Variety (Jan 1939)

Wednesday, January 4, 1939 Third of tt Century VARIETY Anniversary Issue RADIO 12S WHY MV DUCK SUSTAINING PRO0tAMS By JOHN HURIiET Rebelling at routine type of pro- grams they have to conduct, some of the NBC musical guiders are balk- ing at use of their names on such shows. Coniplaint is that associa- tion with any old thing that comes along, many of which are frequently poor, places a stigma on their work which it is hard to work off when commercial possibilities hove in view, politics and teacher's petting of fav- orites who get bettfer things is also in the cbmplaiht. Conductors are frequently made subservient to mediocre singers which hurts prestige. Further dam- age is done, it's claimed, by tone of general performance. Absence of proper buildup for publicity is also deplored. Boys figure they get the slufl oft jobs as well as the brush off. Rather be anonymous if obliged to stand the gaff. Situation is slightly similiar at CBS but the complaint there is not as strong since it is con- sidered that CBS is more liberal in build-up to staff people. Musician economy is another ob- stacle. Programs start with sizable number of men and are then gradu- ally cut, sometimes in half. Musicians are shifted around shop, never mak- >ing for regular, body or organization ftuniliar with each other's work." Lat- ter condition is again practised more on smaller fry, hurting quality. Use of' stock arrangements and library stuff, with little time to alter same for improvement, is still another blow. A comparison of number of gradu- ates to commercials and better things on both nets is regarded as proof of the beef. Whereas CBS has gradded Mark WamoW, Andre Kos- telanetz, Howard Barlow, Freddy Rich, et al., NBC points to Peter Van Steeden; WANT SPIELBtS PUT IN WITH ENGINEERS Philadelphia, Jan. 1. Joint contract covering both an- nouncers and panelmen at WIP is being sought in confabs with prez Ben Gimbel by the Broadcast Divi- sion of the American Communica- tions Association, CIO. They have refused to negotiate further with Gimbel on a new termer for the knob-twirlei's, which expired at the end of the year, unless gabbers are' included in the talks. Spielers a touple weeks ago came into the ACA in a body. Contract being sought at WIP will have separate scales of wages for the two groups of employees, but all working and other conditions will be uniform. Termer for the fishbowlers at WFIL is also about to expire. Pact for WIBG panelmen is under discussion now, while vertical con- tract for all WPEN employees is be- ing redrafted and readied for inking this week. Slap at Press Agent The Producer Should Hold the Bag Normandy's New Wave London, Dec. 20. Radio Normandy has been shifted to 274 metres (1095 k.c). New wavelength lies slightly above Brit- ish Broadcasting Co.'s station at Stagshaw and the London, North and Scottish transmitters. International Broadcasting Co., which builds Normandy's programs and sells its time, has launched an extensive advertising campaign to call attention of British listeners to «he change. Drive includes, film theatres, magazines and billboards. Harry Clarke to CBS Hartford, Jan. 1. Harry Clarke, spieler of WTIC, has resigned to join the announcing staff Of CBS. Successor not chosen as yet. At WTHT new faces include Thomas York, operator; Sylvia Crowley and Jeanette Demeillers, commercial department. Massachusetts Federation of Tax- Payers Assn. 26 15-minute programs, What's Happening in Massachusetts' Ia^ Jan. 6 to June 30. Through Advertising Management, Inc., Bos- Washington, Jan. 1. Those. free television sets for President Roosevelt and Federal luminaries never were delivered, it turned out last week, because the White House would not lend itself to a commercial build-up. Plan to iastall latest model sight- sound receiver in the White House went awry when Marvin* H. Mclntyre, secretary to the President, got wind of publicity being inspired by the American Television Co., scheduled donor. Arrangements were cancelled in resentment at the free adver- tising play.- WCAU Recites Fears Of Losnig CBS Connection; Brief Raises Eyebrows Philadelphia, Jan. 1. Hearing is slated in Harrisburg Tuesday (3) on an injunction de- manded by WCAU against new Pennsy law which forbids the fur- nishing of private leased wires for the. dissemination of gambling infor- mation. Anything concerning horse racing is made prima facie evidence by the act that the wires are being used for gambling. It prohibits, therefore, Pennsy outlets from airing the Kentucky Derby or any of the other famous races which are regu- larly broadcast. Principal point in the plea for the injunction is that the station's con- tract with CBS is jeopardized by the law. Brief, which was filed Dec. 19, points out that WCAU's contract with CBS pays it $250,000 a year, in return for which the station must broadcast concerts, news events, sports and other occurrences with- out question, comment or alteration. If CBS sees fit to cover a horse race, the brief declares, WCAU must carry it or abrogate its contract. Observers here cocked a brow at WCAU's obeisance to the web, dis- regarding the legal aspects of the brief. Further cause for a chuckle, of course, is the outlet's fear of losing its CBS termer, inasmuch as Dr. Leon Levy, WCAU prez, is third largest stockholder in Columbia; Isaac "D. Levy, WCAU v.p., is second largest stockholder, and Bill Paley, CBS prez and largest stockholder, is Doc Levy's brother-in-law. Suit was filed for WCAU by for- mer Attorney General William A. Schader in Dauphin County (Harris- burg) court. It asks a rule against the five members of the Public Utilities Commission to show why an injunction should not be granted to prevent any action being taken against tlie Bell Telephone Company, the plaintiff, or any other person or corporation by reason of the phone company's leasing of private lines or wires. G. L's Wanderlust Maxon agency has again requested NBC to clear a different half-hour for the General Electric show with Phil Spitalny and Dorothy Thomp- son. Program is now opposite the Lux Radio Theatre Monday nights -and the account has become' convinced that the. competition makes it im- possible for the name combination to draw anything like 'the audience that it would be entitled to other- wise. Survey of Loathing Philadelphia, Jan. 1. WDAS is running a program popu- larity poll in reverse. Working on the premise that lis- teners forget the shows they like, but remember forever those that irked them, it is questioning its lis- teners as to those programs they found most distasteful during the year. Query is: 'What Didn't You Like About WDAS and Its Programs During 1938'? John Dodffe's Sea Trip Washington, Jan. 1. John Dodge, WRC-WMAL sales manager, Washington, off on Jan. 27 for a 21-day cruise to South Amer- ica. Will visit principal ports of S. A. via the Grace Lines and make a study of South American broadcast- When an advertiser invests from $5,000 to $25,000 per performance in a series of Radio Programs, only to have a gigantic floppo on his hands, he yells bloody murder. This too- well-known cry is the agency's cue for routine -A—^the regular give him service routine which consists of (1) Tinkering with the band (2> Getting a new script writer (3) Riffling through talent lists for new and bet- ter (or, at least, more expensive) voices to replace what probably is already a thoroughly competent cast Never, (oh well, hardly ever) does anyone question the prodnction of the program. Nevertheless, if radio entertain- ment is to improve, that improve- ment must come in more effective production. It certainly can't come from bigger names. The advertisers' coffers have been bled white paying for the-biggest names in the enter- tainment world. No, that's not the way out. Radio will have to begin to offer entertainment instead of en- tertaineris. Webster says production is to create. Radio seems to define it is keeping split second timing of a radio program by means of a stop watch. Sooner or later, radio wiU have to concede the point to Web- ster. With all the money at its com- mand, with all the best actors, writers and facilities in the palm of its hand, why has radio so neglected this matter of production? Why is there, so very little of it? Thets are certainly many, many reasons. But it is just as certain that they are all born of one basic mistake on the part of the goat himself-^the advertiser. Some day, advertisers as ~a- whole will wake up and see through the whole system. Then there'll be hell to pay—and much better radio. This basic mistake on the spon- sor's part is allowing—yea, even de- manding—that the agency pass the buck directly to the advertiser him- self. What happens when a Captain of Industry' decides to speiid a mil- lion or so in radio advertising? The agency gets together an audition— a complete performance of the pro- posed radio production—and pre- sents it to the advertiser for his con- sideration. Object, 15% of that mil- lion! Whether or not said agency gets it depends upon whether or not said audition 'clicks' with the advertiser. Ergo, the show is de- signed, not to please the public, but 'his nibs.' Long association with 'his nibs' has made the agency thoroughly familiar with each of his separate likes and dislikes. The program will feature his favorite artists (whether they logically 'be- long' or not). It will present his favorite songs (whether they routine and pace well or not). It will avoid touching on subjects that the agency knows are 'taboo' with 'his nibs' (even if such avoidance cuts all the drama out of the presentation).. It will be long on commercial and necessarily short on showmanship. But it will get that million. Stay Away in Droves When this little private entertain- ment gets on the air and the listeners stay away in droves, who's to blame? Why, the advertiser, of course. The agency doesn't blatantly tell him so —doesn't have to. He picked it and, nine times out of ten, he'll defend it. 'A rotton Crossley? Must be the band'—or the star—or the script writer. Seldom, if ever, will he ad- mit that there wasn't any show there in the first place—only a hodge-podge of things he liked and a conspicuous absence of the things he didn't. Yes, he's a victim of his own system. Choosing the show may salve his vanity but it surely puts him in an awful spot. The agency is satisfied. It gets 15% of the million, shoulders no blame and can spend the next million in news- papers and magazines where it knows what it's doing. Like Topsy, the present system 'just grew,' And like a house or a city that's built without a plan, it eventually arrives at the point where alterations are essential. Ex- cellent manufacturers and first rate advertising men have been stumbling along trying to learn show business themselves instead of delegating that highly technical work to men who've given it their entire attention for years. Under this system, money is substituted for thought. For a bigger and better show, the average advertiser and his agency have only one formula—bigger and better names. Radio buys its glamour 'on the hoof.' But we're rapidly ap- By Walter Crcdg (Street & Finney Agency) proaching the day when there'll be no more ready-made glamour for sale. For rddio not only buys its glamour ... it also destroys it- How many Times have you heard a star, glamour acquired in some other branch of show business, brought to the microphone with, 'And no^v Lizzie CxUch will sing. . . .' As far as the listener is concerned, there she stan-is in a bare-walled room containing only a microphone. How long can any star stay glamourous under such condi- tions? Performers are just peo- ple .. . believe it or not just ordi- nary human beings . . . with a little talent. They become glamourous when: some producer, in one branch of show business or another, creates a bit of 'make believe' around them that enhances those talents. He 'sells' them to the public with 'pro- duction.' Zeigfeld used to work weeks, I'm told, just designing a glamourous entrance for a star. Hollywood goes further and keeps huge publicity departments busy making stars glamourous off as well as on the screen. And radio says, 'And now, Lizzie Gilch will sing ' When the stock of ready-made glamour runs low, radio is going to have to mend its ways. And mo^t all showmen seeni to agree that 'it won't be long now.' A sufficient number of flops and any advertiser is driven to one of two things: (1) Dropping the air as an advertising medium, or (2) recognizing and rectifying the 'basic mistake' about which w6've been talking. If he fol- lows the former course, his com- petitors are liable to run away from him in sales. If he follows the latter, something like this will happen. Idyllic Our new-era Advertiser will call in his agency man - and say, 'Joe, we've decided to institute a radio campaign. We're convinced that radio is a powerful advertising medium, so we want to go On the air to sell Spelvin's Spiffy Sponges. Now, we know a lot about sponges but practically nothing about spangles. Show business is not our racket. . We want you to put on a radio show for us that will get a big audience to whom we can sell sponges. We've appropriated a mil- lion dollars for this campaign—the rest is up to you. Let us know when the program starts on the air so we can tune in the first performance.' -Puts a different complexion on things, doesn't it? The agency is now on -the spot. He's got to de- liver—or else. If he's at all cau- tious (^nd what advertising man isn't) he'll want to play it as safely as possible. He might even try to dig up a showman and ask advice. Suppose 'he does. What has he a right to expect? He has a right to expect a production instead of an amateur show ... an entertainment instead of a group of entertainers. Every good entertainment should be a one-man show with the producer handed and holding the bag. He should be responsible not only for the selection of the script, cast and music, bxrt also for the creative ef- fort necessary to weave these units into a well routined and cleverly dovetailed entertainment that the vast radio audience can see as well as hear . . . and I do mean see. An Ear Picture For the radio listener is, of neces- sity, a visualizer. Give him a series of recognizable sounds arranged in the proper sequence to suggest a complete picture and his imagina- tion does the rest This partnership with the listener's imagination is what makes radio entertainment possible. It gives the radio producer everything to work with that his Broadway contemporary enjoys . . costumes, scenery and lighting ef- fects. For costumes, there are dialects, delivery styles and voice qualities. A wide Irish brogue will costume a man as completely as Guttenburg himself could do it. Scenery is a matter of only a few suggestive words and carefully chosen sound effects. Sometimes the latter alone are suf- ficient A ship's whistle and a water tank are all you need for the finest ship set any Broadway pro- ducer ever boasted. For lighting effects, the radio producer can em- ploy music. Where the stage pro- ducer dims his stage and spotlights two characters for a love scene, f e radio producer uses soft, beautiful music to mellow the scene and spot- lights his characters by putting them right on mike. No, the limitations of the medium are no alibi for unsuccessful produc- tion, As a matter of fact, when a showman is turned loose in radio, he experiences the same sort of re- action that John Murray Anderson once voiced to me on ai Hollywood set during the filming of his first celluloid production. Murray couldn't get over the absence of any limita- tion. 'Walter,' he said, 'you ask for the world with a fence curound it. ., and" they build it for you!' If the limitations of the medium are not responsible for so much bad production (or perhaps we should say such an absence of production) then we must conclude that the trouble lies in the producers' lack^t. of showmanship. Perhaps we throw the title 'producer' around too lightly. Of course, under our pres- ent system of passing the buck to the advertiser, there isn't any need of showmanship. Just take the boss's formula, and get it on in a half hour, A stop watch, and you're all set Anybody out of college can dc it Even the college isn't necessary. But under the new-radio-era plan, when advertisers wake up and rectify this mistake of such long standing, the title may again come to mean some- thing/ To earn it perhaps a man will have to be a showman . . . will have to be able to select talent, supervise script, direct the actors, pace the show, make use of cos- tumes, scenery and lighting effects to give his production that glamour which has been the very essence of show business since time began. The Comedy Shows You've heard of the exception that proves the rule? Radio has its exceptions too. These are notably the comedy programs on thfe air to- day. The. fact that, as a class, they are the most showmanlike examples of radio is directly ascribable to the fact that they are supervised by the comedians themselves . . . men who have had a long training in the the- atre, actual contact with many audi->^- ences and hard knocks in the school of experience. In most of these pro- grams, one thing leads naturally to another . . . seems to be done in preparation for the following unit of entertainment. As a matter of fact, it is difficult to spot the exact place where one luilt stops and an- other begins .. . albeit they are care-- fuUy arranged for variety of mood, pace and tempo. The scenery is al- ways there . . , costumes and lights too. There's a complete production for the. listener to enjoy . . . not ■just voices.. When such a perfectly produced program is tuned in, the end comes around before the listener knows it . . . certainly before he is ready for it And that's as good a formula for the air as it always was for vaudeville . . . 'Leave 'em want- ing.' In radio it means they'll tune in next week and hear your sales story all over again. Yes, if all types of shows gave as much thought to production as do our popular co- medians, radio would be a safer place for advertisers today. So, Mr. Advertiser, before you start to tinker with the band, change the script writers, fire your vocalists and malign your actors, check up on your^ production. Is it a showman's idea of a program—or your own? Are the scenery, costumes and lighting all they should be? Has everything been done to give the entertainment pace, tempo, continuity and a veneer of glamour? Are you giving the radio audience a production ... or just a lot of voices and sounds? Can they see or only hear your show? Are you creating a bit of 'make be- lieve' for them ... or offering bought glamour in a void of studio walls? Perhaps a little attention td these details will turn your clambake into a radio show. OBSCURE TUNES USED BY TENOR HAYWOOD Charles Haywood, tenor, frequently heard with New York Oratorial So- ciety, has started a five week series of American folk songs over station WX<3R, N. Y., beginning Monday evening (2) at nine p.m. Haywood sings songs of early white settlers in various sections of the country. My-T-Flne desserts (Fenick & Ford) is supplementing its NBC cam- paign with the placement of disc ver- sions of its 'Circus' show on stations ' in a half dozen cities.