Variety (Sep 1942)

f8 RADIO Wcdde^daf, Septoinber 30, 1942 London Evening Star SarcasticaDy Reconunends BBC Listen In To Jack Benny for Lessons London, Sept. 14. The Evening Star of London, mak> Ini; Invidious comparisons between British Broadcasting Corp.'s pro- grams and those in America, says: 'If the BBC cannot originate, they might try to imitate. It is to be wondered whether any members of our own BBC Variety Department ever trouble to listen-in to the Jack Benny American programs which the BBC re-broadcast for us twice a week. These shows are perfect entertainment. They have wit with- out innuendo, melody, a top-grade singer, and in Benny, his wife, Maiy Livingstone, and Rochester, they have personalities round whom the show brilliantly revolves.' 'Here the BBC has an example which they might well emulate, and even copy. But they still give us the same dreary so-called humor— variety with no cohesion and no wit. There is no program here to come within a mile of the Benny broad- cssts. Perhaps they are not meant to." LEGAL SNARLS DELAY DX TAKEOVER Washington. SepL 29. Attorneys working day and night to get contracts Into shape by Oct. for the Government takeover of all shortwave air time have found too many details to be worked out to meet the original deadline. They k ere now aiming at an Oct. 15 in- ' auguration date for Government programing of the DXers, although it will surprise no one if the pacts Bren't ready in time for anything preceding a Nov. 1 getaway. Shortwave time will be shared by the Office of War Information, air- ing to everywhere but Latin Amer- ica, and the Office of the Coordina- tor of Inter-American Affairs, han- dling the south of Dixie territory. Original plan of the CIAA taking iitfa 4 p.m. to midnight daily and the' OWI the other 16 hours of the day has been somewhat revised. As the arrangement stands now, the CIAA will utilize roughly the pe- riod from 5:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Ex- perience has shown that the late afternoon listening audience in Latin America is small and that the late- at-night tuner-inners are more nu- merous. CIAA will later also get some time in the morning for break- fast shows and a period around noon for news broadcasts. OWI's Problems OWI, with broadcasts in scores of languages to worry about, admitted- ly has a much stiffer problem than the CIAA, which deals only in Span- ish and Portuguese. Result is that the OWI has evolved a very com- plicated schedule for use of the 14 shortwavers, while the CIAA has a comparatively simple setup. On the other hand, with so many tongues in which to air,, the OWI Is forced to restrict itself almost wholly to news and comment, while the CIAA will space out its gabbers with some very large-scale dramatic and musical shows. OWI will originate everything for all but stations KGEI and KWID, located on the Coast, from the stu- dios which it has recently had con- structed at 224 W. 57th street. New York city. CIAA will sUrt all of its airings on their way from the foreign division studios of NBC and CBS in New York. CIAA setup is for NBC to at all tiines program in Spanish one group of about five transmitters—which will always air the same program simultaneously, on different wave- lengths—and CBS to program an- other similar group of four or five oiillets. On the Portuguese side (the language of Brazil), CBS and MBC will divvy up the time. There W'ill be two or three stations used exclusively for Portuguese, with pro- grams originating from one com- pany's studios half of each broad- casting day and from the other com- pany's facilities the remainder. GARRETT WINES SPOTS Using 24 A Week VU ButbrauB Se Byan Agency Garrett Wines is lining up a spot announcement campaign through the Ruthrauff Sc Ryan agency. The maximum schedule will be 24 blurbs a week for eight weeks. Tabooed are spots adjacent to bev- erage accounts of any sort and kid shows. World's Series Gaines Reach Yank Garrison Via British System Play-by-play descriptions of the World Series baseball games start- ing today (Wednesday) between the N. Y. Yankees and the St. Louis Cards will be shortwaved via British Broadcasting Corp. to U. S. troops in the British Isles. Don Dunphy, who does the Madi- son Square Garden, N. Y., prizefight broadcasts on WOR, New York, for Gillette razor, will handle the spe- cial shortwave account of the base- ball games. It will not be heard in the U. S., exclusive rights to that being held by Gillette, via WOR- Mutual. On Camp Loadspeakers Louisville, Sept 29. WGRC, local Mutual outlet, which will carry the entire World Series locally, has arranged to pipe the series on a special wire to Fort Knox, about 30 miles from the city. The airings will be distributed over the Fort p.a. systems, and will be piped Into the recreation rooms, can- teens, etc., as a gratis service to the Armored Force^Replacement Center. Station will also transcribe the games, and rebroadcast them at 9:30 each night for the benefit of defense workers, and others otherwise en- gaged during the day. Time has been cleared each nisht on which a series game is scheduled. Station is cooperating fully with Churchill Downs during the race meet scheduled for October. Colonel Matt Winn. General Manager of Churchill Downs is donating entire proceeds of three days racing to the Army and Navy Relief, including' over head, tickets, etc. In return for the privilege of airing the daily races on the first three days of the meet. Manager S. A. Cisler, has vol- unteered to donate every cent of the revenue from air advertising sold during the race broadcast periods. Crosier Heads Wilson Office David F. Crosier has been appolnt- ted manager of the New York office of Howard H. Wilson Co., station rep- resentative. He was formerly with Muzak and previously with Hearst Radio, Pedlar & Ryan and World Broadcasting. Hake MauDinm Use Of Extsting Air Facilities First,'OWI Is ToM Washington, Sept 29, The War Production Board and the Federal Communications Commission have instructed the Government's two foreign propaganda agencies, the Office of War Information and the Coordinator of Inter-American Af- fairs, to make full use of existing shortwave facilities before asking for any more. Edict was handed down after the WPB and FCC sent a ques- tionnaire to the two agencies and to shortwave broadcasters asking them what further facilities they desired or required. What the WPB and FCC referred to as 'existing facilities' are point-to- point transmitters owned by commer- cial companies such as RCA Commu- nications, American Tei&Tel and Press Wireless. A half-dozen or so of these sending equipments are not in use now because the war has cut off direct communication with the countries at which they're beamed. OWI has tried the point-to-point- ers to give it additional outlets. It claims pretty good success, although engineers doubt that these transmit- ters can be picked up by any impor- tant number of tuner-inners. Point- to-point is a very narrow beam aimed at a particular receiving ap- paratus ordinarily operated by the same company that sends the mes- sage. Frequencies regularly used are in-between bands which many stand- ard shortwave receivers are not equipped to pick up and to which their owners wouldn't usually dial, anyhow. Practice has been to air by point-to-point the same shows that are going out on a regular shortwave transmitter. Announcer on latter frequently states that the show may also be heard on the other frequency. What led to the WPB-FCC query on equipment is the fact that there are 21 new shortwave transmitters still in crates and available. These were made for the British Broadcast- ing Corp. before the A\'ar, and their shipment prohibited after Dec. 7. OWI and CIAA have been campaign- ing to put them to use. To do so, however, would require extensive materials for antennae, foimdations, transmitter buildings and other aux- iliary equipment which Is what has the WPB interested. OWI and CIAA have no doubt that they'll eventually get the additional transmitter, but have let their cam- paigns slide for the moment under the pressure of working out agree- ments to take over all prssent short- wave broadcast time. Need for the additional equipment can hardly be denied in light of the fact that Ger- many, against the 14 U. S. transmit- ters, has around 60 working, and is expected shortly to bring the number up to 100. W. S. PALEY RETURNS FROM LONDON TRIP William S. Paley, president of CBS, returned over the weekend from a month in England. He expressed himself as convinced that British- American relations will be improved largely through radio. The Axis will redouble its tactics of striving to spread disunity, he pre- dicted. Organizing Fmancial Support For Pro-Democratic Latin Outlets Washington, Sept. 29. Latin American radio stations, as well as newspapers and mags, will be beneficiaries of greatly increased advertising schedules in that terri- tory by U. S. companies. Upswing will result from a campaign to aid the Latino media by Nelson Rocke- feller's Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs. Rockefeller outfit has .sent out al- most 1,500 letters to leading Ameri- can firms asking for their support. A great majority of replies received to date have indicated that adver- tising managers favor the idea of upping budgets in Latin America and will do so. These pledge cards will be followed up by personal calls of reps of the U. S. Department of Commerce. Indications are that total U. S. ex- penditures for time and space in Latin America will amount to more than $10,000,000 in 1043. This will' be more than the media received before the war cut off a great quantity of the export business ta Latin America. Objective of the hypoed ad plan is to keep alive radio stations and papers and mags which are pro- democratic In character but have suffered very badly from loss of revenue since the U. S. entered the war. Unable, because of priorities and shipping, to send their products south, most American companies dis- continued their advertising sched- ules in the territory. • CIAA has pointed out that it would not'only be patriotic to continue ads, but also good business, because it will keep trade names alive for the time when bu.siness as usual is resumed. Eastman Kodak and Ford Motor Co. are reported to have promised unusual cooperation with the dov- ernment agency In laying out their ad plans. CBS"Best Radio of AnTime' The Columbia network, with the expected oooperation of the other networks, will launch a series of the Best Radio Plays of All Time.' The British Broadcasting Corp. and the Canadian ditto will partici- pate, too. It Is hoped to get the series started In a couple of months. A committee of outsiders will, be invited to ]oin with CBS produc- tion execs In deciding on the scripts that rate the nod. ^eAgmik of (HB, Toronto, Gets Canadian Job in New York City JOE JULIAN'S IDEAS Would Like to Make Action Beoords With U. S. Troops Joseph Julian, who returned to the U. S. last week after narrating Norman Corwin's 'American in Eng- land' shortwave series to CBS, hopes to get an assignment to make a series of action recordings with American troops in various parts, of the world. His idea is to wax the actual battle- sounds, as well as scenes of soldier life in far spots where U. S. forces are stationed. He would produce the platters and do all the necessary writing and narrat- ing himself. Actor was offered a director- producer job by British Broadcast- ing Corp. while he was in Eng- land, but his Clipper passage back to the U. S. became available before he had time to consider it seriously. He's writing a series of magazine and newspaper articles on what he saw of England in wartime.. Julian guested on 'Report to the Nation' last week on CBS, reading a script of his own authorship. ADDISON SMITH JOINS R&R PRODUCTION STAFF Addison Smith has joined the pro- duction staff o.t Ruthrauff & Ryan in New York under Don Stauffer. He was last with Ted Bates. Before that with Benton & Bowles. Smith will be production super- visor of Noxema-sponsored 'Quiz of Two Cities' setups around the coun- try. ORSON WELLES DUE To Star On Lockhead Show—Fonda Party East Orson Welles will probably head the new program which Lockhead Aircraft will launch on CBS early in November, although contracts have not yet been signed. Jim Fonda, who will direct the series, arrived Monday (28) in New York with Howard Chaney, Lockhead pvez, and Jack Messier, Lord & Thomas executive on the account, to set final details on the show. It's expected that origination will be from either New York or the Coast, depending on Welles plans. Fonda has for the last several sea- sons been producing the Hedda Hop- per show for L. & T. Robert Enoch Succeeds Lee as Regional Head Oklahoma City, Sept. 29. Robert D. Enoch, manager of sta- tion KTOK, Oklahoma City, and managing director of the Oklahoma network, has also been elected president of the network, succeeding Joseph W. Lee, of KGFF, Shawnee, who resigned to join the Navy. Elec- tion took place at the network's an- nual meeting. Present at the session, besides Enoch and Lee, were Hugh Feltis, station relations representative of the Blue Network, with whom all Okla- homa network outlets are affiliated; H. V. Hough, of WBAP, Ft. Worth, Texas; Albert Riesen and Hillis Bell, KVSO, Ardmore; Milt Garber, KCRC, Enid; Weldon SUmps, KADA, Ada; Jimmy Berry, KBIX, Muskogee, and Kenneth Abernathy, attorney for the network. Carol Irwin Promoted Carol Irwin, daytime radio head of Young It Rubicam has been promoted to executive status In the agency's contact department, reporting to Louis Brockway, contact supervisor. She'll be an account executive on the serial division of General Foods. Woody Klose, assistant, takes over her duties. Montreal, Sept. 20. Harry Sedgwick, president CFRB, Toronto, and for 10 years president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, has been appointed to an executive position with the War- time Information Board, recently set up by the Canadian Government, headed by Charles Vining, of Mon- treal. Leo Casey, U. S. newspaperman and publicist, former special repre- sentative of Wendell Willkie, is an- other executive appointment to WIB. Both the above will be stationed at New York. SANDERS BILL TO CURB FCC ON ICE Washington, Sept. 39. The Sanders bill to overhaul the Federal Communications Commis- sion—topic of discussion for approx- imately six weeks this spring—is oil the shelf of the House Interstate Commerce Committee until January at the earliest. With the bulk of the lawmakers more interested in wooing votes than in remedying defects in the eight-year-old Communications Act, Chairman Clarence F. Lea has no intention of wasting effort on a piece of legislation that is certain to be buried in the Senate. The California Democrat will not even name a subcommittee to weigh all the criticisms and suggestions con- tained in the ponderous record be- cause he feels this would be lost en- ergy. The best the FCC foes can expect is a revival of interest early next year. Lea's intention is to desig- nate a small group to take the Sanders scheme in hand when the new Congress (the November elec- tions will result in a few changes in the composition of the House com- mittee, it is certain) assembles in January. There will be no need for repeat hearings. Lea feels, for con- ditions will not have changed ma- terially since the oratory was ended last June. Re-Introduction of the bill in the next session is a foregone conclusion, since Sanders is sure to come back to Capitol Hill. No attention has been paid in the Senate to the bill of Senator Wal- lace White of Maine, from which Sanders patterned his proposal, and Chairman Burton K. Wheeler of the Senate Interstate Commerce Com- mittee has shown no disposition to fuss with radio legislation, par- ticularly a measure with as many technical and controversial features as White's, this term. Lea feels the Sanders bill would get a black eye If it passed the House only to be pigeon-holed in Wheeler's commit- tee and hence plans to let sleeping dogs lie. CivUidn Defense Course Broadcast in Ft. Wayne Ft Wayne, Sept. 29. "Civilian Defense Course of the Air,' series of 14 quarter-hour pro- grams instructing the public in ele- mentary first-aid, handling of incen- diary bombs end other civilian de- fense matters, is being broadcast by station WGL, Ft. Wayne. There's also a supplementary series of dis- play ads in the local papers. Series is backed by Ft. Wayne".' warden organization, Inchiding 3.000 men and women, who are urging everyone in their zones to listen. Idea of the show originated with Carl Vandagrlft, WOWO-WGL pro- duction manager.