Variety (Dec 1934)

II A D I VARIETY is EPILOGS DAhny Miilone Back in Eholanfl-<- Gardel OH Air Hanson'* Veiled Attack Majr Open PreM-Radid Ques- tioii Againi—Empea Fed^l More to Ciirb Paper-Star tiob Tieup* PUBS WORRIED UneasineBB cauBed amohff the newspaper priass . aasbclatlons the past several months over the strides made by the Trahsradlo Press Pervlce was birought out into the open last week when EUsha Han- sbn, counsel tor the American Newspaper Publishers' Association, ■ "ln"lf~1'aaio'"addresB -score radio's affllialtlon with Havas, the French subsidized new? ] tLgency. Herbert Moore, president of Trans- radio, in a letter addressed to ,M. H. Aylesworth last Friday (14) der ihahded that he be eralnted the same NBC facilities in which to •nswer Hanson's i-emarks. Hanson charged in his talk over a WJZ hookup Wednesday night (12) that foreign radio stations under • ■ government control are .a.ttemptinB to spread propaganda in this coun- try. ■Without mehtlohlng Trans- radio by name Hanson declared that 'recently a French government Bubsidlzed news agency established »■ contact with an Ainerlcan group . Xor the, purpose of broadcastlnfif for-, •ign newa reports in the United Btates.' : 'The'qiiestionV cont*'^^®d Hanson, ^should be asked by any American listener: "Why should this be when ' the impartial, unbiased, uncolored mnd authentic new^ reports of the -^-tour^reat-presis-associatiphsJiav been made availablei to all Ameri- can citizens through the Press- _RadJo Bure au. If any agency sub- ■li31zed"&y the French gov'ornlicent can^utilize—Amerlcan-^broadcast y'. facilities,, then there is ho reason why other agencics^those : serving ; Ifu'sBOltni, Hitler, Stalin, or any other dictator—may not do the ■•ame.'-.' . ''■■■]■■■:... Moore's answer to Hanson's re- marks is that his origanization Is operating: along the same lines as -:^-the--Associated:^PreBa. Although both ore allied with the seml-offl- eial neWs agencies of Franco, Eng- land, Italy, Oermany* Buiasla and •ppndents established in the Impor tant ciapltals of Europe whose funo- tloh if is to get the American slant on eventis and to provide aid ta filtering the news at this end. ' Moofe avers that he is aware oC the fact that the Press-Radio Bu- reau has been transcribing Trana- radio newB broadcasts on aluniihum with the object, of cullin them for iropagahda, arid news ^pli^ regards the tenbr of Hanson's speech as revealing a desperate move to keep the press asfiociatlons In .line.;-" Recent reports in newspaper circles have had it that Carl BIckel; head of thei United Press, is anxious Danny Malone Irish tenor im- ported by NB(j pome months ago'lis how back in England. Singer whose entry Into the states was ballyhbped knot by knot in rtiid- odea,ri, had ia. short fling at: the U.S. air waves and then faded. Next his voice was heard with the Abb6y Theatre Players in one of their qiialnt prpductlpns. Then after isome Decca recordings . he sailed back to England. Variety and BBC dates oh the other side. Including a'tour of, Scotland. He may return later for another try. Carlos (jardel. South American sizzler is another foreign voice im- ported: at great expertse. by NBC. He top is how awky from the micro- phone: Hollywood is his new ad- dress wh^re he is making Spanish Aims. In both cases the publicity depart ment wore Itself out thlriltlhg up gag^; and chijice phrases for the Im- .portatibns;: ATN.A.B. Odd Cbn"»iB>^cial Hookup between Hal Kemp and the King Feature Service' is the first of its. kind involy- liig a dance combo; a hptel and a group of syndicated column- ists and cartooh strip names: Series of sustaihihg pickups from the Penhsyivahia, Kemp's current, stand, starting this Thursday (20) will have the .band leader interviewing Bing Crosby, Milt (Srbssi Robert L. Ripley, Jack Lait, 'James As- well, George McManus, Otto Soglow aind Prunella Wood. HoBtetler III/ Can't Aftend---Nfext Gpnve Colorado Between July l45-^Bellows Warn^ Impending Legislation in Wa^iingU^ii . ; RADIO ADV. the vast social resporislbllity of radio demands for America's Im- mense radib audience. It carries oh the splendid newspaper tradltipn of America 'by purchasing any sUp- plemehtaxy news. it heeds from the same foreign press associations which have' 80 long and ably sup- plied the ; great newspaper preiss. services.' .' V. W Federal mpves to curb, tie-up be- tween broadcasters and newspapers is in prospect as c'onse<luence 6f steady invasion of radio field by press throughput the country. First blow in Impending warfare was struck last week by Repre- sentative Emanuel Celler of Brook- lyn, who appeared before Federal Communlcatiohs Commisslpn in op- positloh to appllcatiPn Of the Brooklyn Eagle for :permissibn to operate on the- l,4''0-k.c. -frequency now shared by four small Brooklyn itjahsroitters,^ _ Tbreatehlhg to-ask Congress to enact appropriate legislatioh, Celler bluntly registered his opppsition to preBS~6wnership-of"brpadQast-facili=" _tles_and^caMd:ifox_cAmPAtitlojii^^ tween two agencies. 1 am opposed to any newspaper owning and operating a station,' Representative Celler said. 'It is a matter that is fraught with a great deal of danger, especia,lly in: these perilous times when the greatest freedom should be given to the dis- sem ination <of hews.' " : . _ . 'There shpuld be as many owners of riadio faxsillties and newspapers vrctuiaiiy* nuoDio, a»u as possible BP that there cannot be [cir^^ac h . httv e--c6rre— -ahy-eombteatle n that will n airew- * that, type of dlsseminatioh. News- papers shPuld stick to their own kni£tihg. They should not own and operate stations, and I :Would be for legislation which would sepa- rate-'-them;'-- -■; Possibility of CJongresslonol action Is not to be laughed at, according to local indicatiqiis, 'slhce organized labor Is taking an interest in the irtcreaslngly"-frequent tle-up^~~and is likely to ask Cpngress tP take steps to preserve cbmpetltiph. American Federatioh of Xabor lead^- ers fear the continued invasion of broadcasting Industry by publlishers will eventually penallziB workers or place further obstacles in the way lo resume lor nis service the radi'P isidellne, which he had to abandon .when his. organization became : a party to the priess-radio pact. BIckel has glyeri considerable: study to the • ' ievelopment of Transradlo. ■ Bickel : offered to have the U. P. wire carry Moore's answer to Hanson. On Friday Moore sent a message byer:the,teletype ,to his station sub- Bcrlbers, Excerpit is as follows: 'Hearty ^ apprpval of the. stand against foreign pi^opasahda in the' United States, as voiced by Ellsha Hanson, general counsel for the . Amerliean Newspaper .. Publishers' Association, was expressed 'today by Herbert Moore, president of , Trahsrocllo Press Service and the Radio News Association. 'Transraidlo's foreign correspond- ents, American born or American trained, today fitarid guard against propaganda in all major world capl- --—^l^.—and r-provide—the-—American- people: with that absolutely un- biased, Bpa-partisan »ewB whlcli -of—u nionlzatlbii of siudloa. ^^ intfer- natlbnal Brotherhood of/'Electrical Workers recently called attention to the number of assignments pf licenses to press groups arid extent of. radio ownership or operation of. transmitters. Press-radio war Is ,expected to break out on another front here this winter as a coriseauence'of the. growing:Importahce of Transr-Radlo' Press SerVicei While no mpves have been made by radio news col- lectors to force the Issue,; it is in- evitable that before the winter ends a show-down must occur pri the question of admitting TransrRadlo legmen to Capitol press galleries. Any overt row over this matter Is bound to blow the' lid off the whole radio-press agreement and throw the entire subject open for further discussion. Broadcasters here feel that radio must obtain a better -break-in—the news—field,, -.but-pub-- llshers oh the whole are determined to. keep ether industry In check. r ^ ; Hollywood, Dec. 17. : Don Oilman, cpast v.p. of NBC, and O; B. Hanson, chief, engineer, have been here a week looking for a suitable location for new chain headquarters here. Execs have so far failed to find what they^heed. Plan is to get a building already erected which can lie revamped but so far have drawn a blank. Report Is that the chain is willing to' spend up to $260,000 for new facilities, and will build If neces- sary. New quarters are to take the place- ofr th^T-present—ofBces -and transmitting rooms on the RKO lot. . Robert Felddum is slated to giet a vice -presidency at station WNBW, New York. WNEW's only other v; p. Is Dick O'Day. Milton Blow owns^the Bta- tloh, ' Washington, Dec. 17, Enactment of legislation impos- ing a Federal tax on radio advertis- injg will be urged in the forthcom- ing-session of CongresB^ - While, de-r tails have not been worked out, a scheme under which broadcasters would make some paymient to the Federal Government for their fran- chises is certain to be drafted and suTjiriitteff for" CPrigreBsipnal con- sideration. A substantial bloc of members who feel that the broad- cast industry is getting a, great, deal for nothing is behind the idea. One bill is being prepared by former Representative Edgar How- ard of Nebraska, who forecast Sat- urday (16) that the measure would be Introduced early In the session, which opens Jan. 3.. Tax rate has not been, decided but proposed tar- iffs run from 1% to 10%. Conflict- ing suggestions are under consid^ oration, some members advocating definite fixing of the rate by Con- gress and others urging that the problem be left to the Federal Com- munications Commission. One objective of the bill Is to pro- vide revenue with which the Fed- eral .6p3rernment. might aid states in improving and maintaining educa- tional facilities. Ariother idea would provide for the use of the funds de- rived" from—the—advertising impost .fot-the. .maintenJWXC.e_ftn.d_ppe.ratlon, of educational stations by Federal' agencies. Ruiii Hbdacs has Joined WJJD, Chicagp, as a specia-list in: spPrts. He hails from the announcing staff of ' wpBF, Rock Island-Daven- port, la. Erwln, Wasey agency Is develop- ing for National Distillers a spPt broadcasting campaign along insti- tutional lines, with the program composed of newsreel clips. Tied in with the project is Pathe News,, whpse resources would be used for the gathe rlripr editing and dlstrlb. uting of the clips for the stations on the Natipnai Distillers. list. By wrapping up the ad text in a pro- gram with a striking element of edu- cational and informative interest those concerned. figure that the ob- jection of many stations to liquor business will be overcoriie. ' Only in rare instances would, the clips shipped to stations be'the same as those used In Pathe newsreel re- leases. Plan is to have the broad- cast soundtracks specially, made by Pathe's' regular staff and. corre- spondents for mike release purposes. Also entailed in the proposition is the installatlon in cach of the- sta'- tiphs Involved of special spund rcr producing equipment for film. As mapped but by the agency some 40-odd stations would be in- cluded In the campaign. Over 80 outlets have already been lined up, -with-an-eltort-being made-to-obtaln- choice time that is guaranteed pro- tection against metwork (Aeauacla.;. MAYBELLINE TO CHICAGO Qiuits Hollywood—Star Salary Ideas Too Fancy Hollywood, Dec. 17. • . Giving up the plan of spotting pict ur e n a m es on th e w ebk ly prp • gram, the Maybelline NBC broad- cast shifts from the NBC studio here to Chicago starting next Sun- day (23). ■ " •■ v' Last Coast emanation of this program was yesterday (1<5). High cost of film names the reason. : • Ed Petry JSack in N. Y. Edward Petry returned to his office in New York last week. Just completed a six-week swing around tlie country ag' far west as California visiting tho 33 towns he lists as station rep. Hovelist at Yonng-Rubicam Norman Klein, novelist and col- urimlst, has left the New York Post and joined Young & Rublcam, where he will handle' publicity for General Foods. —Klein's • -next—hovelf -"Terror-^by- Night', will- be published b^ Farrar & RlBehart, Jaa. M. Sudden iUneiss of its counsel, Joseph A. Hostetler, prevented the directorate of the National Associa- tion of Broadcasters from learning lost week what concessions. If any, had been made regarding a new license contract by the American ■ Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Hostetler, who since September has had several talks with E. C. Mills, ASCAP gen, mgr., on the proposition of charging radio on a per use basis, was due to make a report of these pourparlers to the : rquafferly gathering of "the NAB - board. Hostetler was coming in from Cleiyeland where he has a law office partnership with Newtpn JX Baker. ■"...';:;. Meeting, which was held at the St. Regis Hotel, New York, ob- tained from Henry A. Bellows, former CBS v.p. and now special legislative agent for the'NAB,, some . Inside info as. to what is in stcre for the broadcasting Industry at the . coming session of Congress. Bel- lows averred that there was a good possibility that another ^ drug and food bill would be introduced. This measure he said would likely turn, but fair more stringent than the one , proposed' e,t the last Congressional \ pow-wow by Rex Tugwell. Bellows ! reviewed the hearings held by thai ', Federal, Comniunlcatlons Cpmmls- [ Bion two months ago on the educa- tional interests' demand for 26% of broadcast facilities and opined that -i the thing that seemed to impress ! the .commissipners most was the . plea^fb'r Tco^-<)peraf i'<m both sides of the issue. • ^ ■ j Colorado .Next Directors- approved an Pperatlhg" '*" ■budget—of—|60i000 -for-1935 and- agreed that the next national con- vention was to be held in Colorado - sometime between July ' 1 and 16, The exact dates and town were to be determined by the. executive , ■ committee. Uniform accounting system for stations . was adopted and the -membershlp-applicatlons-of KTSM,- ; El Paso, WMEX, Boston, WOC, Davenport, WIXBS and W9XBY, Kansas City, were approved. With this quintet the NAB membership stands at 876. New committees wwe also ap* pointed. Chairmen of these groups are Arthur B. Church, commercial; E. M. Elkin, KDKA, Pittsburgh, tax; H. K. Carpenter, cost account-. Ing, and Alfred J. McCosker, copy- right. J. T. Ward, WtAC, Nash- ville, NAB prez, presided at the meeting-and-the others attendlng- were C. W. Myers, KOIN, Portland;! John Gillan, WOW, Omaha; Isaac. D. Levy, WCAU, Philadelp^ila; Al- fred jr. McCosker, WOR, Newark;; Harry C. Butcher, WJSV, Wash- ington; Gordon Persons, WSFA, Montgomery, Ala.; William S. Hedges , WEAPt— H. K. Ca rpei WHK, Cleveland; I. R, Lounsbury, WGR-WKBW, Buffalo; Frank Rus- sell, WRC, Washington; ArtHur B. Church, KMBC, Kansas City, Mb.;! J. Thomas Lyons, WCAO, Balti- more; I. J. Buckwalter, WGAIv Lancaster, '/ Pa.; Stanley Hub^. bard, KSTP, Minneapolis; Howard Wheelehan, WSMB, New Orleans, and Powel Crosley, Jr., Cincinnati. Steve Cisler Resigns Birmingham, Dec. 17. Steve Cislier, ;mariager of WSGN, resigned last week and is plannirig to take over the operation of bIx stations in. north Alabama. . Head- quarters will be established at WJEY, Gadsden. - Don—Campbell—e£—the... business staff has been maids manager, buo- eeedteg Ctskik .;