Variety (Apr 1941)

Wednesday/AprH 23, 1941 , RADIO 23 -MAGAZINES -NEWSPAPERS -^Aimi^iPERS The tablievbelpW/ compUed this YAHifiit Research, and Informafion Service.'shows'what the dtizena pi. the U, S. paid-but to read newspaipers, magazines, and farm papers; It also' shows what they shelled oilt in order to keep their radios humming. It should irrimediately be obsei^ed that, although radio is 'free,' listen- ers actually pay more to hear the 'free' programs than, they pay lor all the "magazines and newspiai^iers combined.: It costs the . U. S. public $740,- pOO.OOb for the mere .physical facilj Benny, Kate Smith, etc.-; On the other hand,'Vall the newspaper and magazine readers In- the land only iiaid $735,000,000 to buy. their favorite printed media at the newsstarid or through the mai^^^ ^ , ' .: Farni papers had a bad year in 1940; Their circulatibii doUar vdluinc dipped 12%. 'The year before it had dipped l%i Magazines and newspapers did all right, both showing gains. Magazineis ■ • 4' • •-• > < Total money spent by readers in the pnrchase of mifasine isubscrlptipns and sinKle-cplty sales Percent change over 1939.:. :. .. '; .243, Monthlies.., .V.\..... . ... ' •;.39^.W^ekli6s^;i...-. ^^y•'■.^., '25 Group Publicaitipns. ; . i. . ... 10 . Semi-Monthlies , ,.......... ,18 Bi-Monthlies.,...;.. 10 MiscfellaneoUs 4 Quarterlies .;. , i Daily .;...... ..... i;...'. '.:. ]: . 3 Annuals . .i....... 19 Free Publications......... 106 Publications, riata Missing. $97,432,767 52,027,716 .iZ6,728,081 iB;502,l68 2,181,347 846,274. 365,227 316,040 31,239 .( + *$188,430,85» ■ ■ .+6% 1%)' , 9%) (+ 16%) . (+ 7%) . (+154%). : ; (—25%) (+82%) ;. (— 70%) . Ir- 7%) Newspapers Total money spent by reistders in tbe .parcbiise of morning, evenipc, and Sunday newspapers............ . . v . . . tl546,601,85S , Percent change over 1939...,..,.. . . ... . +3% 16,114,018 daily morning circulation at $9.24... $148,893,526 (+4%) 24,895,240 daily evening circulation at $9.24.. . 230,032.018 (+3%) 32,245,444 Sunday circulation at $5.20...,;... .167,676,309 (+2%) Farm Papers Total money spent, by readers in the pnrcbase of farm papers *.'..*.... i..; • • * * * Percent change over 1939. • • • • >. 92 Monthlies $5,505,678. 24 Bi-Weeklies ........................... 1,839.936 ; 15 Weeklies ......:....;.;.....1,416;830 • ;i2 Semi-Mohthlieis .............;.. 411,056 5 Dailies . . \^w. .. 342,716 J Bi-Monthly . . ....................... 41.775 ... 1 Group Publication.,.. ^.., 40,46? ; 2 Semi^Weeklies ............... 16,305 2 Quarterlies .................. ... . 15,224 ;2:Annuais .;v...y..-..Vi...v.; : .2,537 10 Free Pabiications....i....... ...... 34 Publications, Data.Missing.,. *$9,632,526 ^ ... .—i2%- (—14%) . (—7%) (+ 1%)': / (—27%) (+ 1%) (— 1%) (+100%) ; (—85%) (—13%) (—20%) Radio Total money spent by listeners in the piircliase; operation, repair and upkeep of radio sete. Percent dianVe over 1939.. .... New. set sales. Repair services................ Use of electricity and cost of batteries.; Parts and supplies used in repairs.; ..... Tubes , .. ..... . ........ i. .........: $385,000,000 65,000,000 200.000,000 57,000,000 33,000,000 t$740.0d0,000 ..+22% (+33%) (+8%). (+21%) .. (+14.%) (—27%) .* Circulation data in the January, 1941, Magdzirie and Farm Paper Sec- . tUm of Standard Rate &^ Data used as base for the compilation. > . t Circulotton dflto supplied through the courtesy of .Editor A. Puolisner. t Compiled by Dr. Oresties H. Caldwell, editor of Radio Today. Even though he only recently signed a renewal with Jell-O (Gen- ; eral Foods): which- takes him .up. tb June,. 1942, Jack Benny has been ap- proached , by' the . Ward "Wheelock agency, through, his agents, - A & S Lyons; about •making a deal for t'le, 1942^3 season. The client, would .be Gampbell Soup/" iJnder Behnyfs latest contract with General Foods the: latter is obligated the Sunday 7-7:30 p.rn. period to the^ . comic's jtiext sponsor. V ; Chicago, April 22. Grant agency. here, haridliftg the Dr. L Q.! program for. M=rs candy, has just set a deal for the: show to originate in the Fox,. Detoit starting June 2 and. funning for six weeks. '■. I. Q. quiz program is currently ofiginating on . the stage of the Capi- tol, Washington. ,.. MORE^P.&G. SHUFFLES Scnpps^Idwari^ ^NOXy Khdxville, Wins Deypite Supppsed: Frowiit : " v; V of • Adhiinishrala Man ;Wh6 ; Li ck ie d ASGAPV i« Retained 1>y Station-p w n i ng Newa- papersr-r-But Aiqipfher At- torney of National Stature iiihy Be Added forTt^ -Showdown COMMITTEE MEETS Sidney M. Kayi, v.p; aivd: bperatr ing head of Broadcast Music, Inc., and before: that a Columbia Broad- casting System lawyer,, has been re- tained as counsel by the group of newspaper-owned stations which will direct the ^ defense- strategy in the forthcPming inVestigatipn of news-, paper stations' by the Federal. Com- munications Commission. -Because of icaye's previous tieup with CBS some quarters in the. trade 'are inclined to the opinion .:that' his appointment presages an alliance between CBS and NBC,, oh one hand, and. the newspaper-owned . stations, oh the other, m .opposing FCCJ trends on the monopoly issue.. This Interpretatioii was yesterday* (Tuesday) ■ termed baseless in both newspaper and net- work camps. Kaye's appointment, It was saidi ■vt^as on the crest pf his prestige . 'the man. - who licked AS'CAP.' While Kaye will. have charge of colleciing defense data for the FCC's investigatibh and also direct the le-: galistic strategy as well as the pres- entation of cpunter-eyidence,. the newspaper committee will likely en- gage a lawyer with a'natipnal repu-; Station to head its legal front, Because of the time required to. gather the nedessary data, the Ihitial move: by the committee's cpimsel will prob- ably be to ask for a postponement of the iiiquify from any date that: the FCC may be inclined: to set just now; ' This committee - of: newspaper- owned outlets includes Mark Eth- rldge, of WHAS,. Louisville; Gardner Cowles, of the Iowa Network; Harold Hough;^ pf: WBAP,: Fort Worth, „and James W. Cox, Jr., of WHIQ, Dayton, and WIOD, Miami. In taking pver the newspaper-sta- tions assignment Kaye will give up active participation In the operations of BMI, though he will retain the titles of v.p.. and counsel; . Compton ind Peddlar; * Illyaja Swap . Shows and . Brand* \ : • Procter & Gamble, this week de- cided, on shifts -for' two: mor«i|. "of .i^ serials! Mbyes Will be in addition to the. general ; realighmeht itemized :in last. week's VARiExy. . New' moves win transpose the products, agencies and timies for 'Pepper .Young' ,iahd 'Guiding Light.' : 'Pepper,^ , now' plugging Camay soap, handled by Pedlar & Ry.an and scheduled • at 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday pn NBC red (WEAF), gets, white naphtha as • its . product, goes to the Compton agency and moves to 11:15 a.m/Pn the; same net- work. 'Light' makes just the reverse changes. !Pepper' is authored by Elaine Sterne Carrington; and "Light' by Irha P.hiliips. : •Rise of/the Goldbergs,' reported last Week to be goin^ from Blackett- Sample-Hummert- to Gomptp.n and changing from .OxydPl to . Duz, eflective July 1, is now slated to make the switch next Monday (28) also. . "Mary. Marlin,! currently handled by Compton, shifts July 1 to Benton & BPwIes exclusively. ; Euclid Up to-pate ., Mac Benoff, gagi-wtiter, tossed this iearhed pun into a recent script conference for 'Duffy's Tavern'program:; 'fhe .ihortesjt . distdrice td a joke ii a atraighifs line.'. . :. FCC MONOPOLY Columbia Brbadcasting System net profit totalled $1,487,685 in the first three months of the present financial year ended last March 29 or: more' than $200,000 ahead, of the $1,284,331 shown In the first quarter last year. Gorppration's net. :iirnbunted to. 87c per share as against 75c In 1939. Net profit before' providing for federal income and excess profits taxes was $2,358,947 as compared with $1.- 921,886 .in the firsts three months last year. The CBS* statement, which was issued April 16, revealed $14,685,766 gross income • which was nearly $2,000,'d00 Increase: .over the $12.- 777,065 shown in: the first quiarter. last year. .'V:.^: ;-. .Corporation noted that provisions for federal iricome and excess profits taxes for'this year and in 1,940 were, calculated under the Sepond Reve- nue Act of 1940, as amended on: March 7 this year. Federal income .taxes for the quarter were figured at $585,461 compared with $473,754 in corresponding quai-ter last year, while excess profits taxes were listed as $285,800 as cpmpared with $163,800 in like period of 1940. ' Carey Jennings, formerly manager pf KGW-KEX, Portland, Ore., has assumed managerial duties at station KWJJ. - ; ; V Washington, April 22, With another -deadline .come and gone, speculation continues when the Federal •. Communications Cpmmis- sion will let go .y/ith its final report pn the chain-monopoly investigatipu, but deliberations are in the last staged. Previously the regulators ex- pected to have concluded the nasty chore by mid-April; npw it is doubt^- ful if , anything will see daylight be- fore May 1 at the soonest. Pick and shovel wPrk on the 100- odd.pages^ of the report w^is finished in a burst of speed last week. No formal votes have been taken, how- ever, on any pf the various Issues, although the divisipn is pretty well crystalized with exponents of the strict regulation philpsophy in the majority. No proposed rules em- bodying the views and theories of the majority have been brought up. however, and it is still problematical whether the Commish will promul- gate specific shalt-nots or merely iset fprth its general policy; Nor is there assurance that—in the evient concrete regulations are a product of the long deliberations—Uiere wUl be a hearing prior to their application, at which , possible victims could .register objections. • ' , .' '• . WINCHELL REJECTS A SECOND AIR SHOW An offer to Walter Winchell for a second weekly program for Wood- bury's, which control Jergens, in ad- dition to his Sunday broadcast for the latter; was rejected by the columnist- commentator. Proposal was for him to take over in Juiie when Tony Martin withdraws. Woodbury's advertising manager, Robert Beaucus, came from Cincin- nati with the offer, which calls for the same terms per week as paid Winchell for the Jergens program. Columnist said he did not care to assume the added burden; besides which income taxes with .the -second program would leave him very,little net. Washington, April 22. ; 9jias against press-owned station* wa's weakened. again, for a few mo- merits, anyhow, : when the Federal Communications: Commission last week up'ped ,Scripps-H6ward's outlet, WNOX, Khoxville, to 10 kw day and night, with directional ahtennji re- quired. Grant was made by the full Commish, after rumors the news- paper chciin was in the New Deal doghpuse because of Its attitude dur- ing' the 1940 Presidential campaign and anti-war crusading.' The permit, 'occasioned' surprise among mernbers of the radio frater- nity;, who knew' about recent desires of S-H tP ^et mpre .wattage at Mem- . phis. Overtures in this direction en- countered chilliness at the; regulatory body; with negotiators for' the chain getting a startling ultimatum that one of the two Memphis plants must be imloaded before fostering any hopies of increased coverage. ' This' decree was given by one of the sup-, posedly inside element and. apparr ently was indicative pf; the Adminis- . tration attitude, since some regula- tors were uninformed about -this hint of undeclared policy. ■■ There appear to be no strings, on the. WNOX grant, with S-H people vehemently denying that the in- creased jiiice is conditioned pn sale of either Memphis plant. No over- lapping or duplication, It wias noted by Paul M, Segal, the newspaper's radio attprhey, and. the additipnal power does not impinge directly Pn the broad iissue whether newspaper proprietprship is in or against public interest. 'PAINTED DREAMS' MOVES Serial oh :WGN for 11 Tears Goes : To WBBM Chicago, April 22. After some 11 years on WGN and Mutual, the 'Painted Dreams' show moves to . WBBM next Week: for American Family Soap, a- Procter :& Gamble ^ product. Set through the Kastor agency here.: Will ride at .5 p.m:, five days a week. Will be restricted to Chicago since the: soap hes its distribution concentrated in this town. ' fWhatV Your Idea' Goes • .Grant agency here . last week picked ut> option fPr another 13-week stretch:;Pf NBC-Red network time tor "the Mars Co, Forever Yours program. 'What's Your Idea?' ■. Second 13-week stretch; starts as pf June 15. NBC's station relations department has prevailed upon the majority pf the, red network affiliates Involved to cut out the chalnbreak announce- ments they have been running be- tween the Charlie McCarthy and 'Cine Man's Family* shows. Network made the request after it had re- ceived a letter of complaint from John U. Reber, radio head of the J. Walter Thompson agency, which han- dles the two Sunday night programs for Standard Brands. In his letter Reber declared that his office had discovered that a num- ber of stations carrying the prp- grani.s. were slipping in spot an- nouncemei^ts during the station iden- tity., break and that he was of the opinion that this wasn't fair, since tlie two shows belong to the same account and were contracted for un-. der an, hour basis. Copies of Reber's protest were forwarded ■ to NBC-red affiliates: with the added suggestion that they eliminate .the chainbreak announcements. Matter was also taken up with; officers of the Inde-' pendent Radlp Networklaffiliates,; From several stations the network got a kidding reply. These wrote they had a counter proposition. They would be glad to reniove the chain- break announcement in this instance if the network would agree to stop other accounts from appending hitch-., hike announcements to their pro- grams. ■ ' ■ ."■'-':• Chainbreak and,, liitchhlke ain- riouncement practices have been the cause for much bickering between the networks and their affiliates for. :spme time. : Network accounts ha ve complained about the intrusion of spot announcements, while the affil- iates have agitated against the use of. hitchhike plugs. On the latter score affiliates have suggested that if net- work accounts must append hitch- hike announcements they use a mu* sicai background so that the listener will associate this V announcement •."'♦K the preceding progi-am. .