Radio daily (Apr-June 1937)

Thursday, April 1, 1937 .RADIO DAILY; c 4 TO CBS, 2 TO NBC I c i.iiliiiucil fnitn I'lujr 1 ) oral brief speeches were heard, part of the proceedings broadcasted over NBC, CBS and MBS. Mrs. Corwith handled the gavel and kindi-ed duties, i while Chairman Mme. Yolanda MeroIrion assisted. HONORABLE MENTION Awards elected through nationwide poll of the members of the WNRC, supplemented by the judgment of outside experts, also resulted in the usual honorable mention of various other programs. Those receiving this mention included: General Motors Symphony hour, Sunday night on NBC, winner of the 1935 award in the Serious Music classification; Wallenstein's Symphonietta, presented by Mutual Broadcasting System; Kraft Music Hall, on NBC; George V. Denny's "Town Meeting of the Air," given the 1936 award as the best educational feature, and presented by NBC; Metropolitan Opera broadcasts, sponsored by Radio Corp. of America, on NBC; Lowell Thomas, news commentator on NBC, sponsored by Sun Oil Co.; H. V. Kaltenborn, news commentator, presented by CBS; Kathryn Cravens, news commentator, presented by Pontiac Motor Co.; "Wilderness Road," last year's winner in Children's Program Classification, presented by CBS, and "The Singing Lady," sponsored by Kellogg Co., over NBC. A W.N.R.C. SIDELIGHTS * ("1ENERAL tone of the 'WNRC attiJ tude was even more conciliatory than last year, and more evident was the all 'round spirit of cooperation rather than merely fault-finding or resentment. Heinz to Run Contest With Payoff in Products {Cuntinued from I'luic 1 ) purchase of a Heinz product is required, but the name and address of your grocer is a must. Contest will run for seven weeks, closing May 29. For the first 100 recipes declared to be the best, 100 $25 packages of Heinz products will be awarded; next 200 receive $5 worth of products; next 1,100 prizes will be recipes books. Rules of the contest are being distributed to the public through grocers in addition to radio program. Maxon, Inc. has the account. KHJ's Programs for Mutual First production programs to be originated for Mutual's nationwide net by KHJ, Los Angeles, will start Saturday. First opus will be "Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight", to be followed by "Ten Nights in a Bar Room", "Bertha the Beautiful Cloak Model", "East Lynne", "Millionaire's Revenge" and "The Villain Still Pursued Her". Good music seemed to come in for the major consideration, and more or less dominated much of the talks and discussion. Outstanding personality and speaker, by far, was Dr. Walter Damrosch, every inch the lovable dean. Of him, Mme. Irion said, in part: "He has done more for good music over the air than any one man in this country." Dr. Damrosch, later responded. ". . . good music, should be like the half-covering, half-revealing beautiful woman's gown . . ." when the discussion touched on musical balance via the ether. In regard to commercial broadcasting, he defended this to the point that broadcasting cost the networks and advertisers millions of dollars to bring music, etc., to the people and that while New York had the best papers in the world for instance, a story starting on page one, would be continued to an inside page and as the reader turned, he saw the advertisements. This simile he likened to the commercial aspect of radio. Dr. Damrosch otherwise placed the credit for his huge audience of 7,000,000 youngsters in the laps of NBC and RCA officials and engineers who had made it possible. usual compliment to the ladies, appreciated the fact that the number of intelligent people troubling to improve radio was increasing, since these listeners would hasten with their approval when higher standards are reached. Mme. Irion emphasized the fact that the WNRC did not wish to be regarded as either a "reform" group or "highbrow," but rather hoped the intelligence of the women listeners would not be underestimated. President Paley of CBS believed that music would continue to be the main element in radio programs and that there would be an increasing amount of serious music on the air. He stressed the point that music must have variety and that this would result in bringing to the audiences heretofore neglected works. President McCosker of WOR and also speaking for Mutual paid his George "V. Denny Jr. of the NBC "Town Hall of the Air" conducted a debate which leaned m.ore toward being a symposium that gave the question of studio audiences more than an even break. Originally the question was, "Are Studio Audiences Desired" Rudy 'Vallee, scheduled as one for the affirmative side, managed to take a middle course and later said it depended upon the program in question, which was further backed up by Paley. Some artists needed an audience and others didn't, while some shows needed one and others could get along better without them, said Vallee. Eventually, they would probably be abolished, but right now the "Broadway ham" was the type who really needed one. Reinald Werrenrath stated that the studio audience took the scare out of the mike bogey for him and that, like many other artists, he worked better in this way and that the studio control engineer took care of any defect in volume or quality should the studio audience rather than the mike seem to be getting the benefit. "Psychologically," said Werrenrath, "I double cross myself and the effect has always been okay." The baritone did not find radio hurting his box-office draw. It was later conceded that the question could not be answered by a "yes," or "no," also that if a screen star, for instance, gave a good radio performance, it did not hurt him at the movie box-offices. Lucrezia Bori found radio no concert hall box office detriment to her tours. Mrs. Corwith read a letter from a woman far from any city, who found that a studio audience gave her the color of the broadcast and made her feel a part of it. This did much to swing many women to the counting of hands which gave studio audiences a decided break. ik i)i LANNY ROSS: "A few years ago, I auditioned a "Log Cabin' program in Cleveland. I've never forgotten how many of the girls who sang were more interested in operatic work than in popular tunes — yet they auditioned for a popular radio program. The girl who won the audition, paradoxically, was not trained, but made the best microphone impression. The reason: she sang a simple romantic ballad into which she put feeling that was completely convincing. She was singing 'her self — which is a good tip to amateurs with radio ambitions." VINCENT TRAVERS: "When broadcasting was in its infancy, one set in the home was all that was necessary to insure a peaceful and quiet evening for the stay-at-home family. But in these hectic days, with so many excellent programs conflicting as to their broadcast schedules, a family with diversified tastes in radio entertainment finds MPPA'S $38,000 MARCH; WBS LIBRARY RENEWED {Continued from Page I) music fees collected for the publishers. More than half of the total liowever, was contributed by World Broadcasting System, which paid a fiat amount of $20,000 for one-year renewal on its sustaining library. Licenses with other transcription concerns do not run out until June. Resumption of the Chevrolet campaign also helped. New Program Is Set For Chase and Sanborn {Lor.linucd trotn I'ufjc 1) Edgar Bergen, radio's only ventriloquist will be heard weekly with different guest stars putting in appearances on each show. Program will continue to be heard Sundays, 8-9 p.m. over NBC-Red network. Present indications are that Nelson Edd.v, last heard on the Vicks program and now off the air, will take over the show as emcee next fall. "Do You Want To Be an Actor?" the present program now being aired for coffee maker fades from the air after the May 2 broadcast. J. Walter Thompson has the account. it necessary to have two sets in the home. And if the family in question is a large-sized one, a mere two sets still leaves the problem unsettled." GLADYS SWARTHOUT: "In the last analysis, what is a good song? It's nothing more — nor less — than a good poem to which the composer has added good music. And the good singer, is the singer who diligently searches and finds the meaning of the poem and music and then offers it to her listeners adorned with all the art at her command." MILTON BERLE: "Never in the history of radio has the audience played a more important part in programs than this year. Radio is our most personal means of communication with the sole exception of the telephone. This personal touch is emphasized and enhanced when studio audiences are brought directly into the broadcast. My sponsor was one of the first to realize this. Now many others have followed in his footsteps." INA RAY HUTTON: "Radio performers should mix more with the masses instead of going in for social life in tight cliques composed of other people from the air castles. They should get away from the actor, producer and sponsor and keep in tune with the butcher, baker and the candlestick maker. Otherwise their standards of entertainment will become Radio Row standards because there is no basis of comparison with the tastes of average fans."