Sponsor (Nov 1946-Oct 1947)

would be pleasantcr reading. As one sponsor who is known for the perpetual chip he carries on his shoulder puts it, "How can you expect anyone to have real respect for publicity in the broadcasting field when the networks don't?" Quotes: "Public relations is the least known of all business sciences. Broadcasting is one of the mediums used in achieving public acceptance. Notoriously most of us know least about the power of our own fields. That may explain NAB's failure to date." — Public relations consultant for firms usins $15,000,000 a year in radio time. Labor "Publicity can be positive or in the 'kill that story' category. NAB's activity I would place in the second category." — Advertising agency radio publicist. "The head of NAB requires publicity indoctrination. It's too soon for Justin Miller to have acquired that along witli all the other radio things he had to learn." — Radio director and vp of an advertising agency with $12,000,000 in spot radio billing. "I'm more interested in the linage that my programs get than I am in what the NAB can do for radio — unless they can prove to me that what they do will help my shows." — Advertising manager of a coffee division of a great food advertiser. In Old Vi e n n a Advertisers shy at becoming in vol veil in radio-union row This "evaluation" panel was composed entirely of representatives of sponsors (22). Advertising agency men did not choose to discuss the subject. Station members of the NAB know the problems inherent in trying to evaluate and coordinate information on what stations are doing about their union contracts. But sponsors continue to worry about the possibilities contingent upon their broadcasting over stations that may be accused of unfair labor practices. Stations generally feel that what they do about their employees is their own business. Advertisers know that it isn't that simple. Not so long ago when a white collar union tried to invade NBC and found itself stymied by internal policy of NBC, the union threatened to exert pressure via NBC sponsors. As a matter of record, they did go to three, and created considerable unrest. When WCKY became embroiled with the auto workers' union, UAW, employers of CIO union members in the Cincinnati area who were advertising over WCKY were disturbed about the effect on their own employee relations. Stations feel more secure now, as a result of the Lea and the Taft-Hartley acts. But that feeling of internal security is not transmitted to the labor relations men of the nation's sponsors of broadcast programs. NAB's employer-employee relations committee has tried its best to make NAB members understand that what it was trying to do was ease the industry's labor relations. But it is the feeling of sponsors that NAB hasn't as yet begun to cope with the labor problem. They feel that despite the prohibition of secondary boycotts, unions have figured ways and means of getting around the law, that when the time comes to use pressure advertisers may find themselves forced to cancel commitments with stations and even networks. Thus far sponsors feel that NAB members have been unwilling to work as a unit, preferring to fight it out as individuals. They feel, however, that with the withdrawal of the four networks as active members of the NAB there may be more cooperative effort on labor matters. A number of employee relations executives of national advertisers feel that NAB has followed the NAM line too closely in labor matters. One of them, a former important factor in the U. S. Department of Labor, pointed out that broadcasting is still the most unorganized of the creative fields. Even the engineering end of the business is unorganized in more than 60 per cent of the nation's stations. The majority of the nation's stations are not unionized and the only way that unions can force most of these stations to sign contracts is through network pressure — pressure now made illegal by the Taft-Hartley bill. More and more newspapers are buying stations or obtaining licenses. These publications are unionized, for the most part, in their mechanical departments, many in their creative departments as well. They don't hope to escape 100 per cent unionization of their broadcast interests, although they won't accept the idea without a fight unless their competitors are also unionized. Sponsors feel that the NAB has not faced the industry's labor problems ade(Please turn to page 85) could mean a Viennese waltz Bid IN DALLAS -FORT WORTH ltd 1 STATION WFAA 2 FREQUENCIES 820 570 3 NETWORKS NBC -ABC and Texas Quality It's as easy as 1-2-3 to SELL the Dallas-Fort Worth Market with WFAA radio service of the Dallas Morning News Represented Nationally by Edward Petry & Co., Inc. SEPTEMBER 1947 33