Variety (Oct 1936)

. Wednesday, .October 7, 1936 RADIO VARIETY 33 Channel Bloc Gonstandy on Hot Seat Washington, Oct: 6. r Split into numerous ,'sqrapping * groups, radio industry Monday (5 ; ) began presenting arguments in !f,ayor'- of and. opposition to' proposed .basic, * revision' of government broadcasting' t. regulations; ' . "'. ' ' . \ . TJnder r oiare from; outsideU spurqes, headed by ■ educational . and labor. * groups, industry crowd separated ,as ' anticipated over questions of'; super- ^ppwer and duplication-oil,, cleared 1 channels,, as Federal Cph^umcatioii* . Commission began extensiveinformal "hearings oii a multj[tvide' of . engi- neering, economic, arid.-social prpb'- '• iems.' ^ :.\ y :■ Educators .held. tifc' spjptjight durV f ing jhbst of the ' itrst'day,' but' 'the /. principal" controversy, 'over, proposals. * to lift power maximum to',500 kw *' broke out before the.'Cbinmlsh' made f irijich headway ^ith;iits ^edul^-o^ Z nearly 100 .witrte^sii^^e^hanf f nel station^. $©t;.$ff * fhe v B%#''<lifcfcsv " growing, down tii/b --''gauhtiet to v JoM' ' Shepard, IH ahd'ijhiis:: group of re T giorial broadcaster^'-.without' delay*' Ground-work wfcs. lald'for a faction- . al.fuss which .W$&seriously compli- * cate the Commisli task of deciding ^ how to bverhavtf'' atftiquated theories , of regulation. . ' "„ . ' i. Seeking to overwhelm the.broad- ',' cast. division-^ith..barrage, of testi-. . mony, hdlders^of .franchises for ex- ' elusive frequehfcies' laboriously de- * tailed their case "in. favor of .strict. * maintenance of : thfe -cleared-channel „ policy and delved, into, history to jus- tify their contention jhat.power limit should be jumped;frqnv50.to 500 kw. •'; . With a b^clarati(m;that tragic re- sults will ..result" if :'the Commish. "NCRanges the present .set-up Without ample data,. Edwin ,S. Craig of WSM, Nashville, initial* .witness- for the cleared-channei defenders urge"d the '.broadcast czars to .disregard side-Is- sues in settling the allocation prob- e lem. Craig, insisted that technical matters should be determined with- (Continued on page 38) • Washington, Oct. 6. . History is repeating .itself at the JFederal« Communications^ Commis- sion reallocation hearings. ' . . Present, lirie-tips. oh .tvyo• principal issues, ;superpbwer and' duplication oit; cleared channels^ are : essentially trijti same as? in 1924. 'when.[President Htiqveiv -then'' Secretary of ' Com- jf$ejy:e, called conferences to develop, pellicles to guide "development, of new radidfiHi Pro'minent in the fiigKt for power booste/id 5,000. Watts 12 years, ago and for continuance of**exciusive ai|^merit|i'teday are,Earl Anthony,' ^njd^ow^ll 'Crosley,' Sr. ^ At -the samje. Among Those Present Washington, Oct. 6. •>.bout 250 persons are attending the reallocation hearings before the Federal Communications Commission in the.' Government Auditorium on Constitution avenue. Of this number about 25% are estimated to be engi- neers with the remainder station ■ managers and. owners, network reps and lawyers, with'a sprinkling of pedagogs and equipment people. Among those present are: Powei CroslCy. Jr., WW, Clnclnnntl. Iwiink M. Smith, WMV. Cincinnati. Harrison HolUw'ay, ICFI, Los Ancelea. .T«H«r>h TT. Mulnnrt, WHO. Dcs Moines. Kdfc.nr JMIl; WMBI), Peorln. BuiTiilKe Butler, WLS, Chlcifio. Hen Glmbel. WJP, Philadelphia '. *£>'J, J. Gliide. KSTv, Knit T.ak6 City. • William-c. Gillespie. KTUL; Tulsa. - ; Eurl J. Gluclc. WSOC, Charlotte. K. r. Joi-doti. WDII.I, Roanoke. • Lumbcrin Kay. WSB. Atlanta. . (.l«n I,Itt)o, KPSD, Hnn DietfO. • ™ n 1 KuPkwalter, WOAT., I.ancaBter. W. 11: Brown, Don Ijfe network. ; «. A. Brackett. WSPR. SmlngHpld. Mass. II. W. Batohelder. WFBIt, Bnlllmoie. w. AV. Henson, AVII>. St. Louis. .' jr. lj. Blatherinan. TfFJ, Los A'nuelos. . " I , , ; n , m A^Born, AVHBL, ShcboyRon, \\\s. William H. Lortpo. (;BS. New York. ' ; I- A. Layet, WHO. Des JLolneti. Ben McUlashan, KGFi Los Angeles. • <.Jll Meyfii's.<SV«N, Chlrago. • ^ii!' 16 " M - Meyers. KOIN. Portland. • MaHon, WPTF. Balelfch. -'Alfred R, Marcy, AVFDL,. Syracuse. O. H. JolllfTe, RCA. Rev. O. L. Abell, WWL, New Orleans. , " €V - J. -W. Hymes. WWL; New Orleans. W. C. Alcorn, WBNX. New Vork. t.«mpbell Arnoux. WTAR. Noi ttilk. Hope Barrol, WFBR. Baltimore. • • _ Mr. nn d Mrs. Ralph Atla=9, AV-Tjn, nil. . CBffo. M;irlln rampbell. WFAA. Dallas. ■ Ray ColUns, AVl'AA, Dallas. *• L. Chilton. KLRA. Palla.i. . S" r t"V Oowles, KRNT, Des Molnen, B<1 M. Craig, WSM. Nashville. - «; V. Dakln. CBK, New York. Lincoln Dellar. CBS. New Yrtvk. Iuankiin Doollttle. WDRC. Hartford. t M. TOverson, WmCC, Columbus. f rank Fnlkner. WBBM,- Chicago. Donald Flamm, WMCA. New York. 5S!'. ry Hnrvey. KFAB, Lincoln. Wl bur Havens. WMBG. Wchmond. JulluiB Hetlanrt. AVDAY, Fargo. • Luther Hill. KSO. Des Moines. • Hew|lt. KFWB. Hollywood. <■■ W. Horn. NBC. • . ..Tack Howard, TVNOX. KnoxvlUe. , Rarl lj u n, WKY. Oklahoma City. , • Hopkins. WTAX. Jacksonville. ' ean Fltr.er, AVDAF, Kansas City, r • Maurice Rtiben, WJAY. Cleveland. •Hi-y Wilder,-WSYR, Sywrune. (Continued on page 40) . HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF Same Cleavage on' Power-Jump Issue Today as In 1924 • MMENT Washington, Oct. -6. . - Existence-of - a secret/report" tak- ing- the hide off the old" Federal Radio Commission and "blaming gov- ernment/ [authorities for -"develo'p- mertt' of monopolies in 'the Jiroad- casting .flfeld was read into the" rec- ord, Monday (5) at opening session of reallocation hearings. -' !." "By - a' neat bit • of' evidently pre- arranged side-play,' significance of Which escaped many of the broad- casters present, Communications Commissioner George Henry- Payne put Senator -Burton TC, <■ Wheeler, chairman of the Senate' Interstate Commerce Committee, and F. C. C. Chairman Anning S. Pr'all on the spot by bringing out the fact that the sensational .document has been pigeon-holed for. two years. Simul- taneously, Payne paved the way for publication of the sharp criticism of government radio bosses. Play, which appeared entirely Spontaneous, occurred at the end of speech by Howard Evans; principal spokesman for National iEommittee for Education by Radio. Ostensibly seeking'fhfdrmation, Payne inquired whether Evans had not authored a report on the radio-education prob- lem and established that the docu- ment was submitted to Senator Wheeler and Chairman Pfall many moons ago. ■ When informed the report never has teen. printed,' Payne asked Evans whether it would be possible to have his findings made part of the recorded the reallocation hear- ings. Spokesman for the pedagogs promised to try and obtain consent, saying he thought the Senator would give him permission to un- seal his papers for the guidance of the Commish. Although the Evans report never has been published, its contents have been known to an inside group for a considerable period. Further- more, Payne is understood to have used some of its contents in 'lis series of speeches at Eastern col- leges during the past 18 months while trying to mobilize educators for a new fight to break up alleged commercial monopolies. . Bill Young Joins NBC Chicago,.Oct. 6, Bill Young, formerly manager of the local RCA Victor recording office, joins the NBC disc, and Thesaurus staff here. Will "work with ,iyfaurie' Wetzel on the selling end of the NBC disc library service and .-custom built platters. Recently Yofing 4*as -per- sonal rep for the Jari Garber or- chestra. ... as CBS Head Takes Floor F.C.C. Hearings Open > in Wash, -r-? Craig Speak* for Clear Channel Faction . 77-Session Costs Plenty EQUIP: BOYS' BREAK? , ; By : BOB L ANDRY , - v t . ' Washington, Oct 6. ' Fundamental divisions of interest ,ahd opinion on subjects aff ecting the. future.. ; of • broadcasting■■' are! Ib'eing aired, before -the/.Federal ..Communi- cations Commission.' In language and with a legal ;'fprmanty' "tHaf'afpipst succee^s'ihliidmg'the'flnancial gnzes. ^di'busjness .-advantages-inyolvedTift •the hearings, and^thfe changes, -ultf- .jnately expected, NBfc and CBS. are £efrcing;for future prestige^and'-sta- tion' balance; wfyle the ^ig--. clear ohahhet stations . that want, to be bigger, and the.small stations thajt fear the -bigness ,of : the dominant- broadcasters; have their own private : War. ' ' - ■' .• './': ; : l Lesser skirmishes are in progress or'threaten, but on-a basis' of .the: first two days of the hearings. it "might seem from-the character of ,th#';'evi-; dence that everybody, had Qnly.';ba|& thought—how to. render, a .finer and more elevating public service. '. .... What It Costs * "^Hearings again draw attention to the disproportionate amount of time,, attention and expense the .existing regulatory system exacts from broad- casting generally and the unrealistic and circuitous approach to the Washington problem business' men are obliged to make. Everybody seems, determined'to hide the fact that radio broadcasting is a, commer cial enterprise, even where ecohom^ ics are mentioned, as in the.c ost of super-power establishment a'nd . op- eration, the point emphasized is that mechanical costs might possibly di- vert money away from the program end and adversely influence public service. ■ Nobody . knows how much, in money, the current hearings will cost the. radio industry. Preparations have been going forward for three months! Engineering, data _and the maps are so technically involved that they seem like Rube,Goldberg'car- (Continued on page 40) .'•' Once It Now Only 25 S Pedagogs Chide F. €. ect Not -Among Friends . ^ ..'. •" Washington, Oct. 6. . "..; Advance anticipations * of a . fight.between the clear channel and. regional groups'; apparently had its. due'effect cinthe mental.. attitude. of . broadcasters arriv-' mg'in' Washington for the re- . 'allpcatipn . hearings. In con-. . trast. .to-.the usual, convivial - .. habits pf .the boys when attend- f ihg/conyeritions, there wasvery.... little, socializing^ . ... ■ ... „ jSach lawyer'seemed to be^the ".focal-'Pdiht'l oi^various', cliques! . 3fhei bpys-very,dpflriitely startteji ; '. off. this '.Washington siege in. ' '''sd^rje'-ff^Diie; 'df'inltfd. ■ ', ' .. .^ One^ _ broadcaster explained - : 'the"- ■ attifudir by "" staling"the,.( broadcasters' felt "they we're 1 ' 1 f "'•.'' •..; c ■ . ' .Sydney^-pct. .6. . , Institution , ot TRajC P JJhgirjeers of Australia;'|^eks .jtovpiay.^opt -to a .world corigreks'of"riad}D';engineers to. be . held in Sydney ( April' 4 to 14, 1938.- City will'at that time be cele- brating its 150th .anniversary. . Although plans are still in a form- ative stage, it* has been decicled.,to raise a fund to defray the expenses of a committee and a publicity cam- paign in Europe and U, S.'to'further the idea. • '• STOTAED'S 9TH AMI Sah Francisco, Oct. 6. Standard Symphony Hour, which has been bankrolled by Standard Oil of California' over the NBC-Red web on the Coast" since Oct., 1927, cele- brates its ninth anniversary on the air Thursday (8). Mishel Piastre will -conduct the 65-piece orchestra, members of which are selected from the • San Francisco Symphony. ■ Program is oldest commercial fea- ture in Coast radio. 4A's Holds Off-Further Research Until F.C.C. Reallocation Data Available ED CRAIG'S SERIAL Formidable in leift h—But A Scholarly Job of Trade History Washington, Oct. 6. Ed Craig of WSM, Nashville, made the presentation for the clear chan- nel group at the Monday afternoon reallocation hearing ' before F.C.C. His scholarly document had been printed on . long galleys and Craig waded in courageously. : Comment among broadcasters afterwards was that Craig gave the most factual step-by-step history of the whole past o£ radio engineering probably thus fa* put together. But it had its comedy side because of the vast detail and carefully- documented research. Craig read bis way through galley after galley. Then, after talking for an hour and five minutes solid, Craig stated: 'And now we come to- the fall of 1926 ' Before he reached 1928 Craig's voice gave out and he called upon Louis Caldwell -to continue the presentation which had finally reached the present when the first day's hearings adjourned. Paul F. Peter, managing director for the Joint Committee on Radio research, has* deferred finishing, his report on what line? of research he thinks the bureau should pursue un- til after the reallocation hearings be* fore the Federal Communications Commission. Peter and John A. Benson,. president of the' American Association ofkAdyertisirig Agencies, last week, on a visit to • Washington, discussed" with the commish. the mat- ter of extending to the bureau per- mission to examine the FCC's files for everything pertaining to station coverage. Peter and the committee figures that , the current hearings will pro- vide a- mass of engineering data that will be of help to the bureau in de- termining its future course of activ- ities. Peter will attend each of the hearing's sessions. Comunications commissioners ex- pressed themselves as interested in Peter and Benson's quest and sug- gested that they take it up with T;he FCC's engineers. What Peter would particularly like to s^e in the com- mission's files' are the estimated field "strength patterns or formulae used in determining the effect that local geographical and meteorological conditions have on a station's signal. Washington, .Oct 6. Conforming to past custom, educa- tional broadcasters immediately re- newed their fight as -th6 reallocation. i hearings opened here yesterday, for : reservation.of an. arbitrary percent- age of U. S. facilities for educational and cultural use. - 'pist -F.C.C. per- formances 'Were rapped by institu-. tional - spokesmen; Who- complained th&t ^education-sfiouldr ndt' he com- pelled to depend oii tfie^generosityv of commercial broadcasters in order. to receive air opportunities. « ** - Protesting-thiat^ihipomht areas of, potential public "'.sejrWe. ,. are \ r either phut, out or* greatly Wi^|fcapped un- der pres,erit."eoi^tio«s; Dr/ A. 6;' Crane-; president pf,t^(|/&nive'rsity.'ef Wyoming, Warned^the^ommisK that . social. consequenc!^"'9f -any reallbca r iion n^iJ^/be, »^ider|d.; "Govern-. jne'ntj' ' ean/iofr j clntl^e: to ihut. its eyes to thej-soettL^iSfft'^f radio,-he satdr. aj^j'iaiuK^i^fr its." decisions : solely, on^engin^ejr^^ata. ;'•.!:.";'■ ; ^Educatiohat^oiceff have been prei.' y^W'l^\qttild»8;^etr; best con- tributiditSi* Xrane siSid, remarking tha,t ipfoneepgtgGffiijiQsi ' have been .flictjs ftave. o^cjliftred yitjr, advertisers^ arid. -com|ne>:-cjaIj». :pi^op.a£anda : has been fprcedvupjc»|t %iu\ people;'.•-; ?. . 'In' advSocatinjf 'tne reservation of . spWiflc fr^ejrtCie^'folr educational use.'pedagbgs-p&Sa* attention to the •ultfa-high-frequencies which may .be opened up uifdej^rieW policies.- Thejea i, asked ;th^ Goitemisli to' give, educa- \tion a'^b^ij^^^fpre allowing com- h Ver^ a^ jbl^q^tffls to. preempt, the^ hew'field the>wa^they have irabBed oft-the ^il^ bind. . ■■ -.';,v;^«n.i|ioly Issne . Monopoly'issue.was raised by'Prof. Edward' B^fljltt^ of University of WisconsinjCwShidlvSaid that either by regulatibia;"':^^^ legislation fre- quencies jhoqldTbe' reserved for. edu- cationat^^^c- '••' _Universities' -and. colleges fooUTA ^ have a definite place- in the 'pietflife,'.he said, so there Will be no need.fjr^ompetitipn between cultural ahdj' commercial programs. Direct plea for low frequencies for educational use was made by H, B, McCarty, president of National Asso- ciation of Educational 'Broadcasters, who believed; that reservation of a few frequencies in combination with .' vpJuataryVtime-sharJng ijucommer- ' cial interests, will solve trie educa- . tiona'I problem. McCarty pointed, out the membership of his group has dwindled from more than 100 ip about 25 as institutional transmitters have been deleted or forced to this wall. ' , . V Helped Build Radio Pedagog's plea for greater con^ fideration was based in part on the contention that research by collegei and university staffs paved the way . for development of the commercial industry. McCarty pointed out that originally most stations were op- j erated by . educational' ^iristitutipnB Which were technical pioneers who (Continued on page 54) Radio as 'Social^ force' . >Dtte for Attention of 18 typiips in December '' Washington, Oct. 6. Some 18 organizations viewing radio as a 'social force' are skedded for a confab at the Hotel-MayflosHsr. .. here on Dec. 10 to 12. U. S. Office j of Education and the FCC are co- ' operating. " ' ' Topics lined up for rehashing in- clude religious' broadcasts, - forums, radio workshops, schools of the air, children's programs, uses, of radio for colleges, museums, etc. Among the 18 sponsoring groups are Ameri- can Assn. for Adult Education, Gen- eral Federation of Women's Clubs, National Advisory Council pn .Ba- dio in Education, National Congress of Parents and Teachers, National*-' Education Assn., Women's National Radio Committee. •• ,;C- • - . .