Variety (Dec 1934)

Tuesday, Dccetiiber 18,; 1934 R A a I o VARIETY 37 ^tests Fall Off iEtpih contests and giveaways have taken an appreciable tumble on NBG. ' Although the first 11 mont^ accounted for ,20% inore accounts than for tjie like period of the previous year, the drop In the -number 6f ;cpntestB came to 30%. Januaiy-Kovember stretdli of 1933 saw a. total of . 46 cbmmerclals testing the skill and wits of: the tunerrlnnersi ^So faip this year the; contest tally has ■ beeii ;33.'':.. During the first 11 months of '83 there were .149 regular offers made, as comparect to 13$ for the like pertod in 1934. Eight customers hive ' continued their sampling activities through '33: and *34, while 64 (Clients hiave extended t^^e'r giveaways over a span of six months or more. iPOWER LIFTS X '' ; VWashington, JDec 17. ; . With demand for better facilities continuing unchecked, the Federal T Com weiek arbitrarily, granted permission ; to. lO transmitters :to up their'oper- ating strength and slated for hearr : ing six pleas for , power boosts arid new/sta.tlons. - Increases authorized ^ere WKBQ, Harrlsburg, Penni,. froni 100, to 260 ' watts daytime; :WMBF,^ .B ton; N. T., from 100 to 2B0, daytime; T^kBZ, Muskegbn^ Mich-, from 1 BO to 2B0 daytime; WIBU, Poynptte, Mich, from 100 ,to 2B0 -daytlhie; KRE> Berkeley, Calif., from 100 to 2B0 daytiriie; WSUJ, Iowa City, la,, from 500 to 1 k.w: daytime; WFBL,, Syracuso, N. T., from 2% to 5 k.w. daytime; WKBB, East Dubuctue, jli., from 100 to .260 daytime, and. KGDM. Stockton, Cal., from 600 to l\ k;w daytime. ; ; : ' Appiicatioris carded forrexarhiri ers: WQDM* St. Albans, Vt,, fre- qUency shift from 13Yp-'t6 1390 k.c. T^and pbwef Tjoost fro'nriO^^ Homer York, tiufkiri, Tex., new sta- tion 1340 .k.Ci 260 watts; WDNC, ^pu^hiam,j^>^. C., frequency shift from ' 1600 to B90. k.c; arid ; power booat from lOb to l^ktw.; iC^*0F~I>enver, Gold., fromi 600 to 1 k.w. daytime; Fi N. Pierce, Taylor,/Tex., new sta- ; tlon; 1310 k.c. iO.b. watts; WPZ, TU3^ .-sola, in., from ibo to 260 watts, • • New .Applications is^ew applications recelyed: Clar- ence "Wheeler, Rochester, N. T.. new —station—on-ll210—k.c._ JLOO' -watta; "WFBR, Baltimore, increase from 600 to 1, k.w.; Curiiberiand Broad- castlrig Co., Portland, Me., new sta- tlon on 121 0~ kx!. l ot) watts; Worces; ter Broadcasting Co.,. Worcester, Massi, new station qri 1200 kVc. 100 watts; WRGA, Rome, Ga., Increase from 100 to 260 watts daytlmie; Johri Brown University, West SUoam Springs, Ark., new station on 1600 kic. 250 watts daytime 100 night;. KGFJ., lMa: Ariseica, frpm. iop__to 250 watts daytime; Southw6atiBrri Broadcasting Co . , San Die go, Calif .new station on 1210 k.c.. 100 Vatts; Brothers & Englancl, Mansfield, O^i new -station- on 1370 k.c. 100 watts;- WHBC, canton, b., from 100 tb 250 watts; . WGBI, Scrantbn, Penn., from 250 to i k.w.; I. J. and,J. Kohn, Nashville, Tenn., :neW station on 1370 k.c. 100 watts: vE. F. Houser GROONERS 6% OFF About 30 Bookings ab Far at Macy^s • '/Talent .Dept.- ;-V;;- ■ ..'^; ' Macy's, new ■ entertairiirierit dOr partment, where mllddy can book a hot orchestra or a tea-time fiddler and charge It iq her accourit, get- ting .Its first wqrk--put during the holiday season. Store Is adVertis InB^tlrts Tiew: bureau lirthe-dallles, making mention of the usual low rates which are an ihstitutlonal feature. Store's policy of selling nierchan dise at six percent "cheaper than anywhere else in town, also In ef' feet where crbbneria arid tboters ate concerned. Since nb big names have been ! handled, this angle can be adjusted with easie. About 30.! d^als have been made so far,: with requests divided be tweeri entertainmerit for kid parties and cocktail sessions. Magicians, clowns and. tricksters for the first affairs (Eind regular-sized bands in deriiand on the eecorid iteni. . D© i)artment Is located on the fifth floor with experienced bookers in charge to; talk terms. ■ Bariiberger's ; party . bureau in Newark Is also' in operation now, but biz has been sbriiewhat slower. Both dtorea plaiti to continue these departments after the holidays. W0R artidts' bureau directs the genOTaHiegottatibris .:: ■ - msive For WUT-Wn Stations Like L<bcal grains Because of Cheap- ness, Community Tie-Ups, Listener Check-Ups SPREADING ' Philadelphia, Dec. 17. Owners of W 1^1 an a-WDtTr^yh recently merged their operations Under the call letters; WFILi, are still coriferlng wltti NBC over Jthe seiection of a riian to become .gen- eral/manager. Donald WIthycomb, NBC man- ager of station- felationsi had been tagged for the Job,; but uriderstbod TOgotiatlon—blew-^UPr7::VchfiiL7zthOJ3-e; concerned couldn't get together ori the salary angle. : Withycomb is one of the best known executives In radio, haying started years apo as Aylesworth's assistant. His present ■ position at ■ NBC lo very rosponolblpi ' . Amateur night, once standard as a business-getter In yaudeyille and film theatres. Is; the newest cycle In radio production. Stations through- out the: country are adopting the amateur sturit. Most of them have local twists, some have sponsors, majority use a telephone or: lietter- wrltlng gag fpr the • vote. • Prizes very Iri character and value;- ^-Station- -WHN, - N(ew-_York,i^has been conspicuous In- startlrtg the ciirrerit ; vog:ue for the amateur shows. Although not the. first on the air the riianher in which Major Edward Bowes, has built and hari diled his entertainment is largely re sponsible for the imitative enthu- .siasni.'' ..•-■'.; "• , ; Amateur progra,ms fit nicely Intp Station conceptions of showmanship First the expense Is isltght, Second the cpmmUnity interest is keen Third It aiXords : defijiite proof of station listening, by tiie telephone checkr.ups. ■ ': Hearst orgariiza-tlon win prbbably launch an amttitious iamateur cori test over. WINS, New Yorkr in the near, future. This will be a' circxi-, latlon ..promotion stunt tie-up with Hearst's Evening Journal. Details are npt settled and the nature of the prizes is unrepprted. Gus Ed wards, with .a- lifelPng reputation, as a talent digger-upper, niay be re talned bV the! Hearst group to do for Win s wha t- Major Bo wes d oes for WHN. One of the mpst thoroughly and .deftly handled shows of the ams- ^eUr, rilght stripe Is the -WGN, Chi-' cago, affair for Phillips 66 ga spl ine. Quinn ' Ryan, station inanager^an-' nouncer,. acts as ringmaister and imparts to the proceedings, the light touch of showmanship by letting no one cbncernedJtalM_.tllejthing.:tppv seriously. Historically the amateur night: in vaudeyllle or film theatres has al- ways given cash prizes as a b ait; al- lowing the audiences to vote by ap- plause, Usua.lly. f 10. for .first prize, lias been mlniriium, even Irt the smBlle s t sipot—wit h > 5 as-^econd- prize and $3 as third. . Rent-Hou^e Party is the monicker of a new Harlem program In prepa- ration oyer WMCA, New .York. ■ Ne.w sustalner coriies as a follow-uR .of station's, colored Amateur Night in Harlem, which has been growing steadily.';... : Program to ppcn with the- jang- ling of nickels and dimes on'a tin T>late-as:^hB^giiests^Trlve and^pay their diyvy. Ralph Go6peir, m.c. -at Apollo 125th Street theatre, dp>yn for similar : chores . bri new hour. Orch and spot entertaihinerit to be worked aroUrid Cooper. Consider- able Imprbmptu piano playing to figure In program.sb a$ to catch thie Wash, the Giww Show Back to £^ With Mm Syinph in Feb; ' Chicago, Dec. i7v Grunow. refrlgeraltPr is returning to the ether, pn the Columbia sys- tem early in February on a bnce- weekly shot with the Minneapolis symphony, directed by Eugene Or- mandy, Grunbw used the same' tal- ent set-up on its - CBS. show last year. , Had also b^eh scheduled for a CBS show last .fall, bUt cancelled at the last minute with Ghevrolet taking, the allotted period. • On its new program. Grunpw; will use a lighter type of music .than fornlerly presented besides adding Ann Campbell, pbetiess bf Detroit. ] thelr^first7^-extended^a,lr-«bn tract, however. Tie-Up Throagh BaHpts . ; Providence, Dec. 17. Station WPRO, Cherry and Webb Dept. store statlori, and affiliated with thP American Broadcasting Company, opened a series of ama teur nights at the Metropolitan the- atre Saturday night (16), as first Idea of its kind In Rhbde Island. WPRO is out to catch more com mercial programs, and Is using the free show Idea to sell contracts Shows conducted, once a week on Saturday nights starting at 8 p.m. Station Is advertising the stunt heavily through the newspapers in conjunction with the New England Bakery, commercial sponsors. Cash prizes wlllj -be awarded each week to those ta'king part In the amateur nights. . At the finals nearly $300 cash will be awarded In-addition to one week's radio engagement by the American Broadcasting Cpmpany. "Stiirit Is calchirig" bh like "^irdfireT Plenty of enthusiasm belrig shown Heretofore Providence has been pretty dead from a. radio .showman- ship standpoint. Theatre seats around" 3,300 and film' exhlblfpfs" naturally don't rellish the idea of having to compete with such a stunt. ; ' Ken Whitmer. former band le ader at Ijoew's State, has been hired to put the theatrical touch to the shows. Selection of winners will be determined by number of votes. Fallot comes with bread sold "T>y" New England Baking Company, or; a reasonably drawn facsimile. real, Haiiein party angle. Then each week one of the ama- teur contest wlriners will win a place. This will cbmo as a \Sort. of pfflclal station recognition • for the newcomers. , Pauline. Edward.s among the first to be picked for this bit. . ■ Russek's takes Maj. Bowcs* grad- uate amateur hour. Stars of Tomor- row after . only one week's tryout over WHN, New York. Period covr ers three monthsi Program on Fri- day, nights from 8 to 8:30,; giving; finalists a chance to branch out. iJenry Ginsberg, Leo Friedman, Otls Holley, Izzy Cohen, Anna An- dbrsori,' Tony tbrerizb Included in the first broadcast (14)., Bob Reed, also discovered bri break-in hour, doing the preliminary spieling for new commercial. Russek's also sponsored premier of 'Cabling All Stars' -from Holly- wopd—lobbyj—Stars of '. Tomorrow Washington, Dec. 17. Co-operation between commercial broadcasters and police agencies; was brought to the attention of Attorney General Cumriilngs' na- tional conference on crime last week by H. V. Kaltenborn, radio news, commentator, v Doubting the ; social value of;, courtroorii broadcasts and deplor- ing too exciting crime dramas, , Kaltenborn predicted radio will play an increasingly Important part ■ in ;: the prevention of brlnrie and apprer : henslori of criminals, but demanded that .: broadcasters be given the' right to determine the mariner In . which: the industry Will co-operate with government authorities. Although- the nurnbcr of pplice radio .systems has iricreased greatly :" .and.nearly aU large, cltlAsJiaVeithls^^^i^ _ service, large parts of the country riiust; rely for years to come on commercial broadcasters^- Kalten- born said. Past perfonnances sho\# that broadcasters are'developing a sense of public service comparable ! to that of newspapers, he said, and , existing tie-ups have proved of gi-eat value in facilitating police operations. .•Every radio listener feels hlm-K'^. self to be a potential detective and he enjoys nothing better, than an . opportunity to exercise his; talents,' . the commeritator remarked. 'When- . ever a broadcasting station; sends but a description of persbris wanted by., the police It largely increases , the chance for arrests.' Conseious of Responsibility . Discussing Importance of manribr in which radio handles crime news, Kaltenborn conterided broadcasters . are cpnscious of their responsibility ' and described care with which the Press Radio Bureau edits and selects bulletins and tries to restrict TiTlm"e7"fla^es.^ "He~poInte^ ~ (Continued on page 44) "■;.■■,.■:' :; Store as Theatre Akron, p., Dec, 17. What is proving pne of the most popular radio programs at WADC is Amateur Night, aired twice week- ly a half hour every Monday arid Wednesday nights at 7:30. The sta- tion has secured a sponsor in the Sun Radio Company ' and in Its .flhp.wjcboma.-theset;itW-b=i3nlghta^ teurs are given an opportunity to do their stuff. . WADC anriouncer and other members of the staff arc at the- store to handle the program arid the stbre provides a force of telephone operators tp ■ answer calls. liiStener.s arb invitod to call the store and px- OBS has had to lnvest an addition- al several thousand dollars In Its Avon theatre studio In order to per- fect the acoustics of the auditorium. Bands broadcasting on coirimbr- clal programs from the spot com- plained that the reverberations pre- vented them from producing the best of impressions on the home loudspeakers. r4-TAi^on—was--the-Jatefe ofr thc—tivo- Timea Sqitare_ leglf houses taken over by the network to provide clients with show places for tJieir proffcahia. ■ ■ RUTHRAUFF & RYAN and Clyde Miller, Ble Springs, Tex., new statlori on 1210 k.c.. 100 watts; WTCN, Minneapolis, Minn., from 1 k.w. to 6 k.w. daytime; WIBA, Madison, Wise, from 1.600 to 1 k.w. daytime. New Hoover Show for Mme. Schumann-Heink V Chicago, Dec. 17. :. Mmo. Ernestine Schumann-Helnli ; will be on In a new program series . for the Hoover vacuum cleaner company starting Jan. 6 on a regu- lar Sunday brbadcast. '■■ ' Before starting the series Mme. Schumann-Helrik .Will be a guest star on the Dec. 23 show. Also the new Sentinels Serenade prograrii ■will be Edward Davles for bariton- ing arid Josef Koestner leading the -orchestra. ■■—' — Pfistor Gets Paying Jpb;v • Baltimore, Dec. 17. WCBM this week takes bn new announcer In person of Rayniond W. Cooke, an active; preacher with a church and congregation over on west side. He has a dally quarter- hour program on commercial - basis which has been airing over WCBM for past year. When scouting around for a needed spieler, station thought bf Cooke, who possesses pleasing pipes, and the preacher took up prpppsltipn.. ^ . . His own dally comriiercial will continue, it being the opening pro- gram of day on station; Cooke will then announce 'all the programs through first haives of mornings, not as a preacher and minus the 'Rev.' tag which Is appchded to his naririe-^on~own^pmmercIal~fihDtsr~;"'" press their opinion of the best turns. They are also invited to send let- ters to the store which count as votes. Cash prizes are awarded the best acts each week. At the conclu- sion of the tryout' series a program will bp made up of the best talent and . aired • pyor the station and a ;g.rand prize given for the act -yote.d best. . :.:-■:. .■.' : ~':' DROP CHI AIR DEPT. Sustaining Start Rochester, pec. 17. ' WHEC, Rpchester, Is trying out .vaude's old .ama.teur riite, idea. Start's as a sustaining feature Dec. 17 with a week's bally to call in the amateurs and get the pubfto inter- ested. Gunnar Wilg. general manager of the station, serves as announcer and m.c. Idea is to make it as near like the theatre atmosphere; as possible with everything but the hook. Chicagb, Dec. 17. First agency to dismantle Its radio department since the ether has become a factor in advertising,^'- is the Ruthrauff and Ryan ofllce here. Is doing away with an ether department which has beenVin : ex- istence for several years. Lack of radio production here Is the reason for the slough-o. In the , past year has cpncentrated pretty', much on Dodge auto radio pro- grariis but with Dodge halting cam- paigns for the time being the local agency has little more than some announcements. Agency's New York office recently jacked ujp its radio pcr.'^'oiinel ap- preciably..: ■'.■.''■;'-.,, ■