Variety (Jul 1945)

Wednesday, J»ly 25, 1945 RADIO 31 EUROPE NEEDS BIAS-FREE RADIO Germany Ne^ecls Some Soap Col. William S. Paley, president-oa-leave of CBS, has sug- gested to his superiors in the American Government that the •aiew" broadcasting system in Germany might well be modeled after the radio ways of the United States, with advertising spon- sorship of programs and the operation of indiyidiial local stations by different and competing business tneh, Johannes Steel, the local WHN news, commentator, last week criticized this Paley suggestion on a niimber of points. Implicit in his (Steel's) icomments was an assumption that advertising is some- how an evil thing in Itself and its application to or adoption by German radio would be socially undesirable. This seems a curious prejudice. It would appear that almost any system promisinig any means of competition in ideas and points of view would be an improvement of what has exisited in Germany until now. Why not advertising sponsorship for Germany? It's at least as plausible as most suggestions. It might be one step (among many) to break up control of thought by the ruling party com- ' posed of Junkers, industrialists and bureaucrats. Until now a smaller number of single-track mentalities have decided what tlie German people should think. Maybe having a few dozen privately licensed and independently operated radio stations would reverse that tradition. At any rate there seems no par- ' ticular reason to assume that the Paley proposals should not be examined and studied. Advertising has its faults and its abuses* but the countries in which it is most firmly established—America, Britain, Canada, Australia—are among the world's most successful democracies. A routine of soap operas?; Whodunits, People's .Platforms, quizzes and a dose of Der Bingle might be a permanently healthy thing for Germany; They need to be taught to have more than one idea. Gertrude Stein says that tlie safety of European culture depends on the Germans learning how to disobey the voice of authority. And nearly everybody agrees the Germans need to develop a sense of humor. Why not sponsored radio, indeed? Raifip Programmers See Worry As Set Makers View Pie in the Siiy Advance infovmalion about a con-> sLimefr .survey just completed by the research dept. of the Curtis Publish- ing Co.j (Satevcpost, . Ladies Jloroe Journal', etc.) has dumped into the lap ot radio: row a statistical - hot potato. From the few fiicts .so far avail* able, no one in radio knows quite what to expect, but advertisei-s and .programmers alike believe that the figures may cue replanning of future radio plans. The Curtis researchers inter- viewed tarailies in U8 uiban centers in 35 states, coming up with a. num- ber of significant facts. One is that, Df the 95% o£ families who own radios now, 27.8% expect to spend money- to replace the old machines. .Replacement will be necessary es- pecially lav machines not equipped with phonographs, which have a median age of eight years. Just about half of the prospective customers vvill .-stick tO' the radio , '(vithout a phonograph, but they'll expect the machure to be equipped to.receive FM as well a.s television. Seventeen percent of Ihem will .spend $100 to $149 for a new ma- chine, and 13";;. will .'.pcnd $1.^0 and " over. With those larger percentages fall- ing into the high-price range.s ad- men and programmers alike wonder just what liind of family tlie new customer will represent and, thcre- . .'Continued on fKilie "10) Could As Composer To Be Accentuated I ^Withvihe: Ai.cire Kostelaftctz-Lily 1 Rohs show . how set for Clivysler in ,(h^ Call to r(?:place^ Morion, Goi|ld' in .the Thufsdais' night CBS slot, 'iDon-J :;ald: Voorheos orch iS; in. for tjk in.-' . j^rim. summer period),;aii e^:panf^(i<l: Gould package with a now Lorni.lt is being set up lor poteiHial -pon- sor.sh)p, , :: lt's plahhcd as top-biKlgeted production which will stiTss the creative side of Gould as a com- poser, rather than hi.-s heretofore almost exclusive idenlIdeation as a conductor on. previous .shows. Idcai too, will be to spot such guestars as Jo.se Iturbi, etc., playing works com- posed lor them by Gould. Jim Hanrahan's AMG Post ■ Memphis, July 24. ■ Lieut. Col. Jim Ilanrahan, former v.p; of Scripps-Howard Radio, and ■general manager of WMPS, Mem- phis; is American Military Govcrn- jnent Ofl'icer directing the 83rd (Thunderbolt) Division fn the area of Braunschweig, Germany, a region of 750,000 population. Heatter's Watcil %ow in Wori[s Deal is reportedly being set whereby Gabriel Heatter, who's currently in the. S200,000-a-year salary -bracket, may go in as the emcee of the Melbros Watch "Quick As A Flash" show when it returns to the air in the fall, as succcK.sor to Ken Roberts. There's no derinitc decish as yet. . ^ Except ior his commentary stints, it would be Heatter's first venture into programming, aside from such gues-t shots as "We, the People," etc. - Reported- alssQ that Helbros is dickering for. a favorable time niche on ABC (Blue) with possibility show inay' s^vitch over from Mutual;' : iveiiitraub is the agency;, :. ', • ■ DAY TUTTLE, MARTIN OFF Y&R PAYROLL Day TulUe and -loliriny .Martin and ihe Young & Rubicam produc- tion dopt. are parting'company, both men checldng olt the agency pay- to)) ;next' mptifb.-';.';'. 'r- ■ .-'v ' Tutde, formerly a legit prodticdr (in a.s.sociation with Dick Skinner), had been .with Y & H for the pa.^t yiirce,: years aikl, directed tihe ''*B'right lIoTi.zOns'' serial' Coi^ the paalj^year and a, llall'.. lie.' had' also, directed- "Molle My.stery Theatre," ■"William. Hnd llilary" when it was (i.ut in on the Dinah :Shorc show, .and "The .M- drich Family." He vacations during August at his summer home in Bell- port,- Tj. I,, to complete a play, Martin luiiS ■ been dirccunj; the "Bulldog Drummond" .-liow, and was aiisis.taht 'director ; on .the GeliiiitiSe "Great Moments in iMusic." "Europe is sick in mind and heart ^nd , needs to be nursed back to hope and confidence in-its ov/n future. An intelligently planned service of ra- dio programs can do a great jdeal to hasten this rehabilitation, but it is absolutely essential that there should be broadcasting which is nei- ther British, nor French, nor Bel- gian, but international, free from the purely local preoccupation of the na- tional services. Let .the motherland radio .systems continue. They are needed and useful. But let them be supplemented by a new. bolder, more - forward-lookin,? pan-European utilization, of. this great radio me- dium.'' This.-ls the comment of An.(;nste Hubert, managing director of the Belgian radio syndicate, Societe In- ternationale de Telegraphic Sans Fil, TOho is now visiting in New York City from Brussels. Hubert does not liijnit himself to iidvocating interna- tio'nal broadcastinji^on a non-politi- cal basis. He has, t(»gethcr with a nurober^ of British,- French, Belgian, Russian -and Polish colleagues, worked out a propo.sal to have the. already' internationalized city and zone ot Tangiers convertied into w.liat he calls . "a uniirersal .Vadio oasis of good will to cater to a .sick world." Tangiers' location is- ideal, he thinks, It's on the extreme northeast (ip of Africa, just opposite Gibral- tar, and therefore easy of access for European talent. As a city it ha.s 140 square miles to spread in and has a healthful climate as a plus. Hubert visualizes not. one_but even- tually many radio transinitters in Tangiers .with <a considerable crop of writerSj actors, feinger.'S, musicians, ibroadcast executives, translators, en- gineers, etc., converting the town into a cultural center. Geographic- ally. Tangiers is a pivotal point for long,. medium and shortwave broad- casting and safe from tlie established prejudices of the various. European countries. "It can be -of a«d for tlu- rope, but not from Europ6," he says. In the belief that Europe must learn to trust whttt it hears on the air, the Tangiers broadcasts, under impeccably non-partisan control, can set the tone for finer programming, Hubert argues. Tangiers would prob- ably, broadcast in six to a dozen lan- guages; "Its service would be pri- mai-ily for western and central EuI"ope, stopping short of the Rus-; .sian sphere," he explains. For a comparison to the growth which lie believes becoming a radio center would a.ssure to Tangiers, Hubert likened it to Shanghai, cre- ated by foreign trade; Detroit,' cre- ated by mass production; Hollywood, created by films; Calzsburg, created by fine music, and Tel-Avtv,. createiji by a political policy. MBS TO AIR ALL-STAR SPONSORED GRID GAME Chicago, July 24. Wilson Sporting Goods picks up the tab on the All-Star football be- tween the Green Bay Packers and the College All-Stars, to be played iit ;-Soldier.?' Field here . wt A.iig. 30 lind to be broadca-st over the IViutual ;: network under (irm^ of :a^ deal . set ■y(?Kti5i"(jay ■ i2d)-' //'■■;•■ Broadca.-5t will start at 9 p.m. I (CWR); after, option time., ■, with likelihood seen ot the wcb'S 24e .stations clewing time for the game. Nizer Against Paley Plan on German Radio, Seeks lental Disarmanienf Radio's 7th Contrib | - W!!shington, July 24. .. | Total dollar value of broad- ca.st time'and talent given to the 7th War;:Jioan by the networks, stations aivV advertisers is set at Si2;i,.'518,743, by NAB. Figure ex- ceeds that of previous loans. NAB (i;j;ures the webs and na- tional spots provided $6,770,170 in free services; while individual .stations and advertisers added | Ibo other $1(),743,572. Trca.^fury War Finance .-Divi- sion will shortly make public its-estimates of radio time con-: tribulions which may show an even hifjher • figure tbdn NAB ei:t.'mates, ■■ ■ ..■-■■.. ' Wright s 'Remote Deal for Ka^tor ■ Chicago, July 24, Sw(;epln;^ realignment of H. W.: Kastor & Sons agency here sends Jim Wright;, v.p. in charge of radio; to take over management of agency's Hollywood office, effective Aug. 1!); replacing Arthur Daly. Ijatter leaves the firm. Radio activities of. company will be direcled by Wright from Coast via rcrfvote control, with John Urice acting n.s Wright's assistant here han- dling ; "The American Family" and Welch accounts. A/lfright will con- tinue to supervise the - Rudy : Vallee Drene .sho.w. . With the resignation of Ted Mertz. v.p., and Ruth Farquhar, of the copy dept., Gfcorge Durham has been placed in charge of new biz here, assisted by Sock Hettler, who will have charge of radio time buying. Ira Avery ij BBD&O For Armstrong 'Theatre' Ira Avery, NBC director, has re- signed' to Join BBD&O, His first as-'- .signnicnt will, be the piloting chore on Arm.strqng Corlc's "Theatre of the Air,'' «• hich hag' been a coh.slaht -per-;" somieL .sorespot %t .the agency'; '. Uowcver, with Cameron Hawley, ad manager of Armstrong) on a leave ot absence due to illness, un-. derstpod that way lias been cleared (or director to \\a.\e full sway on the stanza. Avery will also be .script editor, polishing up dramatizations which are.. ■ Iwiught. on the: open market. FM's Full Potentialities Won't Be Realized For I0orl5Years:Morency Hartford,. July 24. Plans for WTIC's^eventual shitting from AM to FM broadcajiting were envi.saKcd by Paul Morency, prc-xy ot the 50.000 waiter, last week. Sta- tion has already petitioned B'CC lor permission to up power lor its FM .station from 1 kw to 50 kw, and also to increase the heights of its FM an- tenna.s. The granting of the irtcrca.se would give the .station subjstantiaJly the same coverage in FM that it now &cls through AM. Morency doe.s not see full utiliza- tion of. FM until between 10 to 15 years after the end of the war. Tl.ii.s is due to. fact that current radio .sets won't be obsolete until that; period find not because of any te(;hMicai r'e- straints in: FM field. Station is.-already, beaming it.,-,cif toward an FM future. Programming of its PMer, known as WTIC-FM sta- tion, ■ i,s . duplication of -mo.thtr .nia-^ tion. Eight hours daily, the FMer op- iates. Duo rea.son exi.sts for the FMer dittoing of programs. One is wartime conditions, .surplus of labor unavail- ■■sible-to program separately, an.d..also; because of station's dc-^ire to cdu- ..eate public over a^ period of time to .'•iniilarity between .station.s, making each .syrtonymous with the otiier and paving the way for an easy switch- over. Louis Nizer, who authored ■"What to Do With. Germany,'! shares an entirely different concept about the- future of broadca,sting in Germany than Col. William S. Paley, whose propo.sal to the OWI on the setting up of a German broadcasting sys- tem was detailed in last week's:: "Variety." Whereas Col. Paley has , reoonmiended that a GBS bc oper- ated by the Germans, themselve.-!. ■ Ni/.er contends that the Germans' can no more be trusted to disarm nienlally as physically, and on this .score alone the United Nations'Com- mission-^and not Germans—should ■ own and operate the radio stations., Commenting on the Paley Plan tor . a GBS, Nilzer asserts: .. "Just as a corporation which com- niit.s a crime may lose its charter to exist, so Germany has lost its sov- I crcignty. Until the Germans have I prove 1 by conduct that they can be 1 peaceful members of international society, they have no right to be a luMion. This concept has finally been accepted. ." - "Sit*ilarly, we have-recognized the- neccssity of removing all armament ; industries i:rom German ownership j or control. Where equipment cannot I be tran.sferred to victimiz«<d nations i as partial reparation, it should be I placed in. the hand.s -of United Na- ! tions Commissions. These commis- sions will own and operate, through agents, thc.se industi-ies for peaceful . purposes and the profits will all con- stitute reparations. ■Germ.my's schools, newspapers; and radio have been armament plants, too. They have equipped the German mind for war, just as-the' lacto.nes equipped their soldiers for- war, I would not trust the Germans' to di.'jarm phvsically. I do not trust them to di.sarm mentally. Why, then, sliould not the same .precautions be taken'.' The conclusion is that^ United Nations Commissions, and not Germans, should own and oper- ate radio .stations. It should be noted that this has nothing to do with gov- ernment control as contrasted with privati control. We arc dealing with a conquered enemy nation, and the concept of government ownership is as ij.relevant as to say that when we take ovGi' the Germans' armament industries we are practicing gov- ernment ownership. These are mere- j ly military precautions so that Ger-: manj',. which has waged five vvar.< in the last 80 .years, won't do it again.. ■ . ''.' "We can lure the safest Germans to be our agents in radio operation, and if there are not sufficient of:■ t.lj,em." let ii.s not hesitate to in.stair our own. But we, not they, .mu.st : own as well as operate. The reason lor thi.s is that with time—mere su- ' pervision relaxes. I Call this the briljer.y of boredom. Ownership nc- cc.-.sitales continuous approval of policy and knowledge of operation... Therefore,, it is- essential. :■. ■ Finally, the Big Three now meet- ■ rne .should adopt a uniform poliey. Obviously a radio wave is no re- .spectcr of artificial zones into which , Gennaiiy has been divided. The zone ; arrangement was a tcstative com- promise. It reflected to .some extent the di.siihity. arao)ig the United IN'a- :ti6ns. lliiVing progressed thrbugfi^ the- United N.itions Charter, it would be v.cll if the zone idea were.melted . as much as possible into the pool of comm in'action." Cotton's Air Package .l();^cph Cotton will star in a half- • hour once-weekly radio program ' this fall dramatizing .selections to j be made by the Book of the Month I Club, according to present plans, j Sc\cral N. "i. agencies are await- i ing the audition record of the stanza I tor presentation to clients. David O. i St 1/nick, to whom Gotten is under !■ coiit ract, has given thie go-abcad -on I hi.s air stint. . HEIKAN SET TO HEAD ALLEN SCRIPT TEAM I X.'l Heikan, who's now a private ni |i^e .'\i]nj and stationed in New j York, looks set for the head writnig I a.-sipiimont on the new Fred Allen- ■l:Stajid:n'd Brands Sunday night show ! On NBC. Itejkan; is-currently script- '; ■ ing the Bert Wheeler Scvfen,-Up f.how on Mutual. j 11 all depends, of course, on: ■ whether Heikan is .still stationed in In. y. vvhcn the fall rolls around, Ken { Dehniir gets the announcing spot on I tlie -Allen program. Irving Kauf- rnaii hp.s b(ien added to the list:«f I .siTow's .stooges.