Variety (Dec 1941)

Wednesday, Decembier 3, 1941 BAOilO 31 ADMEN M ADLIB AD COPY Vincent Dailey May Leave WOV, N.Y. Since Dial Change with WNEW—WOV Runs Italian Until 5 P.M., When Gilbert, Corrit Take Over ■ft- Vincent Dailey may etep out as general manager of WOV, New York following the exchange of wavelengths and power with WNEW, on Sunday (30). Dailey, one of the owners of WOV, Is credited w^th doing much to straight- en out that trouble-and-rumor- beset sUtion . which has had scv- •ral managements and as many policies. Arde Bulova has made him- self felt during the past year, but has consistently declined to en- lighten the trade press or most of hS staff as. to his objectives; Along with WOV taWiig WNEWs former 5,000 watU position at 1,280 on Uie dial at least three an- nouncers have departed. They are Lewis Charles, Michael Sage and Alan Courtney. Alan Strong Is running a 7-8 ajn. alarm clock stanza. WOV wlU be Italian here- after from 8 ajn. to 6 pjn. At the latter hour the station will go Eng- lish with Dick Gilbert for a half hour. AUyn Corrls will follow from B:30 to 8 with his 1280 Club following which Gilbert reappears as The Fifth Avenue Troubadors* for two hours. WNEW Adding rrofram* WNEW will add several new shows to its schedule this week to fill in the additional broadcast' hours it has since switching from 1280 to WOV, N. Vs 1130 kilocycles. Zeke Manners resumes the noon-1 p.m. record show he'once did Sunday (7). Charles Hodges, former Transradio newsman, begliu a news shot 4-4:15 p.m.; Kay Lorraine starts a song shot, 4:15-4:30; John B. Kennedy's scheduled for a news roundup 0-6:30; Jerry Abott, another singer, goes into 2:15-2:30 slot and Dance Parade Is Instituted ' O'p.m.-l a.m. In addition the outlet Is going In for live band remotes, do- ing three afternoon pickups starting ' fame day. John Flora, for seven years imder study to Stan Shaw on Milkman's Matinee, owl show, gets chance to handle that session himself now be' cause the show goes on a seven day basis. . Shaw will rest Sunday and ' Monday evenings and Flora will sub. 'Station has added several announcers and . engineers , to handle the in- creased traffic. Bert Wayne, from KYW, PhUadelphla; Harry Wood, wnc, Hartford, are new spielers; Saul Oslas, Al Goldberg, new moni- tors. Al Lawrence is new in news room. Harold Wagner of Elmira Aids Adolph Opfinger Harold Wagner, formerly program director of WENY, Elmira, N. Y., has joined the Mutual staff as assistant to Adolph Opflnger, the network's programs manager. He succeeds George Clapp, who was moved to the sales, service de- partment to concentrate on the Coca-Cola account. FEAR LOCALS Oil New York Agencies Having Trouble WitU Personality Announcers oiF Local Sta- tion* Who Want Right to Use Own Wording, on Commercials WRITERS GUP PAa WITH KNX Hollywood, Deo. I. New agreement for staff writers at KNX has been concluded by Radio Writers GuUd. Two-year deal calls for 10% wage tilt, retroactive to Oct. 12, and sets minimum for seniors at $55 weekly and juniors at $33. Contract, negotiated by True Botirdman, Paul Franklin, Hec Che- vigny and Attorney Aubrey Finn, can be revised at the end of one year to allow for changes in wage scales. Gardner Nursery Begins 11th Year on Radio, Uses 450 Stations to Sefl Plants Seattle, Dec. I. Gardner Nursery Company of Osage, Iowa, will begin Its 11th year of radio advertising on Dec. 15 with the.first of a new series of transcrip- tions selling plants for spring de- livery. At the start 150 stations will be used, with the number being in- creased gradually to 300 during the peak of the spring shipping season. Approximately $306,000 will be spent for advertising by the com- pany during 1042, according to Ed- win A. Kraft, manager of North- west Radio Advertising Co., agency handling the account, and the major part of the appropriation will go to radio. FEAR WASHINGTON As far as some New York agency executives are concerned, the local personality announcer who has de- veloped his own program, mostly of the recording type, seems to be on the way to becoming a problem child. Such a personality may be the pride of the station but to the ad agency which exercises the utmost caution about the wording of a com. merclal so that' the sponsor won't get tangled up with the Washington authorities on product claims he can be a full-grown pain. Where these critical agency men have crossed opinions with the local personality announcers has been on the question of whether the latter should be free to depart from the language of a commercial , as sent to the station by the agency. The local personality announcer argues that the agency's commercials hamstring his style. What makes him dlstlne tlve, he says. Is the way he weaved in and words his sales copy. What has made him. a success, .he further contends, is that he has developed the art of radio salesmanship and that he has been around long enough to know what.' he says about an article. won't contravene the re stralnts of regulations of the Federal Communications Commission or the Federal Trade Commission. In any event, he should be the judge on how a commercial should be. fed to his loudspeaker following. It's the GoycrDment Agency men who feel they have to take a stand on this Issue hold that all these arguments may hold for local furrier and tire accounts but they won't do when It comes to sell-- ing products such as proprietary drugs and cosmetics. It is the agency that knows how far it can go in making claims for the product and it cannot under any circum- stances permit an announcer to de- part from the wording of a com- 'Guiding Light' (Irna Phillips) Off P & G Run Ending—May Go to Either General Mills Or General Foods John Whitmore of Orlando A Compton Supervisor John Whitmore, formerly program manager of WLOF, Orlando, Fla., joined the Compton agency radio department Monday (29) as a pro- gram supervisor. ,. He has not yet been given any definite assignments. EX-LAX ON BLUE WITH ART TRACY Arthur Tracy, • who prior to his migration to Europe five; years ago, did a 'Street Singer' act on CBS and other American outlets, will plug Ex-Lax over a NBC-Blue hookup of 23 stations, starting Jan. 5. It will be a flve-times-a-week schedule at 4 to 4:15 p.m. On the other side he worked from Radio Luxembourg and also over the British Broadcasting Co. Libby-^ens-Ford Seeks Inexpensive Program to Run IS^Week Period Libby-Owens-Ford, glass manufac- turers, Is looking around for a net- work spot and an inexpensive pro- gram to go Into it The run would be limited to 13 weeks. Account was on Columbia Sunday matinees last season. merclal as it had been prepared by. an agency. The client has more to worry about than the restrictions laid down by a Federal commission. An adlibbing announcer might make claims for the product which could subject the manufacturer to suit for false advertising by a consumer. As the law stands the liability is strictly the advertiser's. With such being the case these agency men would prefer to have the personality announcer confine his charm to the program and to recite the commercial Just as it has been written for him. 'Guiding Light,' Irna Phillips se- rial on NBC-Red (WEAF) out of Chicago, will be dropped by Proc- ter gi Gamble with the Dec. 29 broadcast. Show plugs Camay soap and Is handled by Pedlar & Ryan, but had been slated to be shifted to P. & G. naptha and go to the Comp- ton agency. Understood Miss Phil- lips has already been approached re- garding the show- by Blackett-Sam- ple'Hummert in behalf of General Mills and that Young & Rubicam is also interested In it for General Foods. To provide the plug for Its naptha product, P. & G. will shift its 'Right to Happiness,' another Phillips se- rial, from Crlsco and move it from CBS Into the NBC-Red spot being vacated by 'Guiding Light.' 'Right to Happiness' remains with the Compton agency. And to cover the shift of the latter show from Crlsco, its .<!pot on CBS will be taken over by a repeat of 'Vic end Sade,' Paul Rhymer serial already heard on NBC-Red out of Chicago, thus giv- ing it an added airing. Show re- mains with Compton. Previously reported, but also be- coming effective Dec. 26, 'I'epper Young,' by Elaine Sterne Carring- ton, will be shifted frOmi Compton to Pedlar & Ryan and from P. ie G. naptha to Camay soap. It also adds Martin Block as commercial copy readei at that time. "The O'Neills,' about which ther* has been persistent rumor in the trade for some time, will drop its daily 12:15 p.ih. airing over a small NBC-Red hookup, but will continue indefinitely in its 6:30 p.m. spot on CBS.' It plugs Ivory soap. Is han- dled by Compton and produced by Ed Wolf Associates. Jane West, the regular scripter. Is iU, so David Vic- tor and Herbert Little, Jr., are sub- bing for her. 500 Entries In Already for WGN Operetta Contest Chicago, Dec. 2. More than 500 entries have already been received for the $10,500 Ameri- can Operetta contest now under way tinder the auspices of WGN for Its Chicago Theatre of the Air' series. Among those who have already en- tered are David Brookman, George King Raudenbush . of the Toledo Symphony Orch,, Edney Ridge of WIG and Percy Faith, director of the 'Contented Hour' program and who has guested on the Ford Symphony show this summer. H. Emerson McCros'ky of Par- amount has signified that he will have an entry, as has Alfred Hay Malotte, who has written many clas- sical pieces. Also In the contest will be Doric Alvlana, music director of the Massachusetts State College; Paul Vellucci of the Hartford School of Music, and Russel Widoe, music de- partment head of the North Dakota State Teachers College, 36th ANNIVERSARY NUMBER of To Be Published Late This Month USUAL ADVERTISING RATES PREVAIL Special Exploitation Advantages Reservations and Copy May Be Sent to Any Variety Office IJEW YORK HOLLYWOOD CfflGAGO LONDON 1S4 W. 46th SL 1708 No. Vine St 54 W. Randolph St 8 St Martin's PL LUCKY STRIKE BACK OF TIMES ONWMCA? Lucky Strike may move into the two-minute period immediately fol- lowing the N. Y. Times newsbroad- casts which are being carried on WMCA, N. Y., on the hour every hour. The newscasts run for two minutes. If the deal goes through it will b« for 34 spots a week. Gwen De Lany Resigns AFRA Job to Freelance Gwen De Lany, executive-secre- tary of the Detroit local of the American Federation of Radio Art- ists, has resigned that post to go to the Coast to freelance. She Is an actress. C. Nutten, a Detroit atlor- ' ney, has succeeded her as local exec- utive-secretary. Miss De Lany was prominent In AFRA's national affairs. FIVE EXIT NBC BUREAU Lyons Office Has Barbara Jo Allen, Wally Ford, Don Wilson, Others Hollywood, Dec. 2. NBC Artists Bureau has lost five clients to Lyons & Lyons. Making move were Barbara Jo Allen, Wal- lace Ford, Frances Gifford, Martha O'DriscoU and Don Wilson, NBC collects 5% on remaining periods of current commitments. Network Bureau recently settled Dorothy Lamour's detection to Lyons /Vgency ,by .splitting, commission^