 25 promotion with the World Wide record hop. As a result, Mr. Freed allegedly resigned while on the air. (Mr. Freed formerly was with WINS New York, as was Mel Leeds, KDAY general manager. Both were involved in an FCC payola investigation of WINS.) The commission also said that KDAY management also would be subject to a fine for failure to exercise "reasonable diligence in obtaining necessary information from your employes in accordance with Sec. 317 (c) of the act." KDAY was given 30 days to file a statement with the FCC if the station feels it should not be held liable for the $5,000 fine. If no such appeal is filed, the FCC said it will order the fine paid. The station also may ask for a reduction of the amount of forfeiture. Commissioner John S. Cross voted for a fine of only $1,000 in the KDAY case. Ch. 13 applicant asks hurry-up procedure Grand Broadcasting Co., an applicant for newly assigned ch. 13 Grand Rapids, Mich., last week again waived its right to oral hearing, asked the FCC to consider its application as submitted (with voluminous exhibits) and urged that all other parties file similar waivers and completely documented applications to obviate the need for a drawnout hearing. If the other five applicants for ch. 13 were to emulate Grand's procedure a final grant of the channel could be made by the FCC in six months, the company claimed. In the past comparative hearings for tv channels sometimes took as long as four years before final determination, Grand pointed out. The applicant said such torturous procedure was excusable 10 years ago when broadcasters and the FCC were learning and developing "ground rules" for hearings. But now that points of decisional significance are well established, applicants should be willing to stand or fall on the strength of their proposals, Grand suggested. The applicant recommended that special issues or substantial points of fact be heard in brief supplementary hearings. Grand refused to consider participating in arrangements for interim operation as suggested by two other Grand Rapids applicants (Broadcasting, Dec. 11). It said it would take as long to negotiate an interim operation as it would to make a final grant under the Grand proposal, the company contended. Grand said interim operation is unnecessary in its opinion but it will participate if all applicants adopt the Grand plan of submitting exhibts and waivers if it then appears a lengthy delay would be necessary for some reason. UAW asks hearing on WLW renewal Charging that WLW Cincinnati refuses to sell time for the liberal and labor points of view, while giving the business-conservative viewpoint, the United Auto Workers (AFL-CIO) has asked the FCC to set a hearing on the station's license renewal application. The dispute between UAW and WLW arose last fall when the station refused to renew a contract for the daily program, Eye Opener, sponsored by the union (Broadcasting, Sept. 25). In its formal petition for a hearing, UAW charged that the Crosley Broadcasting Co. station (1) "knowingly made and continues to make false representations" to the commission; (2) refuses any expression over WLW of the liberal and labor point of view, and (3) that its programming policy is not consistent with the public interest. WLW carried Eye Opener, which has been sponsored by the union on various stations since 1953, for one year. Crosley is owned by Avco Corp. and the union charged that "in line with the direct economic interests of its Avco ownership, the station regularly presents the business and conservative point of view and . . . does not present any time for the expression of the liberal-labor position with which Avco, as a manufacturing enterprise, is in continuing opposition." The union complaint also charged that WLW refused to sell time to the AFL-CIO for a series of five-minute programs on Ohio's unemployment and workmen's compensation laws. The automobile workers said WLW's "tortuous and shifting rationalizations do not obscure WLW's palpable censorship of the liberal-labor point of view from its programs." In its reply to the original UAW complaint, WLW said that Eye Opener was not a controversial program and that it was canceled because the station had a better program planned (Broadcasting, Oct. 16). WLW said it offered the union time between 12:305:30 a.m. for Eye Opener. UAW said last week the offer was "patently made in bad faith" at a time period when the desired listeners are asleep. WLW's license expired last Oct. 1. Its renewal application currently is pending at the commission. BROADCASTING, December 18, 1961