Variety (April 1950)

Washington, April 4; 4- Action of Examiner J. T'red Johnson in rebessirig the G. A. Bichards hearings in LOs Angeles until September is expected to be strongly opposed by general counsel, Benedict Gottorie. It 5 un- derstood that Gottone IS waiting Cks. Baltin Now ai Charles Baltin has been upped td yeepee at WHOM, N. y>, multi- lingual indie. Baltin, who Has tieeh with the Geheroso PoperOWned sta^ tion for 10 years, will supervise Us V • r iocf Qatnrdflv’s I won lor xv yvmo, wm. . announcement bf adjournment^ by Johnson before filing an appeal, to | the Gomrnission to resume the pro- ceedings in 30; days; • , X Gommission advised Johnson last Friday that it was phay to c^l^ a recess after conclusion ' of FCC S direct testimony, but indicated that priority -Should .be given the L; A. heatings to wind them up as soon as possible. If it’s clear from the record that Johnson left no ailterna- tive to a five-month recess, it’s cer^ tain Gottone will file a vigorous objection. / Johnso'n’s postponement action, if correctly reported, is considered by FGG an Unreasonable prolonga- tion which would mean that hear- ings bn KMPC :in L. A; would not be conciuded before the end of the year, and that proceedings on oper- ations of: WJR in. Detroit and WGAR in Gieveland couldn’t begin before 1951. Such a prospect, it was learhed, goes far beyond the. agency’s intentions to proceed with the already longrdelayed case as fast as possible. . A delay of five months would also give Hugh Fulton, counsel for Richards, plenty of time to line up an array of witnesses in defense of FGG charges, thus further stretch- ing out the proceeding. Johnson’s reported announce- ment that he must get back to take over his hew duties as chief ex- IWJR. In the past he has served in sey-r eral po.sts, ittcluding program di- rector and assistant: general man- ager/:'' Vcdttesdayt; ApfH ,5V 1950 LEE FONDREN KLZ National Sales Manager Radio .time buyers know Dee Fondren, KDE National Salea Man- ager, as the man who gets 'em re- sults on Denver’s No. Hooper Station-^KLZ. WEAr, W Bo, Lahonia, N. H., April 4,; Warren H. .Brewster, former gen•^ era! manager of WDNH in thiis city has purchased WEAT at Lake Worth, Fla., for a reported price of $60,000; . . ■ Sale of the station, a fulltime 250-watter, formerly owned :by R. W. RbUnsaville, is subject to ap- proval by the FGG. Lansing, April 4. Michigan Republicans accused WJR, the George A> Richards sta- tion in Detroit, of permitting Gov. G. Mennen Winiams; a Democrat, to use radio time for “Democratic political propaganda.’’ Sen. John;. B. Martin, Jr.; of Grand Rapids, notified the station; that ■ Williams’ weekly • broadcast was a “hitter, partisan political at- tack” on Republican legislators. ; Martin demanded that the Gov- ernor’s speeches be “paid political Situation at WINS, N. Y., which early this Week dismissed its stu- dio orchestra of eight men, is viewed in the trade as crucial in determining whether the number aminer, to whleh he was appointed since the hearings began, ahd to preside at other proceedings, are not considered sufficiently valid to justify a five-month tecess. Com- mission has told Johnson his other assignments can he postponed. At a pre-hearing conference in Washington early last month John- son said he intended to go ahead with" the L. A. hearings as expedi- tiously as possible and to move on to Detroit and Cleveland with a mini- mum of delay. advertisements” or that Republi- of musicians employed by Gotham cans be given “equal free radio stations-^aiid eventually the net- time for answei^.” works—goes down, ; Martin said he had received .no - According to an official of Cros- aiiswer from Harry Wismer, execu- ley Broadcasting Cbrp,, which tive assistant to the preMdent of owns WINS, the decision to drop live music was “based upon the realiziation that for its type of op^ eratioii there was not sufficient public interest or advertiser accept- The Republican senator intro- duced a resolution in the Senate censoring the Governor for launch- ing a political attack on the ma- ance or preference to justify” keep- jority Republicans in the Degisla- ing an orch. At the same time that ture under the guise Of “a public WINS informed the American Fed- service program.” eration of Musicians Local 802 of The Governor’^ press secretary, its move it offered to negotiate an Paul W. Weber, insisted that the agreement to fill any future needs governor's speech had' “nothing partisan or derogatory” in it. Weber said it simply explained that there Was a difference Oyer “taxes and the Governor explained his stand:” Suspend Hearings to Sept, 23 Hollywood, April 4. i FGG hearing into application for renewal of HMPG license recessed here Saturday (1) after three weeks of testimony by a parade of 23 goy- ernmenL witnesses, who put into the record a long list of examples of alleged “slanting” of newscasts by station owner G. A. Richards, who also owns WJR, Detrbit, and WGAR, Cleveland. Hearings ex- aminer J. Fred Johnson, overruling a motion by chief FCC attorney Frederick Ford that the adjourn- ment be for. a maximum of 30 days,’ annouheed he will resume hearing testimony during the first week in (Continued on page 42) Cleveland’s 3 Dailies Re-discover Radio, TV; Opening Up News, Ads . Cleveland, April 4. This city’s three dailies have re discovered radio and television; The Cleveland News set the new note with a revitalized radio-tele- vision page under editor Elmore Bacon. Dressed Up in new type and new format, the paper gave Bacon an additional three-quarters of a column space to broaden put the log. At the same , time, by us- ing bigger type, eight-point Cor- bna, and by putting the houVs in big type, in the middle of tfie log, the News expedited finding pro- ' grams. •• -• Within a day, the other two pa* peas followed the News’ style of us- ing one large figure to highlight the hour, instead of the conyen- tibnal qUarter-hour breakdown. In still another respect, the pa- pers have yielded to radio. Pre- viously, it had been almost impos- sible for k sponsor to get his name in a radio advertisement. Papers believed this constituted a free plug for the product. Now, how- ever, a sponsor’s name can be seen ^Iqng with the paid advertisement of radio program, Finally, agen- cies placing ads report they are getting “better^ breaks” in adver- tising bn the radio page when they so request. REVERSING A TREND, ARIZONA GOING FM Mesa, Ariz., April 4. Application fof 50,000-watt FM license will be filed with the FCC this week by Sun Valley Broadcast- ing Co., which operates KTYL here. If deal goes through, new station will be the first FM outfit t • to operate in Arizona, where ap- proximately 25,000 FM sets have been gathering dust. KTYL, which recently received FCC sanction to jump from 250 to X,000 watts, will build new studio and transmitter, and plans to use separate facilities for FM outlet. Latter will follow the physical pat- tern of sistbr station, which identi- fies itself as “the drive-in station of the nation.” for musicians with union members. Terming the WINS action a “lockout,” a union official said he had placed pickets in front of the 50 kw. indie because WINS was the only metropolitan station to dis- charge its musical staffers./Pacts are or will be inked by the . end of the week with WQXR, WMGM, WHOM, WOV, WNEW, WBNX and WMCA, the union said, while the contract with WEVD has been extended through April 30 because of the manager’s illness. All stations have agreed to estab- iish a welfare fund of a 3% con- tribution by the employers, which Will go for health and hospital in- surance; and to continue the mu- sicians at pay scales in effect for the past year. However, reductions in personnel were tentatively agreed to by the union for several outlets-^WNEW coming down from (Continued on page 40) . Rbsb Franken’s “Claudia” is set for a new five nights per week r^dio : show to; be sponsored by, the Frahbb-Amefican division of Camp- bell Soups/ Talent and production budget bn the package, Mrhich will run 15 minutes nightly, is $10,000 per week. Shbivvis now seeking name talent to play both tHe V.’Dayid” and “Claudia” characters, with possi- bility that David Niven may be pacted for the husband role,' Net- work to carry the show has hot been determined. ”Claudia” was sponsored as a daytime series bn Mutual last year by local Coca-Cola distributbrs, but the show was hot aired by WOR; Mutual’s N. Y, out- let. While considerable interest has also been shown in “Claudia” by television broadcasters, Miss Frank- j en is holding off oh TV until the new radio show gets under way. Franco-American now sponsors CBS newscaster Edward R. Mur- fow five times weekly, but there is some question whether the firm will pick up its optioh oh that one. In addition, the parent Campbell Soup company last week negotiated for an additional half-hour of -’Dou-r ble or Nothing” bn NBC. F‘A also recently sought to buy Eddie An- derson, ‘“Rochester” bn the Jack Benny show, for a, daytime serial, but. Lucky Strike, which sponsors, Benny, nixed the deal. Burnett Nabs Another Chicago, April 4. The Leo Burnett agency contin- ues its upsurge with the acquisition last week of Bauer & Black (Ken- dall Co.) account. The billing which last year ran around $500,000 previously had/been han- dled by Henri, Hurst & McDonald. No immediate plans have been Barry’s AM-TVSehizo NBC finds itself in the unusual situa\ion of helving skedded one performer — Jack Barry —to play on AM and TV. in two different shows at the same time. Stanzas are “Life Begins At 80” and “Joe DiMaggio Show,” on both of which Barry is emcee/ Starting April 15, “Life” (now heard alternate Fridays) >Will go iiito the web's teevee lineup pre- ceding the “NBC Saturday Revue” at 7:30 p.m. On the same night, in the same slot, .‘’DiMaggio” starts its . run on the AM net, vi a tape, after having m 6 v e d over from CBS. NBC programmers are cutting down Barry’s role in the DiMaggio airer and have built up the base- baller’s participation to get him off the schizo hook. The two series are Barry-(Dan) Enright productions. WEWS Folds FMer Cleveland, April 4, Glevelaiid’s second FM station has retired from the field. Latest is WEWS, following , . ^ WLAL. fitill remaining as strictly set for radio or TV, according to FM outlets are W.CUO and WBOE. George Percy, B & B advertising WEWS continues, of course, to manager. The company has used keep its TV. sonic radio spot campaigns. LONE STAR CHAIN ELECTS Fort Worth, April 4. New officers of the LOne Star Chain, a 16-station regional state web, include Harold Hough of WBAP^ here, as prez; Charles D. Lutz, manager pf :KT$A, San An- tonio, and Fred Nahas, KXYZ, Houston, secretary-treasurer. Atlanta, April 4. Mudfiled radio situation here, due to merger Of Atlanta Journal (p.m.) and Constitution (morning) into one operating company, is be- ^ > ginning to c6me into focus. Jbiirnal owns and operates WSB, AM, FM and TV, and is the local NBC out- let. > Constitutibh’s station is WCON, AM and . FM, and was . scheduled to go on the air with TV within 90 days Upon completion of thieir tower on Forrest Road. A little over two years old, WCON is the ABC mouthpiece, an affiliation it latched into when WAGA gave the erstwhile Blue net under the impressibn it had the CBS it noW possesses signed, sealed and de- livered, WSB has filed a. request with the FCC to permit it to organize as Atlanta Newspapers, Inc., new cor- poration formed to produce both newspapers. (Sheets, according to announcement, are to retain status . quo except ior . consolidation of both their Sunday papers and merging departihents/—except news —^for economy reasons). A peti- tion is expected .to he filed this week with FGC seeking transfer of WCON’s wave 1 e h g t h (550) to WAGA, CBS outlet here, which now operates at 590 and undergoes a nightly hassle w^th Cuban sta- tions. In view 6£ this dismember- ment, WGON’s number seems to be up and in due course of time it will likely disappear from the Atlanta radio scene. In view oi the fact that WCON is not going to be sold, speculation hereabouts is that ABC affiliation will go to WGST, Georgia Tech station now tied (up with Mutual. Latter web Will probably work out a deal with WATL, which was oh its chain until. WAGA got CBS away from WGST. Another indication that WCON is to be folded instead of . sold stems from fact that personnel have been told they “might as well look for other jobs.” Station has been en- joying a good Hooperating and, up to the present, has lost no business despite the fact that clients realize that it is going to be allowed to die on the ;Vine. . M e a n w h i 1 e, construction of WCON’s TV tower continues apiace, A lordly structure, it is now around 850<€oot mark and when completed will reach almost 1,100 feet into the sky. It’s going to cost some- body $190,000. WCON’s TV pre- lims have been going forward un- der a construction permit. Present plans call for WSB to use the new tower, using its pres- ent 600-footer for relay purposes and emergencies. WSB pioneered television in Atlanta and has been on the air nearly 18 months. WAGA is Atlanta’s second station and WCON was supposed to ittilize the' third - chahhel. In view of freeze, there is no telling when city will get more video outlets. Latest estimates indicate there are now 31,000 TV sqts operating in Atlanta, with dealers said to be way behind in their orders. That video is popular here is Indicated by the fact that Atlanta is No, 2 in percentage of night audiences in towns with TV and hot on net- works. Ali HOMES Sponsored Network Programs Milton Berle . /;..;. .28,7 TV: Godfrey's Scouts ,. , 20.7 TV Toast ;Q£ the Town. . 18.3 TV (First 15 New York Ratings For March) ‘RADIO^ONEY’ HOMES Sponsbred Network Programs ■t • ...17,9 TV .. .16.8 TV /. .14.7 Radio . . ■ 14.7 Radio • • • ,« 4 ^ Lights put The Goldbergs . Jack Benny .... Godfrey’s Scouts My Friend Irma Studio One hux Radio Theatre. Bing Crosby,. /;..... 13.0. Radio Walter Wlnchell .,. ; i2:9 Itadlo Cavalbade Of Sports/12.7 TV Godfrey Friends.. .12.1 TV Phllco TV PlayhoUSb 11.8 TV Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, jack Benny .., i Lux Radio Theatre My Friend Irma ,. Bing Crosby ... Groucho Marx ... Mr. Keen ........ ... 13.6 Radio Suspense : 13.2 TV Waiter Winchell . 13.2 Radib Mystery Theatre TV HOMES ^Sponsbred Network Programs • « 4 • ■ • ' .22.3 Milton Beiie . 2i.8 Podfrey’s Talent Scouts, ; 20.7 Toast Of the Tbwh/..... .... .19,9 The Goldbergs . .. .18.8 Lights Out w .,. .., .16.5 Studio One . . . ...; ,... 15.7 Philco TV Playhouse ... .15,4 Godfrey &; Friends . . 15i3 Cavalcade Of Sports Silver Theatre •• • • « . < • • • 4 • • • ' • •«. •' t. • • • • • ft-« 14*5 Crime Photographer ........ 14.1 Mafi Against Grime Life With Luigi ............. 13.9 Suspense , • • •. ^ Burns & Allen . . ..;..... 13.6 Kraft TV Theatre . Phil Harris-Allce Faye ,..... .13.2 Break the Bank Louelia'Parsons ..... :13.1 Lone Ranger .. /; .66.4 .49.7 .45.9 .43.2 .41.4 .93.4 .31.3 .30.4 30.1 28.9 .26.8 ,26.5 .26.4 .25.3 ■25fi American Telephone ana Tele- graph Co, expects to link Atlanta into coaxial cable around Sept. 15, but the networks have hot, as yet, put in their orders for service. Philadelphia, Api’il 4. pamages of $2,500,000 were asked in a monopoly suit in United States District Court here brought by Sindlinger & Co., Inc , of Pliila- delphia, ahd Electronic Radox Corp., of New York, .who employ the eovering device for audience listening -known as “Radox,'* against the natioh’s two largest radio and TV. pollsters—A. C. Nielson, of Chicago, and C. E. Hooper, New York/; Attomeys for the plaintiffs, Al- bert Sindlinger, president of the firm bearing his name, and Harold Reiss, an eleetronlc engineer and president of the Badox tJorp.; sought $500,000 . on each of three counts and $1,000,000 treble dam-^ (Contintiedon page -42)