Variety (August 1950)

40 RADIO-TELIVISIOX Wednesday, August 9, 1950 , 000 ; NAB Emergency Washington, Aug. 8, NAB Board of Directors today decided to terminate Broadcast Advertising Bureau as a subsidiary of the parent organization on April 1, when a new, independent or- ganization will be established to undertake the job of selling radio 41 on national, regional and local levels." Directors also voted that “upon development of sufficient demands for sales promotion services on be- half of TV stations NAB. will con- sider sponsorship of such services for TV stations.” Action had been recommended by a special board committee con- sisting of Robert D. Sweezey, WDSU-TV, New Orleans, eliair Continued from pace 89 ; itiative in assisting the government effort through programs and an- nouncements discouraging stam- pede buying, stepping up the sale of bonds and pushing the various ci x Ti n j* x* | recruitment programs/’ Judge Set For Syndication Miller said. “We are proceeding Elliott, Liebert Package Harry S. Goodman Productions has launched a new 15-minute syndicated airer, featuring Larry Elliott reading stories and poems, and Dick Liebert; Radio City Mu- sic Hall (N. Y.) organist. Vocalists will be Jimmy Carroll and Betty Brewer. Goodman has also taken on sales and distribution of the “Ted Lewis Show/’ half-hour series with Lewis and, liis orch ■ and “Arthur Smith and the Crackerjacks.” Horns Into Radio Pittsburgh, Aug. 8. It'S no more music, music, mu- sic for Joseph (Buddy) Laconi, dis- trict trombonist who has been with a flock of name bands, last one man; William Martin, WMT, Cedar Rapids; Allen Woodall, WDAK, Columbus,. Ga.; Charles T. Caley, WMBD; Peoria, I1U and - Edgar Kobak, of WTWA, Thomson, Ga. The board approved the commit- tee’s recommendation that the, suc- cessor to BAD “should excel in stature, competence and program any similar sales promotion ac- tivity in any other medium, and nearby Butler, Pa. that it should be supported not.! only by radio stations as such, but j by all of those engaged in selling ' including such groups as, being Larry Clinton, Some time ago Laconi decided to take a fling at radio and did announcer audi- tions at several stations. He’s landed a job at WBUT in Pour Oil Coin r _ . networks and station represent- j ^==5 continued from page 27 aiives.” news analyst for a Pacific Coast The board accepted the commit- | pickup. Amoco sponsors Murrow tee opinion that the new organiza-«along the Eastern seaboard, tion should be geared for an an-: — nual operating budget of at least | Coast News Strips Hot $1,000,000. j Seattle, Aug. 8., In its first year BAB's successor’’ Definite evidence that there is! excused were present for the now toward the development of a program of seif-mobilization which will find broadcasting prepared to insure full service to the nation, and the nation's government, in) any foreseeable situation which! might , arise out of the world crisis." Members of the board were to I meet with Mr. Steelman at the White House, today (Tues.) after their conference with Coy. Text of the board resolution follows: “Whereas, broadcasting has a definite and unique function in the pattern of national defense and, “Whereas, the broadcasters are fully cognizant of their essential service and their . responsibility, voluntarily to perform that func- tion as evidenced by the industry record during; World War II which has been strongly attested by the President and other high govern- ment officials, “Therefore, be it resolved that the broadcasting industry is now in every respect ready, able and willing to take its full part in ef- fectuating. all measures necessary to insure the national security and to achieve those objectives to which our country is committed " All members of the board, with the exception of James D. Shouse of WLW.f Cincinnati, and John H. Dewitt of WSM, Nashville, (both and PM frequencies—or separately identify their call letters bn every station break. 3. That the industry as a whole in all ways possible publicize FM and • promote it to the public through its FM, AM and TV sta- tions. . 4. That AM-FM stations sell all duplicated programs at a combina- tion rate rather than give FM free as a bonus and that appropriate listings be made on all rate cards and in trade publications to indi- cate this practice in such a way as to place a real value on FM. Continued from page 29 wiU give NAB members the benefit, increased listening to, and com-: meeting, of expanded services without ad- j mercial interest in news programs, ditional cost and with allocation of | is shown here in the recent sale 30% of their current NAB dues to by KJR, ABC outlet, of two major the new organization. NAB mem- news strips. MosT recent sale was bers not desiring BAB services will be given a 30% dues reduction for the first year. It was estimated this would provide the corporation with an initial minimum budget of $200,000 on April 1, exclusive of income from new members, self- liquidating projects and other sources. | woman’s angle on a 52-week basis Swezey said, “We want to broad- to Lincoln First Federal Savings en the base of BAB activities as J of Seattle.. Show airs at 12:15 p.m. they relate to radio,” that radio j Monday through Friday. “needs promotion most, needs it j — —— ■ ' . ■ ■ : —- fast, needs a lot of it." To divide ! Pittsburgh — While Florence the sales effort between AM and j Sando, WCAE’s femme commenta- r TA7' lw> coirl • “iniflhl' Hilllffi it ■ with- I it va/tatinnind nn . Pano PrtH Tele Reviews Continued from page 33 the dinner edition of the news at 6 p.m. with Dick Keplinger, five times a week, to the Shell Oil Co., ! so m e of the records or harmon- on a 52-week basis. Sale is . one ot j | zes w ith the pantomime “singing” the biggest in local radio for some I 0 f Rees or Flores, time. | Action takes place in, a typical Other news sale was Sheelah [ western saloon in front of the long ■ Carter’s program of news from the ' bar which lends itself well to the opus. Whaley and his group have also been asked to appear at various lo- cal night clubs as well as spots within traveling distance of the city, to put oil excerpts of the telecasts. ‘ Andy. TV, he said, “might dilute it, with out accomplishment.” He added there will be “no interlocking: of- fices” of NAB and the new cor- poration. Swezey. said that TV is now go- ing along well and that AM needs more are few television has a competitive prob- lem. tor, is vacationing on Cape Cod, Bette Smiley is doing her noon- time show and Helen Wayne Rauli her afternoon program ... Peter Gramba, WJAS transmitter engi- neer, and his wife celebrate their 17 th wedding anniversary this week . . . Johnny Kirby, longtime promotional activity. There‘ •’ w w T. ie w oitiPi he added in which ! KDKA sm Smg star,. set for role in w cities, ne aaaea, in wmen , _ . “Tiffin Ttiu A ” Detroit —A 15-minute segment of the half-hour “Jean McBride Show” on WWJ-TV will be spon- sored once weekly for 13 weeks by In-Sink-Erator, garbage disposal unit. Cummings, Brand & Mc- Pherson is the agency. new musical, “Little Boy Blue, which ope n s in Hollywood next month prior to Broadway. Its been produced by Paula Stone and her husband, Michael Sloane ... Leon- ard Kapner, general manager of WCAE, and his wife are spending a few weeks at Nantucket . . . Cal Mara Bucheit now handling pub- licity and sales promotion at WJAS /a We're proud of company we 1 PACKARD MOTORS B. C. REMEDY BLONDEX BORDEN'S INSTANT COFFEE DR. CALDWELL CAMEL CIGARSTTEI follow these leaders and boost your sales! the successful onWJBK CHASE A SANBORN COFFEE COLGATE VEL CROSLEY REFRIGERATORS GARREn WINES IPANA TOOTHPASTI LAFRANCE . WJBK-TV. 3 CBS and Du.nont affiliate. WJBK-AM *TV-DETROIT NATIONAL SALES HEADQUARTERS: 52 7 LEXINGTON AVENUE NEW YORK 17, ELDORADO 5-2455 Represented Nationally by THE KATZ AGENCY, INC. FOR PEOPLE ONLY With A1 Parker, emcee; Michael Bondon, Jimmy Moore Trio with . Joyce Mauer Producer: Clark Davis Director: Grover Allen 15 Mins.; Sat., 10:30 p.m. BUNNIN HUDSON WENR-TV, Chicago (Sherwin Robert Rodgers) This unpretentious quarter-hour stanza, stressing informality, stacks up as a mildly successful entry in the less competitive late Saturday night period. Show sticks closely to the standardized music-plus-chat- ter format. Musically, session caught (29) was pleasant, if not outstanding, Baritone Michael Bondon did a fairish job on “Some Enchanted Evening.” Joyce Mauer, singing and piano playing member of the Jimmy Moore trip, chirped “Candy and Cake” and “I Want to Be Loved,” The trio sparked the show with a bouncy version of oldie “Bye, Bye, Blackbird,” Emceeing and c o m m e r c i a 1 chores were done by A1 Parker, who with a few more shows under his belt, probably will really be as relaxed as he tried to be on the preem. Camera work was' okay. Dave.. ! the Savannah Radio Council, com- posed of the defendants, “various false charges” were made against Rivers in protest of the granting of the FCC permit. Rivers explained that religious programs make up his principal broadcasts over WEAS and said this policy brought “immense pop- ularity" and it Was known that a similar program policy was to bri followed in the Savannah station operation he planned. He declared that the Savannah stations feared such competition. The suit charged the accusations before the FCC • of the defendants caused a delay in the opening by Rivers of his Savannah station costing him $25,000 in revenue loss and $17,500 added expenses. The additional $200,000 was asked for general and punitive damages. Only last. week the , Savannah Radio Council, recently spanked by the FCC as “self-appointed guardians of the public interest," protested against the dismissal of tlieir petition to prevent Rivers from establishing his station. Through their counsel the Council urged that, the Commission issue an order staying the effective date of construction of the station, on Which a permit was issued in March, and that a hearing will be held to determine whether Rivers' program proposals are in the pub- lic interest. The Commission has already called Upon Rivers to sup- ply further information about his program plans prior to issuing him a license. Rivers and his father have been associated in the operation of radio stations in Georgia for several years. THESPS SHARE PROFITS IN 2 VMM SERIES Hollywood, Aug, 8. Adrian Weiss hag completed pilot reels of two telepix series each of which is slated as a 52- week package. Weiss, who will dis- tribute through Louis Weiss & Co., is committed to make 13 films in each series per year. This is a firm commitment with each of the three leads in each series. One series, “Craig Kennedy, Criminologist," based On the Craig Kennedy stories created by Arthur B. Reeve, stars Donald Woods, Sydney Mason and Lewis Wilson. The other, “Trigger Trails," stars James Warren, Rrank Yaconelli and Milburn Morante. These play- ers are under exclusive contract to Weiss, insofar as all television activity is concerned, for seven years. Weiss must roll 13 of each series each year to keep pact bind- ing. Players are on a drawing ac- count during this period and will participate in any profits derived from the films. Films will be leased in various television areas on a scale based upon the size of the market. Each of the pilot reels cost $15,000 to can but Weiss expects to Whittle this figure down somewhat when series actually gets into production. Continued from page 29 Continued from page 27; spiraling of the TV billings is also a factor. Net income for the first six •m p n th s—$3,182,070—practically doubles the amount realized from the first of 1949, when the net in- come figure was $1,709,391. As . a result, earnings per share to stock- holders, payable Sept. 1, are $1.85, compared to $1 last year. The virtual doubling of net in- come was achieved in the face of i n c r e a s e d operating expenses, Which reached $26 v 820,322, com- pared with $24,399,524 for the first half of '*49. Last week's board meeting was marked by the election of Lou Hausman, promotion topper, t to the directorate. to hear more often, tlie kids voted even more decisively for music. Choosing it by more than three to one over other program material. In their answers they called for “good music,” for classical aiid semi-classical music programs, op- erettas, etc. Crooners like Frank Sinatra and Perry Como didn’t get enough votes to make a showing. Next they wanted to hear more “story” programs and here they showed a strong perference for adventure stories and asked for “true" aind “historical” tales of pioneers, Western heroes and In- dians. Teenagers want more pro- grams about boys and girls their own age. (“Junior Miss” was 10th in the favorite program group.) Sports Was third in this classifi- cation, then mysteries, teenage tips, good drama arid comedy. In individual comments the younger set showed a wide rarige of interest that included informa- tion on the weather to atomic en- ergy, chemistry; physics, archaeo- logy and material on inhabitants of other planets. They showed an interest in hunting, fishing, con- servation and the outdoors. Radio Play-By-Play Continued from page 29 FM ‘Do-or-Die’ , Continued from page 27; Concord, N.H.-^Col. Albert S. Baker, _who recently resigned as news editor of WKXL here to be- come public relations director of The Brown Co., in Berlin, has quickly changed jobs again —on orders from Uncle Sam. He will command a N. H. National Guard unit which has been called back : into federal service. If he sees ! combat, it will be his third war. Investigate and give opportunity for an open discussion of the rea- sons why the FM tuner has not been placed in all TV sets." Offer Resolutions Four Other resolutions adopted at the meeting require action of both the industry committee and the FM committee of NAB or, if ! possible, Implementation by the in- dustry committee itself. Th ese provide: 1. That the Radio - Television Mfrs. Assn, be requested through NAB management to furnish a total breakdown of sets containing the FM band by states by monthly pe- riods .. patterned in a manner, sim- ilar to that provided by television. 2. That all stations duplicating programs identify both. their AM that “radio, not television" is hurt- ing baseball attendance and said he had compiled figures “to prove that this- is the case." The decline in the Browns' home attendance began, DeWitt said, in 1947 when the Cardinals sanc- tioned the broadcast of their road games. DeWitt also pointed out that a comparable situation exists in Philadelphia, where the fans stay at home to listen to the' Phillies’ road games rather than go to see the Athletics who are battling with the Browns to keep but of the American League base- ment. Griesedieck Bros, are reported to pay the Cardinals management about $50,000 for their “exclusive” and Saigh, who has no personal love for the DeWitt brothers, is expected to block any move they may make to upset his financial apple cart, Get TV ADVERTISING AGENCIES AND TV NETWORKS End Weekly Script Crises! Dramatic Scripts Weeks in Advance! MAEVE SOUTHGATE* Television Editorial Consultant GRa mercy 3-1308 25 W. 9th Street. New York 11. N Y. ^Formerly TV Story Editor, NBC; Editor, Paramount Pictures Writer* Note: No unsolicited scripts, please!