NBC transmitter (Oct-Dec 1944)

4 NBC Transmitter H. P. DAVIS AWARD WINNERS FOR 1944 ANNOUNCED NEW YORK.— Ben Grauer, announcer for the “General Motors Symphony of the Air,” “Information Please,” “Mr. and Mrs. North” and other top-ranking shows, is the national winner of the 1944 H. P. Davis Memorial Announcers Award. Grauer ’s selection and the names of four sectional winners together with those given honorable mention were announced November 2 in a special coast-to-coast NBC broadcast. Kenneth Banghart of Station WRC. Washington, won top honors among entrants from NBC “owned and operated” stations; Bob Hanes of WGY. Schenectady, was the winner from the “cleared frequency” outlets; Ned Serrell, KDYL. Salt Lake City, from “regional frequency” broadcasters, and Jack Wells, KODY, North Platte, Nebraska, in the “local freqency” group. Chosen for honorable mention were: “national”— Gil Verba, KOA, Denver, and led Meyers, KFI, Los Angeles; “owned and operated”— Ed Herlihy, WEAF, New York, and Charles Lyon, WMAQ, Chicago; “clear frequency”— Paul Shannon. KDKA, Pittsburgh, and Carl Caruso, WBZ, Boston; “regional frequency” — Tom Carnegie, WGL, Fort Wayne. In addition to the winners who spoke from their respective studios, the program included talks by Mrs. S. B. Rockwell. representing Mrs. H. P. Davis, donor of the awards, and Frank E. Mullen, NBC vice-president and general manager. Patrick J. Kelly. NBC supervisor of announcers. acted as master-of-ceremonies. Judges of the competition were Walter Bunker, Don Clark, Vic Hunter, Bob Seal and John Guedel. producers of popular NBC programs. Grauer was born in Staten Island. New York, and began his professional career as a child actor at the age of 8. He appeared with Theda Bara. Pauline Frederick, and other stars in silent films. While studying the stage and public speaking at City College of New York, he was drama critic for his college newspaper and editor-in-chief of the campus literary magazine. He won the Sandham Prize for Extemporaneous Speaking against 200 contestants. Since joining NBC in 1930 as staff announcer, Grauer has acted as announcer of many outstanding commercial and sustaining programs. Because of his knowledge of languages he has been assigned occasionally to international broadcasts. He was selected to supply the “color” dur( Continued on page 141 KMJ Helps Mobilize Group Rescuing Huge Raisin Crop FRESNO, CALIF.— Over 1,300 soldiers from the Air Service Command Training Center and Camp Pinedale were mobilized October 21, after the United States Weather Bureau had issued a rain warning over Station KMJ. The emergency broadcast was made to secure help in saving the valley crop of drying raisins which were waiting for stacking and rolling in vineyards of Fresno and Madera counties. The government meteorologist predicted that showers would begin in the Northern part of the San Joaquin Valley, which would endanger or perhaps ruin a great portion of the year’s most valuable crop. When the rain warning was broadcast the working parties of soldiers were dispersed to the pre-arranged stations where they were met by grape growers and assigned to vineyards. The Army personnel were paid at the rate of 75 cents an hour by the growers. The rapid mobilization was so complete and efficiently carried out that the Farm Advisory Committee reported: “The remainder of the drying is so near done that the vineyardists themselves will have no trouble in protecting what raisins are still on the ground.” BOOST WAR FUND “Thanks a million ,” says General Chairman Henry A. Loughlin (right), of the Greater Boston United War Fund, to George W. Slade, WBZ and WBZA publicity manager, as the annual charity drive neared its close. Slade ivas loaned by the Westinghouse stations to serve as radio consultant to the 1945 campaign and supervised broadcasting plans for publicizing the United W ar Fund in the Boston area.