Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1953)

6 Personal Notes: Edward D. Madden, resigned NBC-TV operations v.p. and onetime McCann-Erickson executive, joins Motion Pictures for Television Inc. Sept. 1 in charge of new programming and production & distribution of “name” films made for TV . . . Robert Kintner, pres, of ABC div. of AB-UP, sailed Aug. 14 for vacation in Europe, returns Sept. 5 . . . Sylvia Kessler, who resigned July 3 as chief of FCC Office of Opinions & Reviews, has joined Cohn & Marks law firm, Cafritz Bldg., Washington . . . Dr. Forest L. Whan, ex-U of Wichita faculty member who has conducted several audience surveys in Iowa and Kansas cities in last 2 years, joins Kansas State College faculty as member of TV policy committee for its educational grantee KSAC-TV (Ch. 8) . . . Omar F. Elder, ABC staff attorney, promoted to asst. gen. counsel . . . Nicholas Gordon, ex-Keystone Broadcasting System, joins NBC 0-&-0 stations div. as rate & price analyst . . . James F. O’Grady promoted to asst, mgr., ABC co-op program dept.; John Dullaghan, ex-March of Time, named mgr. of ABCTV news dept.’s technical and film operations . . . Edwin Metcalfe, ex-KECA-TV, Los Angeles, named TV mgr.. Weed Co., Hollywood . . . John Esau resigns as gen. mgr. of KTUL, Tulsa, to devote fulltime to new KTVQ, Oklahoma City (Ch. 25), which he heads . . . Mrs. Joy Wright, deputy director since 1950, succeeds BBC’s Derek Russell as director of Press & Radio Div., British Information Services, N. Y. . . . Kurt Jadassohn has resigned as v.p. & gen. mgr. of SESAC . . . Walter B. Bruce, ex-adv. mgr., Grand Union grocery chain, joins Robert A. Bories Co., 608 Fifth Ave., N. Y., to direct “Televizing” operations on DuMont, whose WABD carries Bories-produced daily Food for Thought . . . Frank K. Spain, ex-NBC, joins WHEN, Syracuse, as chief engineer . . . S. H. McGovern, ex-mgr. KSO (AM), Des Moines, appointed mgr. of that city’s upcoming KTLV (Ch. 17) . . . James P. Walker, exmgr. KFPW (AM), Fort Smith, Ark., appointed mgr. of KATV, Pine Bluff, Ark. (Ch. 7), due on air in Sept. . . . Ross B. Baker Jr. named mgr. of new KETV, Little Rock, Ark. (Ch. 23) due on air in Sept. . . . Theo. B. Pitman Jr., ex-WKNB-TV, New Britain, Conn, and onetime TV-radio director of James C. Dowd Agency, Boston, joins new WTAO-TV, Cambridge, Mass. (Ch. 56), due in Sept., as asst, to gen. mgr. Frederic S. Bailey; John H. Kimball Jr., ex-Hall Publishing Co., named WTAO-TV sales mgr. . . . Hugh Ben LaRue, ex-WOR, N. Y., onetime sales mgr. of Hawaii’s Aloha Network, returns to Hawaii as sales v.p. for new KABS (Ch. 4) due this fall . . . Tracy Lounsbury, ex-KSTP, St. Paul, named production mgr. of new WTOBTV, Winston-Salem (Ch. 26), due on air in Sept. . . . Edward F. Favors, ex-GE & KRLD-TV, Dallas, named chief engineer of new KSTM-TV, St. Louis (Ch. 36), due on air Sept. 27 . . . Ross L. Whiteside appointed technical director of CBC’s new CBUT, Vancouver, B.C., due on air in Nov. . . . John McBride, TV production director at Wayne U, appointed to head educational TV at U of Nebraska . . . Milton F. Allison promoted to CBS Radio eastern spot sales mgr. . . . Lewis Thomas, ex-Denver Post, appointed promotion mgr. of KLZ-TV, Denver, scheduled for Nov. 1 debut . . . Walter Stinson has resigned from Tulsa’s KVOO as chief engineer to join James Weldon’s Continental Electronics Mfg. Corp., Dallas, recently announcing its entry into uhf transmitter field; he’s succeeded at KVOO by John Bushnell, with Howard Phillips promoted to transmitter supervisor. NETWORK-UHF relationships came in for more discussion by FCC this week with no action decided on. Tentative drafts of a “letter of inquiry” to networks were being prepared, although there is no certainty that they will be sent or any action taken at all (Vol. 9:31,33). Commissioners have received number of informal complaints by uhf stations, but there have been no petitions or formal requests for action. Strong complaint from one uhf grantee went to Congress this week, however, when CP-holder WACH, Newport News, Va. (Ch. 33) wired Senate majority leader Knowland (R-Cal.), Sen. Johnson (D-Colo.) of Commerce Committee and Sen. Byrd (D-Va.) : “We are struggling uhf TV station. Local vhf hogging 3 different networks after enjoying monopoly for years. We believe this subverts the FCC, constituted by the Congress, in their attempt to institute superior uhf TV service. Yet networks are unregulated by FCC. This is unfair to public. Will you investigate?” That this complaint came from grantee in NorfolkPortsmouth area is ironic, in view of fact that area’s pioneer vhf station WTAR-TV — which loses NBC affiliation to uhf WVEC-TV Sept. 19 — wrote Sen. Johnson recently protesting that NBC threatens to feed World Series solely to its new uhf competitor — WVEC-TV (Ch. 15), which began testing Aug. 15. Meanwhile, a uhf grantee under the gun of New York’s 7 vhf stations expressed confidence in the future of free uhf telecasting without network affiliation, lashing out at foursome of uhf CP holders who petitioned FCC to approve subscription TV (Vol. 9:32). In groundbreaking ceremonies for his WRTV, Asbury Park, N. J. (Ch. 58), theatreman Walter Reade envisioned “bright future for a locally operated TV station” to render important service to local viewers and “local merchants who cannot afford to buy time on any of the competing New York vhf stations.” As to the uhf fee-TV proponents, he said: “Without putting a shovel in the ground or laying out a dollar in cash, [they] have arbitrarily resigned themselves to the belief that they cannot be a financial success unless they are supported by an untried and improbable boxoffice TV gimmick.” Prime mover in crusade for pay-as-you-look TV, Zenith Radio this week reported to its stockholders that it expects FCC hearing on subject shortly. It has retained Pierson & Ball law firm as counsel for Phonevision, while Teco Inc., which it set up as promotion organization for Phonevision with paid in capital of $1,000,000, has retained as counsel Loucks, Zias, Young & Jansky. These Washington law firms are in addition to its regular Washington Counsel, Wheeler & Wheeler (ex-Sen. Burton K. Wheeler and son). William A. Porter, ex-pres. of Federal Communications Bar Assn, and partner in law firm of Bingham, Collins, Porter & Kistler, this week became asst, director of defense mobilization for telecommunications under defense mobilizer Arthur S. Flemming. He takes over many of the functions — as well as staff — of Haraden Pratt, Telecommunications Advisor to the President, who resigned in June after serving nearly 2 years (Vol. 7:31 & 9:26). Job involves formulation of policy on allocation of radio frequencies to govt, users, notably the military, and use of communications during emergencies. Mrs. Dorothy Schiff, owner of KLAC-TV & KLAC, Los Angeles, and publisher of New York Post, was married in L.A. Aug. 18 to Rudolph Sonneborn, head of N. Y. Chemical & Petroleum Corp.; her son Mortimer Hall, KLAC pres., acted as best man for his stepfather. NBC radio affiliates committee (Robt. Swezey, chairman; Harold Essex, secy.-treas.) has completed plans for meeting of all affiliates with Gen. Sarnoff in Chicago’s Drake Hotel, Thu., Sept. 17, 10 a.m.; committee will hold preliminary meeting with NBC staff Sept. 1 in N.Y.