Variety (April 1953)

Wednesday, April 29, 1953 BADIO-TELE VISION 47 Inside Stuff-Radio One list of released American prisoners of war was a clear NBC radio beat. On the night of April 22 (Wed.), Morgan Beatty, for the ‘•News of the World” show, called Wilson Hall, NBC correspondent In panmunjom, who immediately read off names of 14 Americans re- leased by the Communists that morning. The Associated Press ran the list with NBC credit. WXKW, Albany ABC affiliate, has completed a 22-minute color- sound film on operations of a local radio station, titled “Radio USA." Film, which is to be released free to civic, church and educational organizations in the Albany area, shows broadcasting techniques, ex- plains commercial sponsorship and takes the viewers on location for remotes. Pic was produced by Stephen R. Rintoul, president of the station, written and directed by staffer Walter J. Maxwell. WNEW, N. Y. indie, is employing a novel method of plugging one of its own shows and at the same time helping to raise funds for a worthwhile cause. Station is spotting a version of “Doggie in the Window” by three little blind girls who appeared on the program’s “World of Sound,” using the record to plug contributions to the N. Y. Institute for the Blind, children from which appear on the show. Recording came about by accident, When Roy Ross, station’s musical director, asked the kids to sing something before the show went on the air, in order to keep them busy. He liked their song so much he taped it, had the station add the fund-raising announcement, and it’s now a regular spot announcement. Incidentally, station had to get air clearance from song's publishers, • Santly-Joy, which was immedi- ately granted. Newark, N. J., Board of Education has divorced its radio-television activities from its Department of Libraries and Visual Aids and set up an independent department under the direction of Marie C. Scan- lon; She will be in charge of board’s FM station, WBGO, and all tele activities. In case of latter, board has prepared several shows which have been presented over WATV in Newark. Move was made, according to Superintendent of Schools John S, Herron, “because of the increasing importance of mass communications in education.” FCC Nod To Northeastern On Fort Wayne UHF Ch. 33 Fort Wayne, April 28. Federal Communications Com- mission Examiner Fanny N. Litvin recommended last week that the Northeastern Indiana Broadcasting Co., Inc., which operates WKJG, be awarded the Channel 33 UHF tele- vision station in Fort Wayne. She suggested that the competing application of News-Sentinel Broad- casting, Inc., operator of WGL, for the same application should be de- nied. In a summary of her 72-page de- cision, Miss Litvin said that after a careful review of the entire rec- ord, it was felt that granting of the application to Northeastern would “better serve the public interest, convenience and necessity." The decision was based on eight fac- tors, with the examiner ruling there was no choice betweeh the applicants on five of the eight fac- tors. Unless an appeal is filed within 20 days, the decision would become final after 40 days. Should the de- cision be appealed, it would be sub- ject to review by the entire Com- mission. Louisville—Sandy Sanders, pro- duction supervisor for television at WHAS-TV, has resigned to join Mitcheil-Werbell Agency, where he will take over post of radio and TV director. CBS Plans Expansion Continued from page 30 9 NARTb Display — Continued from page 27 tops Jules Verne at his best; the film and program services, tran- scription companies and the station reps dangling more product than ever came out of a Hollywood pix studios’ conclave. Even the AT&T is here to lay out a model coaxial cable. Some of the equipment exhibits the almost staggering in inventive- ness. RCA shipped out via a con- voy of- trailer trucks complete transmitters, literally converting the Biltmore gallery into three sep- arate television stations. ‘Philco, after weeks of operation on the scene, is unveiling its widely- heralded film scanner to feed film electronically, and is packing ’em in. Bing Crosby Enterprises’ video tape recorder, while still awaiting last-minute refinements, has its en- gineering staff on hand to repro- duce video signals on tape, and the scheduled discusSidri of the system by Crosby’s chief engineer, John T. Mullin, is one of the major SRO attractions of the convention. The convention “language" is as unconventional to oldtimers as the visual displays. For the talk is all about “film scanners using continu- ous film motion,” “development of the station camera,” “electric standby units,” “high efficiency AM radiation-from high TV towers," “TV performance measurements,” “contouring of antenna patterns," not to mention 3-D televisiw and “conelrad." These are the facts of broadcast- ing life today, and everybody wants in for the kill. will cost $11,150,000 in equipment and capital expenditure, with $2,- 100,000 already spent on each of the TV installations in Toronto and Montreal. Some $950,000 has been initially spent on the Ottawa sta- tion to insure service commencing with the Coronation. With operation promised later this year, CBC capital costfs are; Vancouver, $1,700,000; Winnipeg, $1,300,000;. Halifax, $1,100,000. A new French-language transmitter for Montreal will cost an addi- tional$5§0,000, plus an additional $425,000 each for Toronto and Montreal on increased production facilities. (At present, Montreal has only one transmitter for English and French TV programs, with both language groups currently complaining that there are too many English and/or French pro- grams being presented.) On federal government loans, CBC-TV con- struction expenditure has totalled $8,000,000 this year, with a further grant of $4,375,000 for construction purposes now before Parliament. On development of TV in Cana- da, the basic problem is whether advertisers in this country will use live Canadian material or adopt the less costly procedure of ob- taining Canadian rights to Ameri- can programs. With CBC paring close to the bone but seeing some $7,000 for separate outlays on Ca- nadian-produced TV programs (as compared with the huge outlays in the U. S.), Dunton points out that independent TV operators will face enormous financial difficulties in the use of live Canadian talent meeting the CBC’s professional standards in effective programming proportion under the CBC policy. The CBC will provide indies with 11 hours a week of CB’C programs —free on sustainers but billed on % revenue of .sponsored series; but the economic pressure to use films-and U. S. material will be a heavy item on indie TV station budgeting, said Dunton. CBS-TV Signs Kurnitz Harry Kurnitz, Hollywood screen-writer, is latest addition to the CBS-TV creative board being formed by Hubbell Robinson, Jr., the net’s programming veepce. Other, writers in the Robinson, group are Sally Benson, author of “Junior Miss" and “Meet Me in St. Louis," and playwright Ronald Alexander. Welcome. Mat Continued from page 23 11:30 a.m. period cross-the-board, but declared it could only handle three days per week. Groups in New Jersey and Connecticut were offered lime hut didn’t accept. In the fall, same offers will go out again, plus new collegiate arrange- ments as they are worked out. Station’s stake in educational Programming is not a commercial one, say s Larson, although he sees Possibilities of some remuneration after a time. , - • ■ Up to now, programming has been directed at out-of-school audi- ences at out-of-schoOl time, with the exception of sliutihs and hos- pital cases. In the latter instance, . son says, programs have done ? uite we ll* But* once the schools ina i telev ! si0 * se ^ s * they’ll be do- ng a lot of in-school programming. Larson indicated that budgetary problems make installation of sets in pubhc schools highly difficult at this time, but pointed out as an example of what can be done the case of Philadelphia, where the f„ ai j nt ^ Teacliers groups raised unas for installation of sets. At Jvf 1 i ate * Larson • says,- whfetf the senods i nst4ll set$t WPIX.will e ready to ‘increase* its program- ming 10 supply Tn-sfcKddr 'slioW~' lb GM* i» W* W PHgniK! THE BIGGER, BETTER TV GUIDE— DEDICATED TO SERVING THE TV INDUSTRY Every page of TV GUIDE will provide a reward for the reader. For every page is based on an editorial policy of giving service to the TV viewer. The basic service is TV Guide’s listing of all television programs. Here thareader will discover completely detailed program listings of his local television stations, as well as sparkling news, features and pictures of local and network personalities, and programs. Many of these will be richly illustrated in full color. In TV Guide, the television industry will find the first truly national vehicle for the promotion, publicity and exploitation of programs and stars. Here is a new—a vital—mass medium, appealing to every member of every TV family; so edited that it will be sure to stay in the home for a full seven day period. Edited to serve the TV viewer... Published to serve the TV industry. TV GUIDE. * CONVENTION BOUND? PLEASE DROP AROUND! VISIT US in Boom 2111, Biltmore Hotel. All of us will be very glad to see all of you. ROGER w. CUPP JAMES T. QUIRK MARTIN N. LEWIS KENNETH W. STOWMAN r j GUIDE Published and edited on a platform of Service to Television! I A « .• t z +