Variety (Sep 1938)

Wednesday September 7, 1938 RADIO VARIETY 31 FCC Assures Nets-Affiliates Samuel Rosenbaum,. head of WFIL, Philadelphia, and chairman of the executive committee of the Independent Radio Network Affiliates, reported last week that he had received assurances from William J. Dempsey, staff counsel for the Federal Communications Commission, that the latter would not put any unfavorable construction on the efforts of the networks arid their associates to co-operate on the forth- coming monopoly investigation. Dempsey voiced this opinion after ■Rosenbaum had explained what the IRNA had been doing with the webs oh the proposition and that the IRNA's executive committee wanted the FCC to be fully aware of whatever steps the nets and affiliates took jointly.. Rosenbaum last week transmitted the gist of his-conversation with Dempsey- to Lenox R. Lohf and Edward Klauber. He said yesterday (Tuesday) that he had drawn up an explanatory statement on the progress made by the networks and affiliates jointly to date for dis- tribution to the broadcasting trade, and that he was trying to get approval for its release from the IRNA executive committee. Suggestion that Rosenbaum feel out the commission had been made by Columbia while the network, and affiliate factions, were in meeting a couple weeks ago. CBS' viewpoint was that before either, side started committing itself they ought to find out how the FCC would regard as such a common front. CBS B'd to Get American Record Report, but Deal Looks Quite Cold GOV'T NOT LIKELY TO PROBE ASCAP, ICING BROADCASTERS' NEW ATTACK 'Good Will Hour' Gets Yeast and More Time On Sept 25 the 'Good Will Hour' on Mutual and Inter-City net will go to a full hour for Ironized Yeast. Program has been running only half hour, starting 10 p. m. on Sun- days. WMCA, originating station and on Inter-City, feeds the Mutual net CBS board pf di ctors, at i t- jng this afternoon (Wed.), will likely receive, a preli inary.report on the examination made by network rep- resentatives into the operations and books Of the Ameri rd Co., with a'view to buying the. phono- graph disc combine. Possi ility of this deal going through does not look bright In addition to members of the CBS executive staff s the network has had thr lawyers and four ac- countants engaged for weeks in prob- ing the proposi Columbia is reported to have been nudged into the American .Record picture by far more than an interest in expanding its holdings into the transcription business. Arthur Jud- ton, associated with CBS financially and officially via the Columbia Con- certs Corp., is credited with original- ly suggesting the American Record Co. look-in. Judson's idea, it is said, was not in terms of transcription, but rather, of phonograph records. As a managing and booking service, the Columbia Concerts Corp. is concerned with the popularity of concert artists through- out the world. The phonograph rec- ord is still a potent box office builder in Europe, and South America as far concert artists are concerned. Vic onopoTy In recent years RCA Victor's.Red Seal had enjoyed pretty much of a monopoly in the classic field, and it has been a physical impossi ility for Red Seal to include every recognized artist in its list Because of this sit- 'uation, quite a number of the CCC's artists have had to forego the build- up and publicizing aid of the pho- nograph on their tours abroad. These artists have expressed themselves as deeply resentful at the handicap, and have urged that their managers, who are part of the CCC combine, do something about remedying the need for a phonograph company which could take up where Red Seal leaves off. It was .pointed out that any record- ing company that CBS controlled, could in due time have exclusive call on all CCC artists and develop into a stiff competitor of RCA Victor, a sis- ter subsidiary of NBC and the NBC Artist Bureau, whose major business Is the managing and booking of con- cert artists. -Acquisition of the American Rec- ord Co. would give CBS the right to >'kindred trade name, the Columbia Phonograph record. Columbia artists would be associated with a Columbia record label. The other labels put jut by the ARC are Brunswick and Vocalion. William Paley returned yesterday (Tuesday), from Europe, and was slated, to go over the American Rec- ord situation before the board meet- tag. It was the old Columbia Pho- nograph Co. that actually financed the organizers of the Columbia Broadcasting System. This was long' Before the. Paleys and the Levys got into the picture. The. original pro- mpters of the network induced the Columbia Phonograph Co.. to pay them $100,000 for the use of the Co- • lumbia name.. At .that time phono- graph recording was still a booming industry. He's ConuV Around Mountain to Senate Salt Lake City, Sept 6. In his attempt to land a seat in the U. S. Senate, Arthur C. Wherry, local dentist and Republican standard-bearer, has spent- $1, 1.82, most of which went for hauli is hillbilly troupe throughout the state to drum up TOtes. Wherry's election- eering, methods are similar to those successfully employed by Lee Mc- Daniels, of Texas, who with a couple of lush mountain ballads and slo- gans won the gubernatorial nomina- tion. Dentist's outfit consists of a sound truck, three cleffers and a femme warbler. Seeds Agcy. Patting 30-Min. Show on NBC For B-W, BBD&O Acc't Chicago, Sept. 6. Freeman Keyes has snatched off another hunk of the Brown-William- son account from the Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborne agency and brought it into his Russell M. Seeds agency here. Managed the takeover with a 30-min. weekly show which will ride over a 54-statioh NBC red network every Saturday night, origi- nating at WLW, Cincinnati; It's a variety show headed by comedienne Kitty CNeil and singer Red Foley. Keyes held a preview of the show before .an NBC studio audience here last week. Let 'em hear a waxing of the program and then asked for audience comment. Following this survey, he made sev- eral, revisions in the setup of the program to conform with the tastes of the public. NOBLESSE OBLIGE NBC's Grand Gesture to CBS, or Else—Tennis Racket NBC has decided that It won't 'an- noy' CBS at any of the future tennis matches. Instead of having its com- mentator, John R. Tunis, and an an- nouncer occupying the press box, NBC, out of considerations for CBS' feelings, will hereafter buy regular spectator tickets for the 1 twosome. They'll later 'report' the game out- side of the tennis grounds proper. -. Grand gesture on NBC's part is the aftermath of an incident which occurred last Saturday (3) during the international matches at Ger- manlown, Pa. Ted Husing, on hand for. CBS, which holds the exclusive broadcasting rights to all U. S. Lawn Tennis Association matches, com- plained to the latter's officials about the presence , of Tunis and an NBC announcer in the press box and asked that they be removed. The request was refused. . Tunis reported that Husing told him that the plaint was not personal, but that he had to take the action against NBC. WCAU Cops Republican Coin from WFIL, Ph% May Line Up Own Net iladelphia, Sept. 6. Republican campaign airings in the. coming Pennsy elections were swiped from WFIL last week by WCAU. Quaker State Network, organized and keyed by WFIL, has the Democrats tied up and has had the GOP for the past three years. It had full expec- tations of getting their business again. WCAU, it is understood, will form a network of its own. Inasmuch as many of the towns covered have but one major outlet, it will be necessary to line up stations in WFIL's web. WFIL has prior rights, but no exclu- sive agreement with them. Quaker set-up of 16 outlets has just been signed by the Democrats for 36 quarter-hour periods, Mondays through Fridays, starting today (Tuesday), -Commentator will.be a Philly attorney. Will also air a se- ries of 43 spot announcements on 16 station hook-up. ERIK BARNOUW HEADS COL ITS NEW COURSE Columbia University, N. Y., is -launching a new radio course this fall, Radio Today, which will be in addition to the old course in radio writing. It will be a survey of what is going on in the broadcasting field. Columbia's new course will be su- pervised by Erik Barnouw, who was program director for Erwin Wasey and Arthur Kudner agencies, and also writer of NBC serial, The Honeymooners.' He also handles the radio writing course. Practical side of broadcasting will be touched on in the new course by such speakers as Arthur Pryor, Jr.; Paul Kesten, Orson Welles, John Carlile, Walter Pierson; Lewis Tit- terton, Frank Stanton, Clarence Goshorn, Jack Johnstone,. Douglas Coulter, Anne Hummert, -Franklin Dunham, Margaret Cuthbert, Tom Hutchinson, Sterling Fisher, Clifton Fadiman, Rudy Vallee and others. Department of Justice Not Interested Now After Withdrawing 1935 Suit—Paine Attacks Miller's Unsent Letter as 'Same Old Red Herring' Seattle, Sept. 6. Ted' Bell, program director of KRSC, has been reappointed instruc- tor in charge of radio broadc ting classes, at U. of Washington. So popular has been this course, an extra class, the third, has been added to the curriculum for the next school term. U. of W. maintains its own studio, sound effects and continuity offices and is on the air daily by remote wire to -stations KRSC, KOMO (NBC) and KOL (Mutual). Sam Paley Unloaded 1,000 Shares in July Washington, Sept. 6. More stock peddling by Sam Paley, director of Columbia Broad- casting System, during July, accord- ing to latest Securities & Exchange Commission report on the operations of ground-floor residents. Web head's dad dumped 1,000 shares of his. class A stock, reducing his pile to 12,000. Herbert Bayard Swope, another director, also un- loqded 200 shares, leaving him with 9,800. Publication of a letter to Senator Joseph C. OTWahoney, dratted but not mailed by Neville Miller, new president of the National Associa- tion of Broadcasters, attacking the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers as a monopoly deserving of Federal Investigation, caused both amazement and chagrin in ASCAP quarters in New York. ASCAP heads had. been' expecting, a studious and sober approach to the performing rights situation by Miller and had. expressed a willingness to extend him the fullest co-operation In exploring the possibilities of working' out a friendly basis for a new five or 10-year contract John G. Paine, ASCAP gen. mgr.,] declared Friday (2). that he was 'sorry that' Miller had not, ap- parently, brought an Individual di- rection or Intelligence to the solu- tion of the. problem, bat had let him- self be Influenced by the same old clique.' Paine said.thai it was un- fortunate that Miller had let him- self become the tool of the old ASCAP-baitlng crowd In the NAB, and that he had lent himself to do- ing the. same old thing In the same old way. It was the same old red herring, that Miller was drawing across the same old trail, but ASCAP, added Paine, has long been accustomed to the smell. Paine stated that he had looked forward to -Miller's advent In the post of NAB president with hope that the:old hates could be cleared away and a groundwork for pleasant relationship. . laid. Paine Is - disap- pointed to find that It hasn't worked oat that way, and that, Instead, Miller had become *a new voice for the same old general counsel and a not very intelligent brain-trust' It was too bad, Paine said, that Miller got off on the wrong foot with regard to ASCAP, and that he saw fit to lay, down the barrage be- fore he had heard two sides of the story. 'Hoosier Hop's' P. A. Fort Wayne, Sept. 6. WOWO's 'Hoosier Hop' crew will go to the Indiana state fair for per- sonal appearances. Weekly feature will be aired from fair grounds at In- dianapolis Sept. 8. 'Hop,' sponsored by Indiana Farm- ers Guide, will appear under that publication's banner at the fair. Washington, Sept. 6. Strong indications that the . New Deal monopoly;, Investigators would include copyright in their economic studies, this -week appeared to have doused cold- water on a faction in National Association of Broadcasters which recommend the Administration probers assist them in getting relief from American Society of Com- posers, Authors & Publishers. Trial balloon sent up by Neville Miller, pr ident of NAB, late last week, fell so fast that all talk about sending the plea for assistance was hushed until the end of this week. Feeler in the form of an unofficial preliminary draft of an unsent let- ter brought little encouragement from brain trusters steering the hunt for monopolies., Strong disapproval, to a move of the sort Miller was contemplating was- voiced in some radio quarters here. Likely to be reflected at the next meeting of the NAB executive committee, tentatively listed for. the middle of this month, when the copy- right situation probably will be threshed out *35 Case Too Weak Proposal appears to some industry figures to be based on poor strategy, particularly since the Justice De- partment has been disinterested in reviving the shelved 1935 -anti-trust suit against ASCAP. If the NAB now appeals for Federal aid in breaking the ASCAP hoid on pro- tected music, it will look ridiculous, in the estimation of several observ- ers. Those lukewarm or hostile to the idea point out that Andrew W. Bennett, how special NAB advisor on oopyright matters, roosted on the Justice Department payroll three and one fish to fry and that the size of the copyright business will not warrant the effort to unfold ramifications of such a complicated matter. The committ . is after much bigger game —steel, cement, oil, tires, automo- biles, etc.—and the copyright busi- ness by comparison is only dime- store scope. Repercussions Possible Radio, business might stick its chi out in requesting help of the Con- gressional - Department anti - trust group, critics note. Already there have been repeated intimation that broadcasters may be placed on the defensive themselves by the probers. | In such circumstances, wailing about ASCAP possibly would only stimu- late foes of radio to insist upon ag- gressive attack on broadcasters. Eyen though NAB.should have a strong complaint against ASCAP, there is a faction In the business which feels it would be un ise to present it to the administration dig- gers because of the Bennett angle. Hints from government sources in- dicate that the industry would be embarrassed' when the Justice De- partment gave Its appraisal of Ben- nett's ammunition. The fact, that Bennett was hired to represent ra- dio after drawing down $2,000 in .the 43 months he was a special assistant to' Attorney-General'CUmmings does not sit well with some elements in NAB, who wonder why he was un- able to crack down on ASCAP If he had such a good case. Matter was ' placed in -abeyance Friday (2) after reaction to the in- spired publication of the tentative letter proved discouraging. Showing up the advocates of the idea by de- nying they had received a plea from Miller, aides and members of the committee were not inclined to take seriously the thought that copyright is a sufficiently serioUs problem for them to include it in the inquiry schedule! After learning of re- sponse, Miller decided to put the proposed letter, in which he had made ■ several changes, aside until he can go into the policy angles more fully. WEW, St L, Cooling Plant Takes Rap For Spread of Hay Fever St Louis, Sept 6. Recently installed air conditioning plant at WEW is being, blamed for the epidemic of hay fever that has almost put the entire staff out of ac- tion. First to be hit was 'Arthur Jones, program director, who hur- riedly switched plans for his vaca- tion in the south for a spot in north- ern Minnesota, where the cooler climate would alleviate his suffering. Other snifflers and eye dabbers are Al S. Foster, general manager; Bill Durbin, gabber; Jack Nordcr, actor; Lou Hagcrman, p.a.; Ralph Barnett, operator, and Mary Rose Collins, secretary. Station theorists believe the pollen was trapped by the air conditioning apparatus and distribu- ted through the studios. HARRIETT WILSON'S BAD AUTO CRACKUP Hollywood, Sept. 6.. Harriett Wilson, conductor of rar dip's ' inging Strings,' is in a critical, condition Tollowing an automobile accident on Labor Day. Femme director suffered a skull i fracture and internal injuries in thp -half years, occupied particularly ! m ^' S,n « ,n,i Slr,nBS ,s an with the investigation of ASCAP and i the abortive trial. If the D. J., after obtaining an in- dictment and starting to. take evi- dence, . suddenly, decided the case against ASCAP was too weak to pro- New Yankee V.P.s Boston. Sept. 6. Roy Harlow, assistant to the presi- dent, and Linus Travers, .production ceed, there is scant -likelihood that manager, were elected vice-pi-esi- thc present monopoly diggers would. 1 dents of the Yankee and Colonial be disposed to go over the same Networks at directors' meetings her. ground again, It is felt. Indications from official sources are that the Sept. 1. John, Shepard, Roosevelt Administration has bigger ■ of both networks 3d, re