Variety (May 1941)

Wednesday, May 7, 1941 RADIO SI WHAT FARMERS TUNE IN ON 20 Highest-Rating Evening Programs NBC Refuses Kids of the Week' As Too Much like 'Quiz Kids' NBC home office has ruled that Lime Cola's 'Kids of the Week' show will not be permitted to go over the Blue Pacific Network on the ground that this' program has too much in common with 'Quiz Kids,' which is on the NBC transcontinental blue for Alka-Seltzer. Top NBC officials took this sUnd after the Wade agency, which handles the three Alka-Selt- zer programs on NBC, had lodged a vigorous protest against the accept- ance of Lime Cola's show. 'Kids of the Week' was slated to start on the Coast link last Sunday (4), with Seattle the point of origin. Davis and Pearson, agency on the Liime Cola account, has declared that legal redress will be sought for breach of contract The Lime Cola stanza may meanwhile be put on the Don Lee Network. Lnm and Abner Back Hollywood, May 6. Lum and Abner go back on the air over NBC Coast Red network starting June 2 for Alka-Seltzer. Deal calls for transcontinental air- ing in the fall. FBI Nabs Five For Threatening 'Caster On Lindbergh Stand Miami, "May 6. Local office of the FBI here has uncovered the fact that five high school students were responsible for alleged telephone calls and letters threatening Frank Malone, WIOD news commentator, with death un- less he ceased criticising Charles A. Lindbergh in his newscasts. The "five, four of whom are 15 years of age, and one 16, were arrested by the FBI with the aid of the Miami and Miami Beach police. After a brief hearing before U. S. Com- missioner Roger E. Davis, they were released in custody of their parents until the case is further investigated. They are subject to 20 years- in prison and $5,000 fine each. The youths, all Miami Beach resi- dents, were apprehended by traced telephone calls and a check of all local high schools for handwriting specimens. One of the 15-year-olds admitted writing a letter to Malone, threaten- ing him with death if he continued to criticize the stand taken by Lind- bergh, and of making telephone calls to the Malone home on three sepa- rate occasions. The other boys ad- mitted they were present during the telephone conversations which, in the signed statemfent of the caller, caused them to have 'a good laugh about the whole thing.' Malone, informed of the boys' statement, said: 'It might have been a joke to them, but youthful humor can be cruel. ... I have no desire to prosecute these boys for their mis- guided sense of humor, but the dis- position of their case rests with the Government and not with me.' . T)nffy's Tavern' Lays Off; Has 26-Week Pickup Schick Razor will put 'Duffy's Tav- ern' (CBS) on the shelf for 13 weeks after Saturday's (10) broadcast. The account has already been given a firm 26-week order to CBS for the show following the layoff. MBS Drops Info (hi Grosses Over Weher s Dissent L SURlin OF RUmiL HABITS Cooperative Analysis of Broadcasting Finds Time of Broadcast Probably More Significant Than Pro- gram Content—But City- Country Tastes Have Some Marked Discrepancies CORN PAYS OFF Over the objections of general manager Fred Weber, the Mutual network board last week voted to abolish the practice of releasing to the trade press the monthly gross figures on time sales. In taking this action. Mutual lined up five months after NBC and CBS had adopted a similar policy after 10 years of dis- closure of income. Weber deplored the loss of 12 clear-cut annual opportunities for Mutual alone to get publicity breaks through the gross stories. No secret as to the motives of the industry: they don't want to keep reminding the politicians that radio is prosperous. WRUL ASKS POLICE AID AFTER FASCIST THREATS Scituate, Mass., Mzy 6. Continued threats against WRUL, broadcasting shortwave programs directly beamed at Europe, has prompted the station to appeal to state police for added protection, to- gether with officers from the Nor- well barrscks. WRUL was mentioned in a com- munication from Mussolini as broad- casting pro - democratic message which led to the uprising in Yugo- slavia. Station officials term their appeal as a 'precautioncry measure.' Hobart Monte, who was installed as news editor two months ago, de- nied today (Tuesday) that the War Department had instigated the as- signment. Monte said he had re- signed his connection with the de- partment (senior information officer) before coming to Boston. Brown Vice Stanford Brad Brown has replaced Tony Stanford as producer of Wrigley's Gene Autry show on CBS. After next Sunday's (11) broad- cast, the series will originate from the Coast For the fourth time since 1937 the Cooperative Analysis of Broadcasting is issuing this week a special repori on the radio hcbits and program preferences of the rural audience as against the city audience. Since all statistics normally employed in the radio program field are metropolitan statistics, the C.A.B. study is an at- tempt to fill in the missing part of the puzzle with respect to plow- jockeys and the tank-town crowd. Most obvious conclusion from the new survey is that the rural audi- ence listens more in the daytime than the city audience, and vice-versa at night. While the C.A.B. does not ex- plain the underlying reasons for this phenomenon, an explanation is per- haps superfluous. The hzyseeds sim- ply crawl in and out of bed earlier than city folks. ■ Paralleling this listening trend, country ratings are likewise higher than city ratings in the daytime, and smaller at night. The average rural daytime rating is 6.2, as against a city average of 5.5. But at night the rural average is only 10.8, whereas the city average climbs to 12.8. This dia- metrically opposed situation between city and country can be demonstrated in another way. In t)ie daytime, 39% of all programs rate 7.5 or higher on the farm, while in the cities only 28% get into these upper brackets. How- ever, at night 62% of all programs rate 10 points or higher in the city, whereas on the farm only 44% get Into the 10-or-over class. As between categories of programs —that Is, when programs are classified by content—the city and the farm don't show much divergence. Va- riety-type programs as a whole have first place in both areas. Drama is second choice in the cities and third choice in the country (where audi- ence participation hold the No. 2 spot), but otherwise the preferences are fairly parallel. Such a result is, of course, not unexpected. Sponsors rarely build programs to fit one type of audience to the exclusion of an- other. Therefore, country folks are Timited by choice to the same pro- grams as city folks.' And—ergo— program tastes by classes of pro- grams are bound to be pretty parallel. Tastes Vary That the country does not match the city 100% in ta-ste, however, is clearly shown when individual pro- (Continucd on page 61) LAWYER SCORES Polakoff Wins Point in Suit Vs. Hill and Luckies Moses Polakoff, attorney, won the second round of his $250,000 battle against Edwin C. Hill, the American Tobacco Co., and Columbia Broad- casting System, Inc., when the ap- pellate division of the N. Y. su- preme court reversed a supreme court decision dismijising the action, arid ordering a new trial. Polakoff claims he was libeled. The attorney says that he was accused of being a • crooked lawyer and a mouthpiece in a commentary by Hill, Aug. 12, 1937, concerning Lucky Luciano. Hill denied the charge and said he I had not referred to Polakoff, and the supreme court upheld this .slale- I ment. The appellate division felt that what Hill intended to say. and what he did say, justified a new trial, based on the court's charge tp the original supreme court jury. 20 Highest-Rating Daytime Programs^ I ■- T !■. i ; 4, • Because of tie-ratings, the rank of these programs appears in an unconventional (but correct) manner. j' Ruthrauff & Ryan Continues Nine Programs on Webs Over Summer; AHER FIVE YEARS AIR MAY REGAIN H.J. HEINZ H. J. Heinz, the food processor, may be back on one of the networks in the fall after an absence of five years. It's considering a night-time show as well as a daytime strip. The last time Heinz was on the air it had the Grand Duchess Marie as the fea- ture. Maxon is the agency. Ruthrauil & Ryan agency will hav«i> »j nine shows running on the networksi' through the summer as things nowl if Louis vs. Conn, Jacobs' 1st Fight On MBS June 18 stand. The two programs in doubt^' are the Ben Bernie show (Emerson!', h Drug) and 'Uncle Jim's Question Bee* . (Spry). Both of these have contracts!'(.Kf taking them to the end of June. 'Big):; Town' (Rinso) goes off CBS July 2;,: but it wiU be back in the fall withi' the same leads (Edward G. Robin-J/ son and Ona Munson) intact. There:; will be a summer pinch-hltter in thi9> spot. ' The R. Si R. programs tagged forf; summer rides are Lanny Ross;^- (Campbell Soup), Major Bowes U (Chrysler), 'Court of Missing Heirs'!:: and 'Good Will Hour' dronizedf' Yeast), and th"! Lever Bros, stanzas,). 'Aunt Jenny,' 'Big Sister' and 'Grand Central Station.' In addition thel- New York end of Y. & R. will have* the new Saturlay morning show on.;- the NBC-Red. T Chicago branch of the samei- agency will fold 'Girl Alone' andV 'Your Dream Has Came True' (Quaker Oats) at least for the sum- mer. First boxing match of the Madison Square Garden syndicate to be broadcast by Mutual under the re- cent deal with Mike Jacobs will be on June 18 (outdoors) between Billy Conn and Joe Louis. Gillette has not selected the callers or de- cided how many of the Mutual list of 175-odd stations get the event. ' Meantime, it is not thought out- door events are involved, or that NBC's suit to abrogate the Mutual- Jacobs deal on the grounds Jacobs violated a prior verbal okay to NBC can prevent this event. Because of the listening audience big fights draw to radio. Mutual has been jubilant and NBC vexed at Jacobs' switch of loyalty. ICE CREAM SPONSORING KTRH ARMY MUSICALS Houston, May 6. To the long list of local radio sta- tions originating entertainments out of army camps with army talent add KTRH, Houston. It has Dairyland Ice Cream sponsoring a Sunday half hour from three nearby camp.';, Camp Wallace, Camp Hulen and Ellington Field. On first program from Camp Wal- lace Bill Wyrick, a draftee formerly with Herbie Kay orchestra as a clari- netist, acted as musical director. Camp morale officer, Lt. Col. Walter Ogden, lined up the talent. Charles Glezendanner, Jr., of advertisintj agency here bearing that name, sug- gested the program and acted as pro- ducer. Commercials are kept to a chaste minimum. Milwaukee Jounial Opens FM Station; Lands One SpMSor^ ■ ; Milwaukee. M?y 6. : Inaugural progranri rf T'-'e Mil- j waukee Journal's comTicvcial FM j station, W55M. wept on (hj air Sun- ] day (4), but with no pnrlicular hullabaloo, that being reserved for the completion of Its new towers and plant about 90 dn.vs hence. At that time power will also be uppcd from 1.000 watts to 50,000 walls, mak'ng it the most powerful station in the state. First ' FM commercial program Cmusical) was sold to the Roth Ap- pliance Co.. local dislributors for Slromberg-Carlson, which contrrcted for a 15 minule Sunday period for the year. Latest check shows ap- proximately 1,500 FM re':3lvers owned in this avoa. W55M's daily schedule Is from 10 a.m. tu 10 p.m. I;:: Boston, May 6. WiaB, Yankee network's Fre- quency Modulation stall' n ot Pax- Ion, began (1) operation on a com- mciclal basis, wllh a .'ix-;lay grant by the FedcrrI Co..imuri!c3llons Commi.sslon to use 50,0C0 watts. Sta- tion (ormerly.was V/IXOJ, fir.it in country to inaugurate a rc'jular 16- hour daily schedule, and has been in continuous experimental operation :<ince May 27, 1939. Both W43B and its sister station W39B, atop Ml. Washington, N. H,. are afliliated with the American net- work of FM stations, of which John Shepard, 3rd, Is president.