Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1952)

12 APPLICATIONS for new TV stations continue to pour into FCC files — 14 more being filed this week, 7 vhf & 7 uhf, to bring grand total now pending to 773 (309 uhf). They came from big cities and small towns, with AM operators and stockholders and theatre interests well represented. This week’s vhf applications came from: Jefferson City, Mo., Channel No. 13, sought by Durwood theatre interests, also applicants for Wichita; Reno, Nev., No. 4, by mining equipment dealers J. E. Riley & H. H. Luce; Fargo, N. D., No. 13, by oilman M. B. Rudman, who holds CP for Galveston and is applicant for Bismarck & Minot, N. D.; Beaumont, Tex., No. 4, by Jefferson Amusement Co., half owned by United Paramount; San Angelo, Tex., No. 3, by KGKL; Tyler, Tex., No. 7, by KTBB; Milwaukee, by Board of Vocational & Adult Education, seeking educational channel No. 10. Uhf applicants this week were for Orlando, Fla., Channel No. 18, by local electrical manufacturer James Dandelake; Ottumwa, la., No. 15, by group headed by sales mgr. John R. Livingston, of WPEO, Peoria; Alexandria, La., No. 62, by Jacob A. Newborn Jr., TV grantee in Gadsden, Ala.; New Orleans, No. 32, by WJMR; Aiken, S. C., No. 54, by WAKN; Marion, Va., No. 50, by WMEV; Milwaukee, No. 25, by Harry & Elmer Balaban, holding CP for WTVO, Rockford, 111. (Channel 29). [For details about foregoing applications, see TV Addenda 15-T herewith; for listing of all post-freeze applications, grants, hearings, etc., see TV Factboolc No. 15 with Addenda to date.] B Biggest closed-circuit theatre TV hookup yet for a commercial meeting is slated for Tues., Dec. 30, when Bendix home appliance div. of Avco Mfg. Corp. carries program from Chicago’s Garrick Theatre to audiences totaling about 100,000 distributors, dealers, salesmen and guests meeting in 40 other cities. Bendix is using this means of replacing its traditional dealer meeting, contracting with Teleconference Inc., New York, for the hookup requiring 10,000 miles of AT&T coaxial-microwave relays. Theatres of United Paramount, Warners, Loew’s, Fabian and other chains have been booked for the morning “convention.” Said United Paramount’s Robert H. O’Brien, welcoming project as another revenue source for theatres: “We have always felt that the real field for closed circuit TV is in its use by industry, and we welcome this opportunity to test in every key market area and the public’s reaction to such a presentation.” “Tremendous cost” of TV-radio in election campaigns will be studied closely by Congress, says Rep. Boggs (D-La.), chairman of House committee to investigate campaign expenditures, which opens hearings Dec. 1. Among witnesses scheduled are FCC chairman Paul Walker and NARTB govt, relations director Ralph Hardy. Rep. Boggs estimates 1952 campaign costs at $50-$100,000,000, blames “antiquated” election laws for “studied evasion,” and points out that widespread TV-radio use “suggests the need for an immediate reexamination of election laws.” Signs of the new times: Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wis.), who will head Govt. Operations Committee (formerly called Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Depts.) serves notice he’s going to investigate FCC for alleged “favoritism” in TV-radio grants. Rep. Velde (R-Ill. ) , ex-FBI agent who heads next House Committee on Un-American Activities, says he will permit some sessions to be televised — thus, in effect, lifting Speaker Rayburn’s ban. James E. Dir.gman, ex-operations v.p. of Bell Telephone Co. of Pennsylvania, appointed gen. mgr. of Bell Laboratories, effective Dec. 1. Telecasting Holes: Interesting rate pattern is discernible among post-freeze stations on air or about to go on air. Survey of their rate cards (national) shows that Denver’s recent starters, KFEL-TV & KBTV, both have base rates of $250 per Class A hour, $60 per 1-min. Portland’s KPTV started at $250 & $50, Lubbock’s KDUB-TV at $200 & $20, Austin’s KTBC-TV at $250 & $50, Honolulu’s KONA at $225 & $45 . . . Roanoke’s WSLS-TV is starting with base rates of $250 & $50; Atlantic City’s WFPG-TV, $150 & $20; York’s WSBA-TV, $200 & $20; Reading’s WHUM-TV, $300 & $60; Wilkes-Barre’s WBRETV, $250 & $40; Spokane’s KXLY-TV, $200 & $20; El Paso’s KTSM-TV, $200 & $40; Bridgeport’s WICC-TV, $200 & $40; Jackson’s WJTV, $200 & $40 . . . KSL-TV, Salt Lake City, new rate card effective Jan. 1 raises Class A hour from $400 to $500, 1-min. from $80 to $100 . . . New starter KTBC-TV, Austin, Tex. (Vol. 8:47), began program service Thanksgiving Day with first week’s network commitments as follows: NBC 15(4 hours, CBS 8(4 hours, ABC 1 hour, DuMont 45 min. . . . Don Lee radio network and its o-&-m stations (KHJ, KFRC, KGB) go to single rate as of Jan. 1— reducing from night rate of $2700 per hour to present $1500 day rate across the board . . . 10story TV Center costing $3,500,000 to be built by Storer interests at Second Blvd. & Bethune, in Detroit’s New Center area, comprising 30,625 sq. ft.; drawings now being prepared by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Chicago architects who designed New York’s Lever House. WJBKTV’s new 1057-ft. tower now going up on 9 Mile Rd. . . . California Studios said to be first Hollywood film lot going over entirely to TV ; it was acquired this week by Jack Gross & Phil Krasne, operating as Gross-Krasne Inc., making Big Town for Lux and Cisco Kid for Ziv . . . Mansfield Enterprises formed by Wm. Weintraub ad agency as subsidiary to produce and syndicate TV films; already handles Kaiser-Frazer’s Night Editor and 5-min. series titled Strange Experiences . . . TV-radio invited by National Board of Fire Underwriters, 85 John St., New York City, to participate in 1952 gold medal awards to media giving outstanding service in fire safety and prevention; scrapbooks of exhibits must be submitted for judging by Feb. 16 . . . WHBF-TV, Rock Island, televises one Augustana College class a week 5:15-5:45 p.m. Mondays in Augustana TV Classroom, lecture and group discussion by students in actual classes conducted in studio . . . Strike against film commercials (Vol. 8:46) called for Dec. 1 by Screen Actors Guild with backing of 6 other talent unions . . . New NARTB-TV members: KFEL-TV, Denver, KONA, Honolulu, and KDUB-TV, Lubbock, and the upcoming WEEUTV, Reading; WWLP, Springfield, Mass.; WAKR-TV, Akron . . . Petry appointed rep for new XETV, Tijuana, Mexico (San Diego) . . . Rambeau appointed rep for new WATR-TV, Waterbury, Conn., due to start next spring. TV-radio got representation in President-elect Eisenhower’s entourage to Korea, following protests last week when it was announced only one reporter, one newsreel man and one cameraman could go along (Vol. 8:47). TVradio pool, deciding by flip of coin, will send NBC-TV cameraman Julius Zenier and MBS newscaster Everett Holies by arrangement with Eisenhower’s press secretary Jim Hagerty. Spectrum chart in color, covering all FCC frequency allocations by bands, very handy for engineers and handsome to mount on wall, is being issued as supplement to January Tele-Tech, published by Caldwell-Clements Inc., 480 Lexington Ave., N. Y. Jerry Fairbanks, Hollywood producer, has sold his interest in Television Zoomar Corp. to gen. mgr. Jack Pegler, now president, and inventor Dr. Frank Back, now v.p.secy.-treas.