Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1958)

8 Week's New Starter: Another satellite got going this week — KDUH-TV, Hay Spring, Neb. (Ch. 4) which on Feb. 20 began carrying programs of parent KOTA-TV, Rapid City, S. D. (Ch. 3), located 100-mi. northward. Fill-in service, according to pres. Mrs. Helen Duhamel, will at least double the KOTA-TV service area. The $200 base rate put into effect last Jan. 1 will cover both stations, which are CBS & ABC outlets. New northwest Nebraska outlet, connected to Rapid City via private microwave, is 532nd station on the air (91 uhf) and only one to start this week. It’s presently in charge of chief engineer George Jelinek, ex-KHOL-TV, Kearney, Neb., and will shortly have resident mgr. National rep is Headley-Reed. Satellite actually is higher powered than parent station— its 100-kw comparing with 72.4-kw at Rapid City. Latter town also has competitive vhf outlet which began operation last Jan. — KRSD-TV (Ch. 7) which has NBC affiliation and is headed by Eli Daniels. Mrs. Duhamel, 4th generation in area, also owns town’s major dept, store and with children controls 22-year-old radio KOTA. KTVR, Denver (Ch. 2), owned 50% each by Gotham Broadcasting Co. (J. Elroy McCaw & John Keating) and Radio Hawaii Inc. (John Shaheen’s Founders Corp., air travel insurance) is subject of current sales negotiations with Kenyon Brown group, which includes Bing Crosby, oilman George L. Coleman & banker Joseph A. Thomas. Purchase price isn’t indicated, but same buying group recently bought independent KCOP, Los Angeles (Ch. 13) from Copley Press for $4,000,000 (Vol. 13:50). They also own 17% each of radio KFOX, Long Beach, Cal. Veteran Texas broadcaster Kenyon Brown also owns 49.99% of radio KANS, Wichita; 22.15% of KGLC, Miami, Okla. Loew’s Inc. (MGM) recently dropped option to purchase 25% of the Denver independent (Vol. 12:36). Correction: Joe Baisch, gen. mgr. of WREX-TV, Rockford, 111. (Ch. 13), was mentioned inadvertently in article in Vol. 14:7 as having left that job in connection with Rockford station group’s acquisition of interests in KGEO-TV, Enid-Oklahoma City (Ch. 5). He continues as WREX-TV gen. mgr. under new ownership (Continental Television Corp., which includes Bob Hope, Albert Zugsmith, Ashley Robison) and pres. L. E. Caster also continues as chief corporate administrator. The Enid station, incidentally, is changing call letters to KOCO-TV, and converting old airplane hangar into Oklahoma City studios. Transfer of WKRG-TV, Mobile, Ala. (Ch. 5) & WKRG to new Giddens Television Inc. (Vol. 13:46) was approved this week by FCC. Giddens remains as pres., becomes gen. mgr. and 50% owner after turning over 20% of stock, plus his option on other 80% of present WKRG-TV Inc., to new corporation. Other 50% is being purchased for $1,050,000 by Mobile Register and Press (Ralph B. Chandler, pres. & publisher). Giddens Television also is to borrow additional $130,000 to compensate other WKRG-TV Inc. stockholders. Control of KAVE-TV, Carlsbad, N. M. (Ch. 6) will be held by Edward P. Talbott, chief engineer and 5% owner of KROD-TV, El Paso (Ch. 4) — FCC this week having approved sale of 54.16% (2003 shares) by Mrs. Nancy H. Battison for $43,500 (Vol. 14.2). Talbott is increasing holdings from 21.7% to 51% by acquiring 1038 shares from Mrs. Battison, plus additional 325 currently unissued shares from corporation. Other 965 shares (26.1%) are being acquired from Mrs. Battison by Ralph V. Davies, El Paso architect-engineer. Facilities change: WSAU-TV, Wausau, Wis. (Ch. 7) Feb. 21 boosted power to 316-kw after move to 600-ft. tower at new site. Call letter change: WMFD-TV, Wilmington, N. C. (Ch. 6) changed to WECT. For BETTER OR WORSE, lawyers and people drawn from other state and Federal jobs have dominated the makeup of the FCC since its inception July 11, 1934 as successor to the Federal Radio Commission, whose membership we discussed in this column last week (Vol. 14:7). Of the 31 persons who have sat on the FCC, all but 10 are or were lawyers. There have been only 5 technical radio men. Five came from state public utility commissions. Two were ex-Governors, 2 ex-Congressmen. Ten are deceased. The original FCC had 5 lawyers out of 7 members. The late Judge E. O. Sykes, chairman, was onetime justice of the Miss. Supreme Court. He was a carryover from the FRC, as was the late Thad H. Brown, ex-Lt. Gov. of Ohio. Other deceased members were Hampson Gary, Texas lawyer and former diplomat with top ranks in Egypt & Switzerland, and George Henry Payne, public relations man, an ex-New York City tax commissioner. Surviving members of the original Commission are: Paul A. Walker, who came from the Okla. Public Service Commission, later became chairman; now 77 and residing in Norman, Okla., he lives in comfortable retirement, having recently struck oil on some family lands. Norman S. Case, ex-Gov. of Rhode Island, now 70, living in retirement in Wakefield, R. I. Dr. Irvin S. Stewart, State Dept, career attorney appointed to FCC at age 35; he seiwed 8 years, for last 12 years has been pres, of U of W. Va. [Dr. Stewart, incidentally, was besought by Speaker Rayburn for chief counsel of the Moulder committee, even before Dr. Schwartz, but he declined.] * « 4: * Rep. Anning S. Prall, Tammany Congressman from New York City and House leader who helped put through the Communications Act of 1934, succeeded Hampson Gary who died after only 6 months in office; now deceased, Mr. Prall was later to become chairman. Then came Comdr. T. A. M. Craven, a present member, who had been loaned to the FCC engineering dept, by the Navy; he resigned from the Navy because chronic seasickness made him unfit for sea duty, served on FCC for 7 years, then went into private consulting engineering practice for 12 years until renamed to Commission in 1956. The late Frank R. McNinch, a No. Carolina “Hoovercrat,” was next appointed in 1937, succeeding to the chairmanship on Comr. Prall’s death; he had been a state utilities regulator, then with Federal Power Commission. Next appointee was the late Frederick I. Thompson, Montgomery (Ala.) newspaper publisher, who served only 26 months. Then came James Lawrence Fly, like Craven an Annapolis man but also a Harvard law graduate, brought over from TVA; he became chairman, served 5 exciting years, in 1944 went into law practice in Washington and New York and, though he’s senior partner, spends most of his time at his home in Daytona Beach, Fla. The late