NAB reports (Mar-Dec 1933)

The National Association of Broadcasters NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING .... * WASHINGTON, D. C. PHILIP G. LOUCKS, Managing Director NAB REPORTS * sNRA yjjjjf * ★ Vol. 1 No. 39 OCT. 21, 1933 Cooyrloht. 1933. The National Association ot Broadcasters wi •»» COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION STUDIED Creation of a communications commission to have general juris¬ diction over wire and radio communications is the subject of study by a special committee headed by Secretary of Commerce Roper, it was announced this week by the Secretary of Com¬ merce at a press conference. General Charles McK. Saltzman, former chairman of the Federal Radio Commission, is vice chairman of the committee and Herbert L. Petty, secretary of the Federal Radio Commission, is serving as secretary of the committee. Other members of the committee are Senator Dill, chairman of the Senate Committee on Inter¬ state Commerce; Representative Rayburn of Texas, chairman of the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce; rep¬ resentatives of the army, navy, coast guard, State Department, and Bureau of Standards. The committee has held several meetings. Best information available is that the report and recommenda¬ tions of this committee will not be made the basis of an execu¬ tive order, as was at one time supposed, but will be sent to Congress to serve as a basis for federal legislation shortly after Congress convenes in January. CODE CONFERENCES RESUMED Following the annual membership meeting of the NAB at White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., conferences on the code of fair competition for the broadcasting industry were resumed. These conferences have dealt principally with the provisions in the code relating to licensed operators. Since the report at the conven¬ tion there have been no new or important developments in the situation. BOARD WILL PLAN 1934 PROGRAM The meeting of the Board of Directors scheduled for Thursday, November 9, in Washington will be devoted to developing a pro¬ gram for the new year. A meeting of the executive committee consisting of the President, Treasurer and Managing Director, created under the new constitution and by-laws, will be held in advance of the Board meeting to work out an agenda for the Board meeting. ROCKEFELLER LIQUOR AD SURVEY Advertising of liquor, other than light beer, should be “rigidly restricted or forbidden” where possible, according to the Rocke¬ feller liquor survey just made public. Only the name, address, date of incorporation of a manufac¬ turer or dealer, a coat of arms or trade-mark and a description in the simplest terms of the article or articles should be contained in newspaper and magazine advertising, the report stated. Radio advertising should be subject to the same rules, it is re¬ ported. All additional advertising matter, including slogans, to be pro¬ hibited, except on approval of the state licensing board. KFAB CASE TO BE APPEALED The Supreme Court of Nebraska has allowed an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States in the KFAB libel case, it was learned this week. The case involves the utterance of an alleged defamatory statement in the course of a political campaign speech by radio. The Nebraska Supreme Court held the station liable in damages for the utterance. It is expected that the papers petitioning the Supreme Court of the United States for a review of the state supreme court decision will be filed shortly and that the case will come up in the higher court in March. NRA CHIEF PRAISES RECORDINGS The series of electrical transcriptions prepared for the NRA in connection with the “Buy Now” campaign, and available to all broadcasting stations, won a word of praise from Frank Wilson, chief of the NRA organization division. “We have just come from an audition where several of the radio recordings made in behalf of the ‘Now Is The Time To Buy Campaign’ were heard,” he stated in a bulletin to all NRA Committtes. “We have no hesitation in saying to all NRA Com¬ mittees and to all retail merchants and groups interested in getting maximum results from this campaign, that this radio series is fully as outstanding as the series of newspaper advertisements prepared for us by the leading copywriters in America. “These radio recordings follow the same idea as the 24 factual advertisements furnished the newspapers. Each one is devoted to a certain commodity. In the staging of these productions a cast of 12 competent people was taken to the Victor Recording Studio at Camden, N. J. Nothing was spared to make the programs out¬ standing. The manager of your local radio station has complete information about the series and he can arrange for the delivery of these records to his station at a cost made very reasonable by reason of the quantity being produced. We suggest that your committee meet with your station manager and try to make this series a part of your local campaigns in all cities where there is a radio station. “These broadcastings may be sponsored by an individual ad¬ vertiser or by a group of advertisers engaged in a similar line of business. If, for instance, the recording on shoes were sponsored by all shoe dealers in a given community, the cost to each would be very small indeed. The manager of your radio station has the test of each recording so the prospective user may know exactly the nature of the material.” As pointed out before, these recordings may be secured from G. T. Herzog, 704 National Press Building, Washington, D. C. The cost is $60.00, plus five per cent tax, for the entire series of 24 recordings. Stations may pay for half the series at the time of subscribing and the balance at a later date or have them sent C. O. D. It is not necessary to purchase the entire series but arrangements may be made to purchase any number less than 24 by getting in touch with Mr. Herzog. EXAMINER REJECTS ERIE PROTEST Leo J. Omelian was granted a construction permit for a new broadcasting station at Erie, Pa., by the Commission, but a pro¬ test was filed against this by the Broadcasters of Pennsylvania, Inc. In Report No. SIS this week it is recommended that the Commission affirm this grant (George H. Hill, e.). ■ Page 201 •