Variety (Oct 1948)

80 f^BsSlfftf Wedooxilar, Oetolier 13, 1948 Tele s First libel Siut (Reniigton Vs. Bendey, NBC) Eyed foL Precedent Television's first libel suit was- filed last week and it stirred up plenty of apprehension in industry circles as to the precedent it might establish regarding telecasters' liability for what's said or depicted via TV. William W. Romington, suspend- ed Dept. of Commerce official accused bv Elizabeth T. Bentley of being a Communist, filed for $100,- 000 damages in thft N. Y, district Federal court. He named Miss Bentley. NBC and General Foods as co-delcndanis The action is based on remarks by Miss Bentley, a self-coniessed former Communist spy, durmg an NBC telecast of "Meet the Press," sponsored by .GF. Summons in the suit have been . 'served on the . network and spon- sor, but no hearing can be slated until Miss Bentley also is served, and up to yesterday (Tues.) she had not been located, according to Richard G. Green, counsel for Bemington. NBC was not without warning that the suit .would be filed. Sev- .eral weeks ago Remington an- nounced Ivis intention of suing unr less both Miss Bentley and the netr. work immediately retracted the acr' cusation. wliich he termed "unti'iiCt false and defamatory." NBC sub- sequently, during a newsreel, tele- vised a film clip of Remington de- nouncing the cliarses. But the net apparent!> expects to let a test case be made ol Remington's suit. Web execs are .100% mum on the case. Their sit-tight stance in permitting the suit to be instituted rather than' airing a retraction, however,-, is :believed to be . pre- dicated on counsel's advice that the. question might as well be cleared up this way. It's also apparent that the web doesn't feel that'the suit will stick, as far as the network is concerned, despite a recent New Jersey court ruling holding broad- casters liable for : libelous state- ments they air. ; There's; a question, too, it's said, of whether statements aired where no script is myolved .(as in this case). constiluie/grounds for libel ■■ action or slander. • . AGVA WHinLES SCALE FOR NITERY TELECASTS Hollywood, Oct. 12. American Guild of Vai'iety Ar- tists has combed down its.,scale for television. The old rule which stipulate4; that an act working a nitery floorshow or a theatre bill must receive a full week's extra salary if even one portion of show was televised has been scrapped. Obviously the union found that no spot was willing to televise a show under so stiff a scale. The scale now is strictly per- shot, and it has been slightly re- duced and also segmented on a sliding arrangement with one free rehearsal, a concession heretofore not granted by AGVA. Scale per act now is $75 for 90 min. Show, $60 for one hour; $50, 30 mins.; $40, 15-mlns. or any frac^ tion. In the past minimum was $60. U. of P., WCAU Launch Accredited College Course on Television Com Exchange National Bank has contracted for a half hour show on WPTZ, Philly, on a 52^ Week hasis. Welsh agency handled the deal. Program called "Corn Exchange Open House" Is pro- duced by Roy Neal and directed by Cal Jones, both of the WPTZ staff. The show features guest celebs with Neal doing the inter- views and Lee Morgan, KYW songstress spotted for the musical interludes. Nurscrytime Products joined Jay Buckhell Co. as participating spon- sor "11 DuMont's "Doorway to Fame" series. Agency ii Jules Mirel. Great Ga4irets Go,, thioush the Charles Spark Productions Corp:, signed as a participating sponsor on "Swing Into Sports,' also aired Monday nights on the DuMont web. Ross Jewelry inked to pact Mon- day, night wrestling matches on WTTG, DuMont outlet in Washing- ton. Agency is, Mellor & Wallace. National Preminm, Beer, bankroll- ing all 1948-49 games of the Wash- ington Capitols basketball team on the same station^ through, the Owen & Chappell agency. Gruen Watch, through the Grey agency, signed for nine weeks of one-minute spots during GBS-TV's "Film Theatre of the Air" on Thursdays and Fridays: Armen, Inc., pacted for 10 weeks of one- minute spots on Wednesday after- noons through - Bliss & Marcus. Ladies Home Journal has sched^ Uled three one-minute ^ plugs lOn CBS-TV shows through BBD&O. Borden Cheese, throuipi Young Di,ii„^.>i„T,io !•> i& Rubicam, inked for 10 spats a TV .-S' ?h^' ^Tniv of week for 13 weeks over thre?N. Y. WCAU-TV and the Univ. of ,(,,,ions, WCBS-TV, WABD and Pennsylvania have linked forces to WPlX launch the first complete course i ,/i.,.iA„.. >.i:«v,4^. ■w:^m 4.»TA.,s„s»« 4.v,t.. i^nfinw' Various clients of the Wendt in television in this section. agency have taken over much of The course,, which takes in three 1.^. time on Toledo sta«on WSPni < the time on Toledo station WSFI>- TV. Dolphin Paint tt Varnish has a 13 weeks' series of film spots hours of work each week for. the duration of the scholastic year, was started at the WCAU-TV stu- ?un"threr«mM'VeekV" Fremont dios. The pupils were selected by , Rubber has a similai- contract; tee Cleve. Focal Spot For Midwest TV Election Job the University and the radio sta- tion and were, picked from more than 150 applicants. ' \' Determining factors in choosing students were radio TV back- ground, scholastic rating and em- ployment status. The course is not restricted to undergrads, but is open to the general public as I well. Training last 30 weeks and all phases of video will be taught by WCAU-TV staffers. Studies take in lighting, camera work, controls, production, direc-; tion, makeup,, set design, station administration and other subjects. . j „^ Classroom work is being supple Cleveland, Oct. 12. mented with actual TV demonstra- Rapidly completing Its sched- tions on station equipment, uled plans for opening, NBC's tele- , j{ ^ j j^jj,. wcaU's edii- vision Qutlet here, WNBK is to be caUral d Lc^or is s^^^^^^^ the origination point of the mid-] coordinating the course Dr Motors bankrolls weather reports, and Athletic Supply Co. sponsors all Toledo Univ. basketball games carried by the station. Athletic Supply and Christian-Sheidler Co., radio retailers, bankroll Toledo high' football games; - Lee . Motors sponsors: boxing matches, and the Covert-Ohio Co. bankrolls a series of shows on f ly-eastlng lessons. 'Off Record' Off for Week "Off the Record," scheduled for the ^PuMotit teleyl^dii netwttrk last jnight' (TueS.:.) i was; pbsitppned be- cause of the illness pf announcer Ken Roberts,, iot whom • large' part had been written, into the show. Half-hour comedy prbgrani, F;edeTck'TrXr^rofessor ""i T.^T" ^l^^^" .west net election coverage. i Sr'"?iif?L^i\Li»'"S education, rTpresents''tre"univert' t^n^ed a takeoff on Vabiety's. re- caslon will be NBC's Alex Dreier, Robert McCormack and Ad Schneider. Cities in the net will be Cleveland, Chicago, Buffalo, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Detroit and Toledo. WNBK, a unit of NBC's WTAM, is expected to utilize, too, the : services of Ed Wallace, WTAM's ] News. Directorj and the newsroom ] staff. I Meanwhile, station's TV test pat-' tern is moving along on channel 4, and WTAM's Manager John Mc- Cormiek reports an excellent sif?- nal; Station's TV unit is utili-iinf? one tower combining FM and AM. I sity.: The tele classes are consid- ered part of the school's college collateral courses and that depart- ment will award its certificate to the students completing the studies. View of the preem stanza two weeks ago. Show will be staged next Tues- day (19) if Roberts recovers In time. If not, Gosch will fill in with another script. Worid Series Roundup Television coverage of the 1948 World Series games played at Braves Field, Boston, was probably as dull and inept as any seen by N. Y. viewers accustomed to the more polished efforts of the Gotham camera crews. First, second and sixth games were originated by the WNAC-TV crew In Boston and the station's management, perhaps wisely, refused to reveal the identities of the director and cameramen. Excuse offered W£fs that the station has a strict rule against any "personal publicity*' for staffers on any show carried as a pool venture. In marked contrast was the fine camera coverage turned in by ths WEWS crew for the third, fourth and fifth games played in Cleveland. Ernest Sindelar directed that operation, with James Klrkeyr James T. Murphy and Ed W. Walsh maintaining good camera mobility, with llttlt dullness and no .confusion. Bed Borber etndentlj/ had a toord or two, or three, or four to say after that jlrst crame in Bottan. lyhot that yn^AC camera crew did to him in the opener unu murder. Barber tnmid ash the lens bi^s to ptch up-some action and again and again they'd jgntore himi lt made Barber look foolish and translated on recehring sets as-poor work. The second gome was better. Jt comes down to the fact that when a camera director ignores his announcer it handcuffs that announcer to tohotever is showini/ <m his monitor. 'Accordin^Iv, he could as. toell stay at horn* and do the broadcast pom his receiver there. Walter Haccn used to say that when ke started vat to jfin m ronnA •r KoV he flgwied to make seven bad sh*ts iririeli Is mhj tke bad wiea didn't bwtker Mm. Hagen may have bad WNAC in mind, too. Thai ataticn's maUte mit on the series missed plenty from tbe video old*. G«rdM'f«ecMM game first inninp booi^ raadting In Boston's «mly ;nui» never eanw Mcr the air at all. Tli«t bceiiase the camera wis foi- lowfatc the nam "T to first. A couple of BlUM's errors at third were als* sloppily dlqdarcd hut WNAC was no more gadtty than many nther ontiets tai faUing to cover hot smashes down the fonl lines. Hie fanlt Is the ovenMe af narrow field lenses teloaeaps) whidi demand fnll panntng. Hm eameramen can't swing the "heads" qnicUy enough t« - stay with the haU. Except when the ball was hit WNAC offered only two views of th* entirv playter MA, the box and the plate or Jnst the trio at tbe plat*. It made for «. monotonous' and cramped'depiction .«f a'baselndlsgameii Bid yon ever hear of claustrophobia from a camera director's-manin ■for.closenps? . You Willi-■■ ■.■■ ■ ."■■■■-■.': ■.■,'.• .■.■'.■.■.■ ■, , :,■■ ■: Gillette's commercials were mostly film, short and to the point: But the beat one was only used-once—a silent Gillette, speUed out and superimposed on - the. diamond as the teams changed sides between innings. Otl^er sponsors have used tlieir names or product similarly, the differencf here being In the silence. . ^ Whether if « baseball or /ootbaU, it has become apparent that a pood vJM onnouncer ond your ouwi imogination offer a better picture of « game than a bad caviera crew. While WNAC^TV's crew deserves the blame for much of the slopnr qamera work, that lopped-off shot of the pitehen batter and catcher was not the stotion^s fault, Braves Field has no lower stand, so that it was necessary to perch the camera high up above the field. Shooting dowh''''fi'om that angle. It was thus tmpossiUe-to line up all three play- ers on the screen at the same time. Viewers must have been Irritated during that sixth and ftnai game, when the relay link between Boston and N; Y. conked out at a crucial moment in the fourth inning. Blank screen lasted only a few minutes, though, with the action coming back in time to catch the play. WNAC was stni .glvhig Just an ordinary and tontine account through* out the final game in Boston. The-narration (Red Barber) continued better than the photographic job and it will be that way until camera directors know their game or are snppUed with assistants who will sit with and gnide them in tkeir view selection. ^Ich brings Up tho point that the camera director is entitled to the same billing as th* narrator. Tom Hussey, of WNAC, did the fifth and sixth inning announcing for all Boston games. ;i4 switching of comeros lost to the audience the Cleveland dbiibls play in the sixth inning. The cameras got the second base action but TfiUtfed the relay and out at first in going from a medium shot to • closewp. This is a good example of needless "technique" ond what irritates viewers. New York . . Bigelw-Sanfoi-d Carpet Co., in television conjunction with the Young & Rubicam ad agency, hosting the press with a ■ cocktail party in the RCA buUdinfi's Rainbow Gfill tomdrrow (Thursday) night to help launch the new "Bigelow Show" on the NBC-TV web. Show stars men- talist 'Dunnin«rer and ventriloquist Paul Winchell, with - Billy Rose guesting on the preem :. . ; MUscle- builder Joe Bonomo now planning WNBQ JiuHi^ the Gun Chicago, Oct. 12. WNBQ, NBC te}e station now in the final testing stage; got special FCC permission last week to use the three: world series games from , , , ,. .,, .; Cleveland as test program fare.'*" 1, "^'s Building the Body Tests caused some muttering I ^„^^"*'*"1 ^ ^ '" series on? the- DuMonit web among other telecasters who said that regardless of FCC blessing, WNBQ beaming of Gillette com- mercials was contrary: to commis- .fiion regulations. WNBQ signal was clear and well defined. Date for regular ■ pro- gramming is still to be set for the NBC station, which will be the fourth in Chicago. CBS-TV web, with A. C. Gilbert HILLBILLY TEtJB SHOETS Dallas, Oct. 12. The Sack Television Enterprises, Subsidiary of the Sack . Amuse-. „ „,.„„ ■ „ „j.„„^ .i monis Vnturnriap.! is riirriintiv ^ ^" ^ ^''^Se ShoW OCCUrs next ^tuiL , It^n IV A iJ^ I Tuesday (19). when "My Romance," making a series of 13 tele shorts, ^pw .Sipmiinil Rnmhor? mii<!if.al tele pickup of the show because he reportedly felt he didn't look too well on the telesci-eens . . . James E. Bailey, managing director of WAGA, Fort Industry station in Atlanta, and George B. Storer, ,Ir., FI's tele chief, in N.Y. for huddles with CBS execs . . . Olympic Radio & Television's new Duplicator set, which makes possible the duplica- tion in as many as 12 different remote locations of the telCshOw received on a single master set. mtroed to dealers and the press at a Hotel New Yorker cocktail party last week . . . Jobs Unlimited, N.Y. Television Features, Inc., new'tele . P^^l*"?"*^^ organization servicing ad film package agency, formed in N.Y. Larry Gordon, member of Photographic Illustrators is prez, Mrs.' Ann. Griffen is treasurer, and Nancy Gould, secretary. First pro- ject is a feature on brotherhood, produced in conjunction with the U.S. Army for the National Con- ference of Christians and Jews . . , agencies and broadcasters, added a television division, designed as a national clearing house for ali creative, technical and adminis- trative personnel for agencies and stations. Outfit will not handle talent, however . . . Milan Greer, until now assistant manager of WORs transcription departmant, joined the Irvin Paul Sulds package .' ■Roar of the Rails," new tele series i , w i , ■ - •■°- dramatizing historic railroading ! *'l'<i" now produces "Court events, set to tee off Oct, 26 on the ; .°" Jt'^e DuMont net RCA decided to pay all Camerii highlight was Spahn's pickoff play in the eighth. The lens also trapped the runner oft first and followed the throw to the plats where a second runner, coming in from third, was tagged out. Thers was no time for a camera switch here^^luckily. Three games transmitted by co ax from Cleveland over the new^/' opened midwest network drove Jiome tele's full impact on sports-minded foM throughout the area. From here on out, the populace can be defimteVu classified (fs on the video Mck. Set sales in coviing weeks are expected to triple the totals of corresponding periods last year. WNAC-TV's -Tom Hnssey and WEWS' Van Patrick, who spelled Bar- ber for several Innines from Boston and Cleveland, respectively, easily Sli? .^-^ K.* commentary. Each of them has been covering his local team thronj^hout the season, with their knowl- color material the m an o pportunity to fill In with much lan°rt'?*P^™^a-'*^+K'* television tricks yet scored was WEWS' (Cleve- Oot 4 w#llV^«''^^^''lt"^"^!?^ precedent-making playoff gams fnd w;th^«^^la♦t^^°J'^'^.,*-^^•*"i'''^^'™« scoreboard in the studio B^^t™ «»h™ « «nd Tris Speaker doing the calling of plays from Station, after a humed session, securing a large scoreboard ■ X th« «t'^;'^i"^.f'*^P!i'^"''!}^f*'''■^ cooperation » il^t -^J * ''"ard before. WEWS was able to I present video-wise a visual record of runs, hits errors etc As a ' A'hTnrnT.iH""* ^""^T' Was Shown cSl scoreboard Sroper^sack ' Progressing down the baseline to the All in all, that stunt called for ingenuity, quick action and hpads un iMeaguratX\^ll CsfnvM^^^^^ ^^^tX^oillZ'^'^^l^^^^^^^ to^tLfn'^StatU^Ll^.'lit' "'^'■^ .'i"'^'"'^ <^<=<-<'»» ro tnem. Ittatwn operators say their split of the Gillette coin madu On'thZcZI Sffuvll" ^it'V'"^' 4"<'-°^' b«t in te'^^ 0 P^no- also helped ^ *" "'^^ following the gantet . Co. bankrolling the 15 - minute ! who've been with the show . . . First use of a tele set as S°fP°f <»{ its subsidi- aries for six months the difference between their base pay for their . ^ . „, „ ,, J u •' I Sigmund Romberg musical, l.^?.*.".?."'' .^",'"'"-' i opens on Broadway. Set is a U.S. Hillbilly Jamboree of Tocca, Ga. | Television table model . . . Garry Series, produced by Altred, Moore, emcee on NBC's Sunday JLester and Julius Sack at the night quiz show, "Take It or Leave Jamieson Studio here. ' It,'' killed, plans for a simultaneous last month of employment and what they receive for their first month's military service, if they're drafted or enlist, and will also continue for 31 days the. employees' (Continued on page .36) Chipp to DuMont Rodney Duane Chipp has bCen named engineering chief of the DuMont web. He. replaces Scott Helt, who's been transferred to the research division of the DuMont Labs. WJBK-TV Names Elvin Detroit, Oct. 12. Appointment of Ralph G. <Hank) Elvin to head the new Video sta- tiofi, WJBK-TV. which will begin operation Oct. 24, was announced by Fort Industries. '