NAEB Newsletter (April 17, 1937)

- 4 - i+ KFUO MEETS KSD ATTaCK In response to a request for information regarding the application of KFUO, operated by the Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis, for a power and time in¬ crease, Director H. H. Hohenstein sends this storyr "Radio Station KSD, owned and operated by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch news¬ paper, has for years been trying to get full time on the 550-kilocycle frequency, which we have shared with them since the beginning of the station in 1924. At first they tried, in a friendly way and even at their own expense, to get a different frequency for us, but v.hen their efforts proved in vain, they forced the issue and on September 5 and 4, 1956, at a hearing before the Federal Communications Commission at Washington, D. C., tried to convince the Government to take KFUO off the air, so that they might have full timet "Last summer when we were preparing for the hearing of September 5, our Wash¬ ington attorney suspected that KSD would attack us principally on two points, namely that wo had not followed their example and installed a 5000 watt transmitter, and that we, unlike KSD, were not a general service station, but specialized in religious programs. In anticipation of these charges, we followed our attorney's advice and filed an application for authorization to install a 5000 watt transmitter and utilize half time, thus requesting full equality with KSD, and sufficient time to become, to a certain degree, a general service station. This application was filed approximately ten days before the hearing, however, not sufficiently early to be acted upon Sep¬ tember 5. We mentioned it during the hearing, indicating to the Federal Communica¬ tions Commission that we had aggressive plans for the future, and informed the Ex¬ aminer that we would file a petition with the members of the Federal Communications Commission requesting them to withhold the Examiner's report until our application for a 5000 watt transmitter and half time had been heard. This petition, though opposed by KSD, was granted. Our attorney feels certain that the Examiner's report, which has been ready for a long time, is favorable to KFUO, "Our next hearing has been set for May 11. We feel certain that the Commis¬ sion will grant us permission to install a 5000 watt transmitter and to utilize half time, either on the 550 Kc. frequency or on some other frequency." This will be an interesting case to watch. Will commercialism win out — or will the attacker lose prestige? PAYNE FAVORS TAX ON BROADCASTERS . EDUCaTIONALS EXEMPT Commissioner George Henry Payne, F.C.C. member, is working with Representative John J. Boylan to have a bill put through v/hich would levy a tax on broadcasting stations according to their power. The measure would raise more than six million dollars annually by taxing stations up to 1000 watts $1.00 per watt, 1000 to 10,000 watt Stations would pay $2.00 per watt. Stations in excess of 10,000 watts would pay $5.00 per watt. Commissioner Payne describes the bill as "purely a revenue measure". Contin¬ uing, he says, "There has been a widespread conviction that the enormous profits made by the broadcast stations more than justify a special tax, as they now enjoy the use of a great national resource and it is the government that bears the burden of the regulation without which they could not exist. The proposed special tax will be no burden on the broadcast industry as it represents less than six per cent of the revenue of the industry." A REMINDER Send your notes for the News Letter to: H.A. Engel, Radio Hall Madison, Wisconsin