Variety (Dec 1939)

24 VARIETY RADIO Wednesday, December 27, 1939 MILWAUKEE: A SHOW BIZ GAG By EDGAR A. GRyNWALD Milwaukee, Dec. 26. "What's the worst week in show business?' the theatrical wags used to ask. The answer was 'the week before Christ- inas or Milwaukee.' Of course the same eag has been told on Memphis and one or two other burgs that had fish-hooks Jn their pockets when it came to buying or sat on their hands when it came to applauding. The point is that Milwaukee can sUrc down a buffalo nickel, never wearies of the leg- work necessary in bargain-hunting, is slow to behave emo- tionally. All of which should suggest that Milwaukee oiJght to be an ideal dog town for radio programs and campaigns. If Milwaukee goes for it it should be something. Because Milwaukee goes hard. Radio has performed its sales job admirably here. FCC records for 1937 (last available) show that, all things con- sidered, national spot and local business were good. Net- work business, on the other hand, was anemic, indicating that some time-buyers think they can coyer Milwaukee from Chicago, and also indicating that the Milwaukee stations have not done much in sales promotion. That old bugaboo of Milwaukee radio—i.e., Chicago station overlap—is by now pretty well broken down. They are a good two hour train ride apart and the population makeup of the two cities is entirely different sociologically, as well . as in purchasing habits. Finally, all talk of overlapping cov- erage between Milwaukee and Chicago could just as well be applied in dozens of other instances where that problem is never thought of. That Milwaukee in the past has been the victim of a sitUr ation from which other cities escaped is perhaps due, to some extent, to Chicago's self-praise and Milwaukee's habitual, dour silence. Perhaps, too, Chicago's wattage had plenty to do with the matter. At any rate, time buyers might well ask themselves why they believe that Chicago can influence Mil- waukee when they don't believe, as a rule, that Baltimore can influence Washington, D. C. (which is much closer to Baltimore than Milwaukee is to Chicago). Meantime the Milwaukee stations can well ask their parent newspapers why, in view of a ticklish situation just coming to a close, the papers persist in listing. Chicago stations atop their radio logs. Getting away from a coverage discussion—which is not the object of these articles anyhow—again 'brings up the matter of Milwaukee population. Largely composed of German and Central European origin, it specializes in a 'gemuetlich' type of living—i.e., a contented, conservative, and yet mildly jovial existence. Because of the big emphasis on family and fraternal life, plus the innate dislike of this type of popu- lation to spend money on a b.inge, Milwaukee is an atrocity as a theatre city. That goes for night clubs, too. Anyone who doesn't pull in the sidewalk at 9 p.m. is not a true native. A TOWN WITH DEPT. STORE ACCOUNTS ON THE RADIO And, as indicated before, the population is a tough cus- tomer. Department stores, in order to perk up business, run a continual series of sales and bargain-days to get the re- calcitrants into the stores. On the other hand, sports are avidly followed—a fact recognized thoroughly by the Wad- hams Oil firm which has bought up all the major sporting events in sight. To make a long story short, there's nothing economically wrong with Milwaukee, but the population— possibly something like the population of St Louis—is a special breed with special characteristics. Milwaukee simply is not rhetropolitan despite its immediate urban population of around 750,000. All of which—again—could make Milwaukee a good test city. In fact the three stations—WTMJ. WISN, and WEMP— have more or less slanted their operations in that direction, although each specializes in something different. Indeed in few cities have the broadcasters so completely differentiated themselves. WTMJ, for instance, comes close to being a real metropolitan outlet, but its emphasis—well geared to the population—has been on things close to civic pride: new tech- nical developments, civic and educational angles, smooth programming, etc. WISN meantime leans toward everyday local affairs, niusic, sports, and chatter. And^WEMP takes a whack af foreign languages plus music, meanwhile doing a superlative (the word is used in the full sense here) job of selling the department stores. WTMJ, NBC basic Red outlet is owned by the Milwaukee Journal, and—perhaps more than any other station noted on this trip—is infested with a pioneering spirit. During 1935-36 the station experimented with facsimile, later dropping this angle on the grounds that facsimile is still in mechanical in- fancy and that public reaction to it is far from ripe. Cur- rently WTMJ is building a high-frequency setup to test both frequency-modulation (Armstrong) and amplitude-modula- tion in the shortwave sphere. Meantime, an application has been turned in asking for privilege to experiment with tele- vision programming. WTMJ furthermore was a pioneer in the coincidental type of audience survey, and has innovated (if not pioneered) in several other matters: all its salesmen are equipped with portable radios; sales presentations often, are recordings with dramatic and musical embellishments to give 'em pep; and a big music and copyright file system is maintained. WTMJ has two rates. About 26% of its revenue cOmes un- der the local rate classification; 26% is network intake; and 48% is via the national rate. However, about 56% of the national rate stuff, originates inside the slate and is, in other words, regional business. By way of merchandising, the.sta- tion will provide any 'reasonable* service at cost and lists Its accounts in the 'Retail Journal.' But anything which might be construed as rale-cutting is strictly out. Very few elec- trical transcriptions are used, no records whatsoever may be played after 9 a.m., and the house orchestra of 16 pieces, batoned by William J. Benning, musical director, is ad- vantageously employed. Walter J. Damm is WTMJ's general manager, and the fel- low who nursed the place from infancy. Until Oct. 1 of this year Damm was also public relations manager of the parent newspaper, but subsequently WTMJ (which originally came under the paper's promotion department) is now in a sepa- rate setup, and Damm has dropped his duties on the paper. Station manager is Lewis Herzog, previously with the Jour-, nal's promotion department. Assistant station manager, pro- gram director, and ace sports announcer is Russ Winnie, here since 1928 (he was originally in the real estate business). Commercial managership is handled by W._F. Dittmann, while Russ Tolg supervises continuity and publicity. Cream of WTMJ's locally produced shows include plenty of participation stanzas to eliminate the hazard of too many announcements sans production. The day's schedule opens with a prayer at 6 a.m. (WTMJ probably has the world's largest library of recorded prayers—1,385 invocations by 277 clergymen of every creed). From 6:02-8:30 a.m. a partici- pating 'Top of the Morning''musical clock is ismceed by Bill Evans who, uniquely visited an average of 50 listeners per day throughout the summer to find out about his stanza and give away prizes to those who heard a certain musical selec- tion on it. From 8:30-9 a.m. Nancy Grey has a .'What's New?' participating series in which books are reviewed, in- terviews are cooked up, etc. Incidentally, WTMJ annually pays this gal's expenses to tour the U.S. and get up new material for her stint An old standby 'Heinie and His Grenadiers' goes on (participating) from 11:30-12:30 p.m. This is a German band stanza which has been running for eight years. The station owns the title to the show, but the same band has been on it right along (the outfit also makes over 60 annual p.a. dates, and once staged a Softball game witnessed by 22,000 spectators). Other programs include: Johnny Olson and His Rhythm Rascals for Oshkosh overalls; a sidewalk reporter (Bill Evans and George Comte) for P. & G.; a 'Bulletin Board' from 1-1:15 p.m. giving news, market reports, etc.; the 'Song Doc- tor* (participating) from 5-5:30 p.m. in which Jack Teter, singer, and Bob Heiss, emcee, run a stump-me contest; Russ Winnie's and Charlie Nevada's sports stanzas; 'Today's Events' at 10 pjn., spieled by George Comte, sponsored three nights and open two nights; plus tie-ins- with universities, colleges, PTA groups, civic committees, etc., galore. On Sunday the station lets would-be soapboxers blow off their steam via a 'Public Speaks' stanza. Running from 12-12:30 p.m., the series affords the speakers each five minutes to have their say-so. The WTMJ schedule has nine newscasts daily. Sports spieled by Russ Winnie (assisted sometimes by Bob Heiss), are liberally used in season. WISN is the CBS outlet, affiliated with the Milwaukee Sentinel (Hearst). Operating with a staff of 52, the station maintains swell labor relations with its employees, uses a single rate, and is doing an increasing amount of business. The latter divides as follows: 22% network; 60% local; and 18% national spot Merchandising is liberally dished out via cards, limited amounts of mail, etc. The house band num- bers eight men. Polish and (German hours (participating) are aired on Sundays, General manager is Gaston W. Grignon, here since 1924 end' previously on the editorial department of the paper. Grignon-also supervises the commercial department Local sales manager is Fred Zindler. Programming is handled by Woods Dreyfuss, an eight-year man who previously did an- nouncing and vocal work. Elmer Krebs is musical director, while Alan Hale is the name sportscaster. SMART LABOR RELATIONS MARKS OPERATION OF HEARST'S WISN WISN's locally-produced show.- include: Milton Brandl's musical clock, featuring request numbers, from 6-9 a.m. (par- ticipating); .'Ann Leslie's Scfapbook' from 10:45-11 a.m., spieled by Mary Ann Le May along home economics lines under participating sponsorship; 'Down by Herman's' from 12:45-1:15 p.m., a participating German band idea cooked up by Elmer Krebs; 'Mary Ann Presents,* another stanza by Miss Le May, this one presenting guests from 1:30-1:45 p.m. (sus- taining); Jimmie Conway's participating man-on-the-street at 4:45 p.m.; an Xmas script show for kids at 5:15 p.m., spon- sored by Gimbel's department store; 'Styles in Rhythm,* a participating house orchestra production at 6 p.m.; plus sev- eral transcribed shows. Local and visiting big shots are in- terviewed each Sunday at 9 a.m. on a 'Breakfast Club' stanza. Alan Hale and Jimmie Conway are featured as newscasters. Civic tie-ins are adequate. WEMP is the local station, being jointly owned by Gene Dyer (who bought out Ralph Atlass' interest some years ago), Charles Lanphier, Glenn Roberts (attorney), and Herb Mount (attorney). Contrary to industry gossip, the LaFol- lettes (traditional Wisconsin political family) never had a dime in the station. Charles Lanphier, once with WHFC, Cicero, runs the place. Charlie La Force is program direc- tor. The. total staff includes 37 members. Three union mu- sicians are the quota, but WEMP employs eight Music, sports and news are big ijtems here. But since Mil- waukee has about 150,000 Poles, plus numerous other nation- alities, WEMP uses fare directed at Creations, Swiss, Hun. garians, Italians, Jews, Czecho-Slovakians, Poles, Germans; and Slavs. Most of these stanzas are spotted on Sundays op. posile big network shows. The Polish and German stuff, however, is run daily. Except for a Jewish dramatic group) the whole works is musical. ' As mentioned before, WEMP has been very cagey in the way it snares department store business. This is how the deal was worked: figuring that the primary inlerest pf any store (especially in a tough city like Milwaukee) is to get 'em into the emporium, the station sold the sponsors on the idea of using institutional shows with audience-participation twists. All of the programs are put on directly in the store, thus luring customers there. And most of them run daily! The Boston store, for instance, has Charlie La Forces man- on-the-street from a radio theatre...in the store. Inter- viewees, instead of spieling over the air, spiel into a record- ing machine and the resulting disc is aired so the partici- pants can hear themselves talk. Later they get the discs for souvenirs. Gimbel's meantime has an 'Open House' in which clubs, women's organizations, etc., use the store for clubroom and broadcast their meetings. The same store a9- ditionally has a 'Radio Workshop* in which dramatic groups from colleges, clubs and schools broadcast plays from the store, Schuster's and Sears-Roebuck—also WEMP custom- ers—use straight announcements plugging merchandise. The rest of the schedule includes lots of music, five news periods daily, and some sports. Allen Trimm pilots the par- ticipating musical clock from 6:30-7:45 a.m., and also has a session of songs. There's a 'Lost and Found Column' at noon as a service to listeners. Elmerk Ihrke has a sponsored 'Stiimp Me' show at 4:45 p.m. Eskimo pie sponsors-grade school dramatics, while the used car dealers operate a mythical auto race and give away prizes. There's also a sponsored series called 'Union Label* in which the A. F. of L. tells listeners the advantages of union-made goods. By way of civic stuff, WEMP has a series on- the lives of famous Wis- consin people, and ties in heftily with civic and fraternal groups. Business is largely local, although some national spot and regional accounts are starting to come in. Merchandising is soft-pedalled. THE CUSTOMERS National and regional spot accounts or^ the three Mil- waukee stations are as follows: Anielcan llnme TroOucM CUickclt-Snmplc-iliiminrrt UenrU!! WHlch., J. Ir. "rHivlitr* nulovn 'Wntrli ;...lllc.«« f.-imubcU Ccrc.ll ll. W. K:is(or« Ciirtcr l'ro(liicl» (Anld) smnll Si Scirtcr* (•unci's LUUe Liver l'lll!< sticn Money* <'hryslcr J, siIiIIiik (Icli-hrll* Clnrk Cindy .Mlicit 1'. Hlll« ClilcoKO Tcihnlcnl Collt-KO Crltchtlcld Coca-Col.-i Ilollllne ; V:inilcrl>lo i ItnUrns Coo.i-Colft IlollIInK Vnnilcrl'lc ,t riulicnj* ColBatcU!.llmolL\ui-i:e£t—(Ael). llonton Jt Howies* riown t:oik .t SmI Ucnjnmln ICuhlcmnn* Wnllcr Scott DryUurch ft .Si.i) UlrccI* '■;■■<-'•«■■' lOK. Kr12« Kilwnnrn Molnr. Co Ncl.iS('r-.M<-verhoft* Kfniliilnc I'inilucis Spot nioiuli nsllrn* Klr.''t Wi.-iconfln Null. H.ink Scoll-Tclnmlcr* Kll/.n.itrii k Bios.. ; Nclit.iei -Mcycrliorr '',> '''>; * I.iiucson Jc s.ilomcn« l'r.ink Pure I'ond ...DJm'l* Kovtl Motor N 'w' Ayer* Fo.itcr-Mlllillrn , .sVol "il!o.n<lcn.itlnK« Airs. Ocbprn Home Almlij Aiiron Co Dlrci l* Ocnonil KoodH llcnK.n ft Howln Onrdner Jvurscrlea Nurllnvcst nnilio ncncial Mllln (Oold Meilal. Klx, Wh^-ntlrs) 1>-S-II Jt Knos nnvn Cirinin .MfK. Co... U«rnilnRlialli, Cuellrmnn & Vifrcf* >louROhol(l Finance lillu^O .Ins. Ileddon ^1 Sons ' irs H Snillh* Hemphill DiMCl .School ' Crltchfli:M Illinois renlml nil Cnnles Independent Milwaukee llicweiy Direct*. ■ Induslrlnl TinlnlnE Cn ][_ iVimkc'it A.'isoilnteB Oaiv.ild J.neeei- UnkUiK KInu-Viin rieler.ioni-nnnlHii* Keen nick Mfc. Cn DIrecl* Klncsbury nrewei lcs !c'r';i'ii'icr-k lasseIt* riion. I.ecinInK (Pnciiuln) Win l>ly* l.ever Uros imihiiiiirt ,t )ly«n* Life Mncnzlns nUD^t)* J.:L'°" "•■'•''I"'-' .'.'....I'.l'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.Gustav'iinr.t Adv.* Ihos J. l.linon VolinK & Itublcnin* .Tiw I.ow« Cnrii Dlntr • 2'!'^'^"'..*= Myers Tolmccn .'.'.'.'.".'.■.■.".'.'.■.".'.N'eHeir-i-:tniiictl* I. oo<e.\\lle9 Biscuit \ewcl|.l.;niin»tt Luilens... _ J J, Mnih.s* k^n '-""tuf Kell.v. .Siuhlmnn & Znhin.lt iV, f.V 1 ^.u""'" f^'V- --. vKlau-Van I'leleisoni-Dunlni)' Maryland. I'hnnnnceullcnl .■ ..- . . jos Kmz* Miles Ij\bs ........... " *' WihIc*. Mllwnukec Dairy Council V.'.".'.■.■.■.■.'iloVrbon Adv.* M ivaukce (;.-i« Mght Co i^.,, Uci.n Adv.* W waukee Livestock E^chance Direct MlUv.iukec Western Fuel Scnii.-ivinndir* Nntlnnal Dairy Vrod.... (.SMite.sll McKeo .t AlhriKlit Life In;. allc.snn-FoK.nil.v-Jordnn ^ 1,"'','^ ^ "f^"'" .1. Walter •I homnson' I'nte on Co. ,„hn i, .IIUMtl ,M. .«crd.-* pL'"i:v7 , ...nutchmson* rianklntnn rncklnc CiHiucr-KrafrcIt Procter & nBnil.lc (Ivoiy. White . aiihths, Cildco)..; Complon Procter * Gamble (Uuz) Cnmpton* n!I?ur '^i'.'"■ Xlieiman K. J5III'* Jtnllwny I.xpre.is , ("iinlrs' •J. E. Rnuh ClKnr ■"■'.Direct* II.lv-LlKht Tradlnit Co .'.Vniiiicr-Kinneell* nold Murdoch noeeia St Smith* Hockwood & Co.. ., Federal riolter Bnklnc ; ..Allen Jtlcsellinch Adv.* iloimdy. I'eckhum a Dcvter Co Nelsscr-Meverhofl* Snilttr nro.« j. d. Taichnr* .Ins. Schlltz Brewlnif Mccdhnm. loiils & llrorl.y* >.lnnco McCann-F.rlckjcn i tllltles KnKincerlnK limt First rnlled nrondcietcra yick Chemical , Morse Inlernnllonnl* \VRdhAms Oil (division nf Socony-Vacuum) Scntt-Tclnnder Wander Co. Tllacketl-.SniUDlc-Hummert* Wflfaie nidK. Si Loan Ac-n... Direct* White I,ul»« Wm. Ksty* Wilson ft Co , •. AdvcrllsInK* wl.<iconsln Electric I'oivei ; Direct * Accounts marked with an aslerlsk u.-e announcemenle. chnlnbrenka, or time Klunnls. Ripley Recoimoiters Troy For New Wilder WTRY Troy, N. Y, Dec. 26. Construction on WTRY, a new one In the. Harry C. Wilder list, is slated to start in a few weeks unless the losers in the litigatron over WTRY's franchise take the case to the U. S. supreme court. The District of Co- lumbia court of appeals last week by a unanimous decision denied the ap- peal of WOKO-WABY, Albany, and the ' Tri-City Broadcasting Co., of Schenectady, from an FCC decision conflrmiQg WTRY's assignment Fred L. Ripley, now with Wilder's W.«VP .«;vraRiKe. and the desienated manager for the new outlet, was in Troy last week checking on trans- mitter details. Studio will be in the Proctor Theatre building. Troy Record, which with the Timej^ Rec- ord Jias favored the Troy station, edi- torially scored the appellants for ■their 'dog-in-the-manger attitude*' Arnold Turns Respectable Philadelphia, Dec. 26. Murray Arnold, press agent for WIP, has been upped to the post of program director, to replace James Allen, who resigned last week to join the staff of WFIL as program chief. Arnold will also double as press chief temporarily. Robinson, Munson And Stevens East for 'Town' Hollywood, Dec. 26. Edward . G. Robinson takes up three-week origination for 'Big Town' in New York Jan. 16. Ona Munson, Leith Stevens, Crane Wil- bur and William Robson make the jaunt It's the customary trek to please the sponsor. After a holiday recess. La Fend- rich cigars resumes sponsorship Jan. 14 of the Sunday afternoon Smoke Dreams series fed by WLW, Cinn., to the NBC Red network. WNEW^s New Plant WNEW, New York, is currently modernizing its studios. Refurbish- ing includes everything from new control panels to mikes* ofTice equip- ment and repainting. Should be com- pleted by first of year. Part of the cash set aside is for a new antenna; when and if the FCC okays a current application for a di- rectional radiator. Included in that application is a plea for a boost in night-time power to 5,000 watts. Outlet currently operates on 5,000 day, 1,000 night Loose-Wiles May Expand Transcribed 'Uncle Jimmy' Loose-Wiles Biscuit Co. may ejc- pand its 'Uncle Jimmy' (transcribed) campaign- in. a big way. Newell- Emmett is looking into the stations and time availablei Series is now being carried in sev- eral midwestern and southern mar- kets. Janet Murrow recently' broadcast with Ed Murrow on a CBS trans- atlantic from tiOndon to give a pic- ture of Christmas shopping in the English capltaL