Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1956)

6 Personal Notes: Oscar Katz, CBS-TV research director, elected v.p. in charge of CBS-TV daytime programming, reporting to Hubbell Robinson Jr., exec. v.p. in charge of network programs . . . Henry B. Owen, exec. v.p. of KING Broadcasting Co. (KING-TV & KING, Seattle), and one of city’s leading citizens, is chainnan of reelection campaign committee for Senator Warren Magnuson (D) ; the Senator, chairman of Senate Interstate Commerce Committee, is 4% stockholder in Ch. 7 application for Seattle of Saul Haas (KIRO) group which has favorable initial examiner’s decision but awaits final FCC action . . . John C. Mullins, of Tulsa, who bought KBTV, Denver last year and sold KPHO-TV, Phoenix to Meredith in 1952, was married Aug. 29 in Las Vegas to Martha Halliburton Dirickson, also of Tulsa; after honeymoon in Hawaii, they will make their home in Denver . . . Norman S. Ginsburg, adv. & promotion mgr. of NBC-TV Films, and Frederick Jacobi, publicity mgr. of NBC-TV Films, get same titles with NBC subsidiary California National Productions Inc. (formerly Kagran Corp.) . . . Jerry A. Danzig, director of program planning & development for NBCowned stations and NBC Spot Sales, placed in charge of expanded NBC Radio program dept., succeeding John P. Cleary, named gen. programming exec, for NBC-TV; Wm. K. McDaniel, gen. mgr. of KNBC, San Francisco, heads national radio sales, N. Y.; George Graham, administrator of NBC-TV Sales, named director of sales service for radio; Fred Horton continues as radio sales director, reporting to McDaniel . . . Peter B. James has resigned as mgr. of WJAR-TV, Providence and leaves Sept. 8 on 2-month European tour, after which he will make known his plans ; his duties were assumed as of Sept. 1 by George O. Griffith, v.p.. Outlet Co., with J. S. (Dody) Sinclair as administrative asst, and David J. Shurtleff as TV sales director in addition to his present post as gen. mgr. of radio . . . Edward M. Scala promoted from program director to gen. mgr. of WFBG-TV & WFBG, Altoona, Pa., recently acquired by Triangle Publications Inc. (WFIL-TV, Philadelphia) whose TV-radio gen. mgr. Roger W. Clipp also announced appointment of David J. Bennett, ex-gen. mgr. of WTPA, Harrisburg, and onetime pres, of Pa. Assn, of Broadcasters, as his exec. asst. . . . Byron Dowty, program director of KDKA-TV, Pittsburgh, Sept. 12 becomes program mgr. of KFMB-TV, San Diego . . . Armand Grant resigns as asst. gen. mgr. & sales director of WAAM, Baltimore . . . Edward A. Wheeler, WEAW-FM, appointed chairman of NARTB’s FM Radio committee, succeeding H. Quenton Cox, Portland, Ore. . . . Robert D. Swezey, WDSU-TV, New Orleans, reappointed chairman of NARTB’s freedom of information committee . . . Howard (Mac) McFadden, ex-radio sales v.p.. Walker Representation Co., N. Y., joins NBC Spot Sales . . . Robert Nystedt, ex-CHCT-TV, Calgary, now v.p.. Red Top Milk Co., Troy, Wis. . . . Howard Evans promoted to gen. sales mgr. of WSVA-TV & WSVA, Harrisonburg, Va. under new Transcontinent-Hamilton Shea ownership; other changes include Lee Dechert, local sales mgr.; Richard Johnson, sales promotion & adv. mgr.; Alvin Mullenax, radio program director . . . Gordon Duff, ex-NBC producer {Philco-Goodyear Playhouse) , joins CBS-TV as producer-director . . . Arthur C. Schofield promoted to v.p. for adv. & promotion, Storer Broadcasting Co. . . . Kenneth J. Coleman, ex-Consolidated Film Industries, named asst, sales mgr. of Pathe Labs, N. Y., in charge of contacts for TV, industrial & educational films in east. FCC Chairman McConnaughey will be speaker, rest of commi.ssioners to be guests, at first fall luncheon meeting of Radio & TV Executives Society at Hotel Roosevelt, N. Y., Sept. 12. Recent FCC personnel changes: Broadcast Bureau — Attorney John C. Harrington, with FCC 1946-48, recently with Justice Dept., joins office of bureau chief Edward Kenehan; attorney Allen Cordon, ex-Interior Dept., and law trainee John P. Cole, 1955 George Washington U graduate, join TV branch; attorney Edward J. Brown, in hearing div. until last April, returns to FCC, assigned to renewal & transfer div.; engineers Herbert L. Beury & Edward P. Lynch shift from aural existing facilities branch to Common Carrier Bureau; engineer Ernest Herider shifts from renewal & transfer div. to chief engineer’s office. Common Carrier Bureau — Asst, bureau chief Curtis M. Bushnell resigns to establish private accounting practice; engineer Edward L. Clinkscales appointed chief of wire services & facilities branch. Safety & Special Radio Services Bureau — Attorney J. Russel Smith moves from Common Carrier Bureau to asst, chief of law, enforcement & procedures office; attorney Jack L. Estepp, ex-General Motors, Atlanta, joins aviation div.; attorney Harry Ross Jr., exAgriculture Dept., joins public safety & amateur div.; engineer Arthur T. Caplen shifts from Field Engineering & Monitoring Bureau to marine div. CBS-TV Affiliates Assn, holds board meeting Sept. 6-7 at Hotel Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colo., with CBS-TV pres. Jack Van Volkenburg, exec. v.p. Merle Jones and 8 other top network executives present. Board comprises: C. Howard Lane, KOIN-TV, Portland, Ore., chairman; Paul Adanti, WHEN-TV, Syracuse; Richard Borel, WBNSTV, Columbus; Glenn Marshall Jr., WMBR-TV, Jacksonville; T. B. Lanford, WJTV, Jackson, Miss.; C. Bruce McConnell, WISH-TV, Indianapolis; Wm. Quarton, WMTTV, Cedar Rapids; Clyde Rembert, KRLD-TV, Dallas; James Russell, KKTV, Colorado Springs; and, representing EMP affiliates, Frank E. Busby, WTVY, Dothan, Ala. and Rex Howell, KREX-TV, Grand Junction, Colo. & satellite KFXJ-TV, Montrose, Colo. Mutual has “every firm intention of staying in the [radio] network business” but requires greater cooperation from affiliates, pres. John B. Poor told 540 affiliates in Aug. 29 closed-circuit talk on terms of new contract effective Nov. 1. He said: “The proposed new affiliation contract, in recognition of Mutual’s as well as the affiliates’ problem, sharply reduced the amount of network option time, provided additional and improved programming for local sale at no cost to the station, but at a cost to the network many times in excess of the station payment reduction resulting from the pre-cleared time provisions of the contract.” Douglas Meservey, 51, one of NBC’s rising young executives in the ’30s, who resigned in 1940 to join wartime OFF & OWI in Washington, then went to Anny military govt, school and as a lieutenant colonel became military governor of Bremen, plunged to his death Aug. 28 from the 24th floor of San Francisco’s Russ Bldg. After the war, he engaged in TV and educational film production with his father in Los Angeles. Surviving is his widow and a son; she is the former Elaine Ewing, who also served with OWI during war and once was Washington representative for J. Walter Thompson Co. Douglas M. Moffat, 74, U. S. Ambassador to Australia and onetime chairman of N. Y. State Temporary Commission on Educational TV, which rejected proposal for a state-financed educational TV network (Vol. 9:9-10), died Aug. 30 of heart attack in Sydney. Sui’vivors are his widow, a son and daughter. Wm. II. Johnson, 66, news & public relations v.p. of KCJB-TV, Minot, N. D. and onetime managing editor of Minot Daily N<"ws, died of heart attack at his home Aug. 30. Surviving are widow and 4 children.