Variety (Dec 1942)

80 RADIO Wednesday, December 9. 1942 AFRA, Networks Agree on 10% Raise In Sustaining Fees: WLB s OK Certain Blanket Increase of 10% In all sus- taining fees for actors, singers and announcers has been tentatively agreed upon by the American Fede- ration of Radio Artists and the four major networks. Boost is subject to approval by the War Labor Board, but that is expected without diffi- culty, since It is covered in a cost- of-living index clause in the existing contract. Number of minor complications in the deal remain to be worked out. One is to keep the revised rates in even amounts. For instarice, where the existing fee is $19, the 10% in- crease would bring It to $20.90, in- volving considerable added book- keeping for the networks. In all such cases, some method is to be de- vised for setting the revised fee at an even amount. There are a num- ber of other such minor wrinkles to t>e eliminated before actual signing of the agreement. General raise of scales applies not only to performers receiving AFRA mlnimums, but also to atafl artists already getting more than scale. However, surti Increases will be based on 10% of scale, not 10% of the artist's al>ove-scaIa fee. There now appears to be some uncertainty whether the boost will also apply to non-staff artists working at' more than scale, but hired for single or per-program engagements. That will have to be settled at further negotia- tions. The upward revision of the sus- taining code was worked out after several weeks of confabs. Opening of the existing contract, which ex- pires Nov. 1, 1943, was permitted under the scale-of-living clause. Under a similar clause in the com- mercial contract, AFRA is slated to start negotiations about Jan. 15 with agencies for an upward revision of the commercial code. Sustaining in- crease is effective next Tuesday (15), but is conditional on the prospective rise in the network commercial scale. Ashley With Lyons With Wilson Tuttle slated for the Army Air Force, the A. Si S. Lyons agency has brought Arthur Ashley in as a vice-president in charge of radio In Its New York office. Ashley most recently has been operating his own production Arm. Tuttle has applied for a berth with the Air Force Reserve and is await- ing word on the results of his exaips. Monf 1 Churches Protest Commercial Repbcement For Religious Program Montreal, Dec. 8. Demand for the restoration to the churches of the Sunday evening hour, 7 to 8, pn station CBM cf the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has the official backing of all Protestant denominations in this city, It was stated In a resolution passed at a meeting of the exec utive committee of the Diocese of Montreal, Thursday (3), and for- warded to the governors of the CBC. (Time is currently filled by Jack Benny, T to 7:30, and by De- partment of Finance Show from 7:30 to 8 p.m.). The resolution reminds the man- agement of the CBC that the church services, broadcast from Montreal for a period of over 15 years, have filled a very pressing need and that there have been strong protests from many people concerning the dropping of the evening services in favor of commercial programs. Renew 2 on MBS Pharmco has renewed for Its T)ouble or Nothing* quiz on the Mu- tual network for another 12 weeks, effective Dec. 25. Another Mutual renewal of the past week Is Conte's 'Background to the News.' IT'S A FACT advertisers who had never used radio, used WOR in 1942! t 75 advertisers who had used radiOf in New York or ekewhere, used WOR for the first time in 1942! WOR at 1440 Broadway, in New York Member of the mutual broadcasting system Tough Giveaways Last Week Demand for gratis admission to broadcast studios generally exceeds the seats available, but that was In reverse early last week. Around 11 p. m. a guard In the rotunda of the RCA Building In Radio City solicited persons to sit in on the varlotu NBC programs about to starL He supplied the names of those in the shows. Reason for the stunt was not clear, but the general effect of the Boston holocaust may have kept many people away from places of assemblage. A dinner party from the Rainbow Room, which la atop the RCA Building, thought it was a gag. A showman in the group questioned the guard and then jokingly said he preferred going to CBS, 'where coffee is served.' NBC Continuing Tarade of Stars Bally Following Success With 125 Affiliates Convinced of the success of the stunt, as attested by reports re- ceived from the network's 125 af- filiated stations, NBC is arranging for a continuation of Its 'Fall Parade of Stars' promotion campaign. The extension will be billed ai the 'New Year's Parade of Stars.' NBC will again distribute among its stations an elaborate portfolio of recordings made by ad agencies for local plugging of their comics, singers, bands and commentators. The second campaign will likewise make use of car cards, merchan- dising catalogs, window displays, mats, newspaper ads, press notices, photos, continuities and spot an- nouncements. The reports at hand on the fall campaign show the aggregate cir- culation of 4,552 wiudow posters. Staff of CE/s Two Shortwavers Divided Between WGY and Govt Schenectady, N. Y., Dec. 8. The entire program personnel of General Electrlc's powerful short- wavers, WGEO and WGEA, leased by the Government Nov. 1, has been placed either in other GE depart- ments or In the Government service. John R, Sheehan, former program head. Is now assistant to F. P. Nel- son, manager of the Bronze network linking the nation's shortwave out- lets. Sheehan supervlzes the schedul- ing and transmission of programs in many language.s to Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. Four other ex-stafTers are also working in the New York offices of the Office of War Information. Ed- ward Beck, who was French lan- guage announcer, is currently writing and announcing French programs: John Goorin, Portuguese announcer, L"-, editing news programs beamed to Brazil: Konstanty Plater is announc- ing programs for Polish listeners In Ihi ...European aDd AfrJcaj). war areas; Claygon Going, English lan- guage announcer. Is on the OWI news desk. Two erstwhile GE shortwave em- ployees. Vincent Tovar, veteran Spanish broadcaster, and Luis Gon- zaga, Portuguese miker, are con- nected with the N. Y. office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Af- fairs. Tovar Is news consultant and writer of special programs for South American dialers. Gonzaga is hand- ling programs for Brazilian audi- ence.':. GE placed the other former WGEO-WGEA staff people In posi- tions at the Schenectady plant. Ellis Barrett, who was Sheehan's assist- ant, and Gertrude Devan, Portu- gese announcer, are working in the GE publicity department; Ed Barry and Jarvis B. Rice, English language announcers, moved over to WGY; Dorothy Johnson, Sheehan's secre- tary, Is In the WGY control room, learning operation and working on scheduling and traffic assignments; Florence Lovell, also formerly in Sheehan's office, Is in the GE of- fice service department. The OWI has two-thirds of the air time of all shortwavers, while the CIAA has the remaining third. GE retains title to the two big air voices and its engineers continue to operate them. 3.965 counter cards, -48 billboard dis- plays, 1,760 car and bus cards, 1.737 window displays, 1,377 lobby decora- tions, 2,057 newspaper advertise- ments, 52 roto spreads, 2,646 press notices, 661 newspaper feature spreads and 52 tablecard placements In hotels and restaurants. - The re- ports also disclosed many Instances of exceptional local cooperation. In Richmond, Va,, the mayor teed off the week's series of 'Parade' fea- tures with a mike talk about the fine radio shows scheduled for the coming months. ""' '"■ Ti y i ] \' \ ^ New Texas Co-op Show Austin, Texas, Dec. 8. A new cooperative program is being aired over KNOW here for a half-hour Monday through Friday iitled .'Minute .Jflen of Austin.! ■ h'roa'dcwia • contatiC Jkj - jufoutcs! of music, drama and war news. Says JOHN McDOLE: (Sun Ray Cleaner*) "We have opened as many as forty-five new acooonts in one week... as inany at ten calls directly following oar participation on yonr pro- gram." L'alns Helen Wa(t» Srhnltwr, KSO Says J. E. TONE: (Tone^t Coffee) . , * "The news program really * gave Tone's Pressure Pack Coffee its greatest momen- tum right from the start ,^ with the first week's broad- cast." ' * I'slns News, KB>'T Says W. H. BISHOP: (Mrs. Clark^B Dreating) "This may sound inrpris- ing—but in the 13 weeks we have been on the air, our sales on this item have in- creased over 600%," ITfitns Ncwi, KSO Nothlnf laccecdi Uli« gooccw, aad tbe •ncceM of KSO-KRNT In mUIhc ■honld b« eoniUlercd when borlna nHll* time In Iowa- KSO KRN BASif CLiir A«flllt(<< wltd llM Dm MtlMi nr<|tilir tad TrItuM R«»i*ssnt«d The K^^c Agency