Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1954)

8 Personal Notes: J. Davis Danforth, BBDO exec, v.p., succeeds H. H. Dobberteen (now with Bryan Houston Inc.) as chairman of AAAA committee on media relations . . . Henry G. Fownes elected v.p. of MacManus, John & Adams, Detroit, succeeding Reginald A. Brewer, retired; Fownes continues to supervise TV-radio accounts of Cadillac, Dow Chemical, Pontiac . . . Sir George Barnes, BBC director of TV, arrived this week for tour of U. S. TV facilities . . . Bernard C. Barth, ex-gen. program director for Crosley stations, effective Oct. 15 appointed v.p. & gen. mgr. of upcoming Notre Dame U commercial station being built in South Bend, Ind. (Ch. 46) ... Neal Van Ells resigns as program director of WLWT, Cincinnati, effective Sept. 30 . . . Sig Mickelson, CBS v.p. in charge of news & public affairs, flies to Europe Sept. 18 to visit overseas news bui’eaus, returning Oct. 13 . . . John W. Kiermaier promoted to administrative co-ordinator of NBC film div.; Joe Derby promoted to mgr. of NBC business publicity, succeeding Ellis Moore, now press director . . . Michael J. Foster gets new title of publicity mgr., CBS-TV press information dept., under new director Charles Oppenheim; Hank Warner named operations mgr., Arthur Perles asst, to director . . . Sidney S. Fox, who last year sold his KDYL-TV (now KTVT) & KDYL, Salt Lake City, to Time Inc. (Vol. 9:14), opens management consultant office at 143 Main St., Salt Lake City; phone 9-5031 . . . Ted Pyrch, ex-Sponso7 Magazine, has joined business staff of Television Digest . . . Wm. W. Van der Busch promoted to gen. sales mgr. of WITV, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., under new gen. mgr. Arthur L. Gray . . . John W. Taylor, ex-deputy director general of UNESCO, named exec, director of upcoming educational WTTW, Chicago (Ch. 11) . . . Juby Schainblatt promoted to operations asst, to John D. Scheuer Jr., exec. v.p. & gen. mgr. of WTVI, St. LouisBelleville . . . Dan Durniak, ex-WTAR-TV, Norfolk, named production operations mgr., WJNO-TV, Palm Beach, Fla. . . . Judy Lawton, ex-WTRF-TV, Wheeling, W. Va., named operations mgr. of KCJB-TV, Minot, and KXJB-TV, Valley City, N. D. . . . Richard P. McKee, NBC staffman, was engaged last week to Miss Virginia Alicoate, daughter of John W. Alicoate, publisher of Radio-Television Daily and Film Daily . . . LeRoy Stahl promoted to mgr. of KFBBTV, Great Falls, Mont.; W. C. Blanchette promoted from radio director to commercial mgr. of TV-radio . . . Oscar Alagood, ex-KLRA, Little Rock, named commercial mgr. of KATV, same city . . . John Hoagland named BBDO TV-radio program & talent mgr., Don Rowe production mgr. . . . Willard S. Smith, ex-Maxon, named TV-radio mgr., Brooke, Smith, French & Dorrance, Detroit . . . Gerald F. Ford named exec. TV-radio producer, Hicks & Greist Inc. . . . Edward C. Jones named TV-radio director, Barlow Adv., Syracuse . . . Harold Fair, ex-Omaha broadcaster, onetime program director of old NAB, promoted to v.p., Bozell & Jacobs, N. Y. . . . Joseph Creamer, exWOR & MBS promotion chief, joins Kudner Agency . . . Jacob A. Evans, NBC adv. & promotion director, to direct TV-radio clinic of N. Y. Ad Club’s annual advertising & selling course . . . Jerry Burns resigns as of Sept. 30 as general manager of KIVA, Yuma, Ariz. . . . Les Ware, gx-gen. mgr. of KXLAV, St. Louis, named v.p. & gen. mgi. of new KCKT-TV, Great Bend, Kan., due to start Nov. 1. ■ Sir Kenneth Clark, the art educator who is chairman of Britain’s new Independent TV Authority which will broadcast commercial programs in competition with BBC IVol. 10:32), is planning trip to U. S. to observe commercial TV in action. This week, he announced appointment of Sir Robert Brown Fraser, 49-year-old chief of Britain’s Central Office of Information, as director general of IT A. James Harvey, 44, NBC producer & director, died Sept. 15 at his home in Mamaroneck, N. Y. He leaves his wife and stepmother. Network Accounts: ABC-TV, in eleventh-hour drive this week, sold out NCAA football schedule on 150 stations starting Sept. 18 — signing Zenith (its first network purchase), Maytag and Amana Refrigeration Co. for all sections except west coast (where Carnation Milk sponsors) and Texas (Humble Oil). Agencies for 3 new sponsors are Young & Rubicam, McCann-Erickson and Maury, Lee 6 Marshall, respectively. Also this week, ABC-TV sold out its pre and post-NCAA programs, signing Camels, thru Wm. Esty, as sponsor of Pre-Game Huddle everywhere except west coast, where Carnation Milk sponsors. For Football Scoreboa7-d after games. Camels will be cosponsor with Colgate-Palmolive (Instant Barber Shave), latter thru Lennen & Newell . . . Dow Chemical’s Medic got off to rousing start Sept. 13 on NBC-TV 9-9:30 p.m., fully justifying big advance buildup; it got high ratings and good reviews — and if excellent content of first program can be maintained, a lively ratings battle with CBS-TV’s 7 Love Lucy is assured when prize-winning situation comedy returns Oct. 4 . . . R. J. Reynolds Co., in all-out campaign for Camels, Winston & Cavalier cigarettes and Prince Albert pipe tobacco, fully sponsoring 4 shows on network TV, 7 on network radio in addition to heavy alt.sponsorship and TV-radio spot schedules, thru Wm. Esty Co. Full-sponsor TV network shows are Camel News Caravan (NBC-TV), Hunter (NBC-TV), Topper (CBSTV), I’ve Got a Secret (CBS-TV) . . . Sterling Drug (Bayer aspirin, Phillips’ Milk of Magnesia) to sponsor Vise on ABC-TV starting Oct. 1, Fri. 9:30-10 p.m., thru Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample . . . Viceroy cigarettes to sponsor Lineup on CBS-TV starting Oct. 1, Fri. 10-10:30 p.m., thru Ted Bates & Co. . . . Texaco to sponsor Club Durante on NBC-TV starting Oct. 2, Sat. 9:30-10 p.m., thru Cunningham & Walsh . . . Colgate-Palmolive to sponsor Feather Your Nest on NBC-TV starting Oct. 4, Mon.-thruFri. 12:30-12:45 p.m., and Modern Romances on NBC-TV same date, Mon.-thru-Fri. 4:45-5 p.m., thru Wm. Esty . . . .\BC-TV reports clearing 112 stations thus far for Disneyland debut Oct. 27, Wed. 9:30-10:30 p.m. Questionnaires on Bryson bill, which would ban beer and wine advertising on TV-radio, were mailed to all stations by NARTB this week in compliance with request by House Interstate & Foreign Commerce Committee for information on how much beer and wine advertising is carried (Vol. 10:34). Calling it “one of the most important and urgent mailings broadcasters have ever received,” NARTB asked stations to return questionnaires by Oct. 11. All stations which operated between Sept. 1, 1953 & Aug. 31, 1954, were asked to report on amount of beer and wine advertising in one assigned week during that period. In assigning specific week, NARTB ci’oss-sectioned stations according to size of operation and geographical locations. Thus, said NARTB, responses representative of industry experience at all times of year can be obtained. Non-members were also urged to return questionnaires. Committee of media and bar representatives to study possible modification of Canon 35 of American Bar Assn., to permit TV and still photographic coverage of some courtroom trials, was urged Sept. 18 by Richard P. Pinkham, ABA public relations chairman, in address to West Virginia Bar Assn, convention. He said such a committee should be composed of representatives of NARTB, American Society of Newspaper Editors, American Newspaper Publishers Assn., together with members of bar. Committee would establish code of fair practices to assure that judicial dignity would be preserved, he said. National Community TV Assn, holds regional meeting in San Francisco’s Bellevue Hotel Sept. 29-30, has picked New York for next annual convention.