Variety (Sep 1947)

Wednesday, September 3, 1947 PfiRlETY IKADIQ 27 BARGAIN BASEMENT 'No More Kestens Around': CBS CBS' promotion-advertising exec situation has resolved itself into' the conviction—long shared by the network—that "Paul Kesten's a tough man to follow." Since, years ago, Kesten moved up, and eventually retired from the network operation, CBS, in a multiple turnover of executives, has tried to duplicate the inspirational quali- ties that went into the web's top promotional job. Without admitting so in so many words, CBS now has practically resigned itself to an awareness that "there aren't any more Kestens around." Latest of the promotional-advertising execs relinquishing the berth ,is Dave Fredericks, who has been transferred to other activity. And CBS says they're not even going to try to get a new man. William Golden, who handled the job prior to Frederick's entry, is again taking over. It's the opinion' of the web echelon that Gojden, and for that matter Fredericks, is a man of considerable talents with proper promotional know-how. But the quest for another Kesten has definitely ended. , Meanwhile the web is continuing its search . for a top operator, preferably a man with agency background, to move in on sales- programming as liaison 'between the sales and program depts. and clients and agencies. That, too, CBS concedes, is a tough nut to crack. OF Radio-Conscious AFL Planning Major Drive Vs. Taft-Hartley Law Washington, Sept. 2. ♦ The chip-heavy American Federa- tion of Labor is getting ready tojdish out another healthy block of dough for purchase of radio time to defeat the Capitol Hill solons who voted Jor the Taft-Hartley Act. The usually conservative Federation, which got its feet wet in radio with a $400,000 ether campaign to block passage of the T-H legislation last June-July, is writing off that abortive attempt as "too little and too late." How- ever, enthusiastic audience response to that initial flier has apparently sold the DAR of trade unions on radio as a propaganda medium. As a result, the AFL is about to break with the past, become an active po- litical partisan and spark an all-out ether fight to upset the labor law. Teeoff is expected this week in a radio address by George Meany. The AFL secretary, who worked closely on this summer's radio cam- paign, will make the first affirmative plug for funds in a recommendation to the AFL's all-powerful executive board, -which meets in Chicago next week. And, if the executive board backs him up, Meany is expected to have little trouble selling the AFL membership on the idea when they get together at their Frisco conven- tion in October. Same technique of pooling talents of the AFL enter- tainment unions to produce the shows—with each performer accept- ing the lowest union rate for his (Continued on page 40) How Hooper fcates Em (Sept. 1) "Mr. D. A." 11.1 "Take It-Leave It" 10.1 "Man Called X".., 10,0 "Hit Parade" 8.8 "Crime Doctor" .....- 8.3 "Inner Sanctum" 8.2 "Big Story" 8.2 "This Is Your FBI" 8.0 "Sam Spade" 7.8 "Break the Bank" 7.8 "Man, Merry-Go-Round"... 7.5 "Dr. I. Q." 7.5 "Col Stoopnagle" . 7.4 "Can You Top This ". 7.2 "Crime Photographer" .... 7.1 "Meet Corliss Archer" 7.1 "Murder—Mr. Malone" 7.1 Airwaves Heavy With Smoke as Cig Companies Make Their Best Showing Richards to Package, Sell Time on Trio of 50 Kw's; 'Blanket the Nation Bally Hollywood, Sept. 2. Pitching for national accounts, G. A. Richards plans to "package" his three 50.000-watt stations, KMPC, Los Angeles; WJR, Detroit, and WGAR, Cleveland, as a unit. Over- all promotion being planned will stress the combination, rather than stations singly, aim being to impress that Richards' enterprises virtually blanket the nation. The Stanley Boynton Co., of De- troit, is currently working out de- tails of the plan, first discussed at a •recent meeting in Chicago by the managements of all three, and over which Richards himself presided. Promotional campaign will-probably break around the first of the year, heavy concentration being planned in trade journals, etc. Toni Technique: Integrating Show To Fit the Plug ■ Chicago. Sept. 2. Toni Permanent Hair Wave, through its agency, Foote, Cone & Belding, is reversing the process of selecting a program. The custom has been to first buy a show and then see about integrating the com- mercial. For the 11-11:15 a.m. strip which Toni bought on NBC last week the account will base its choice of a soap opera on how snugly or effectively the plug itself fits into the show. The Schwerin organization, with which Toni recently signed a con- tract, will have the task of testing the idea. Candidate soapers with the commercials dubbed into the audition records will be played for audience panels and the reactions (Continu CORWIN'S UN SHOW TO GET CBS AIRING Norman Corwin's specially tran- scribed United Nations show will be aired on CBS on Tuesday night, Sept. 16. in the 10-10:30 period, with a live pickup by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Program, describing the results of the UN General Assembly and the forecast for the next Assembly, will get a world-wide distribution. BBC will transcribe the Corwin show, with platters being sent to other paiU of,the globe., MAX WYLIE PASSES UP MBS POST TO FREELANCE Max TiVylie, until recently with Young $ Rubicam, has since ac- cepted arid then turned down a pro- duction supervisory job with the Mutual/iietwork," in order to devote- iull time to writing. His assign- ments include fiction, magazine arti- cles and several book reviews, as well as audition scripts for radio and work on a legit play. He figures his present commitments will re- quire about a year, full time. The Mutual job. which Wylie first agreed to take but reconsidered and refused, is said to have called for a big salary. However, he believes the various freelance writing stints will pay off higher and. in any case, are something he's long wanted time to do. The legit play he'll work on is a comedy about psychiatry and progressive education. Another play, "The Greatest of These," was tried out on the road last spring, but dropped. Wylie is a brother of novelist Philip Wylie. ,, . .,. Washington, Sept. 2. Day may eventually arrive when licensees will be trading their radio station permits for not much more than the price of a new car, if the present trend continues. In the past three weeks, the FCC has been on the receiving end of at least a dozen requests to barter off licenses and construction permits at what look like rock bottom prices. Apart from the price factor, there is an unusual amount of just plain horse-trading among permit-hsolders. A lot of stockholders are backing out of new station bids, new money (though not much of it) is coming in. In other instances, well-known radio figures, who have bought and sold one or more stations during the lush war years, are appearing as po- tential buyers of new station prop- erties.' All of which is making i?CC sit up and take notice, particularly on the "license trafficking, angle." Another unioue angle is the up- surge in swapping of mere construc- tion permits at what looks like no more than the organizational costs of getting the original corporation together. As the competition gets tougher, the bidders appear to be getting scared and trying, at least, to salvage their investment. Here are a few of the transfer, ap- plications which have reached FCC in the past week: 1. Clarence L. Menser, ex-NBC veepee in charge of programming, applied to take over the c.p. of sta- tion WBLW. Lake Worth, Fla., for $10,214 in cash and.a promise to pay off outstanding obligations (about $2 500 worth to station's radio law- yer and engineer). James Edmund- son, who masterminded the original application, says he is getting out of radio because of bad health. If FCC pooroves, Menser will move to Lake Worth and supervise the station. WBLW was authorized last April. 2. Elsewhere in Florida, the Wab- ash Broadcasting Corp. put in a bid for the license of 10-month-old WDHL, Bradenton. for a bare $70,- 000. Station, a fulltime outlet, has a net income under $3,000 for its ten months on the air. 3. In Michigan, owners of WABJ, Adrian, wanted the FCC okay to transfer this fulltime station to one James Gerity, Jr., for $62,000. In Flint, Mich., the Drohlich brothers, present owners of WWOK applied to sell it to the Cooperative Radio Co. of Houston, Tex., for $100,000. The Drohlichs earlier sold KDRO. Sedalia, Mo. They claimed that with at least seven other grants in the Flint area they are unwilling to con- tinue a hazardous radio operation. They expected to get their station on the air for $40,000 but actually spent over $80,000 with the hikes in con- struction and labor costs. 4. In New York state, ex-news- paperman Bernard Johnpoll, re- cently authorized to build a local waiter in Liberty, N. Y.. applied to assign his construction permit to the Sullivan County Broadcasting Corp. for a sales ticket covering his actual organizational expenses. The call letters of the Liberty station are WVOS. The situation can be -duplicated in 23 other cases by "actual FCC count. It looks like the "gold filsh" days in radio are definielly over.—-' :. _1 -"'- - ♦ ' Now Is That Nice? Hollywood, Sept. 2. Call it an oddity, irony or what you will but ABC last week sold a piece of time that will evoke both anguish and tit- tering. Right after Drew Pear- son goes on his prediction binge and before Jimmie Fidler gives out with his exclusives—in be- tween, mind you—a chap selling oil shampoo will shriek, "don't you believe it." That's the name of the show and the sponsor won't change it. If they, don't like their neighbors they can always move. Cowan s.8-Way Roster Impetus To Transcription Biz Emergence of the Louis G. Cowan transcription business from a single show ("Murder at Midnight") opera- tion one year ago to a current eight- program showcasing .with billings covering 375 stations throughout the country, offers evidence anew of the competitive situation shaping up the fall and winter among the platter impresarios. It's the opinion within the trade that the open-end transcription biz, aimed' at local sponsorship, will reflect itself in unprecedented b.o. returns during the '47-'48 semester, particularly now that top show, biz personalities have tossed their hats into the transcrip- tion ring. Cowan's upswing into the bigtime is also evidenced by his "live pro- gramming" activities, which will include an upcoming "FRD America" farm show series scheduled for a Mutual teeoff next month, with most of the programs originating from WGN in Chicago." Also on tap is a new show tabbed "Mr. Unknown." The Cowan transcription roster includes the new Tommy Dorscy disk jockey show for five or more full hours a week (it preems Sept. 8 on 150 stations, with WMCA. N.Y., carrying it 12 hours a week): the "Murder at Midnight" half-hour mystery package; "Smiths of Holly- wood," the half-hour situation com- edy with Arthur Treacher, Brcnda Marshall and Harry VonZell; "Red Ryder," the half-hour comic-strip western; "David Street Song Shop." quarter-hour musical; "Theatre of Famous Radio Players." prestige dramatic series; "Barbershop Har- monies," 15-minute musical and Gaslight Quartet, and the Joe McCarthy five-minute sports com- mentary. . . ♦ The new broadcasting season finds the cigaret companies more firmly entrenched in radio than at any previous time. They've been buy- ing up shows—daytime and night- time—at an accelerated pace within the past couple of months, indicative of a competitive era that's probably unprecedented. All told, the net- works are pocketing additional mil- lions in billings this fall as the ciggie firms tee oft their multiple programming roster. Chesterfield's "Supper Club" on CBS . has long satisfied its client as a solo network effort, but now has splurged into the daytime field with the cross-the-boar,d bankrolling of the Arthur Godfrey CBS show. American Tobacco (Lucky Strikes and Pall Mall) is practically shoot- ing the works. Besides Jack Benny and "Hit Parade," Jack Poar joins the fall-winter roster as an LS 'MFT standard-bearer, with Pall Mall hik- ing its budget to take on the high- priced "Best Show of the Year" reprise program. Philip Morris,Already entrenched with a flock of network commer- cials, including Milton Berle on NBC, "Crime Doctor" and "It Pays to be Ignorant" on CBS, and "Heart's Desire" on Mutual, is in the market for an additional show, aimed spe- cifically at the under-21 age cus- tomer bracket. Old Gold has the $17,500-budgeted Frank Morgan-Frances Langford-Don Ameche CBS show on tap an.l Camel goes to the post with "Screen Guild Players," Bob Hawk and a 15-minute daily segment of Paul Whiteman on ABC. Raleigh repeats with both Red Skelton and "People Are Funny." Sponsor Trouble Causes Russell 'Break' Bowout Chicago, Sept. 2. Sponsor trouble caused Connie Waring Shift to Give NBC A Sock Curtain-Raiser While Hiking Show Rate Fred Waring's morning NBC show gets off the Tom Breneman hook Sept. 29, when it moves from the 11 a.m. (opposite "Breakfast in Holly- wood") period to 10 a.m. The three-way Breneman, Waring and ArthuivGodfrey (CBS> opposi- tion programming has consistently put the former in the ratine lead, with the latest Hoooers showing Breneman with a 4.1 for the first 15-minute segment and 4.5 for the latter quarter, while Waring snared 3.2 for the American Meat Institute Russell, chanteuse, to bow out of the sponsors hip days and 3.3 under the finals for the NBC "Big Break" show. Singer was one of the four con- testants due to originate Sept. 7 from New York. McLaughlin House Coffee, which air Miss Russell locally, nixed the deal when it found out that she would have to miss several broad- casts here in order to appear in N. Y. Sponsor also chilled to idea that gal was going to get big break at last. Figured that was what they were paying her for all this time. . , . Ask New Method In License Bids Washington. Sept. 2. An FCC Bar Assn. Committee has recommended a brand new method of handling new station bids which, if adopted by the Commission, may revolutionize present methods of processing station requests. Committee has suggested that, once an application is f^ed. all standard broadcast bidders be required to ad- vertise the fact twice a week for three weeks in their hometown pa- per. FCC would wait 90 days alter the date on which the bid was filed, and then announce flatly th'it jio competing requests would be con- sidered for that channel. FCC engi- neers and lawyers would then proc- ess the request, regardless of any conflicting bids which might be filed before a construction permit could be handed out. As the Bar Assn. committee sees it, this would give everybody fair warn- ing when a new bid is filed, and at the same time speed up FCC action on applications. It would also tend to discourage last-minute filing of block applications, which now tie- FCC's hands for yen's pt a time. The recommendation has been for- warded to the Commission informal- ly, but has not yet gone before the executive committee of the Bar Assn. The exec committee must okay the procedure before it becomes official. Idea was advanced by committee composed of radio attorneys Leonard Marks,.' chairmtnr"Philip—Bergson, Francis Welch, Omar Crooks. David Tolman and Robert Irwin. JAP RADIO AIDS IN INFO ON U.S. ARMY WAR DEAD Tokyo, Aug. 19. Minnesota Canning bankrolling. God- Jap radio stations last week wer« frey's Chesterfield stanza has a 2.7. j enlisted in a new role—that of aid- Variety of factors were involved in I ing in the . recovery of bodies of the Waring shift, with the imminent ! American war dead still buried in sale of the 11 a.m. segment, of course. < Nippon. not the least among them. NBC. too. on the basis of the Waring top audi- ence pull in the mountain zones, when he's heard at 8 a.m.. feels the 10 o'clock eastern slotting gives it a sock curtain-raiser on the day. "Katie's Daughter," formerly heard at 10 yi moves into U:,15., ,..',, ., vl Stations daily devote spot an- nouncements urging Japs to volun- teer information regarding burial *pots to U. S. Army personnel. Of- ficials believe almost all bodies have been located, but are making one final, far-reaching search just to make sure. ,. ,., ... . , 4 ,ij