Variety (Apr 1939)

36 Muzak May Be Medium for Schools' Catholic Priest Would Key Programs to 240 Pa- rochial Schools—Looks for a Sponsor Mu7.ak, wired entertainment ser- vice, is currently meeting with offl- cials of the Roman Catholic Archdio- cese of New York, headed bv Rev. William R. Kelly, superintendent of 240 parochial elementary and high schools In the area, to arrange for a Muzak service network by which musical programs, lessons and speeches could be transmitted direct- ly into classrooms. Service would be sponsored and is the Idea of Father Kelly, who Is row in the throes of digging up a backer or backers. Lat- ter would probably be a milk com- pany or along those lines, with ad spiels heavily censored. Hookup would include an originat- ing point at Father Kelly's ofBceis In midtown N. Y., as well as from Mu- zak studios for music, via which the priest could break in at any time during the school hours with an- nouncements, etc. Three-hour dem- onstration was put on for the priest Saturday (1). System would reach about 104,000 pupils. WLW'S 85,000 CALLS Cincy Station Surveys Towns Within 200-MlIe Badius Cincinnati, April 4. During the week ended March 28, WLW, conducted a coincidental tele- phone survey in which 85,000 calls were made in cities within a 200- mile radius of Cincy. Points includ- ed Dayton, Springfield and Colum- bus. O.; Indianapolis and Ft Wayne, Ind, and Lexington, Ky. Ross-Fed- I eral handled the out-of-town calls, and Alberta Burke & Associates did the local job. According to Jim Shouse, general manager of the Crosley stations, the survey is the biggest of Its kind thus far. WLW also is using questionnaire blind ads in this month's issues of the Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky Farmer, offlcial Federal Farm Bu- reau publication, to check the listen- ing habits of persons In the rural districts. Clarify Coudert-Moffatt BUI on Libel Actions Albany. N. Y., April 4. Important clarifying amendments have been made to the Coudert-Mof- fat bill amending the civil practice act with a new Section in relation to privileges of radio broadcasting. Measure, which retains its place on third order reading in the Assembly, now reads: 'An action, civil or criminal, can not be maintained against a reporter, announcer, com- mentator, speaker, editor, broad- caster, or proprietor of a radio broadcasting station, facility, or sys- tem, for the publication therefrom by radio broadcasting apparatus of a fair and true report, oral or writ- ten, of any judicial, legislative or other public and official proceedings, or for any title or headnote to such a report which is a fair and true title or headnote thereto. This sec- tion does riot apply to a libel, or slander contained in any other matter added by any person con cerned in the publication; or in the report of apything said or done at the time and place of the public and official proceedings which was not a part thereof. Act would take effect immediately. Passage is expected in both houses, DETROIT BASEBALL SET will Be Heard Over WXTZ and WWJ—Ty Tyson Repeating Detroit, April 4. Detroit Tiger baseball games will go out over WWJ and WXYZ's Mich- igan network this season, under co- sponsorship of White Star gasoline and General Mills. Latter co-bank- rolled with White SUr two years ago but was replaced by Kellogg's last season. . WXYZ will noTTnrrry both home and away games as it did last year but, with Harry Heilmann at the mike, will ship it out over the seven other stations of its state web. Ty T^son. who's handled baseball con- tests lor WWJ for many years, will be at mike again locally. Broadcasts' will cover all games played by Tigers for the first time, due to New York Yankees' radio okay this season. Out-of-town con- tests will be reconstructed at this end from telegraphic reports, as formerly. No decish yet on what'U be done when and if Tigers play a night game in Cleveland next September, but likely stations will be able to carry only a resume because of nocturnal commercial commitments. Prcscott Robinson, announcer at station CFCF, Montreal, relieved of all other studio assignments in order to handle four newscasts daily. The Boys Design a Hat Cincinnati, April 4. Trick itst thing here In femms headgear, at least In radio cir- cles, is the facsimile hat which was sprung Friday (31) on Eve- lyn Traut, secretary to Ronald J. Rockwell, WLW technical super- visor. Gets its name from being a ringer for a lid purchased the day before by Miss Traut Creation concocted by Charles Butler, control room supervisor, and several Crosley engineers. Was made from a wax record, topped with a wire box, from which dangle strips of Scotch tape In ribbon fashion. . After discovering the imitation, the sec went the technical ribbers one better by wearing it instead of her regular bonnet Wednesday, April 5, 1939 N.Y. BASEBALL TO BRIDGEPORT Clogged WNEW Schedule Snarls Baseball Deal WNEW, N. Y., finds itself in the unique position of not being; able to clear time for the carrying of de- scriptions of the baseball schedule of the Newark entry in the Inter- national League which it aired last year. Contract from the Atlantic Refining Co., who 'sponsored the games last year, is again waiting. Station has a participatingly spon- sored two-hour 'Music Hall' show in the afternoon from 3-5 p.m., with most of the sponsors signed for time covering greater part of the summer. WAGA, Atlanta, Gets BaU Games for Mills, Goodrich Atlanta, April 4. WAGA grabbed the baseball plum in this territory this year and is pre- pared to air local and road games between Crackers, Atlanta's South- ern BB Ass'n entries and adver- saries at Ponce de Leon Park. Games are being sponsored Jointly by Gen- eral Mills (Wheaties and Corn Kix) and B. F. Goodrich Rubber Co., ac- count being placed by Knox Reeves Adv. Agency. Joe HUl, of WAGA stafT, wUl mike the games from press h07t in grand stand. This will mark first year that both home and road games have been aired under commercial spon- sorship, league having removed re- strictions against home games. Sun' day home games will not be aired. BBC will continue Louis Levy's 'Music From the Movies' programs for another three months. ^♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦>t»««>«♦♦♦♦»■♦♦*♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ Webs No IJke FCC Monopoly Charts • ; ♦♦♦>♦♦♦♦»>»♦*♦♦♦«»♦♦♦♦♦»*♦♦♦♦♦♦»♦♦***♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦4««»« 1 TO COVEB GREAT BRITAIN VOU HOST VBK RADIO NORMANDY Foil Paftlcolan of Air Time and Talent tram Inteniational Broadcasting Company, ltd. 37, Portland Place, London, W.I. Washington, April 4. Nearing the end of the chase, the FCC chain-monopoly . probers last week received a mountain of charts and statistical tables from which they are expected to conclude wheth- er It is desirable to permit inter- locking ownership of radio stations and the network nnethods of pro- gram and advertising distribution. Wind-up may occur this week, cli- maxing nearly five months of testi- mony that now has run into more than 60 volumes of transcript Drawing few conclusions, De- Quincy V. Sutton, a Cornish account- ant, occupied the witness chair near- ly all of last week's sessions, identi- fying documents in profusion. Bulk of questioning by attorneys repre- senting the principal chains was dl- Irected at ascertaining the method of computation In anticipation of a more thorough grilling as to what the ta- 'bles show. Shortage of copies for DOJV'T MiSS PAI-MOUVE'S »• BESS JOHNSON ^ By Adelaide IMorston Dedicated to the women of America. The story of a woman vwho must choose between love and tha career of raising other women's children. WABC-CBS—10:30-10:45 A^M. E.S.T. 78 Stations Coast-to-Coast WOR—4:30-4:45 PJH ES-t. Monday Through Friday Direction BENTON & BOWLES, Inc. Management ED WOLF, RKO BUILPING, New York counsel handicapped the industry de- fenders. The chief exhibits dealt with the financial experience of various sta- tions, few of them identified and hardly any recognizable from the de- scriptions given the Commish. Break- downs listed total hours, total rev- enues and amount of time used by and income received from webs. Sut- ton hesitated to interpret his statis- tics, leaving all deductions, infer- ences and conclusions up to the Com- mish. Dispute CBS Options Several of his computations were attacked by Paul A. Porter, repre- senting CBS; Philip H. Hennessey; for NBC; and Louis G. Caldwell, for MBS. Point that roiled the Colum- bia barrister was Sutton's observa- tion that, with three exceptions, sur- vey shows CBS has an option on 100% of the time of basic stations. Porter drew out the admission that this condition existed in 1937, but has been rectified in numerous Instances by different contracts and empha' sized that only in rare instances did the web consume more than a small proportion of the time available for network commercials. All of the network reps challenged the fairness of some comparisons between sta- tions of the same general type locat- ed in different markets, protesting that the Commish statisticians over- looked factors with a vital bearing on the p1,acement of business. Network stations may be more likely to attract business from local advertisers, Sutton conceded while being quizzed on his contrasts be- tween indie plants and affiliates. Be' cause they are more likely to have a following through the chain features. . In getting around to multiple own- ership, the Commish received niore than 100 exhibits purportedly show- ing 'community of interest.' Gener- ally Sutton lumped as members of this or that 'group' all plants in which a single person or several in' dividuals had a 'substantial' stake, without going deeply in his explans' tions into the actual control. Sought to show, for example, that CBS and NBC have a finger in a lot of tranS' mitters ostensibly owned by persons not related to the chain companies. Pointed to numerous cases where of- ficers or directors of the web corpO' rations were listed as owners of stock in the presumably Independent afflll ates. On the whole, his presentation was a who's-who in the broadcasting business, with the groupings admit- tedly arbitrary. Bridgeport, April 4. WICC will be linked with WABC, New York, lor Arch McDonald's play-by-plays of Giants and Yankees home games' (General Mills, Mobile Gas and Procter & Gamble), start- ing April 18. Tie-up returns Shepard Bridge- port-New Haven exhaler to working association with key of CBS, which WICC two years ago left for NBC- Blue. News of alliance with WABC renewed reports that WICC will re- turn to Columbia, a jucier revenue source than the Blue chain has proved. CfiS Is now represented in New Haven and Waterbury by WBRY. Odd angle on WICC's New York baseball arrangement is that station missed first part of 1938 season's Boston schedule because of objec- tions of Gotham clubs, which claimed Bridgeport broadcaster was in re- stricted 50-miIe radius of New York. WICC will now. have to forego Frankle Frisch's Boston play-by- plays on Colonial network; although it is' already carrying Frlsch's din- ner-hour chatter. WATR, Waterbury indie, is nearest Connecticut outlet for I^lsch game descriptions. Grimes Phones Montreal Montreal, April 4. New baseball program being spon- sored by Chomplain . Oil Co. over stations CFCF and CKAC brings all local sports writers on the air for - the first time as guest speakers. Show produced by Bill Harwood, with Frank Starr emceeing over CFCF, introduces a different local sports scribe twice weekly in both languages. Burleigh Grimes, manager of th« Montreal baseball team, phones in from the training grotmds in Florida for each program to give listeners the lowdown on the players. WBAL means SuiinM uv'Bcdtutuyie Boston Police Reserves Called I Qfft — Thousands Turned Away I PAULWHITEMAN AND HIS. AIX-AHEBICAN BAND • Broke all Box Of/Ice Records at Candy Show, Mechanics Hall, Boston, March 30th aj»d 31st, plairfnjr to 47,000 persons—Esti- mated 15,000 turned away Friday Night Boolied EXOIiUSlVKLT Br. ARTISTS MANAGEMENT, Inc. IT EAST tSih 8TBEET NEW TOBK Tdepbone—MVmy HUl S-18S8 Tone In CHE8TEBFIKLD PROOKAU CBS, Cooiit-to-Coast Wed. »:30 VM., ESI LEW PARKER LOEW'S STATE, NEW YORK Week March 30th .AIM Appeacinc ea ENNA lETTICK SHOW "STEPPING ALONG" WABC, Saturday, 9:30-10:00 P.M. DIreetloB COLUMBIA ARTISTS BUREAU CHAS. V. YATES Paul Whiteman's FOUR MODERNAIRES celebrate their FIRST AIS1NIVERSARY for CHESTERFIELD tonight CHUCK GOLDSTEIN WM. CONWAY (Arranger) RALPH BREWSTER HAROLD DICKINSON FOUR MODERNAIRES With Appreciation to "Pops" (the World's Greatest Orchestra Director), Liggett & Myers, Our Producer, Phil Cohan, Decca Records and Our Friends for Their Many Kindnesses Dir^ARTISTS MGT. BUREAU, 17 East 45th, Naw York City Press Rap^RVINQ 8TROU8E, RKO BIdg.