Variety (Sep 1938)

^edneealay September 7, 1938 RADIO VARIETY 37 Inside Stuff-Radio Heads of all St. Louis stations, except KSD, accepted invitations ex- tended by Jerry Hoekstra, director of KMOX's Public Affairs dept., to be featured on the station's 'The Onward Road* program Sunday (11). Program, one of a series, is devoted to interviews with industrial heads in the burg who, incidentally, plug the town to the limit. Those who will irv to sneak in a little build-up for their o-/n station are John C. Roberts, jy KXOK; Robert T. Convey, KWK; Al S. Foster, WEW; L. A. Benson, WIL- William West, WTMV, and Herman Hohenstein, KFUO. Merle S. Jones, gen. mgr. of KMOX, will be the last to talk. Walter Head, pres. of the General American Life Insuranc Co., will serve as toastmaster, and the usual 15-min. program will be extended to half an hour. CBS officials nixed the idea last week of bringing members of the jury sitting on the Jimmy Hines trial to a broadcast of Orson Welles' 'Mercury Theatre of the Air.' Stunt was to have been a repetition of the one which brought the jurors uptown by special bus to see a private projection room showing of 'You Can't Hove Everything,' Columbia pic- lure, last week. It would, of course, have excluded any other auditors from the radio studio. Al Meltzer, of Columbia Artists, whose idea it was, already had Monday (5) night's show earmarked and was negotiating with Justice Pecora for permission to tote the jurors uptown, when CBS higherups turned thumbs down. Fears of repercussions were given as reason for the nix. The publicity department and the continuity key hammerers of Seattle's KOMO-KJR (NBC Red and.Blue) climaxed a feud of long standing Aug. 31 when the personnel of each vied for honors in a general quiz contest on KJR's 'Totem Broadcasters Presents' half-hour sustainer. Four rounds of 10 questions constituted the'quiz, with the last round made up of ques- tions submitted by the ten contestants. Latter was the downfall of the publicity gang. Final score was continuity,' 700, and publicity, 575. After the broadcast Seattle newspapermen issued a challenge to the continuity department team. Date for this has not yet been set. Deal for Bert Lytell to do a series for Turns does not involve the actor's "Lone Wolf series. Contract, set by the William Morris office through the H, B. Kastor agency, calls for Lytell to do.two-a-week 15-minute dramati- zations from stories in Liberty mag. Series is being produced by Trans- american for Lewis-Howe Co., the sponsor. Will air over WJZ. 'Lone Wolf series was adapted by Aubrey Wisberg from the Louis Joseph Vance stories and waxed by Intercontinental Productions, Inc. Rights to the title were acquired by Lytell from the Vance estate. Lytell has placed the show with the Morris office to sell for him. It is not waxed. M C NINCH PUSHING FCC MONOPOLY PROBE FOR PROBABLE OCT. START Program Possibly Will Be Made Known This Week After Special Counsel Airs Findings—Scope of Inquiry Remains Indefinite Television test programs, which have been sent out twice weekly since the middle of August, will be temporarily suspended again Sept. 16. by National Broadcasting Co.-Radio Corp. Understood they will stop only for a short period while engineers continue additional improvements and remedy defects revealed in latest series of tests. Attempt to follow some general rules on makeup was started last week when NBC placed an expert in charge of supervising makeup for all artists appearing on test telecasts. Possible immersion in the Potomac river for one, or both, of NBC's crack Washington announcers is skedded for Sept. 23 when Gordon Hitten- mark of Iowa and Lee Everett of inland North Carolina, will stage a speedboat race during the President's cup regatta, an annual affair which usually results in plenty of spills. Each spieler will carry special short wave equipment aboard rival water-scooters for WRC and WMAL. Unusual'collection of discs is owned by Howard Jones, WIP, Philly, gabber. As chief .interviewer for the outlet, he has presented more than 150 celebs in three years of airing. Each time he has had the show re- corded. Now he has a huge file of the waxings, used principally to enter- tain friends. He's aiming to get permish from the interviewees to use chunks of the recordings in a single program. Though the Hearst morning Chicago Herald & Examiner goes tabloid this week, it will not affect the radio column under Ulmcr Turner, which continues as is. Only one other paper in Chicago, carries a radio column. This is the Evening Times, also a ta b. - =+ Washington, Sept 6. Program for the FCC's forthcom- ing inquiry into possible monopoly and desirability of regulating chains is expected to be made known this week. With Chairman Frank R. Mc- Ninch at last back on the job, the special four-man committee soon will talk over the issues and time for the witch hunt. Probably will get under way the middle of Oc- tober, with 30-day notice giving li- censees a chance to ready evidence on the principal lines of study. Announcement that the commish will 'push forward as rapidly as possible' came from McNinch on his return from protracted illness and recuperation absence. Meeting is tentatively carded for latter part of this week to hear what special coun- sel William J. Dempsey, McNinch's personal brain-truster, has unearthed and what course he thinks the in- quisition should follow. Scope of the inquiry remains in- definite, pending adoption of formal notice of hearing, but commish at- taches think four to six weeks will be needed to receive evidence. This guess is held conservative",-although all parties are anxious to speed up the oratory and the FCC is desirous of being able to make a report .to Congress not long after opening, Jan. 3. Motive is to forestall renewed charges that nothing has been done. Probing FCC Records Preliminary digging has been con- fined chiefly to the commish records, with the multitudinous statistical re- ports and other data mostly on finan- cial experience trotted out at the super-power hearings, getting close ogling. Dempsey has been micro- scoping the statements of ownership and control, already on file, and the insinuations and public accusations about secret tie-ups. Examiner's re- ports and transcripts of hearings likewise are valuable source books. And »he innuendoes and charges in the Congressional Record, volumes of committee hearings, and other legislative documents are not.being overlooked, either for leads or guides as to what matters demand exam- ination. From unofficial sources, the most important line of inquiry is expected to be the relations between webs and affiliates, while multiple owner- ship will get considerable attention. Committee probably will go deeply into the typical contracts to see if the chains exercise so much control over time of subscribing members that the provisions of the law (not- ably section 310 and the general anti-monopoly provision) are ren- dered meaningless. Reports of secret financing of supposedly independent- ly-owned stations by networks is due tor testing. Leases 111 Figure Matter of leases will be important in the inquiry. Especially Westing- house's contract with various stations (KYW, the Fort Wayne outlets, WBZ-WBZA, etc.), since this matter was brought into public light last spring by Commissioner T. A. M. Craven and Congressman Richard B. Wigglesworth, both of whom doubt whether the relations are in har- mony with the law. The FCC attor- neys do not see anything amiss, even while admitting there is room for controversy. One theory sure to be advanced is that chains should not be allowed to own and operate any stations. Press association status will be recom- mended, without a doubt, and amendments to the law prohibiting any program-distributing service from engaging in actual manage- ment of a transmitter probably will be offered for commish deliberation. Educators, religious crusaders and other groups with real or fancied grudges are among the anticipated witnesses. Also people who have wanted, but could not get, commish consent for new transmitters. Both of these factions are believed sure to allege that conspiracy, either busi- ness or political, has hurt them and crushed their ambitions. Expanding interest of several broadcasters, notably Arde Bulova, George Richard and George Storer, look like pay dirt -for the probers. Attempts to produce evidence have been made, with their transactions being pondered. Commish will be very much on the spot in the proceeding. For that rcuson most critics look for few im- portant revelations. Expect nothing like the searches of the LaFollette (Senate) civil liberties committee or the Pccora-run hunt for Wall street devils. Inasmuch as the FCC has acquiesced in the expansion of re- gional and national networks, plus multiple ownership, industry fixers are relatively calm about the out- come, although there is concern over the presence of Commissioner Paul A. Walker, big-corporation foe, on the jury. Two of the probers are administrative veterans — Commis- sioners Eugene O. Sykes and Thad H. Brown—so license-holders count heavily on them to squelch any ex- cursions into embarrassing fields. Transformation of Chairman Frank R. McNinch—who started out with ideas of regulation which subse- quently have been forgotten or modified—is also somewhat reassur- ing. FCC Definitely Nixes Cleve., Mormon Permits Washington, Sept. 6. Finis was written on two hard- fought radio cases last week, when the FCC refused to reopen decisions denying Great Lakes Broadcasting Co., Cleveland, and Mormon Church permits for new transmitters. Three other petitions for reconsideration were simultaneously spiked. Without explanation—as is the cus- tom—or comment, the Commish an- nounced it has denied requests for rehearing of evidence presented by the Mormons in effort to acquire a new international short-waver, and that of the Clcvelanders seeking a regional plant in opposition to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Paves the way for both parties to go to court, if they are determined enough. Other similar pleas turned down were those of W. P. Stuart, Prescott, Ariz.; KPQ, Wcnatchee, Wash., and Louisville (Ky.) Broadcasting Co. Miller Quits WIP, Philly Philadelphia, Sept. 6. Ken Miller, WIP gabber, resigned Thursday (1). Tom Dane, who substituted at va- rious times on the staff, has been given a permanent ticket. 50OO4<^ipOO<Rj0& ALL YOU NEED IN CENTRAL OHIO WFBR •N THE NBC RED NETWORK NQTIONRL REPRESENTRTIVES EDWARD PETRY & CO. But Dialects Stick Getting away from its original purpose, WARD, Brooklyn, has insti- tuted a policy of Americanizing its foreign language programs. As much as possible programs are being done in English, with music getting swing treatment along with Anglicization of lyrics. Idea is Oscar Kronenberg's. who is son of station's owner. He has already introduced 'Jewish Caval- cade,' a news dramatization in Eng- lish. Wants to build a new audience in younger element, while still re- taining old with accents and lan-. guage cliches in native tongues. Spanish, Hungarian, Polish and Ukrainian programs will get same treatment. Folk songs are getting treatment a la 'Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen,' etc. Sports will also be i eluded in trend. Shampoo's New Sponsor Washington, Sept. 6. New commercial for WJSV is sponsored by S-0 Shampoo. Two q\iar.ler-hour broadcasts weekly by an instrumental swing trio called the 'S-O Swingsters' is aired from the People's Drug Store Radio Grill and is piped to WCAO, Baltimore, as well as being carried locally. Agency is Grant & Wadswortli. Second new WJSV feature is 'Night Round-up,' combo of news and sports concluded by Lee Vick- ers, staff announcer. . .An Amazing Amount of Data... 99 IS WHAT The Association of National Advertisers IN THEIR BOOK BULLETIN OF AUGUST 16th SAID ABOUT VARIETY RADIO DIRECTORY 1938-39 EDITION $5 per copy, postage prepaid VARIETY RADIO DIRECTORY 154 WEST 46th ST.. NEW YORK C . MONTREAL ... J£ CANADA'S BIGGEST MARKET AT YOUR COMMAND A THRU ; ^ CANADA'S BUSIEST STATION ^ .lOM-.TIt II M, 1. 11 I \ |{ V. N.-u \.-rk. I lilrnEH. T.T.iill.. I"- AiiltI.'«