NAB reports (Mar-Dec 1933)

ing station equipment for income-tax purposes. It was decided that the Bureau would address a communication to the NAB requesting its cooperation in supplying factual information upon which the Bureau will promulgate an official bulletin setting forth the rates of depreciation which will be allowed for income-tax purposes. Upon receipt of the communication the NAB will call a meeting of all interested parties for the purpose of formulating a report to the Bureau. REMAILING OF “AUDIENCE” OR “FAN MAIL” During the past several weeks the NAB has received many in¬ quiries with respect to the remailing of audience or fan mail. For this reason there is reproduced in this bulletin the announcement made on June 21, 1933, by Third Assistant Postmaster General Eilenberger following a series of conferences with the NAB: “ ‘Audience’ or ‘fan’ mail, prepaid at the first-class rate of postage when originally sent to broadcasting stations may thereafter, if it has not been opened, be remailed to other points in bulk at the third or fourth-class rate of postage, according to the weight of the packages, whether remailed to the headquarters or other stations of the radio-broadcasting systems, or to advertising agen¬ cies, or the sponsors or advertisers, irrespective of whether the letters are to be opened finally by the persons or concerns to whom they are so remailed in bulk. “The same applies to letters prepaid at the first-class rate origi¬ nally sent to feature writers in care of newspapers and remailed un¬ opened in bulk by the latter to the addressees or their agents. “If the letters should be opened and then offered for remailing in bulk they would be subject to postage at the first-class rate. “It appears that some postmasters are accepting for remailing or forwarding, without requiring any additional postage, letters ad¬ dressed to feature writers in care of the newspapers carrying their articles, when presented with the correct address of the feature writer endorsed on the individual letters. As such letters are addressed in care of the newspapers at the instance of the feature waiters or the newspapers themselves, and there is no actual change of address of the addressee, the letters may not be remailed or forwarded without additional charge but are subject to postage anew at the first-class rate unless put up in bulk packages and mailed at the third or fourth-class rate under the conditions set forth above. KFAB CASE BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT The Supreme Court of the United States has been asked to review the decision of the Supreme Court of Nebraska holding that a radio station is liable for defamatory remarks uttered in a political speech delivered over the station. The decision of the Nebraska court was rendered in the case brought by C. A. Sorensen against the KFAB Broadcasting Company, Lincoln, Nebr. It involves the construction of Section 18 of the Radio Act of 1927. Following the decision of the Nebraska court, the NAB, through arrangement with the Lincoln station, retained counsel to secure a Supreme Court review of the important question involved in the case. It is expected that the Supreme Court will rule upon the petition for review within the next few weeks. BUSINESS INDEX REPORTS LAGGING The NAB Business Index, established last June, has won wide commendation from advertisers, advertising agencies, publications, stations, and governmental agencies. Words of praise for this new NAB feature were added recently by Senator C. C.. Dill of Washington, chairman of the Senate Interstate Commerce Committee, and by Paul West, managing director, Association of National Advertisers. The compilation and analysis of the data supplied by stations requested to cooperate represents considerable time and expense at NAB headquarters. A small number of stations have been negligent in sending in returns for the month of October. This has made the work doubly difficult. If this important service is to be continued, stations must respond more promptly to the requests for information. It is planned to increase the number of reporting stations after the first of the new year. SECTION PROCEEDINGS NOS. 31 AND 32 Many members of the NAB have been writing to headquarters requesting copies of No. 31 and No. 32 of the NAB Reports, which they state are missing from their files. For the information of all members attention is called to the fact that the proceedings of the Commercial Section (Grand Rapids, Mich., June 27, 1933) were printed as No. 31 of the NAB Reports; and the proceedings of the Engineering Section (Chicago, June 26, 1933) were printed as No. 32 of the NAB Reports. These proceedings, it will be noticed, are punched to fit the binders and are paged in proper sequence. However, they do not bear the numbers 31 and 32 due to the fact that they were printed separately. They were mailed to all mem¬ bers slightly in advance of the regular order. It is suggested that those who keep a file of the NAB Reports write in No. 31 on the Commercial Proceedings and No. 32 on the Engineering Proceed¬ ings, and insert them in the proper place in the binders. COMMISSION ADOPTS EMERGENCY REGULATIONS As the outcome of a resolution submitted by Commissioner Harold A. Lafount on September IS, 1933, the Federal Radio Commission today adopted a recommendation made by the Engi¬ neering Division to expedite radio communication during catastrophies brought on by winds, floods, earthquakes, fires, etc. The plan, as approved by the Commission, provides that local emergency committees be encouraged to organize and coordinate all forms of existing communication agencies to provide emergency communication and make full use of the provision of new Rule 23. That rule provides: “The licensee of any radio transmitting station may, during a period of emergency in which the normal communication facilities are disrupted as a result of hurricane, flood, earthquake, or similar disaster, utilize such station for emergency communication service in communicating with points other than those specified in the station license, provided (1) that at the beginning of such emer¬ gency use immediate notice be sent to the Federal Radio Commis¬ sion and the inspector in charge of the district in which the station is located, stating the nature of the emergency and the use to which the station is being put; and (2) that the emergency use of the station shall be discontinued as soon as substantially normal com¬ munication faculties are again available, and the Commission and inspector in charge be notified immediately when such special use of the station is terminated. The Commission may at any time order the discontinuance of such service.” Where it is shown that a local emergency communication net¬ work is needed, the agency desiring to operate the network may request facilities in accordance with Rules 325 and 339 to 342, inclusive. Rule 340 was amended to read as follows: “Special emergency stations may be used only in an emergency when all forms of wire communication fail ; except, however, they may also be used for testing purposes not to exceed two hours per week provided that, before the station is used for testing, it shall be ascertained that the frequency is clear and that no interference will result to other services.” Rule 341, which sets aside frequency 3190 kilocycles for use by special emergency stations, was amended to read as follows: “The following frequencies are allocated for use by special emer¬ gency stations, and may be used only with the type of emission indicated: 2724 kc.] 2726 kc. j Type A-3 emission only 2728 kc. J 3190 kc. Type A-l emission only.” Rule 343 was deleted. It provided that emissions from special emergency stations shall be Type A-l only. Action by the Commission followed a conference of Government communication agencies, and other interested organizations, during which the matter was fully discussed and a divergence of opinion was crystallized, although the conference made no recommendations. The conference was called by Dr. C. B. Jolliffe, Chief Engineer of the Federal Radio Commission. Attending the conference were representatives of the War and Navy Departments, American Red Cross, Aeronautical Radio Inc., National Association of Broad¬ casters, Treasury Department, Mackay Radio & Telegraph Com¬ pany, American Telephone and Telegraph Company, RCA Com¬ munications, Inc., Airways Division, Department of Commerce, American Radio Relay League, and the U. S. Coast Guard. WNBW DENIED RENEWAL LICENSE Examiner George II. Hill was sustained by the Radio Commis¬ sion this week in his Report No. 503 in which he recommended that the renewal of the license of broadcasting Station WNBW, Carbondale, Pa., be denied and also recommended the denial of the appli • Page 230 •