Variety (Dec 1939)

VARIETY RADIO Wednesday, Deeenibcr 1.1, 19.'{9 Jury Awards John C. Leonard Had Sued WIL, St, Louis, for $36,875—For Various Alleged Services CHRISTMAS IN WINONA MlnitesoU Town's E phasb on Holi- day Via Radio St. Louis, Dec. 12. A jury In Circuit Judge Williams' court last week returne< a verdict of $r>00 in lavor of John Calvin Leonard, Chicago, in his $3C,87S suit against Elation WIL. In two counts Leonard sought $35,000 for services allegedly rendered in assisting the station in obtaining full time from the Federal I Communications Commission and for I acting as 'radio pastor' for Ave years ' and $1,875 for commi.<si6ns on the I sale of radio time. I The verdict for $500 was on the latter claim. TOPSIM CENTRAL OHIO THE SMOOTHIES BABS-CHARLIE-LinLE R«cordlDc (or Blutblrd and Victor Listen to •'Myrtle" on Bluebird and "The Little Red Fox" on Victor with Hal Kemp Energine's Quizzer Hollywood, Dec. 12. Audience quizzer, 'What Would Vou Have DoneV which has been kicking around here for years, goes under Energine sponsorship over NBC bhie network starting Jan. 29. Stack-Cioble bought it from Music Corporation. Winona, Mmn., Dec. 12. Christmas is being sold big over st.-tion KWN'O. Opci\cd with Santa Claus interviewed on Main street. Three times a day, a half hour each time, station broadcasts Christmas music piovidea by church choirs, or- ganists and schools. Programs are amplified over p.a. system and fed to public direct in shopping district. Community carols w-11 be broad- Co-'. from local Ihcalre and with the aid of a new mobile unit st.Ttion will pick up midnight mass Christmas eve. r ation is joining tlie Transconti- nental system. Not Like New York Boston, Dec. 12. Sinc« Nan Howard, account executive at WEEI, moved to the artist colony on T-Wharf, she has dispensed with alarm clocks. "The captain of a boat making daily trips by licr .studio win- dows blows a whistle every morning and waits for her wave of greeting before he puts on full steam. KTSA SUES FCC , Seekn Ri^hl to Interven* on ' Kcononiic Injury Allegation GUNNAR BACK AT WJSV Washington, Dec. 12. Still another addition to the WJSV announcing staff. Gunnar Back, program director of WJNC, West Palm Beach, will re- place Warren Sweeney who recently packed his bag for th» New York office of CBS. Back is a former professor of Eng- lish who taught at University of Wisconsin, Has an M.A. and B.A. after jiis name, fn addition to call let- ter experience with WXYZ, Detroit; KFAR, Lincoln, Neb., and WTCN, Minneapolis. Musical Mood Wrong Before WDAS Anthem Philadelphia, Dec. 12. Winding up its late program of symphonic recordings with the 'Star Spangled Banner" has brought squawks from WD.\S listeners. The dial-twisters clain\ the soothing symphs put them to sleep and they liave to awake suddenly to rise lor the national anthem. But if the station slops playing the anthem It faces charges of being un- patriotic. SI. Louls' Board of Aldermen Inst week resolved Ray C. Schioeder, 'Mr. Fixit' on WIL for his 'valuable serv- ice to this community.' San Antonio, Dec. 12. KTSA. denied the right to partici- pate in the liearing scheduled on the application of KMAC, local seeking a regional assignment, has filed In Washington, D. C., asking the District of Columbia Federal Court to enjoin the Federal Communications Com- mission from holding the hearing until KTSA has been permitted to participate and offer evidence on economic injury lines. KMAC application was to liavc been heard on Nov. 14 but has been postponed. Lottridge at WOC Des Moines, Dec. 12. .". Bury] Lottridge has been named manager of WOC, _ Davenport. He had been with the sales department o: WHO, another B. J. Palmer sta- tion, in February of last year. 'Economic Injury' Issue Nearer To Final Supreme Court Determination Washington, Dec. 12. Final adjudication of the 'economic i Interference' Issue troubling broad- 1 casters and the FCC was assured this ' week by the Supreme Court while ' the District of Columbia Court of j Appeals simultaneously entertained I another appeal from a regulator's decision which was challenged as Improper and liable to injur* public interest. In a series of important le- gal moves within a few hours of each other, th« U. S. Supreme Court agreed to review the Sanders case, in which WKBB, Dubuque, la,. Is seeking to stave off competition and the intermediate bench took jurisdic- tion over the tiff between WMBR, Jacksonville, and a newcomer, but declined to ogle a similar argument nvolving WOKO, Albany, Adiron- dack Broadcasting Co., and Troy Broadcasting Co. The significant Sanders case goes up on petition of the commish, which was defeated in an attempt in the lower court to put over the doctrine of 'damnum absque inuria' by main- taining that economic harm Aoe^ not provide an appealable interest. San- ders Bros., owner of WKBB, failed initially to keep the Dubuque Tele- graph-Herald from getting papers for a new transmitter but won a reversal In the Court of Appeals, which sent the entire proceedings back for findings on the matter of loss to an existing licensee from added competition. This tiff will have far-reaching consequences, particularly in view of the strict way in which the FCC now is applying the rule on intervention in its own proceedings. In seeking a review, the commish. with Solicitor General Robert M. Jackson signing the documents, said the Court of Ap- peals erred in holding the decision 'arbitrary and capricious' as well as n taking jurisdiction. Should the highest bench agree that cases of this sort are not appealable, oppor- tunity of fighting rivals will be greatly minimized. Although the whole appeal turns on the Jurisdic- tional point, the 'economic interfer- ence' issue is due to be settled, for the Government attorneys declared at length that competition is the 'very foundation of the radio broad- cast industry' under the 1934 statute. Owner Doesn't Count While this airing was being prom- ised, the intermediate court said in effect it will not protect pocketbooks of industry members unless they demonstrate that the public also will be hurt by more competition. Two opinions by Associate Justice Justin Miller further cleared up the con- fused situation, showing how present license holders can fight rivals and charting a course mid-way between two previous decisions which seemed in many respects contradictory. Giving both FCC general counsel and former commish barrister George O. Sutton each a victory the District of Columbia Court of Ap- peals dismissed the appeals of WOKO and Adirondack Broadcasting Co., fighting a grant to the Troy Broad- casting Co., but agreed to look over the argument between parties in Jacksonville. Ths most important cxDosition of. the Jiii isLs'-views was In the Troy case, wliers Justice Miller discussed past opinions on the Interference Issue before siding with the commish attorneys. Sutton was attorney for petitioners In each In- stance. The intermediate court has hold that appeal is possible—despite the contentions of the FCC—where the action of the regulators will 'de- stroy' an existing station but not where the latter's interests are af- fected 'only incidentally,' Justice Miller explained. Decisions are in- vulnerable, he added, if the FCC made proper findings that no damage to the public will result. Ohio OU Co. Extends Cherniavsky From WLW Cincinnati, Dec. 12. Ohio Oil Company's Friday night 30-minute program, Marathon Melo- dies, originating on WLW, extended from five to 10 stations last week. Present outlets are WSPD, Toledo; WOWO, Fort Wayne, Ind.: WENR; Chicago; WCBF, Evansville, Ind.; WBOW, Terre Haute, Ind.; KWK, St. Louis; KTOK, Oklahoma City; KGKO, Fort Worth, Tex., and KGBX; Springfield, Mo. Program has Josef Chemiavsky's WLW orchestra, with Sylvia Rhodes as vocalist. Listeners receive cash prizes for submitting tune titles used in making up sentences for audience participation. Account handled by the Byer & Bowman agency, Columbus. TELEVISION JOB PROMISES STOPPED Crackdown by the Federal Trad* Commish on Midland Television. Inc., Kansas City, has resulted In agreement by the company that it will discontinue 'misleading' adver- tising. It gives residence and cor' respondcnce courses in radio and television. School agreed to quit stipulating in its ads that students are virtually assured jobs as radio engineers when they finish their course. Also must stop repre.senting that the sole pur- pose of the school is to help sludenlj make more money. Gospel Ass'n Renews Mutual, has received another 52. week contract for its religious com- mercial, Old-fashioned Revival pro- gram. This Sunday evening seriei uses 40 stations. Sponsor is Gospel Broadcasting Assn. Gospel event has been on this net- work since Sept., 1930. TELEVISION GOES HIGH- SOCIETY! During the past seven months themagicoftclevisionhasflashed to audiences a wide variety of programs including outstanding .news events, championship con- tests in sports, and tlie finest offerings of stage and screen. For the first time Television will bring on Friday night of this week, one of the top flight society events of the year. From the grand ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria — one end of which has been converted into a mammoth television studio—', will be telecast all the glamour and excitement of the first Tele- vision Ball. This social event it sponsored by the Goddard Neighborhood Centre for th» purpose of raising funds to maia- tain its social service work. Through the coojjeration of NBC, RCA and ROAM the fash- ion and floor show will be put on the air in sight-and-sound ovef W2XBS from 11 to midnight NATIONAL BROADCASTING COMPANY Tho World's Great»tt Broadcasting System A IMDIO CORPOMTIOH OF AMERICA SERVICI WHN TRANSCRIPTION SERVICE 1940 ■ROAOWAT, N. Y. C. Myanl t.7Me