Variety (Mar 1936)

Wednesday, Marcli 18,1936 AD I VARIETY 47- Insull's 17 Station Web Set for April 15 Staff Includes Gygu Roesler, Golder, Eagle, Max Halperin, Fromberg, Robertson, Knight Chlcae.o, March 17. Setup of 17 midwest stations has been arranged for the start of the AffUited Broadcasting Co., the new Samuel Insull chain, and is sched- uled to start pumping programs around April 15, From Chicago the ABC tentacles will stretch to Minneapolis through Wisconsin, through . Indiana to Evansville and south to St. Louis. Hook-up of wires will be arranged to break the" chain into three sections which may be bought on a sectional basis by prospective sponsors.. These groups will he Wisconsin, Illinois and In- diana, the chain Witconsi WBJN, Racine. WCLO, Janesville. WHBY, Green Bay. WOMT, Manitowoc. KFIZ, Fond du Lac. WHfiiL, Sheboygan Minnesota WPGT, Minneapolis. Illinois , WCLS, Jpliet. WJBL, Decatur, WTAX, Springfield. WHBF, Rpck Island. Missouri WIL, St. LoUis. Indiana WWAE, Hammond. WTRC, Elkhart. WLBC, Muncle WBOW, Terre Haute. WEOA, Evansville. After Wl Negotiations are also being con- ducted with Ralph Atlass for the Inclusion of his WIND, Gary-Chi- cago station as. the key station on the network. Recent illness of At* [persons, with Ed Greer being named ot ^his situation, but. expected that an..agreement will be arrived at sometime this week. Personnel line-up of the ABC chain, besides Samuel Innull as president, includes Ota Gygl, as vice-president in charge of opera- tions. George Roesler joins ABC as national sales manager. Chief en- gineer is Frank Golder. Production will be directed by Malcolm Eagle ex-vaude agent, and Max Halperin, "recently with WFAA-WBAP, Dallas-Ft. Worth Artists Bureau. Gene From- herz moves from FJrst United Broadcasters to ABC as sales pro- motion manager while Bruce Rob- ertson is press agent. Eustace Knight with a utility industry back- ground is the chain secretary and treasurer. Basis of the rate card has been established at $1,600 an hovr for the Class A time for the complete web, $960 for 30 minutes and $628 for 15 minutes. Rate will be less for Class B time and will also permit the, us- ual 1 discounts for long-term, con- tracts. Network will supply all wires Without charge to the stations and agrees to maintain facilities for 17 hours daily from 7 a.m. to midnight central time. KARK SPREADS OUT Staff of Four Increases to 15 With Power Boost Little Rock, Ark., March 17. With d 6 u b 1 i n g. to 1.000 watts power authorized by FCC, Station KARK, Little Rock, has started remodeling and repairs^ also addi- tions, which will cost in neighbor- hood of $10,000. Manager Howard Schuman has ordered a 400-foot guide radiator tower but is as yet undecided where it will be located. Staffs increased from four to 15 man handling sports.: Larry Meiriert has been named director and con- tinuity chief, while Art Taylor has been placed in charge of music. World library will be added April 1. Juvenile Etiquette Philadelphia, March 17. Colonel Bill, WIP broad- caster, has been offering to make p.a/s at gatherings and meetings. Last week he re- ceived highly laudatory invite from Boy Scout troop to at- tend church supper. Postscript said, 'We pre- sume ■ you will bring the re- freshments.' The colonel airs for Supplee Ice Cream. Rose, Harkins Promoted St. Louis, March i7, Irving Rose has replaced Al Diet-' zel as musical director for KWK." Sterling Harkins, formerly chief announcer of station," has been moved up to head of program dept. and his place has been taken by Tom Daily. Other additions to staff are Chuck and Ray, harmony and com- edy chatter, formerly with Sinclair Minstrels; Peggy ' Duncan, hotcha singer, and Tommy Birch, who re- joins staff after siege of illness In hospital. KYW's Dramatized News Philadelphia, March 17. irst local dramatized sport news series bows March 30 over KYW sponsored by Adam Scheldt ('Valley Forge') Brewing Co. Half hour weekly shot will be written and pro- duced by Bill Dyer. Foley agency handling 'account, with L. I. Everling in charge* Push Jane Arden Strip San Antonio, March 17. Jane Arden; adventure strip char- acter now appearing in dailies, is to take to the air through deal set between Monte Barrett, originator and continuity: scribbler of strip, and Steve Wilhelm, KTSA's pro- duction chief. Wilhelm is readying the production for airing and up a sponsor. Dealing currently with several agencies. Idea is to sell the show for net- work coverage, referably the na- tional webs. B.B.C. Symphony in Smaller Doses, Other Gestures for Popularity; Prim and Dull Sundays Stick London; March 8, Behind recent pronouncements of the staid' British Broadcasting Corp. is the suggestion that the Governmental boys are getting down to something approximating what the local public really wants. B. B. C. has been more than ever confident of late that its curiously- worded charter, which gives it a monopoly of broadcasting in this country, will be renewed substan-r tially the same as it now is when it comes up for scrutiny by the Governi-.ent. And the sudden de- termination to dish up a little more popularity on the British air .is pos- sibly just a slight gesture towards the public. Among the things they how prom- ise the British radio listeners are shorter symphonies. This seri- ous move towards whoopee oh the local air may give Americans a laugh, but it- is a fact that in the past'the B. B. C. has dished up its symphony concerts for hours at a time. They have now intimated that symphony stuff will be confined to radio runs • of an hour at a time. The corporation has jUst ap- pointed Sir Stephen Tallents, late of the General Post Office, as direc- tor of public relations, and a'ims at using him in getting closer contact with their critical public. They have further, Cecil Graves, got a program director who is pledged to -chase more popular items, and have even given Henry Hall's dance band, the sweet com-, bination that leads the B.-B. C. syn- copation department, fiVe more men in the government-owned orchestra. network are in course of building, | and the permanent television station just north of London is already transmitting experimentally. •Exactly how far the Sir John Reith hierarchy is willing to go in its hunt for the popular level is doubtful, At present there's still no sign that they'll allow those things they loftily consider to be 'secular' on the British air on a Sunday, which is still a hodge-podge of chamber music, symphonies, sermons, mor- ality talks and religious services. No official census can, of course, be taken on the number of listeners here who tune to. continental sta- tions the moment they wake up with a hangover and realize it's Sunday. But it's probably pretty well 50% of the listening audience. This de- spite the fact the general standard of continental broadcasts is itself pretty low—certainly lower than it is in the States; whose programs^ according to the boastfully British local press, do not compare with those of the B. B, C. for quality, whatever they may do in popularity. Dodge Stays on WLW Cincinnati, March 17. Dodge Showdown. Revue, on. WLW for Sunday and Thursday night quarter r hour periods, -haa re- newed for another 13 weeks. Phil Davis' concert ork.arid Peter Grant, announcer, carry on from original show. Added are Adrian O'Brien; tenor; Edith Karen, soprano^ arid a choir of 16 voices. Goodwill Court on WL? Philadelphia, March 17. Goodwill Court, Intercity hookup ^JMW^.Mds.WIP to its list March. 29. ^eTCes.'Tla*<[r e, Bwfl*«™I¥aW^ but local' commercials prevented station taking it. It ■ also extends to Mutual we-b beginning in June.