Variety (October 1952)

r ~w«1aT. October 8, 195:2 PS&mff HAMO-TELJE VISION 53 Swdard Transcriptron Changes Mind, Selling Library to Stations C^nriarcl Radio Transcription Jde which had been planning S® 1V1 intinn several months ago be- lh ' S ", costs were climbing too C> nfdlv and business was slumping, [ aP „nw reversed its decision. Out- 5f Sad has started to sell -Ms fibrary outright to radio stations .round ‘he country, and reports ,i e move has been so successful it will continue in business on ' ‘basis. Standard is believed tn be the only radio transcription Ann to sell, rather than lease, its ^‘standard’s library now includes eci separate disks, embracing more than 5,000 musical selections, vnice tracks, theme and occasional music, sound effects, etc Stations are permitted to buy the library either in whole or in part, with prices ranging downwards from a $5 charge for a double-faced disk containing 10 selections. Stand- ard's move to sell to stations out- right was originally contested by the Music Publishers Protective Assn., which ruled that stations buying in that way would be forced to pay mechanical fees. MPPA exec Harry Fox has since okayed the deal, agreeing to derive all such fees from standard alone. In addition to its library. Stand- ard also has two package shows on ETs, which it will continue selling to stations or advertisers on a per- play basis. These include the Leo Durocher-Laraine Day show and "World’s Best Seller,” a series of human interest stories taking place in modern times but based on biblical themes. Standard is un- der the same management as United TV Programs, indie vid- film syndication outfit. ------ WDTV Pacts Cohens For Pitt’s Mr. & Mrs. TVer Pittsburgh, Oct. 7. Pittsburgh’s first hometown Mr. and Mrs. program tees off over WDTV next week when Harold V. Cohen, drama-movie editor and col- umnist of the morning Post-Gazette and Variety mugg here, and his wife, Stephanie Diamond, radio and teevee actress, launch a twice- weekly series laheled “Conversa- tion Piece.” They’ll discuss legit, films, books and other topics of in- terest. Cohens will be on for 15 minutes every Tuesday and Thursday at 2 o'clock, with programs being pack- aged by DuMont station for par- ticipation sponsorship. Format is to be similar to a radio quarter- hour they did last year on KDKA for Duquesne Brewing Co. Daytime Indie for Sale Memphis, Oct. 7. WFAK, Memphis’ newest day- time indie, which went on the air here last December, is up for sale. Several w.k. Memphis businessmen including former U. S. Open golf champion Dr. Cary Middlecoff are nickering with Frank Keegan, owner’and operator of the'station, in addition to Dr. Middlecoff, he group includes E. C. Krausnick, .» veepee of the Tennessee Brew- a ng o C ° M of city » P r * George fnj^ rs ’ Att °mey Dunlap Cannon m advert ising exec Tom O’Ryan. Now ctarrlnt on NIC'# ALL STAR RIVUI Saturdoyg, |~f ji.m., KT William Mtrrlt Aa«ncy DEMONSTRATORS M««t l» Up.*.,.,,. ... Mrtunlty f.r tk.,« wk, rl ‘ •» CI«v*I«mI »v,rtlo#.00 wkly. U4U» „ * I,,m “W 1« iMHlhf 4.pt. m w ^ rlt * *“ V ‘ 1M ‘ ,M W - N.w Y.rk U. GRIESED1ECK TO BACK CARDINALS IN 9TH YEAR St. Louis, Oct. 7. For the ninth consecutive sea- son, the Griesedieck Bros. Brew- ing Co. will sponsor the radio broadcasting of all games played by the St. Louis Cardinals during 1953. Announcement of the deal, engineered by Ruthrauff & Ryan, was made during the last game of the 1952 season, during which the Cardinal club finished in third place. Although the local paid atten- ance during the 1952 season dropped from 1,013,429 to 913,222, a loss of 100,207, the club is try- ing to expend its midwest web that includes about 60 stations in seven states. Harry Uarey, who does the play-by-play, will return to the mike for his ninth season, and Gus Mancuso, who does the analyzing, will start his third year. No announcement has been made whether the Falstaff Brewing Co., another local sudsmaker, will bank- roll the games of the St. Louis Browns next season. Although finishing seventh in the American League, the Browns’ 1952 paid at- tendance was 224,966 better than during the previous season. Framer’* 19 a Week With the debut of “Double or Nothing” on CBS-TV Mon- day afternoon (6), indie pack- ager Walt Framer became probably the busiest producer in radio or TV. He now has 19 different editions a week of three packages airing on NBC and CBS. In addition to “Double,” which goes Mondays, Wednes- days and Fridays, Framer also produces Big Payoff,” aired five afternoons a week on NBC-TV. His “Strike It Rich” ,is aired cross-the-board on CBS-TV and on the same web Wednesday nights in a sep- arate half-hour version. And the audio portion of the day- time “Strike It” is played back the following morning on NBC radio, for the total of 19 shows. La.’s New AM Station New Orleans, Oct. 7. Permit for a new AM radio sta- t tion in Baton Rouge, La., was granted to Capital City Broadcast- ing Co. by FCC last week. Stanley W. Ray, general manager, said. Station will operate with 1,000 watts power on 1,250 kilocycles, and is third operated' by Ray and partner, Jules J. Paglin. Call letters of new station will be WXOK. Chi Stations, Agencies Relax After Five-Day Elevator Strike Snafu Chicago, Oct. 7. Operations are back to normal today iTues.) at the Chi radio and TV stations and the upper story ad agencies hit by the five-day ele- vator strike that ended yesterday (Mon.). All the skyscraper radio-TV plants affected by the walkout were able to maintain regular operating schedules under a ruling by the Elevator Operators Union that pro- vided service for engineering and technical personnel. But regular office work was cut to the bone with the resultant logjam of paper work. Hardest hit were the upstairs agencies, many of them housed in the top levels of the Civic Opera House, Field Bldg., Wriglcy Bldg, and Palmolive Bldg. Several of the ad shops set up emergency head- quarters in Loop hotels to handle the essential work. With, bulk of the major agencies’ staffs down to the bare minimum, time buying^ was practically at a standstill. ABC’s Central Division with its 16th flqor offices and its 42nd floor studios in the Civic Opera House was put on an emergency basis the first day of the strike, but was* able to program without interrup- tion. CBS, in the Wriglcy Bldg., got by okay, since its offices and studios are only three flights up. The Merchandise Mart, home of NBC, was one of the few major buildings that wasn’t struck. WGN’s Tribune Tower was also unaffected. Indie tele station WBKB, occu- pying the 11th *and 12th floors of the State-Lake Bldg., as well as the various indie AM stations, limped through with only minor irritations. WCFL, owned and operated by the Chi Federation of Labor, parent body for the striking elevator oper- ators, was saved from some pos- sible embarrassment had the strike not been called off. Indie is housed on the 2oth floor of the Furniture Mart, which was due to be shut down yesterday (Mon.). To avoid any possible violation of picket line protocol, the labor station rented an emergency studio from the nearby United Broadcasting plant. Albany—George Miller, sports director of WPTR since the station went on the air in 1948, has been given the additional post of pro- duction manager. Naomi Rector, traffic supervisor has been made assistant program director, and Bob Austin, announcer, night pro- gram supervisor. N«f (McCu*) Finriay John (••mKigtr) Sturmwn in pr*-c#rf«Tn h«rj#pf«y «t « ptrformanca of "Tho Front Pago.!! What inakas a newspaper great? *of oomu Hr* NOWRRVMORI m.IUT THSN OOOLP SAfRYMOR* S«T ~ ANIWSMfSR?^ Star, barking staccato commands with side-of-the-mouth The aroma of ham seeped gently across the footlights. Messrs. Gar- • rick, Keaq and Drew spun quietly in their respective tombs. Another Minneapolis audience chortled in anticipation, then sat enchanted as the curtain rose in the Old Log Repertory Theatre, For the third time in Upper Midwest drama his- tory Ben Hecht's and Charles Mac- Arthur’s “The Front Page” came to life with an amateur cast of genuine professional newspaper people re- cruited from the staffs of the Min- neapolis Star and Tribune. There were Nat Finney, Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial editor of the in the part of the veteran city ha) reporter •.. John Sherman, drama critic of the Star, employing the built-in wince common to his calling in the role of Bensinger, the neurotic newsman ... Virginia Safford, Star and Tribune society columnist, reveling in the suds-slopped charac- ter of a mop-toting scrubwoman. In' all, fifteen Star and Tribune staffers strode the boards, swapping some of the stage’s fastest and funniest dialogue. The audience loved it. It was the greatest triumph of type casting since Mergenthaler. This year’s Old Log production of “The Front Page” is the third since 1948, when John Sherman per- suaded a little group of stage-struck reporters to sign on for the original busman’s holiday. Rehearsals were conducted in the Star arid Tribune’s newsrooms where the actors brushed up on cues and threw lines to each other between stories. Graduates of the MS and T School of the Drama are now numerous enough to popu- late a stage for “South Pacific” (and probably would at the drop of a fedora). Whenever fun's a-popping in the Upper Midwest, from amateur the- atricals to parades and celebrations ... or whenever worthwhile civic enterprises need support or leader- ship ... Minneapolis Star and Trib- une staff members are invariably found in the vanguard of volunteers ■—another reason why these best- read newspapers hold the appreci- ation, warm regard and respect of the great region which they serve. Star 47* ^Tribune NYlNiN* MORNIN# A SUNIAY 620,000 SUNDAY-490,000 DAILY JOHN COWlII.