Variety (Apr 1939)

Wednesday, April 26, 1939 RADIO VARIETY 19 4A'S 2% FOR CASH IDEA PERFORMER COURTESY In this week's Vakietv appear^ a news story of how Franchot Tone declined to step into a program originally offered to Pep- sodent with Burgess Meredith as the stellar personality. With- out going into the specific case at issue. Tone's gracious action may perhaps appropriately^ serve as a springboard for a few re- marks on the subject of professional courtesy, an obscure sub- ject at its best in show business and well-nigh unknown in broadcasting.. The talent booking' end of radio, the professional courtesy end, long ago became hopelessly entangled in agency-sponsor vagaries. Additional discouragement was contributed by the hard-boiled entrepreneurs and merchandizers of radio generally who seldom hear of professional courtesy, usually don't under- stand what is meant by the phrase and, if they do, think it's a lot of effete nonsense. Ethics, to them, is the old gag about the customer's over-payment: 'Shall I tell my partner?' Broad generalizations to govern hypothetical behavior are, of course, impossible. Desperation to get a break on the radio when coupled with disheartening conditions in show business has understandably encouraged talent to string along in a catch- as-catch-can philosophy which makes it refreshing to occasion- ally encounter an individual who is not ready, without qualm or hesitation, to push everybody aside to grab a contract. Professional courtesy involves, of necessity, respect for fel- low artistes. It means refusing to consciously appropriate other person's creative developments. It means thinking at least twice before directly or indirectly giving the freeze to a con- temporary who has been identified with the promotional phases of a project. There is a good deal of cynicism on these mat- ters. 'We gotta eat' is the general defense for nearly anything that's done. Add to that, 'If we don't, somebody else will.' Some part of vaudeville's crack-up may be attributed to the decision of the old Keith booking office to encourage and sanc- tion cheap 'copy acts' of well-known but high-priced headliners. Official collusion in piracy suggested rotten fibre and foreshad- owed the disintegration of a business that might have survived on a plane of honesty but could not survive when even ordijiary professional courtesy began to get the horse laugh. ' What has passed for professional courtesy in radio all too often has simply been a back-scratching exchange of meaning- less compliments. This kind of stuff is written in by the au- thors. It's hokum for public consumption. The McCoy kind of professional courtesy is not publicized as a rule. It springs from the kind of comraderie that used to exist when George M. Cohan was a dancing juvenile. It is neglected, unappreciated and seldom discussed in radio. Worst of all the very subject is incomprehensible to many of the men who have, from all sorts of beginnings, drifted into radio. < ' Nowadays they joke about stealing the other, fellow's routine. But everybody doesn't laugh. COLLIER'S IN BANONSTAFF AIRINGS Collier's magazine has Imposed a no-radio rule on Its stall writers and editors. WOR, Newark, felt the bar last week when It Bought to get Quentin Reynolds to become a flx- turfe of its 'Author, Author' pro- gram. Reynolds explained that his bosses are opposed to the appearance of any CoUier's man on the air and that the powers-that-lte In the Crow- ell-organization were miffed because he did a guest date recently. Col- lier's at one time figured as an Im- portant user of radio time. Back in the early 30s it had a Sunday series headed by Jolin B. Kennedy. Brice Disque Writing Phillips Lord's Scripts Brice Disque, Jr., formerly writer- producer with King Features, now is chief script writer with PhlUips Lord. He is doing Gang Busters and District Attorney presently. Disque also is writing 'Romance of Oil' for Cities Service, which is agented by I^ord & Thomas. laH Keidi, Arch Oboler Probable 'Award' Starters Chicago, April 26. New show for Teel, which starts on a local three-week opener on April SO and then goes coast-to-coast on Columbia on May 21 has been labelled Knickerbocker Playhouse. Bob Jennings, chief of the Kastor radio department, has also named the weekly awards on the show as the 'Knickerbocker Award.' Initial guester is figured to be Ian Keith, currently headlining locally In 'OtheUo.' Second program has Arch Oboler slated to come here from New York to get his 'award.' , HILLBILLY IN CLOVER Grosslnx Aroand $3M Weekly - Which Ain't H»y In Guitar BU St. Louis, AprU 25. Roy Schaffer, hillbOly at WEW who uses the tag of lione Star Cow- boy,' is probably copping more coin per week than any other exponent of mountain music in these parts. Gets $100 from Carson Furniture Co. for 30 mlns. daily program and out- side engagements average up weekly take to more than $300. Schaffer, who strums a gui tar and yodels, was-origlnally- at WWL, New Orleans. When Al S. Foster left latter for WEW he subsequently fol- lowed. GU[ TO DAILIES Networks Hava Been Asked to Raise Rates 2% in Order to Relwte That Much for the Principle of the Thing OPTICAL ILLUSION Number of the agency members of the American A6«>ciation of Ad vertislng Agencies are puzzled by the reasoning which lies behind the Four A's proposal that they try to prevail upon the networks to raise their, rates by 2% so that the clients caif get a 2% discount for prompt payment of bills. These puzzled agencies regard the proposition as pretty much a mathematical optical illusion and figure that the only thing to be gained from it is an added batch of bookkeeping. . As the advocates of the idea see it, there should be some special induce- ment for accounts that take care of their bills qulcldy. TSe lagged, they say^ shoiddn't be given the same consideration as the speedy remit- ter. In the newspaper the custom has always been to allow the 2% reward for payment within 10 days, and the argument now advanced is that unless radio is brought into line there's a diance of the other medium rebelling against the practice. Contrary to Practice The networks' rate cards specifi- cally note that not only are no cash discounts allowed but that bills are due and payable when rendered. The webs contend that as it is they're allowing a total of 40% in discounts, namely 15% to agencies, up to 15% on weekly gross billings and 10% on facilities used through 52 weeks. In the case of CBS this all-the-year- round rebate has recently been tilted to 12%, making a total of 42% In available discounts. Raising of network rates by 2% was suggested by some of the Four A'sites as a way around this di- lemma. Iietters subsequently went out from the association urging its membership to write the networks that the idea ought to be put into effect The contrary element in the Four A's hold that while they would like to see their clients get all that's coming to them there are circum- stances with regard to network users that ought to be taken Into ac- count. The 2% Inducement Is okay for newspapers since they have to deal with hundreds of small adver- tisers all over the country, whereas the vast majority of time on the net- works is consumed by such huge advertisers, as General Foods, Stand- ards Brands, Procter & Gamble, General Mills, Campbell Soup, XiCver Bros.^ and Vbt tobacco com- bines. JOHN ROYAL DUCKS OHIO John Royal, program v. p. of NBC, is not going to conduct a round table at the Ohio State University radio conference lAay 3 after all. Royal has withdrawn, giving as his reason press of network engagements not allowing him adequate time. Royal was schedtiled to handle the subject 'How to Handle Issues.' His withdrawal prompted reports that the round table huddle was one con- troversial issue he preferred not to handle. Fred WiUls, of CBS, had a red neck last spring when he handled the same subject in the same envir- onment. Seymour Selgel, program director of non-commerdal city - owned WNYC, New York, will sub for RoyaL Drys Gainh^ Gromrd Senate Subcommittee Favorable to Blow at Beer Advertising Over Radio Jenkins— Mj Axe Phil Spitalny, who is spon- sored by the Mazda division of General Electric, recently read- in a Bob Ripley cartoon of a hen that laid an egg that looked like an electric bulb. He promptly ran it down and bou^t the hen. Now, day by day, the hen lays^ but up to date Spitalny has no bulb. B.B.D.&0. LIST LOCAL SHOWS IN40TOKS B. B. D. Ac O. is getting together data on available news programs in some 40 towns with the view of de levoping a spot presentetion for one of its accounts. Agency at one time rated as a strong proponent of ttie news and sports type of programs, but for the past season or two it has had little activity in that direction. Hot Tunes for Sharpies Prove Poor Commercial Bait; WFBM Goes Wifey Indianapolis, April 25. WFBM finds that it can't capitalize on aiming hot dance tiines to high- school kids in the late afternoon and so it's going to devote the same period, starting. May 1, to wooing the interest of their mothers with a femme commentetor, Gwen Short, and transcribed . light classical' and show tunes. The juve-geared stanza ran 49 minutes and the lack of appeal was reflected by the dwindling of par- ticipating accounts, which Included theatre, dance promoters and sport- ing events. mY AND BETTY' IN VICE'JACK ARMSTRONG' Five-a-week dramatic serial, 'Billy and Betty,' formerly on NBC red for Sheffield Farms and (on the Coast) for Safeway Stores, returns to the network Monday (D for General Mills, plugging Kix breakfast food. C. D. Morris agency is producing for Blackett-Sample-Hummert Stanza replaces the Jack Armstrong show ir. the 5:30 slot over the eastern hookup for the summer. Leonardo Bercovici will write it, with Robert Sloane directing. Xatter is slated. to take over the writing stint after a few weeks. Cast will include Ted Reid, Audrey Egan and Selena Boyle. Show has a tieup with a comic strip and the children's section of True Story mag. UNION'S WAR CLAUSE If Called to Colors Job Most Be Open on Betam Philadelphia, April 25. Discussions are now taking place for inclusion of a 'war clause' in a contract about to be signed between Ben Gimbel, Jr., prez of WIP, and the American Communications Asso- ciation, representing a majority of the station's employes. Clause, which will probably be ac- cepted by Gimbel, provides that if any employe of WIP is called to the service of the United Stetes in event of .war or preparation for war, he shall be relnstoted to his job upon his return. Washington, April 25. Strike at the radio hidustry's 000,000 revenue from brewers and retailers of malt liquor was taken last week by a Senate Subcommittee. Favorable report urged on \he bUl of Senator Edwin C. Johnson, Colo- rado Democrat, stiffening portion ot the Communications Act The bUl was backpatted by a sut>- committee of the Senate Interstate Commerce -Committee after two hearings) during which lobbyists for the printing trade obtained deletion of references to printed media de- ^Ite protests that such action amounts to class discrimination and assurances radio Is putting the stopper In the bottle. Enactment of the measure would set a vicious. precedent, spokesmen for the radio business argued inef- fectively. They protested such legis- lation is unnecessary, since the- net- works and the major' independent plants have their own bans on drink propaganda. Solons were not im- pressed, however, with references to the sharp decline in booze blurbs, the resolution of the National As- sociation of Broadcasters, or the at- tempt'to frame a national code of program ethics. Industry defenders noted that al- most no hard liquor advertising goes over the air and the amount of time. sold to beer makers and dispensers has been going down. Revenue from distillers was only $1,943, with but nine stations making facilities avail- able, during the first two months of 1930, NAB observed, and in all of 1938 only .14 stations icarrled fire- water programs, getting but $23i2Q2. Beer brought 317 stotlons $1^69,038 last year. . NOW LOOKS AS IF'GOODNEWS' CONTINUES Maxwell House Coffee's 'Good News' stanza is reported set to con« tinue on NBC through the summer. This would make a second extenston of the terinination date of the pro- duction and talent hookup on the show between the account and M-G-M. Film producer's original, severance date was March 30. Later this was extended to June 29. When last February the highers-up In Metro announced that the studio was withdrawing its connection with the program, the agency on the ac- count, Benton Sc Bowles, declared that it proposed to retein the titles pattern and most of the regular prin- cipals of the Thursday night series. PEDLAR & RYAN TO OPEN A CHI OFFICE Chicago, April 25. Indications are that Pedlar & Ryan agency will open a local office-within a few weeks. Now being talked over. Follows the acquisition of the Lady Esther account by the P.ScR. firm. Agency is understood readying a few changes in the general radio set^ of the account. Hub Robinson to L. A. Hubbell Robinson, Jr., chief of program production for Young te Rubicam. leaves today (Wednesday) for Hollywood. He will spend several weeks on the Coast looking over tlie YtcR; shows that are iet to remain on for the summer and also study produc- tion angles for the fall.