Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1953)

7 Telecasting Notes: We nominate for the Pulitzer Prize — yes, the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism — and for TV’s public service prizes of the year Ed Murrow’s Oct. 20 See It Now. He and producer Ed Friendly took a “loaded” topic, did crusading job in the best traditions of journalism. Their “Case for Milo Radulovich,” in fact, sets a new example for either audible, visual or printed journalism. He’s the young ex-GI, now a meteorological student at U of Michigan, recommended for dismissal from Air Force Reserve by board of 3 colonels because his sister is alleged to have Communist leanings and his aged father was reported seen reading a pro-Communist foreign-language newspaper. He wasn’t faced by accusers, board absolved him personally — and “guilt by kinship” thesis isn’t likely to stick on appeal after the superb Murrow expose . . . Arthur disinherited 2 “little Godfreys” this week, evoking reams of publicity and this warning to his staff from CBS’s No. 1 dollar-volume performer: “Do better or I’ll drop you.” Right in front of network audience, he bounced singer Julius LaRosa for breaking Godfrey “rule” in hiring an agent; Godfrey denied baritone’s romance with singer Dorothy McGuire had anything to do with sudden dismissal . . . Bandleader Archie Bleyer got ax from Godfrey, too, because Cadence Records featured rival Don McNeill on new recording. Bleyer stays with Talent Scouts for 8 weeks and LaRosa, Godfrey discovery who is under CBS contract at reported $900 a week, has signed for 2 guest appearances at $3000 each and has movies in view . . . Godfrey’s version: They got too in terested in money, lost “humility” that appealed to audience.” Scuttlebutt has more trouble brewing in cast . . . “Prescription Television” is title of tribute to TV by medical profession in Oct. Facts About TV, published by NARTB’s TV information committee, citing American Medical Assn, survey last May showing 91% of state medical societies, 77% of county medical societies were using TV & radio . . . Bureau of Independent Publishers & Distributors (George R. Klein, pres., gen. mgr. of Cleveland news company bearing his name) has earmarked $250,000 for a TV film to promote magazine readership . . . World Broadcasting System has prepared for TV stations what it claims is TV’s first transcribed service of music and sound, with new indexed catalog including all possible music, theme, backgrounds, bridges and sound that a program mgr. might need . . . George Sanford Holmes named Washington correspondent of KFEL-TV & KFEL, Denver; an ex-Denverite, he will file daily news dispatches about Colo. & Wyo. delegations in Congress . . . CBS’s WBBM, Chicago (AM) raises daytime rates in new Rate Card No. 24 . . . Seven TV stations in N.Y. “no longer pose a threat to the economic well-being of the city’s many radio operations,” concludes Variety, which polled 8 independents and the 4 network-owned AMs and found their business better than last year; WNEW said Sept, was best month in its history . . . Canadian Broadcasting Corp. signs American Newspaper Guild agreement covering 60 TV-radio newsroom employes . . . Center Theatre, Rockefeller Center, to be demolished to make way for 19-story office building as soon as NBC lease expires next May. FIRST MOVES of new Ultra High Frequency TV Assn., formed last week, will be to go to FCC with motions and petitions asking Commission to: (1) Vacate proposed assignment of additional vhf channels to such cities as Milwaukee. (2) Drop processing procedures which permit vhf grants at faster clip. (3) Set up rules whereby stations now operating, particularly uhf, can apply for different channels without quitting present operations. Group also elected officers this week: Lou Poller, WCAN-TV, Milwaukee, pres.; A. Donavan Faust, WENS, Pittsburgh, v.p.; Harry Tenenbaum, WTVI, Belleville, 111. f St. Louis), treas. Acting exec. secy, is Melvin Goldberg, formerly in DuMont sales research-promotion under research director Dr. T. T. Goldsmith, now a consultant in Govt.’s U. S. Information Agency. Public relations arc handled by J. Bernard McDonnell, who has performed similar chores for DuMont through Washington counsel Wm. Roberts. Directors, in addition to Poller, Tenenbaum & Faust: Ren Baylor, KEDI), Wichita; Marshall Pengra, KSTM-TV, St. Louis; Jack Garrison, KACY, Festus, Mo. (St. Louis); Sherwin Grossman, WBUF-TV, Buffalo. Organization meeting was held Oct. 16 in Chicago’s Blackstone Hotel, attended by most of officers and directors plus Wm. Johns, WOSH-TV, Oshkosh; Stanley Durwood, KEDI), Wichita; Robert Kilker, KACY, Festus; John Esau, KTVQ, Oklahoma City; Berthold Berkwich, WCANTV, Milwaukee; Harold Cowgill, WTVP, Decatur, 111. Counsel Roberts reports that 6 stations have signed up as founder members at $5000 each and that association is seeking coopei’ation of Assn, of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers with idea of getting it to collect information on coverage, power, etc. Roberts wrote FCC this week, informing it of objectives and charging that processing procedures have been changed drastically from what uhf entrepreneurs were led to expect by Commission’s end-of-freeze decision. He said group is convinced that all TV must ultimately go to uhf. Outlining “serious disabilities affecting uhf,” letter pointed to: (1) Delays in availability of high powered transmitters. (2) “Lack of adequate converters” and all-channel sets (3) “The new apparent disinclination of national networks to affiliate with uhf stations, largely the result of slower development of a uhf audience and prior history of standard broadcast affiliation with AM stations now operating vhf TV outlets.” Roberts also wrote FTC attorney H. Paul Butz, who has been conducting conference on trade practices (Vol. 9:41), urged that definition of TV receiver be written “so that term can only be used to describe a receiving set which is constructed for and capable of receiving with reasonable or adequate consistency all channels allocated by the FCC. If a receiving set is not capable of such reception, additional disclosure should be required in order to protect the consumer from deceptive advertising.” Association says it has no intention to splinter off NARTB. It was also made clear that it has no connection with group of uhf stations petitioning for approval of subscription TV. It goes without saying that group will have tough job persuading FCC to change some of its procedures. It will take some doing to talk Commission out of adding vhf channels — or any other kind of channels— where they can be dropped in without disturbing allocation rules & standards. Tough, too, will be job of stopping vhf grants via mergers and dropouts among competitors. Interestingly, new KSTM-TV, St. Louis, this week applied for modification to move from Ch. 36 to Ch. 11. Last week, it asked FCC to replace the 2 unused vhf channels in St. Louis with 4 uhf (Vol 9:42). Station said purpose of asking for Ch. 11 is to protect itself regardless how FCC acts. Another novel request was that of uhf grantee WITH-TV, Baltimore, which asks modification from Ch. 60 to Ch. 18, still uhf. Non-TV homes in New York City area are 17% of total, compared with 36% two years ago, according to Advertest Research which predicts non-TV homes will decline to 9% in next 2 years.