Variety (May 1946)

Wednesday, May 29, 1946 RADIO 39 Construction Freeze Hasn't Hit Broadcasters Hard, Says CPA, NAB Washington, May 28. ♦ Indication . that broadcasters throughout the country are faring well in getting okays for station con- struction from local Civilian Pro- duction Adminstration committees was given this week in a spot-check at CPA and NAB headquarters .here. Although no count has been kept of radio appeals, Fred Sinclair, dep- uty in charge of CPA construction projects, indicated that only a hand- ful of radio cases have come to the attention of the Washington office, and majority of these had been ap- proved by local CPA boards. At the same time, over at NAB offices, Vice President A. D. ("Jess") Willard, Jr., declared that "not a single broadcaster" has come to NAB for assistance in coping with the CPA ban on construction topping $1,000. Bob Bartley, head of NAB's FM Department came up with the same response. Said. Bartley: "Nobody seems to be having much trouble, or I guess we would have heard plenty by now." Willard indicated that, generally, broadcasters appeared to be on good terms with ..local CPA committees. He added, however, that lack of protests from broadcasters to date may be due to fact that many of them have not gotten deliveries of transmitter .equipment and so have not yet cop'ed with construction hurdles. While situation now appears rosy for the radio men, Sinclair stressed that CPA headquarters has called on all regional directors "to tighten up" on okaying non-vet projects. He added that, while bulk of radio ap- plicants may have gotten under the line so far, next batch of CPA ac- tions on the local level may clamp down on commercial building. Getting Around CPA headquarters here reported that, so far as is known, only one appeal by a broadcaster has been forwarded to the Washington office, and that one was turned down, as in- volving too much expenditure of critical materials. Local OP A groups may reject a broadcaster's application, it was- pointed out, and he has option of appeal. The local group may approve that appeal, but cannot turn it down again. Most startling fact about the OF A setup is absolute lack of informa- tion at CPA headquarters on field actions in any one industry. With over 36,000 cases handled locally, CPA offices in Washington still have no facts and figures on general con struction pictures throughout the country. MARKHAM REGIME SEEN CUEING WGY CHANGES Schenectady, May 28. Appointment of George Emerson Markham, director of General Elec- tric Co. agricultural broadcasting for 22 years and for the past several years manager of its WGFM and WRGB stations, as WGY manager, succeeding Kolin D. Hagar, resigned, has brought no immediately notice- able changes. Observers believe, however, that there will be some, because Markham is known to be a man with definite ideas about radio. Although most of his WGY activities have been on farm and science pro- grams, he is well acquainted with all phases of broadcasting. Mark- ham's experience with FM radio and television makes him a particularly well rounded radio executive. Some sideliners think that the new WGY boss will have different ideas about production and the amount of money to be spent on it. He is credited with having sharp ideas and high ideals about radio and radio presentation. Agencies That Gripe Vs. Spot Adjacencies Insist On Slots, Sez Fred Weber New Orleans. Editor, Variety: Your recent article on spot an- nouncements stealing the show was very interesting. Having experi- enced some 20 years of the business on both sides of the network and station announcement picture, it prompts some expression of opinion. The same advertising agencies producing the network shows are the purchasers of announcements. It is they who insist that a purchase be based on the survey of the pro- gram preceding and following the offered spot. These agencies do not wish time surrounding sustaining local or net- work shows. They will only pur- chase the.spot surrounding the rated commercial show. Thus, how can the industry be condemned by the group that justifies the condition? The economics are not the con- trolling factor, though it must be recognized that spot announcements revenue must assume its share of the expense of current and future development of broadcasting opera- tion. Fred Weber. General Manager, WDSU. WSYR, WELI Want to Use US. DX, Compound PW Drive to Ditch Lines Toledo—Judith Lawton has been named^jirogram director and Wil- liam H. Spencer commercial man- ager of WTOD, Toledo, new radio station soon to begin operations. San Antonio—Owen Johnson has been named merchandising arid pro- motion manager of KTSA; replacing Bud Lutz,. who resigned last week. Johnson was recently discharged from the, Air Corps and was a for- mer announcer at WGST, Atlanta. The attack against A.T.&T.'s mo- nopoly of land lines for radio, be- gun two weeks ago with the Press Wireless, Inc., tests for beaming radio programs by :hortwave, has now been joined by two stations which have asked FCC for per- mission to pitk up the U. S. State Dept.'s programs originating from the United Nations in New York. Press Wireless this week conclud- ed its tests,, during which time it beamed shows from its shortwave transmitters near New York and relayed some of the test-shots from its West Coast transmitter. FCC authorized the tests, strictly on a non-commercial basis. But if the system proves feasible, several doz- en stations around the country have already indicated that they would like to hook up with PW. That would be the first break in the FCC's traditional guardianship, of the telephone trust's right to ex- clusivity in the business of relaying radio programs by land wires in- side the United States. However, while reports were still being awaited about the results of the-PW tests, stations WSYR, Syra- cuse, and WELI, New Haven, have petitioned FCC for .permission to pick up the State Dept. DX shows out of the UN. It's understood that a number of. other stations, unwill- ing or unable to pay the A.T.&T. charges for lines directly to the UN, would follow suit by picking up the State Dept. shortwave cover- age if permision is granted to WSYR and WELI. "We are doing our best," said E. R. Vadeboncoeur, veepee of WSYR, "to carry a great deal of news and analysis of the United Nations Security Council meetings. But no matter how good a job we do, we feel certain that the ability of our station to make it possible for our listeners to hear the actual voices of the delegates, during the course of the actual proceedings, would give us an educational and informational medium for making UN proceedings understandable and interesting which could not be equaled by any other form of broadcasting." . Shows for the Press Wireless tests originated in studios of N. Y. indies WMCA and WNEW,. plus a special studio set up in the Times Tower at 42nd and Broadway. Heard on the shows were WMCA prexy Nathan | Straus. WNEW program director • | Ted Cott, WMCA's nightly "Five- 1 Star Final" documentary, and com- I mentators Quincy - Howe, Royal ] Arch Gunnison, Charles Hodges, I Frank Kingdon, George Eliot and I Don Dunphy. ! Wichita—KFH teed off last week with the first in its series of public service shows designed especially for the benefit of returning service- men. Mrs. Thackrey Wants KLAC So Badly She's Spent 22G for Bally Washingtoh, May 28, New York Post publisher Dorothy Thackrey told the FCC last week (23) she has already sunk $22,000 in publicity for a change in call letters of station KMTR, Hollywood, to KLAC. In a formal motion, she called on FCC to over-ride protests of existing L. A. station KFAC ■which claims the new call is so similar to ts own that listeners will be confused and its own listening impaired. Mrs. Thackrey, who recently bought KMTR, switched to the new call letters on the ground .that she was inaugurating an entirely new program policy and wanted listeners to know they were getting a new service. In addition to the $22,000 she has .personally invested in advertising the new call KLAC in billboards trade press ads, etc., the Los An geles Daily News has spent $6,000 to publicize its newscasts as com ing from station KLAC. The Bb hemian Distributing Co. has also put out $4,200, her motion declares, to boost, its sponsorship of the Pa ciflc Coast Baseball League over the Thackrey station. Another flack campaign has touted the switchover of Al Jarvis' "Make Believe Ball- room" show from the Warner Bros, station to KLAC. Pointing to stations with similar calls in several other U. S. cities Mrs. Thackrey stressed that since KLAC is at 750kc on the dial, and KFAC is way up at 1330kc, there is little chance of confusion. has nation's highest McCarthy rating "We mowed 'em down, so help usl" Quoting The itttboard again, here's the way they dialed in Buffalo* riOAIAM Cdgit Bitgtn fr«a Alit Bing Croiby Mf. D. A. Itch Htley (mi Qtley J. C. ThomM IVEN A G. I. WOULD LIKE THOSE BONUS POINTS