NAB reports (Mar-Dec 1933)

CHAIRMAN CARPENTER: Is there any other discussion on this point before we move to the next one? This committee will get under way as quickly as possible and have something ready for the convention this fall. “Standardization of Commercial Forms,” Roy Harlow, of the Yankee Network. STANDARDIZATION OF COMMERCIAL FORMS ROY L. HARLOW Mr. Chairman, I think that my report is largely water that lias gone over the dam. Perhaps the one advantage may be its brevity. The group may possibly be interested in ex¬ actly how the committee attempted to arrive at some definite conclusions on the standard forms. At the time that I was assigned the job, the N. A. B. were aware that the four A’s had a Radio Committee, who were trying to develop some type of a standard form which would be acceptable to all agencies and to the broadcasting stations. So obviously my first contact was with Fred Gamble in New York. Fred and I both agreed that we would each prepare what we consid¬ ered a standard form of contract and then at some subsequent time we would get together and compare notes and see if we could arrive at a mutual conclusion. I immediately wrote letters to all of the commercial sta¬ tions in the United States and Canada and Mexico and Cuba. Some of those stations, I admit, were largely excuses to find out what was happening. I must say I was astounded at the answers I got. I found contracts which were all the way from the size, as near as I can recall, 2x5 inches, which contained no terms and con¬ ditions whatsoever, to almost a complete broadside with terms and conditions on both sides. It would have taken at least two or three hours to read the thing. I don’t know how much longer it wolud have taken to analyze it and find out what it was all about. It was quite conclusive that each station had built its contract based on contingencies which had arisen week to week, and month to month, which had been turned over to a very capable attorney who feeling that he must earn his salary had put into whereases and whereifs sufficient clauses so that that particular contingency would be taken care of in the future. I just want, as a little sidelight, to point out one thing which was a bit amusing. I found that the stations wore quite at a loss as to how to protect themselves against un¬ foreseen contingencies and their responsibilities therefor. In compiling these different clauses on that one thing alone, I found that the stations in this country had satisfactorily pro¬ tected themselves from any responsibility for acts of God, failure of transmission, impairment of transmission, delay in service, failure to provide copy, failure to be on time, condi¬ tions not within its control, unfavorable weather conditions, government regulations, mechanical difficulties, storms, strikes, fires, lightning, insurrection, city, state or governmental re¬ quirements, civil or military censorship, distress signals, dam¬ age to property of client, injury to persons, failure of power, floods, riots, acts of public enemy, act of the public foe, embargoes, accidents of performance, accidents to employees, loss of valuables or property of user, and many more minor ones. (Laughter) Well, now, none of those were put in without serious con¬ sideration on the part of the station who included those clauses in their contract, and I found on further examination that the writers of those clauses were pretty insistent that they be included because of some contingency which had occurred. Well, now, what occurs on that one clause could be fol¬ lowed through on about every other operation of the station, the program, the set-up of its equipment and everything else. We attempted first, from my angle, and I regret that it took three months to accomplish it, to take each clause and to incorporate some phrase as near as possible which would include all of the requirements desired by the broadcasting stations, and when the work was completed, Fred Gamble very courteously came to Boston and spent a day with me. He had set up a contract which was obviously the opinion of the advertising agencies as being correct in all details. Together we fought the battle. We both had to give in on a good many points. Subsequently a meeting was held by the Commercial Com¬ mittee in New York with the Radio Committee of the four A’s and a form of contract was finally adopted by the four A’s, based on these meetings and the work which we had ac¬ complished. That report was turned in last year, I believe, at the N. A. B. meeting. It is now in the hands of the Managing Director and the Board of Directors. The only stumbling block we found really when we came down to a completion of the work was leaving with the sta¬ tion absolute control over its program and the right, of course, which it had to maintain of cancelling a program in order to take another one in the public interest, at the same time giving the advertising agency a reasonable assurance that his property rights and his client’s rights were going to be pro¬ tected, and what was to occur should such a contingency arise, and then the matter, of course, of certain of the stations which had chain affiliations demanding a four-week cancella¬ tion and the advertising agencies on their part demanding a two-week cancellation. There were several recommendations, of course, which that subject evolved, but I believe in one fashion or another most of you have seen what has been pro¬ posed as the final draft, and I don’t need to talk any more about it. I merely make this as a very brief suggestion that there must be other forms in use by radio stations which have outgrown their usefulness and which in the interests of better business and better ' understanding might be improved by fur¬ ther study. That is entirely up to your own committee. (Applause) CHAIRMAN CARPENTER : Are there any comments ? Do any of you feel there is sufficient work there that we should set a committee to work to report in October on standardization of other forms in broadcasting stations? What is your feeling in that matter? Are there other forms that should be suggested to the Standardization Committee? MR. HOWLETT: We could all profit by that undoubtedly. CHAIRMAN CARPENTER: We will appoint such a com¬ mittee. Are there any other comments? “Sales Problems Common to Both Small and Large Sta¬ tions,” Leslie Fox, of WSM, Nashville, Term. (Applause) “SALES PROBLEMS COMMON TO BOTH SMALL AND LARGE STATIONS” By LESLIE FOX MR. FOX: I am going to take advantage and profit by the example of Arthur Church. I am not going to give you what I have written here in the form I had planned on account of the very shortness of time. I presume that in asking me to lead the discussion today on the subject, “Sales problems common to both small and large stations” no doubt Mr. Carpenter had in mind that having been connected with both a small and a large station, I would see many things which were common to both types. I have prepared a list of subjects which I think we should discuss. Prefacing discussion of the various subjects, I will with your permission, make enough comment to start a dis¬ cussion and I hope that everyone will get heartily into the game in order that we may, all of us, express our minds. We are all friends, all here for a common purpose and let us call a spade a spade at all times. First, we have the subject of rates. The first thought I have regarding rates is that we must know before we sell time what our time is worth. The only way we can arrive at any information along this line is by setting up an accounting system which will definitely establish actual operating costs. It is just as essential in radio that we know what every hour costs us as it is necessary for the manufacturer to know what his product is costing before he makes a price at which he will sell it to the trade. In arriving at our rate it is perfectly fair that it should be based first on operating cost and second on the market served. We cannot operate on a basis of a commercial hour sold, . Page 152 .