Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1958)

7 MARTIN CODEL. Publisher ROBERT CADEL, Bus. Mgr. ALBERT WARREN, Senior Ed. WILLIAM WIGHT, ManagingEd. Associate Editors: Weekly Newsletters Published Saturdays WILBUR H. BALDINGER Television Factbooks Published in March & September PAUL STONE AM-FM Directory Published in January WM. J. McMAHON Jr. TV and AM-FM Addenda Published Weekly BERYL 0. HINES Copyright 1 958 by Ttltriiion Digetl, Inc. PorSOnal Notes: Frederic W. Wile, ex-NBC Hollywood v.p., recently associated with Pat Weaver program enterprises, has joined MGM-TV studios, Hollywood, as director of business affairs . . . William Snyder, ex-Chicago office, has opened new Detroit branch for Harrington, Righter & Parsons, which takes over national representation of upcoming WJRT, Flint, Mich. (Ch. 12) ; office is in Penobscot Bldg., telephone Woodward 3-0910 . . . Floyd A. (Tim) Timberlake, ex-WIND, Gary, Ind., later with CBS & ABC, since 1953 an RCA field sales rep for TV, named chief engineer of upcoming WKBW-TV, Buffalo (Ch. 7), with which John H. Norton Jr., ex-ABC central div. v.p., ex-v.p. & gen. mgr. of WMTW, Poland Spring, is now associated as asst, to pres. Dr. Clinton H. Churchill . . . George W. Cyr promoted to program director of NBC’s WRCVTV, Philadelphia, succeeded as production mgr. by Dell W. Hostetler; George C. Lenfest transfers from NBC’s WBUF, Buffalo, which goes off air Oct. 1, to WRCV-TV operations director; Robert A. Fillmore, also ex-W’BUF, named promotion mgr. of radio WRCV . . . Kenneth T. Downs, exINS foreign correspondent, who as former head of Time Inc. business office in Washington handled that firm’s entry into TV-radio with ex-FCC chairman Wayne Coy, in 1951, has been sworn in as asst, director of Office of Defense & Civilian Mobilization headed by ex-Gov. Leo Hoegh of Iowa — a Presidential appointment . . . Malcolm MacGregor, ex-business mgr., NBC facilities, named exec, producer of network’s educational TV . . . Robert J. Leder, v.p. & gen. mgr. of Teleradios WOR div., named pres, of N. Y. State Assn, of Bcstrs. ; Paul Adanti, v.p. & gen. mgr. of WHEN-TV, Syracuse, named first v.p. . . . Howard J. Finch, exec. v.p. and member of board of WJIM & WJIM-TV, Lansing, Mich. (Ch. 6), who started with Harold Gross stations as announcer in 1934, has resigned as of Oct. 1 . . . Edward R. McKenna, from Washington law firm McKenna & Wilkinson, headed by brother James, joins station brokers Allen Kander & Co. . . . Guy Corley, exWBRZ, Baton Rouge, named sales mgr. of KLFY-TV, Lafayette, La. . . . George Brown promoted to news & special events dir. of Teleradio’s WOR-TV & WOR, N. Y.; Marvin Camp promoted to press & public relations mgr., Stan Lomax to sports director . . . Constance Blackstead promoted to program mgr. of Boler stations KXJB-TV, Valley City-Fargo and KXAB-TV, Aberdeen, S. D. . . . Anthony Torregrossa, ex-Ziv, named sales service mgr. of Independent TV Corp. . . . Wm. Decker, ex-WBUF, Buffalo, named TV sales director of NBC’s WNBQ, Chicago, replacing Ru.ssell Stebbins, now sales mgr.; Stanley Brightwell, ex-WRCV-TV, named WNBQ film coordinator . . . .lerry Kirby promoted to sales mgr. of Ziv’s Chicago div.; Jack Gregory returns to Los Angeles as western sales mgr., succeeded as eastern sales mgr. (N. Y.) by Alan Martini . . . Ernest C. Ball, ex-supt. of Memphis schools, is new managing director of educational WKNO-TV, Memphis (Ch, 10), succeeding Admiral Harold M. Martin. The Elections — and TV-Radio: Now that he knows the ins-&-outs of the highly complex TV structure and its delicate economic mechanisms by reasons of his 40% ownership and presidency of KTVK, Phoenix (Ch. 3), which he helped establish early last year, the possible return of Gov. Ernest McFarland to the Senate won’t give the industry many qualms. Actually, the protest rule and several other amendments to the Communications Act which he fathered as chairman of Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce, were sought by industry lawyers who now would like to get rid of them — as McFarland himself probably would. He won nomination to the Senate again this week, faces GOP Sen. Goldwater in Nov. If elected, and in view of* his closeness to Sen. Lyndon Johnson, who holds present majority leadership once graced by McFarland, it’s likely he could get assigned again to that committee — though, like Johnson, he may prefer to stay off in view of his identification with TV ownership. Note: Two Maine Republicans who lost out in this week’s Democratic sweep in traditionally Republican Maine are ex-Gov. Horace Hildreth, who with family has interests in 3 TV & 2 radio stations in his state (Vol. 14:32), lost out for reelection to governorship though he had been regarded a shoo-in. Rep. Hale (R-Me.), 8-term Congressman, lost his seat to a Democrat; he was on House Interstate Commerce Committee and its communications subcommittee. Quayle B. Smith has resigned as senior associate of Smith & Hennessey, Washington law firm specializing in TV-radio, to open own law offices in Colorado Bldg. (Metropolitan 8-3838) as of Sept. 15. Graduate of George Washington U ’47, he served with FCC short time after war, in which he sexwed as an OSS paratrooper, then joined veteran attorney Paul M. Segal, leaving last year when Segal partners George Smith & Philip Hennessey formed own firm (soon changing to Smith, Hennessey & McDonald, with ex-NBC v.p. Joseph McDonald shortly becoming partner). Quayle Smith was a radio amateur as a youth, worked as transmitter operator at KMA, Shenandoah, la., then at U of Iowa’s WSUI while attending law school. George Lewin, chief of pictorial engineering office, Army Pictorial Center, Long Island City, N. Y., is second man in history of Society of Motion Picture & TV Engineers to win 2 awards in year — latest being Samuel L. Warner Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to sound for movies, other the Journal Award for outstanding paper in SMPTE Journal during 1957. CBS casting director Mark Merson has joined forces with Playwrights’ Company to produce Like Wonderful on Broadway — farce expanded from a Studio One show seen in July under title “Love Me to Pieces.” Federal Communications Bar Assn., Washington, holds annual outing Mon., Oct. 13 at Manor Country Club in nearby Montgomery County, Md. Obituary Sylvester Laflin Weaver, 80, onetime pres, of Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and of All Year Club of So. Cal., died Sept. 12 in Pasadena. He’s father of Sylvester L. (Pat) Weaver, ex-pres. & chairman of NBC, now TV-radio consultant for Henry Kaiser interests and producer of programs, headquartered at 430 Park Ave., N. Y., and of Winstead (Doodles) Weaver, the TV-radiomovie comedian. Formerly in the roofing business. Weaver Sr. sold it to Johns-Manville in 1929. Ed Engles, 34, newsman for WHAS-TV & WHAS, Louisville, died of a heart attack Sept. 11.