Variety (May 1946)

Wednesday, May 15, 194* 29 'CLEAR' RESHUFFLE A CERTAINTY Labor Station Fores 'Pro-Russian,' Chi listeners Rally to His Support v ' Chicago, May 14. Unusual situation has developed here between Erie Clothing Co., sponsors, and WCFL, outlet, lor news commentator Pr. Gerhard Schacher. Station, owned by Chi- oago Federation of Labor, has can- eelled out Schacher's time, saying, in effect, that the newscaster is too sympathetic with the Russians. Whole thing started in late 1945, when the station slipped a disclaim- er on Schacher; a move against which many listeners took the trou- ble to complain. Agency people at Gourfain-Cobb made up a presenta- tion to show' station execs that a news analysis in these times must necessarily present much material on the Russian situation. Reply was noncommittal. Schacher, who spent seven years as League of Nations correspondent for the London Chronicle, had been very optimistic during the war about Russia's win- ning, even when the Nazi army was knocking at Moscow's gates.: When it became apparent that WCFL would not carry the com- mentator any more, sponsor wrote In a short announcement, saying that he would be heard over another outlet in the near future. Outlet execs refused to allow the announce- ment lo go over the air. Since then, the agency has mailed out . 1,000 cards stating the situation to people who were on the mailing list as re- questing some of the scripts which were:'offered free from time, to time. From that mailing,. there has been more than 90% response already, all protesting strongly against Schach- er's removal from the air. . Rcspqnse has been unusual in view of fact that il is a local program. Agency execs are currently pre- ■aring a presentation of the case to g laid before the FCC, saying that WCFL has been too high-handed in this case, in refusing to serve the public good of the community. Pro- gram originally aired from WIND for five years, before moving to WCFL. where it has been since 1944. Starling lasl week, Schacher did his broadcasts from W.TJD, operating under a 92-week contract. RDG Locals Unite On Contract Talks Unification of the three Radio Di- rectors Guild locals in the three big production centers—N. Y„ Chi and Hollywood—will be a fact that will face the Four-A's when the directors start pushing ahead for contract ne- gotiations "with the ad agencies. That was a certainty this week, following election of new offlceri by file N. Y. chapter of the Guild, only group thus far affiliated with the AFL. Ed Byron, chosen new prexy of the N. Y. unit, appointed Jerry De- vine as chairman of the new com- . mittee lo negotiate the Four-A's contract. At the same time, Paul Franklin, head of the Hollywood chapter, and Bob Shayon of N. Y. were selected as a committee to go to Washington this Friday (17) to confer with William Green. AFL head, about an international charter for the over-all union. A Chi rep is expected to join the confab in Washington. In the elections held by the N. Y. chapter Monday night (13), the sin- gle ■ slate of officers went through without a hitch. Other officers in addition to Byron arc: George Zachary. veepee; Ted Croday, secre- tary; and Frank Papp, treasurer. Only election contest was for three seals on the Guild council. These places were won by Earle McGill, Lester Vail and Carl Eastman. Stanton Vice Street Hollywood. May, 14. Bob Stanton has been tabbed to replace David Street as featured vo- calist on Jack Haley's Sealtest pro- gram, moving in with Jiilv 4 broad- cast over NBC. Street will leave after three years for sponsor. Ma—mmy! Cincinnati, May 14.' There's nothing in the AFRA code that says an announcer or - emcee must go into a blackface routine to satisfy a client. And that's why Stepan Skin Cleanser is looking for a new "test market." Outfit approached WSAI execs ■ with this deal: They'd pact a 13-week contract and latch on to sponsorship of station's "Petti- coat Partyline" show it emcees ?red Harper and Howard Mal- colm would cover themselves with paint before studio au- dience and remove it with their product—just to prove it can be done. Harper, Malcolm and WSAI oriimed in with a collective "no dice." GI Bid For Station Stirs Controversy Rochester; N. Y., May 14. A group of young people number- ing 38, of whom 37 are either .just out of the services or. sweating out their terminal leaves, and four have experience in radio, are trying to buck the field for a new radio sta- tion in this town. Situation may shape up inlo a major controversy in radio. Only non-vet or non-GI among them is Hal James, director of radio for Ivey & Ellington agency In New York. James is an ex-Complon agency man, and three of the part- ners are with Compton now. These three., all just out of the services, are Jack House, Bill Mai lief ert, and Harry Bennett. The group deoided about three or four weeks ago lo make a pilch for the 1240kc wavelength in Rochester. FCC held hearings in November for granting a license for that frequency here, with three applicants compet- ing for that place on the band. Two other applicants want that frequency for-a station in Geneva, N. Y. The controversy will arise from the fact that, under commission rules, new applications may be filed within 60 days after hearings are olosed in a case of this kind. The 60 days are up. But the new group in- sists il lias a right to be heard be- cause most of the men are veterans who want a chance' to go into busi- ness for themselves. They have raised a preliminary fund of $60,000. In their FCC ap- plication they ask for the call letters WGIJ—the last three letters denoting GI Joe. The sponsors of the new venture say they are going to put up a stiff light for the frequency. Newsweek Show Lopped Off MBS for Beatrice Kay "You Make the News." kudosed Thursday'nighter on Mutual, is go- ing oft the web May 23, the net hav- ing decided to. hypo that 10:30 p.m. time with a name show to be built around Beatrice Kay. "News!" for which Newsweek mag has carried the talent freight while tlte web gave the time, has been considered one of the better docu- mentaries developed in recent years. Illustrative of the autonomous manner in which Mutual stations work is the fad that the net's N. Y. flagship. WOR. will knock the news show olif the air a week earlier (16). Result will be^ that the Kay show won't have a net audience for its bow. while Die documentary will-not have a chance to say farewell to its Y. listeners. "You Make the News" has been directed by Anton M. Leader. Pro- ducer of the show is Dan Seymour, and Judson Phillips has done the scripting. FCC RULING DUE Washington, May 14. FCC apparently hasn't changed its mind about breaking. up at' least some of the clear channels after a second round, of hearings which dragged through three weeks and several hundred pages of testimony, according to indications here, Ses- sion wound up Thursday (9). Most impressive case—and only positive blueprint for radio's future —was spelled' put by CBS, with pos- sibility that the commission may steal a few of the nets suggestions to gear AM radio entirely to FM. Arguments of ABC calling for re-. suffle of clears to eliminate heavy duplication of NBC and CBS pro- grams in the same areas is also con- ceded a good chance of steering FCC's final decision on clear chan- nel assignments. Failure of NBC to send its first team to the hearings Was a tlpoff of what that web thought of them. Wher,e the commission ax will fall will be determined, however, only after engineering info is entered at third and final session of the hear- ings,; skedded to open here July 1. Coverage maps of NBC and CBS o.&o. and affiliated 1 clears are al- ready in the record on insistence of ABC, with possibility that commis- sion will call for even more^detailed studies on areas covered and amount (Continued on page 38) AFL Pickets Snag The Total Works Louisville, May 14.- Picketing by 23 AFL union ushers and ticket sellers at Parkway Field snafued, airing of the Louisville-St. Paul baseball game Saturday (11) night; and snarled the serving of beer, and other refreshments Sun- day (12). WAVE technicians, members of I.B.E.W.. refused to cross the picket line, and the station had to air the Western Union report of the game from the studios. Don Hill^ calling the game from the wire report. Two operators of (he public address sys- tem, also walked out, but a baseball scout filled in as p.a. announcer. Whole .affair was . complicated fur- ther by fact than Don Hill's sponsor is a local brewery, and truck drivers refused lo deliver the suds lo the ball park, as to do so would require them to cross the picket line. Mutual Swap With CBC Brings 12 to Canada Reciprocal goodwill swap in pro- grams, now taking place between Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and U. S. nets, mostly Mutual, marks re- sumption of tendency interrupted by the war. CBC, since January, has been using U. S. sustainers,. favoring Mutual. In return, Mutual takes two shows a week from CBC, two Sun- day night top spots. "Serenade for Strings" and: "Star Show." No other U. S. net borrows from CBC. CBC is currently releasing the fol- lowing 12 MBS programs on a regu- lar basis: "Open House," "Nick Car- ter." "Songs Along the Trail," "Vera Holly Sings," "Mutual Melody Hour." "Belter Half." "Land of the Lost," U. S. Marine Band. Los An- geles Symphonic Band, "Hawaii Calls.""Lel's Go to the Opera" and "Inside Radio Tokyo." Although, for time being, swap is made on sustain- ers. it's hoped later lo have tie-in with commercial programs. 'Controversial' Time Sales Still Disputed Cueing Need for Aspirin O.K., They Love Him Ed and Pegeen Fitzgerald took no chances on Fred'Allen think- ing they hate him. To disprove any such possible suspicion, they took an expensive 15 inches of N. Y. Times advertising last week, reproducing Vaiur-it's story about how the husband- wife chatterers knocked on NBC's doors for a playback on . the Allen show of the preceding Sunday (5). On that show, Allen and Tallulah Bankhead satirized radio's marital teams who do the breakfast-brunch type of show. In the ad, the Fitzgeralds as- sured Allen, NBC And Vakik-i'IT that all was well with the world, and they considered Allen's cur- tain speech on the show (which ' was before the studio audience, but didn't bit the air) as a "trib- ute." The ad, incidentally, men- tioned station and time of the Fitzgerald show, WJZ, 8 a.m. daily and 11 a.m. Sundays. P.S.—All paid for by the Fitz- geralds personally. - MORRISON JOINS WRC Washington, May 14. Robert Z. Morrison, one-time Red Cross official, has replaced Ward Hubbard as manager of radio record- ing for WRC. NBC-owned outlet here. Morrison came here from San Francisco where he handled radio recording foil the web. Hubbard has gone inlo private biz. FCC Stop-Watch Paces Arde Bulova Arde Bulova's New York radio interests, including WNEW and WOV, will get the once-over of the FCC at a hearing scheduled for next week (20) when 'the commission meets in N..Y. Commission is meeting primarily for purpose of hearing WNEW's ap- plications for renewal of its license and for lipping of its power from 10,000w to 50,000w. At the same time, the FCC will have before it a brief by the Paulist Fathers, who want to recapture the 1130kc wave- length on which WNEW operates. The likelihood that. WOV may come in for a going-over also ex- isted. Bulova had been ordered to sell one of his two N. Y. indies, and had tried to sell WOV. Commission has definitely refused lb let a sales- contract become effective between Bulova and the Mester Bros., Brook- lyn oil importers who were declared as undesirable for radio. Fact that Bulova has failed lo di- vest himself of one of his two sta- tions in the same market,, while criticized now and then, is legally unassailable because he did try to find a buyer. Now, however, he has offers in . some cases more than double the $300,000 for which he was going to sell to the Mestcrs. While the commission is looking into his -radio holdings, there was word in the trade that some groups may file a brief calling upon the com- mission for a ruling that Bulova cannot sell for more than the $300,- 000 Mester offer. Hearing, which may last as long as three weeks, is expected lo de- velop into quite a battle. Opposing •counsel, will be.James Lawrence Fly, former FCC chairman, for Bulova, and John Sirica for the Paulist Fath- ers. Siric& was counsel for'the old Cox-Lea congressional committee which investigated the FCC. lie is expected lo bring inlo the.case also Leonard Marks, who was pot-shoot- ing at another of the Bulova air holdings. WORL, Boston, several years ago., Marks was at that time assistant general counsel for the FCC. A report that the Bulova people may ask for postponement of the hearings, on grounds that Bulova has gone to Switzerland in connec- tion with his watch business, was denied by the Bulova offices in- New York. "We are ready any time." a spokesman said, "and Mr. Bulova will fly back and be present within 24 hours when he is needed." Washington, May H. Despite an FCC decision last June that Tadio slots be sold as well a* given free for discission of impor- tant controversial issues, station* throughout the country are almost 100% sold on idea that money col- lected for sale of such time won t buy enough aspirin to cure the head- ache It causes them. Outside the forum type shows, where all sides are aired simultaneously, broad- casters .generally take the view .that enough free time in good listening' hours can be made available to air hot-potatoes, without inviting trouble by Belling the slots. An FCC decision in the CIO's United Automobile Workers battle with WHKC, Columbus, a year ago advanced the principle that it was "in the public interest" to sell such time—as well as give it—to get choice listening hours for important public issues.. The commish's rul- ing resulted in breakdown of the NAB code which up to that time advised stations to handle such shows only on sustaining basis. FCC's Blue Book, however, steers clear of any hard and fast ruling on the subject, adding* that "problems involved in making time available for discussion of public issues are admittedly oohiplex." FCC raises question of whether such time should be sold, but merely lays down the policy that public interest re-' quires that "an adequate amount of time" be made available for discus- sion shows. CBS is only major web with clear- cut policy against sale of any time whatever on this count, although other chains generally follow the same pattern. Same view was up- held in testimony of over a dozen broadcasters appearing at FCC clear channel and FM hearings in past month. CIO was ; the most serious advo- cate of the buy-time principle; with AFL taking view it didn't want lo compete with chip-heavy big. busi- ness outfits in bargaining for paid dots. CIO Sticks te Guns While CIO is still squarely behind. the principle, few'if any locals have been able to exercise their preroga- ives to any great extent, but are ' (Continued on page 42) Leo Fitzpatrick In WJR Bowout Detroit, May 14. - In a surprise announcement. Leo Fitzpatrick, general manager of WJR (CBS) left the organization after building it from a bankrupt concern into one of the major stations of the Midwest since 1925. He was also veepee, of WJR. Resignation of Fitzpatrick was an- nounced by G. R. Richards, presi- dent, immediately upon lii.s return from a vacation in California. Fitzpatrick, former proxy of ttie National Assn. of Broadcasters, said be plans remaining in radio, where he has been one of its key figures tor a quarter century, first, gaining national recognition as the ''Merry Old Chief" of the Kansas City "Night, Hawks" Owen F. Uridge assistant, general sales manager of WJR since 1937, has been named acting general man- ager. Uridge entered the industry in the early '20s. Since then,, he ha» served as announcer, salesman and sales manager. SEVEN-UP GOES DOWN THE DRAIN ON MUTUAL? Seven-Up, which sponsors 1 lie "Fresh -Up" show on Mulual. inav join the network programming ex- odus in the wake of current produc- tion shortages. Sponsor has already given jiol'ice of a summer checkoff, but there'j some doubt as to whether the Bert Lain- airer will be around again when the fall season gels under way.