Television digest and FM reports (Jan-Dec 1946)

batter down Commission’s “usurpation” of authority over programs as infringement upon freedom of speech and thought. NAB’s president, exJudge Justin Miller, lashed out again before New York Rotary last week, saying radio, press and movies are in same boat — “if government can control one, it can control all.” He even smelled “Communist technique” in tendencies toward “self-enlargement of administrative law,” as manifested in Blue Book. Interestingh^ enough, it’s the same court on which Judge Miller sat (Court of Appeals of District of Columbia) to which Pearson-Allen case may go after FCC adjudication. FM ON R SH0.?STHIHG; Senate Small Business Committee must have had in mind James B. Littlejohn, chief engineer of KNAB, Salt Lake City, when it urged modest entrepreneurs to get into FM. Already grantee of an AM station of his own in Ogden, he applied for Class A this week, propoffing to spend precisely $500 for FM construction, and $50 for monthly operating cost in addition to his AM outlay. He owns a Bendix transmitter which United Air Lines used for ’olind landing tests, saj^s he’ll rebuild it to comply with FCC standards. Power (it will radiate 370 watts) is virtually all of operating cost, since he plans complete FM-AM duplication. . BOOKLET PLUMPS F03 FM: Written in much the same iconoclastic vein as Siepmann’s “Radio’s Second Chance,” which is almost a counterpart of FCC’s controversial Blue Book, Jerome Spingarn’s pamphlet titled “Radio Is Yours” (Public Affairs Committee, 10 cents) makes the point that public pays for radio programs through its purchase of radio sets, electricity, repairs, so is getting nothing for nothing. Spingarn, ex-FCC attorney, author of Senate Small Business Committee report on FM (Vol. 2, No. 15), plumps hard again for FM, advises wise purchasers against buying sets without FM. TELEVISION NOTES: You’ll get an earful of lowdown and an eyeful of exhibitions of what TV has and promises, at TBA conference in New York’s Waldorf-Astoria, Oct. 10-11. With intense interest already manifested, with ad agency folk eyeing TV in increasing numbers, arrangers think attendance may top 2,000, as many as are expected at broadcasters’ (NAB) convention in Chicago, Oct. 21-24 .... Leading ad agency in fashion field, Chernow, has assumed TV sponsorship of ABC’s “Powers Charm School of the Air,” will divide Thursday night half-hours on WABD among 3 different clients each week, starting Oct. 3, 8-8:30 p.m. It’s not only first time an advertising agency itself has dgned as a TV sponsor but is seen as big fillip to TV in that fashion;, especially with Powers models, are regarded as “naturals” for the medium .... As might be expected, that slight “cosmic ■ static” which FM sets pick up from the Milky Way (Vol. 2, No. 37) can also be detected on a good TV receiver. O. H. Caldwell, editor of Electronic Industries and former FCC commissioner, says at 60 me it can increase noise output an additional 5 to 8 db . . . . Item from New York Times: “Walkiepeeper, a portable television set, was forecast by Maurice Gorham, BBC television chief, at the Radio Industries Club in London the other day” . . . Emerson is testing TV sets in New York area, but has not yet announced production line; meanwhile is flooding market with table models without F.M. _ SIGHT AMD SOUND: FCC didn’t meet this week,v^ hence no TV-FM grants. Entire first part of week was devoted to budget preparation, Thursday to Budget Bureau hearing, Friday-Saturday to Camden-Princeton junket to inspect RCA’s TV-FM production and its new Teleran (television-radar for air navigation) . Next en banc session is scheduled Monday .... John S. Pratt, special assistant to Attorney General, will handle Petrillo-WAAF case from here on, taking over from Chicago Federal District Attorney J. A.lbert Woll (son of AFL v.p. Matthew Woll) with filing of Government’s brief next Monday; prosecution accordingly will be “master-minded” from Washington, usual with cases deemed certain to go to Supreme Court .... Rumors of FM network with union stations as nucleus get no support from ILGWU which emphasizes local service in its program proposals. Further union participation in FM may come from Textile Workers Union which is urging locals to apply — though none has yet done so ... . FCC has told CBS that conditional FM grant to WAPI, Birmingham, v/ill be counted against its quota, since it holds 45% stock interest in that station. This leaves network with only 2 to go before it reaches limit of 6. CBS holds licenses for WCBS-FM, New York, and WBBM-FM, Chicago; conditional also for St. Louis (KMOX) ; has applications in for Boston (WEEI), Minneapolis (WCCO), Los Angeles (KNX), Washington (WTOP) Able to bufid because project v/as pre-war, NBC this week poured foundations for its new Vv'’ashington TV-F?*1 tower at high Wardman Park Hotel site, reiterated promise TV station WNBW and WRC-FM will be operating “first of the year” .... “Longest continuous production line in the world” is claimed by Philco at new 3-story addition to main Philadelphia plant which started partial operation this week, auguring hoped-for stepup in production, including TV sets .... Succeeding Ruthrauff & Ryan’s Bourne Ruthrauff as radio director of the American Red Cross, with headquarters in Washington, is Walter Huffington, of Richmond, recently manager of WSSV, Petersburg, Va. !!■ D