Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1953)

10 Telecasting Notes: “Stories about Hollywood producers sitting by their TV sets at home and finding new talent for movies or rediscovering seasoned performers who have dropped out of picture business are becoming commonplace.” But, adds Thomas M. Pryor, New York Times Hollywood reporter, that’s how director Hugo Fregonese came to sign Lillian Bond and Isabell Jewell to portray pair of ex-stage stars in Panoramic’s Man in the Attic. It used to be that movie scouts found talent in vaudeville, or sitting at a soda fountain (Lana Turner), or running an elevator at Marshall Field’s (Dorothy Lamour) . . . Most recent newcomer to films from TV is Jack Lemmon, signed by Columbia Pictures to be Judy Holliday’s leading man in comedy A Name for Herself . . . WSAZ Inc., Huntington, W. Va„ dedicated its new $500,000 studios Aug. 23 with big party attended by industry representatives from New York and Washington, plus West Virginia Gov. Marland, in all-day celebration climaxed in hour-long local simulcast emceed by NBC-TV’s Ted Mack. Hosts were 90-year-old Col. J. H. Long, founder-president of parent Huntington Herald-Dispatch and Advertiser ; his son, Walker Long, WSAZ Inc. secy., and grandson Lawrence H. (Bud) Rogers, v.p. & gen. mgr. of station . . . Martha Rountree sells out her interest in Meet the Press (NBC) and Big Issue (DuMont) to Larry Spivak, will form Rountree-Presbrey Inc. with husband, adman Oliver Presbrey, and will continue to own and produce Leave It to the Girls (ABC) and Washington Exclusive (DuMont) ; they will continue on one another’s programs, however . . . Milton Berle’s show, resuming Sept. 29 under Buick sponsorship, to get promotional buildup via series of 20-sec. commercials shot in Telefilm Studios . . . Kenyon & Eckhardt survey discloses 80% of TV stations offer advertisers merchandising & promotional services (soliciting and placing displays, store checks, trade mailings, etc.); station-by-station tabulation of survey will be published later in year . . . Notre Dame grid games will be carried on ABC-TV via film day after each game, Sun. 7:45-9 p.m., by arrangements with Leslie G. Arries Sr., ABC-TV sports director . . . Student loan fund for children and dependents of employes of WBTV & WBT, Charlotte, financing them for 4 years of college, set up by Jefferson Standard Bcstg. Co., licensee . . . Study guides for WOI-TV’s Iowa TV Schooltime, resuming Oct. 5 at 10 a.m., 5 days and dealing with topics selected by teachers and school administrators, to be sent to 500 schools in station’s area . . . Empire Coil Co.’s KCTY, Kansas City (Ch. 25) signs as DuMont basic, 144th affiliate of that network. Under headline “Godfrey: Man or Superman?”, familiar stickler of who’s boss — talent, sponsor or network — is given new airing by George Rosen in Aug. 26 Variety, touched off by recent action of star in junking a scheduled CBS-TV Talent Scouts program as “substandard entertainment” in favor of makeshift format of his Arthur Godfrey and His Friends. Always controversial, Godfrey stirred even deeper controversy by his latest action — sponsor Lipton’s Tea announcing it wouldn’t pay for program while deluge of telephone calls to network applauded Godfrey gesture as “one more evidence that he’s always thinking of his audience.” Article points out that Godfrey is more strongly entrenched than ever, what with his wellpublicized pipelines to White House and Pentagon, plus fact that he’s given credit for turning Lipton’s Tea into “multi-million dollar subsidiary” of Unilever Corp., and that his combined TV-radio appearances alone have brought network $15,000,000 annual gross billings, $7,000,000 profit. Rate hikes have been ordered by 14 national magazines, including Saturday Evening Post and Life, latter’s black-&white page going up 6% to $20,350 as of Feb. 1. New 15-kw uhf klystron tube is now in production by Eitel-McCullough Inc. (Eimac), San Bruno, Cal. Several deliveries have already been made, says field engineering dir. O. H. Brown, and Eimac “is now in a position to fill orders for the tubes within a week after they’re placed.” Several unnamed transmitter manufacturers are buying the new external cavity tube, although no transmitter built around the tube has yet been announced. Information on new tube was supplied by Brown to correct impression conveyed by story in last week’s Television Digest that Eimac’s highest powered klystron is rated at 5 kw. DuMont now uses Eimac 5-kw, but its transmitters are said to be so built that they can use 15-kw with very few changes (Vol. 9:33). Research dir. Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. announced that DuMont’s sights are now set on transmitter which will deliver FCC’s maximum power of 1000-kw ERP, and that “Eimac as tube manufacturing specialists and DuMont as circuit manufacturing leaders form an excellent team” to work toward this goal. In development in Eimac labs is 50-kw klystron which could power a 1000-kw station. Joint operation of TV station by 3 competing applicants pending hearing decision, was proposed to FCC this week by Shreveport (La.) Ch. 12 applicants KCIJ, KRMD and Shreveport TV Co. Although Ch. 12 hearing has already been completed, trio has formed Interim TV Corp. and applied for temporary Ch. 12 grant. Each applicant owns equal share, and all 3 have agreed to share equally in cost of operating station until final grant is issued to one of them. Then, successful applicant would purchase unsuccessful applicants’ interest in temporary corporation. Applicants say they could get on air within 2 months after interim grant is made. Idea of interim operation by “trustee corporation” isn’t new — having been espoused early this year by FCC chairman Hyde and others (Vol. 9:7,9) — but Commission staff is wrestling with legal issues raised by application. Strictly speaking, it’s new application for a channel which has already been subject to hearing — an application by 3 parties which already have applications for TV station in same city. NARTB AM committee, at conclusion of 2-day meeting, released The Principles of Profitable Radio Station Operation, survey of 5 unidentified markets, which had been discussed orally at Los Angeles convention in May. TV stations were in 2 of markets ; remaining 3 were radioonly. Report warned: “In a TV market, your very existence is dependent upon your development of new radio advertisers — your drive is not primarily against TV, but must be for radio against all other media and for the advertising business of the retailing or service trade which perhaps has never used advertising to any degree.” Committee also adopted resolution urging board of directors to approve expansion of committee membership by addition of representative from each network. “Marker signal” transmissions (Vol. 9:8,23) have been discontinued by upcoming WACH-TV, Newport News, Va. (Ch. 33), which hopes to begin actual test patterns Sept. 15, commercial operation Oct. 1 as second uhf outlet in Norfolk area. “Marker” consisted of low-power transmitter sending out audio note on Ch. 33 to permit servicemen to “pre-align” uhf tuners. In letter to FCC, mgr. Frederic F. Clair called experiment successful, but added that its value would have been greater if: (1) signal had been put on air further in advance of station’s debut; (2) there had been 2 signals — one at aural and one at visual frequencies, the visual signal modulated so as to produce alternate horizontal black-&-white bars. Stanley Sutherland Harris, 25-year-old son of Washington Senators’ mgr. Bucky Harris, joins Washington law firm of Hogan & Hartson after passing D.C. bar exam.