Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1953)

6 Personal Notes: E. C. Page, Washington consulting engineer, has returned from 6-month honeymoon trip to Okinawa and the Philippines, where he supervised completion of Voice of America’s 1000-kw “beam” transmitters; he and his bride, the former Virginia Erwin, also a radio engineer, made the return a round-the-world flight . . . Michael Dann, ex-asst. to Pat Weaver, named NBC-TV network program mgr., succeeding Jack Rayle, now producing new noon-1 p.m. Home show, counterpart of 7-9 a.m. Today, starting Jan. 18; Dann reports to Toni McAvity, director of TV programs . . . Lloyd George Venard, pres, of 0. L. Taylor Co., rep firm recently taken over by Raymer, resigns as of Jan. 1 . . . Wayne Kearl, ex-asst. gen. mgr., named mgr. of KGMB-TV, Honolulu, in separation of TV-radio ordered by v.p. C. Richard Evans; Melvin B. Wright, ex-merchandising mgr., named mgr. of KGMB (AM) and K. C. Wong becomes office mgr. . . . Edward Lamb, owner of WICU, Erie, and holder of CP for WMAC-TV, Massillon, 0., as well as publisher of Erie Dispatch, with his new exec. v.p. J. Howard McGrath, exAttorney General, were guests of honor at a cocktail party Nov. 29 given by Washington bureau chief J. Lacy Reynolds . . . Will Baltin, recently in consulting work after leaving Screen Gems Inc., joins International Telemeter Corp. (pay-as-you-look TV) as aide to exec. v.p. Carl Leserman at Los Angeles plant . . . Win. Robinson, mgr. of WLWA, Atlanta, elected pres, of local chapter, Sons of the American Revolution . . . Robert E. Holt named program mgr. of WSTV-TV, Steubenville, 0. (Ch. 9), due on air by Dec. 10 . . . E. S. Coatsworth, ex-CBLT, Toronto, named CBC film procurement officer . . . Barry McDonald, ex-mgr. of CBI, Sydney, N. S., named asst, to CBC director of programs Charles Jennings . . . George T. Fry, Kenyon & Eckhardt v.p. and ex-ABC network radio sales director, elected to board of agency . . . Don Blauhut, exTV-radio director of Spector and Peck agency, joins Edward Kletter Assoc., N. Y., in similar capacity . . . James A. Silin merges adv. firm bearing his name with Boston’s John C. Dowd Inc., now is Dowd v.p. and associate of firm’s New York branch, Dowd, Redfield & Johnstone Inc. . . . Maurice E. McMurray, ex-CBS, NBC & C. E. Hooper, named sales mgr., WJBK-TV, Detroit . . . Kal Ross, N. Y. sportsmaster, .named director of operations and asst, to gen. mgr. Lou Poller at WCAN-TV & WCAN, Milwaukee . . . Paul A. Walker, ex-FCC chairman, has opened law office in 401 Warner Bldg., Washington; Metropolitan 8-1899. New FCC personnel reporting for duty in last few weeks, mostly in Broadcast Bureau, include 5 attorneys and 6 engineers. Attorneys: Charles Finley, ex-Treasury Dept, and Govt. Employes Insurance Co., to renewal div. ; John H. Bass, ex-FTC, to hearing div.; Arthur J. Schissel, ex-House Ways & Means Committee staff, to TV div.; Edward Brown, ex-private practice in Cody, Wyo. (previously also in San Diego, Pensacola & Wisconsin Dells, Wis.), to hearing div.; Earl Walck, ex-private practice in Washington, to hearing div. Engineers, all coming from FCC field offices and all assigned to TV div.: Robert Ochs, Detroit; Clarence F. Heister, Kansas City; Mark Greenblatt, New York. Coming to common carrier div. from New York field office is Sidney Kessler; to field headquarters from Norfolk, Hilary H. Hayes. Jay Strong, ex-Maxon and Gibraltar agencies, onetime with WABD, New York, died Dec. 1 in N. Y. His widow, Mrs. Doris Strong, is secy, to E. M. Johnson, MBS vice president. Edgar W. Hopf, killed recently in accident while climbing Mt. Shasta with group led by Jon Lindbergh, was color TV research engineer at Stanford Research Institute. RED INK operators both, Spokane's KXLY-TV (Ch. 4) and Los Angeles’ KLAC-TV (Ch. 13) fetched handsome prices in sale deals for which transfer papers were filed with FCC this week. Spokane outlet (CBS) which began operating last Jan. and shows deficit of $81,296 for 9 months ended Sept. 30, was sold for $1,750,000 along with profitable KXLY radio (5 kw on 920 kc, CBS). Los Angeles independent, a consistent loser since it was founded in 1948, with deficit of $273,419 for 10 months ended Oct. 31, was sold for $1,375,000 without its AM counterpart. Blackburn-Hamilton handled both deals. Buyers of KXLY-TV & KXLY are Northern Pacific Television Corp., 57%%, and Northern Pacific Radio Corp., 42%% — both with same officers and stockholders: Joseph Harris, chairman, 45%, ex-N. Y. insurance man, one of major owners of Motion Pictures for Television Inc.; Norman Eisenstein, pres., 45%, N. Y. investor, who owns half of Kiddie Coat Inc. (clothing mfr.) and various other enterprises; Richard E. Jones, v.p. & gen. mgr., 10%, recently mgr. of DuMont’s WABD, N. Y., and before that mgr. of Storer’s WJBK-TV, Detroit; James B. Harris, secy.-treas., son of Joseph Harris and an MPTV v.p.; Alex Alexander, director, 50% owner of Kiddie Coat Inc., owner of Miami’s Hyde Park Hotel and various other enterprises; C. D. Randall, director, Spokane attorney. Sellers get $50,000 down, then $450,000 on FCC approval, remainder in installments over 7 years. They are Symons Bcstg. Co., 50%; Bing Crosby, 47.6%; Dr. Joseph Lynch, Robert P. Porter & Mahlon Rucker, local friends of Crosby’s, 2.4%. Symons Bcstg. Co. is 49.6% owned by E. B. Craney, Montana broadcaster; 33.23% by Mrs. Burton K. Wheeler, wife of the ex-Senator from Montana; 16.37% by John L. Wheeler, son, now a Pasadena attorney; .8% by Wm. Marshall, Spokane. Combined capital investment in the stations was $449,414. Buyer of KLAC-TV is Copley Press Inc., which proposes to change its call letters to KCOP and to operate it in conjunction with its string of Los Angeles County dailies: Alhambra Post-AdvocoJe, Burbank Daily Review, Culvew City Star-News, Glendale News-Press, Monrovia News-Post, Redondo Daily Breeze, Venice Evening Vanguard. Company also owns 60% of San Pedro (Cal.) NewsPilot and half of KSDO, San Diego independent AM. It also owns Illinois dailies Aurora Beacon-News, Elgin Courier-News, Joliet Herald News, and publishes Springfield (111.) State Register under 15-year lease. Its pres, is A. W. Shipton. Seller is Mrs. Dorothy Schiff Sonneborn, publisher of the Neiv York Post, who has operated it at loss ever since it was founded — this year’s loss said to be lowest of any year. Her son Mortimer W. Hall is mgr., presumably will continue to manage highly profitable KLAC radio (5 kw D, 1-kw N on 670 kc, independent). Payments include $100,000 down, $300,000 on FCC approval, $975,000 in 29 notes of 4% payable quarterly. More remote pickup channels for TV use were proposed by FCC this week, which revised its proposals of Nov. 1952 to meet industry objections. New proposal (Public Notice 98624) would make available for TV auxiliary use, assignable on case-to-case basis, 10 channels each in 1990-2110 me & 2450-2500 me bands, 8 in 10,50010,700 me and 20 in 12,700-13,200 me bands. Channels would be available to broadcasters and common carriers providing auxiliary service to TV stations. Commission dropped its proposal to stipulate polarization for each channel. Also dropped was plan to set aside 3 of the channels exclusively for common carrier use. In separate notice (98625) FCC proposed separate allocation of exclusive channels to common carriers for TV pickup and other uses. Comments on both proposals due Feb. 15.