Variety (Jul 1944)

Wednesday, July 5, 1944 PSriety RADIO 27 Radio Moscow Stripped of Glamor, But Does Extensive Editorial Job : , . '-Washington, July 4 '. The war has converted Russian radio primarily into an .adjunct for the country's newspapers, with the large bulk of the people hearing their programs by loudspeaker, an official survey made here indicates. There is virtually no such thing as big name radio, stars, as Americans understand it. and announcers are seldom identified. : A breakdown of programming .shows that one of the chief jobs of big Radio Moscow is to feed the provincial press for several hours every day with news delivered at dictation speed, with names of indi- viduals carefully spelled out for those on the listening end. Some Russian transmitters regularly broad- cast to the .public editorials, news and features which have already ap- peared in print in Moscow. . . Another angle, well developed in the Soviet, is documentary broad- casting. The mike is occasionally taken up to the battle lines for talks by Red Army men and the sound of battle Factory items are sometimes broadcast from the factory con- cerned.' '." '"• A substantial number of women announcers are active in the in- dustry. '■'.'. '■'■•'■'.'■ ' ;-'•• . •» '•■• ■..' Special Army and. Navy features for the benefit of men at the front are broadcast several times weekly from Moscow. These go in for an ex- change of messages to and from indi- viduals in the armed forces. Broad- casts for the benefit of "Young Listeners" have been whittled down substantially due to the war. A new stunt has come in since 1942—special transmissions dealing with the roles of agriculture and 1 industry in the war effort, with some, shows angled particularly for those in. specific in- dustries. Relays of operas and plays, promi- nent before Russia got into the war, are again getting considerable time on the air. piped out of Moscow to; the smaller stations. They were. Tlroppecl RiT^lrrrost - !!—year—iifter June, 1941. There are frequent liter- ary broadcasts, and politics is well aired. This type of show is handled In the several languages spoken by the groups making up USSR. - It is estimated that about one-third of all time on the air is devoted to music. Mostly it is classical, gen- erally featuring Russian and a few 19th century German composers. Jazz gets out from time to time, however—both Soviet and foreign types. .'"" , Kudosing of Home Town Gl's on WGN Program Makes for Closer Ties , *': . • • ■"'.'. Chicago. July 4. A show which has already gained a vast listening public in the two weeks it has been on the air and which is being, watched closely by other broadcasters in this area is the short "Chicagoland Fighters in the" News" program being heard over wgn. - ■ ■■;:•. • :",.:: ; '" Heard daily. 11:10-11 15 p. m. (CWT), Tuesdays through Saturday, and at 11:05-11:10 p. m, tCWT). Sun- days and Mondays, the show men- tions 10 to .12 names of men from this vicinity, now in the armed forces, two of which are singled out for detailed stories on their view- points and exploits and sometimes messages for the home folks which are gathered by Chicago Tribune correspondents at.the fronts. Shows are scripted by the WGN news room in straight news form. Dunville Steps Up At WLW As Shouse Devotes Time to Post-War Plans Cincinnati. July 4. Robert E. Dunville stepped up Friday (30) from assistant to gen- eral manager of WLW, . relieving James D. Shouse for devotion of more time to post-war planning and other expansion activities, : " Shouse, who is vice-president of the Crosley Corp.', "in charge of broadcasting, made ". the announcer ment at the opening of WLW's semi- annual general sales meeting, a four- day affair, being held here. In .for the. huddles! are men from WLW's New York and Chicago offices. At the same lime Shouse. made known that Eldon Park, who has been with the New York staff for the past -three, years, returns to Cir.cy as assistant general manager of WLW. • A hew division, also announced by Shouse, links the . sales promotion,, public relations and merchandising departments and the specialty sales unit, to be directed by Marshall Terry, a newcomer to radio. Terry was v.p. in charge of sales and also public relations director of the Trailer.Co. of America.- -'. ... . CgiwciI to Set Up Radio Journalism Standards in U. S. Schools, Colleges Lockheed's 'Man Named X' : Hollywood, July 4. "Man Nanied X" has been chosen by Lockheed, after a half-dozen au- ditions, to take over the last half- hour ~ former)y~occt«pied—by—Lux—bn- CBS Monday nights, for eight-weeks beginning July 10. Herbert Marshall will star in the dramatic stanza in .the role of an American intelligence Officer match- ing wits with international crooks. Stephen Longstreet is scripting.. Plans to continue after eight-week period indefinite.. . ; , . . :. - Cassidy Gets War Dept. Okay for Overseas Post : . ' . Cincinnati, July 4. James Cassidy, WLW's directer of special events and international broadcasts, last week received no- tice from the War Dept. that "he's been accredited as a war correspond- ent in the European Theatre of Op- erations. His first stop will be Lort- TJori,' to shdvtWSVe~"broadeasls on war developments of particular interest to midwest listeners. Hitching Your Furniture Wagon to a G.O.P. Star Chicago, July 4. Probably the all time record for moving furniture from New York to Chicago was broken here last week when Tyler Davis, radio director of the Chicago office of J. Walter Thompson received, the furniture for his five-rOom Chicago apartment in a little,more than the running time Of the "Century." ';. . Gimmick was thai the household furnishings were loaded on the back end of a huge van front part of which was loaded with vitally needed microphones and amplifiers, sched- uled to be used at the Republican convention. Police escort who met the truck at the state line helped un- load the-ftirnlture-ifl-order-to-get-the radio equipment to the stadium in the shortest possible time. Gorntaine Vice W.K. Clark As WJR Script Chief Detroit, July. 4. Replacing WJR's script chief. Wil- liam Kendall Clark, who has joined CBS, is Earl Gormaine, who has been .writing" and producing radio dramas for the Detroit Public Schools for the past five years. For the past two years he has Scripted the WWJ drama "Our World Today." A new addition in the station's production department is • Walter Koste, for several years an actor and technician with the Wayne Univer- sity Workshop. •. Blue Net's Transmitter Bid for Va. Protested Washington, July 4. Residents of the Langley-McLean area of Northern Virginia are up in arms oyer a recent request by the Blue network to erect a; 250-foot transmitter tower in their com- munity now zoned residential. Tower would sent out programs for WMAL, the D. C. outlet for the Blue. Petition is being circulated by the residents who plan to carry the matter before the Fairfax County Zoning Appeals Board Thursday (6). They ; claim the tower, will af- fect the value of their property. . Washington, July 4. Radio industry and officials of va- rious colleges are considering the formation of a Council on Radio Journalism, a permanent group to formulate standards and install full- time, courses' in radio journalism in schools and colleges, according to NAB. — .. - •. ■ Plan is outgrowth of the recent joint meeting of the NAB Radio News Sub-Committee and the Radio Committees of the American Assn. o( Schools and, Departments of Jour- nalism and the National -Assrii of State Universities. "Fred Siebert, president Of AASDJ and director of the School of Jour- nalism at. the University of Illinois." said NAB. ''will prepare a report for NAB in August outlining complete details and naming personnel of the Council. The Council as planned would include representatives of NAB, networks, radio division of the press associations, school and college associations, the president of AASDJ, the Federal Radio Education Com- mittee and the Assn. for Education by Radio." ;/•■'....'• c : * '■ Salvation Army Buys WFIL Jhifly, Air Time For Goodwill Buildup Philadelphia, July 4. The Salvation Army is going com- mercial here for the first time. . . Convinced that radio is best good- will builder, the "Army" has bought time on WFIL for a weekly report oh its activities. WFIL will pump the show over a regional "network," consisting of WILM, Wilmington, Del.; WGAL, Lancaster; WEEU, Reading, and WSAN. Allentown.. '. Handling the show will be Mrs. Samuel Hepburn, wife of Brigadier General in charge of local "Sally" headquarters. Salvation Army Work- ers in warfronts will also forward news here about soldiers from this a rea . . ■ " .-. . . ',, . Deal was set. by Labrum-Hanson agency. EVERY SUNDAY NIGHT AT 10 (EWT) (ON 181 BLUE NETWORK STATIONS) .a half-hour with radio's Friendliest Family.. U THE LIFE OF RILEY WITH WILLIAM BENDIX, AS RILEY (WRITERS: ASHMEAD SCOTT, ALAN LIPSCOTT, REUBEN SHIP V DIRECTOR: DON BERNARD MUSIC: LOU KOSLOFFJ Sponsor i AMERICAN MEAT INSTITUTE : (W. R. KINNAIRD, Adv. Mj»r.) Agency: LEO BURNETT COMPANY (FRANK FERRIN, V.P, Radio) • Notice is hereby given that any attempt to make use of the title, atoiy situations or cftaracteria used 'in,these programs will be vigorous- ly prosecuted. j