NAB reports (Jan-Dec 1945)

I A T I ON OF BROADCASTERS NATIONAL 1 760 N STREET, N. W. WASHINGTON 6, D. C. Vol. 13, No. 30, July 27, 1945 NAB BRIEF ON PROPOSED FM RULES The National Association of Broadcasters, through its counsel, John Morgan Davis, will appear at the hearing before the Federal Communications Commission on Mon¬ day (30), to respond to the Commission’s request for an expression of views upon the proposed rules and regula¬ tions and standards of good engineering practice for FM broadcasting. A brief covering all of the points set forth in the Commission’s proposal (see NAB Reports, page 282) has been prepared by Mr. Davis and his assistant Milton J. Kibler. The brief appears elsewhere in this issue of the Reports. KTUL MAKES GENERAL ANSWER TO FCC ON COMMERCIALS AND SUSTAINERS KTUL’s answer to the FCC’s request for additional in¬ formation in connection with renewal application omitted a percentage breakdown of commercial and sustaining pro¬ grams promised in future operations. Renewal was granted for the period ending November 1, 1947. KTUL submitted a detailed report on the station’s activities of a public service nature, pointing out that a public service program, when sponsored, was no less a public service. Admitting that the schedule was 80% commercial, KTUL established to the apparent satisfaction of the Commission that the station was delivering a com¬ plete variety of programs. The answer highlighted the operator’s opinion that a good job was being done in running the station and that all efforts would be made to continue doing so. Reference was made to the fact that the station never has and never intends to allow a commercial program to crowd out a worthwhile public service feature. JAYCEE RADIO WEEK AUGUST 26— SEPTEMBER 1 Broadcasters Saluted by United States Junior Chamber of Commerce The United States Junior Chamber of Commerce has proclaimed August 26-September 1 “Jaycee Radio Week” in recognition of radio’s importance as a medium of free speech. Announcement was made from Chicago this week, asserting that the theme for the event will be “Freedom of Speech.” NAB Special Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Bulletin No. 13 accompanies this issue of Reports, giving full details. Additional Bulletins and releases will be issued. Winfield Weitzel, national Junior Chamber Vice-President in charge of Public Relations, Washington, D. C., is working with Willard D. Egolf, NAB Director of Public Relations, and Bruce Starkey, Chief, NAB News Bureau, in coordinating Jaycee — broadcaster activities for the occasion, in which local Junior Chambers, stations and network headquarters will cooperate. 1945 is the Silver Anniversary of the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce as well as the American system of broadcasting, rendering this joint acknowl¬ edgment especially appropriate. Discussions were first held in May, between Bruce Starkey and Ralph Rohweder, Chicago Jaycee President, culminating in action by the Officers and Board of Directors of the Junior Chamber on June 17, their proposal being accepted enthusiastically by the NAB Public Relations Committee in New York on June 18. Truman Statement Featured Feature of the week will be the recent statement of President Truman that radio “must be maintained as free as the press,” with the display of the President’s photo recommended. A copy of the President’s letter to the industry has been sent to each local Jaycee President. See Anniversary Bulletin No. 13 for further details. WHAT WILL 50TH ANNIVERSARY BRING? The Journal, Ithaca, N. Y., sees broadcasting catching its breath for even more startling progress during its second 25 years of existence. Observing that the industry has made remarkable strides in the past, the Journal makes the following comment: “. . . It was in 1920 that the first regular broadcasting programs were set up for the benefit of the comparatively few owners of crystal and head-phone sets. Those crude attempts at utilizing the ether waves for distribution of information and entertainment marked the beginning of a revolutionary change in communications. “Many of the men who took part in those pioneer experi¬ ments still are active in the field of radio, so brief has been the interval of time since that brave plunge into uncharted areas. Those pioneers had a vision, and out of their dreams and stout courage was evolved the miracle of radio as it is known today. “What new wonders may become the commonplace utilities of tomorrow are today scarcely guessed by any except those young engineers who now and then let drop a hint of things to come. But that radio and related electronic developments are merely at the threshold of a vast expansion seems certain, as radio begins its second quarter century of service.” July 27, 1945 — 301