Variety (June 1942)

Wedne«d»f« June 24, 1942 BP nCHTS GAL ENGINEERS KMOX, ST. LOUIS, IN m. STBiKE Union Raue« Issue lliat Re- placements Must Come From Biembcrsllip — Thia Would Wean Ma!e Engi- neers From Lower to High- er Rated Stations Before Women Could Be Eligible TO ARBITRATE St LouU, June 23. A flve-bour strike Tuesday (16) sUenoed KMOX, 50.000-watter outlet of the CBS here, when a iemme en- giheer-tiainee was hired over the protest of the SEW, Local 1277. The strife is to be settled by arbitration. When 21 radio engineers left, Kerle S. .Jones, manager of the station, de- cleCred the walkout was a violation of the contract made last January. After the station's switchboard was swamped with calls, Jones invited Fr^nk Castanie, prez of the local, to a\coi^ab at the station, where lie pointed out that machinery for set- tlement of the dispute is contained in the oontract. The pact calls for the appointment of a committee to settle such dis- agreements and, in the event they • cannot settle It in that way, for the submission of any disputes to artil- tratlon. Castanie phoned international union execs at Washington and agreed to permit the men to return to work and submit the matter to arbitration. The turmoil 'started when lbs, Leta Busb, an amateur radio operator, was employed as an engineer-trainee and was told she would leeeive full-scale union pay when she became ai member of the union, but that she would be dis' missed and replaced by a -former KMOX employee six months .after the end of the war. The union re fused to permit ISxa. Bush in the station's studios and the union super, visor on duty refused to instruct her. According to Jones, Castanie de- manded Ttlrs. Bush's disdiarge with- in an hour end when Jones refused to heed the warning the men wall^ed out • The imderlying question in the KMOX controversy Is of major in- terest to broadcasters throughout the country. Both the networks and indie station operators expect to be stymied in fhehr move to train women technicians to replace thos'e male empIOTecs called into the serv' ice should the union hold to the principle involved in the' SMOX case. The union has no objection to broadcasters engaging women tech' nicians providing there is not avail- able within the local union's juris- diction a male onion member who is capable of flUing the, spot. Since practically all sucfa male monbeis are already employed by other sta' tlona^ insistence on this principle means that the evenings, cqieeially when they pay hitfber -wages. wDl be filled by the p r ocess of weaning men away from other stations. The technicians union takes the view that a meaiber of senior standing has the rl^tt to monetary advancement end that It should not be of any concern to the station paying the higher wage whether hb hiring nay make it tou^ on the replacement capa biUties of some tcmailer competitor. That, holds the dmon, is the concern strictly of the latter station. Waner of CBS to Write WarCoBBuniqDesFor Major-General Smrles Washington, June 22. ~ Albert L. Warner, for the past two years chief local CBS cormnenlator, joins the Army soon as principal -war c<^muniqne writer. He joins the bureau of public relations at -the request of llaj. Gen. Alexander D. Surles who was imitressed with his microphone handling of war news. Warner's spot on the web sdied- ules win be filled temporarily by £ric Sevareid, with Jack Purcell, former New York Daily News leg- man, as stand-by. Before signing up with CBS, Warner -was chief of the New York Henld Tribune bureau here and earlier covered Albany for the Herald Trib. •EW TORK*S NEWEST STATIOli PorQand, Ore., June 23. Promotion campaign to popularize NBC daytime serials has been started bj XGW. the network's local outlet The •Olive is called Greater XGW Summer Serial Season and was launched with « full-page ad in The Oregonian,' followed.by 10 smaller ads. Idea is to acquaint new and fu- ture liousewives about the NBC-Bed serials. The first week ot the cam- paign KGW h^d five 'Bride's Break- fasts' at a local riestaurant, with 20 brides and brides-to-be invited. After the eggs and coffee, .the femmes par- ticipated in a IS-mimile broadcast, HiciiTing the entertainment snd Civic Events Bulletins . Cooperatively Sponsored Worcester, June 23. Group of non-competitive local mer chants are sponsoring over WTAG a daily half-hour program which seeks to acquaint newcomers to the town -with civic matters. Isa- bel Whitaker, -the program's m.c, welcomes the new rodents and de- scribes Worcester's places of Inter- est, schools, clubs, stores and serv- ices. Ufw arrivals are Invited to appear as. guests and they -will rec^e the- atre passes, etc. An orchid is award- ed "The 'Worcester Woman of -ttie Week/ -with the selection made on the basis of service or anniversary. Rejnik-MiUer agency, of New Haven, produces and operates the program. WCPO Marks a Milestone Cincinnati, Jime 23. Celebrating five years of its jtolicy of broadcasting news every hour on the hour, WCFO, Cincinnati, last week pulled several promotion stunts. News and sports stories of five years ago were broadcast again. There -was also a party for young- sters whose fifth birthday jfell on tb^t day, with Mayor James Garfield Stewart giving each kid five War Stamps. ^ Affair -was ballyhooed vla'^'a series of six half-page newspaper ads pre- ceding Friday {19), the day of the celebration. Expand Hughes Schedule American Home Products has add- ed Friday and Sunday to John B. Hughes' schedules, giving the news commentator <our .^ts from that one account, on Mutnal at 10 pjn. Hughes started off with Tuesday and Wednesday periods. He wlti do a sustaining broadcast lor Mutual on Saturdays also. The other two 10-10:15 pm. niches of the week will be occiqtied by Baymond Gram Swing for Gen- eral Cigar. The expansion «f Hughes' s^edules -will require Swing to accept some earlier period on MU' tual it he -wants to do some sus- taining programs. Swing is set to go -with NBC Sept 1. IVomote NBC Daytiners cdncatlbnal -value of serialB. Homer Welch was tax. and die 'breakfast' portion of the camp aign was bandied by Peggy wnUams, KGW director of women's activities. Cheerleals and 'Wheaties are now ^onsoring the baseball broadcasts on KSO, Des Moines, and WNAX, Fargo, on alternating days. Broad- casts are handled by Gene Shumate on,XSO and Don O'Brien on WNAX. Radio Djiffodils « New York City—Press stunt pulled Monday night <22) by WOR-Mutuali for commentator John Hughes Involved some novel angles. Cocktails and dinner were held on board a Chinese junk owned by Al Nilson, WOR en- gineer, who lives on it year-round, anchored off New Bochelle^ N. Y.... Guests for the affair were taken from WOR to New Bochelle in taxicabib as private cars m special busses were unobtainable. Food for the meal, supplied by Ruby Foo's Chbiese restaurant, N. Y., -was also transported by cab. SckeneetaJy. N. T. CoIbcUcbcc:— WGY recently interrupted a broad- cast of the serial, 'Aunt Jenny' to carry air-raid alarm test signals on orders of the First Intercq>tor Command. At the «nd of the test the broadcast of 'Aunt Jenny' was resumed, and the first words' the local an- dlence heard -were,' I saw no reason for coming in sooner.' Forbes New WCCO Boss William E. Forbes has become manager ot WCCO, Mbmeapolis, succeeding Earl Gamiooni -wiio has been made director of CBS' Wadi- ington office. Forbes had been assistant to Don Thomburgh, CBS v.p. in tos An- geles, for ttie past four years. 'Victory Thnragh Chrisf <xoes oh WLIB, BroolOya Bay Ridge Baptist Church, Brook- lyn, has placed ''Victory through Christ,' a.religious series originat- ing in the ehnrdi, -4-4:30 p«w Sun- days bver WIiIB, Brooklyn. Bichard L. Bobinson, pastor of the chnrdi, -wlU coiaduct the program. more people listen to local shows of the following types on WOR than to similar local shows on any other New York radio station . . . 'Answer Man' on KDYL Salt Lake City, June 23. Beginning July 1 KB'YL -will air "The Answer Man' for General Cigar twice weekly. Transcribed version ' by Al Mltdiell. Itlbm Oalbraltli Sponsored San Francisco, Juhie 23. John Galbraith, KGO ne-nscaster, has been graduated to his own pro- gram, 'News by John Galbraith,' for Sensation cigareta. ■ The. station's 'George Applegate— Newij" has been renewed for a sec- ond year by Foreman & Clark cloth- ing firm. David Grinies, chief engineer of Philco corporation, was upped -to vice-president last week in charge of engineering. Joseph H. Gillies, works manager, named vice-presi- dent in charge of radio production, and Bobett F. Herr, manager of the company's parts a!nd service division, made vice-president in charge «f service. COMEDY, SPORTSCASTIRS/SFOtrS BIOADCAST5, NEWS/ QUIZ WOWS^ CHILDREN'S PtOGRAMS, WOMM'S PARTiaPAriNG programs/ HALFrHOUR IVININO SHOWS TIMEBUYERS, ADVERTISERS . • . tt jonr thow, peilupst simikr to oott of the types mentioiied above? la it be* ing cxpofled to hs greateat potential audience? RememberthataloMofeven 1% in New York may mean tfaonsand* of poBsible costomers who are not hear- ing your menage! at 1440 Broadway, in New York