Variety (December 1953)

It.%DIO-TKI.K VISION ZI2L±£ \Vr«lne»<lav, DrrfmUr 2. 19.>3 NBC's Tabloid WNBC-WNBT, the NBC keys in New York, moved into the province of the six struck Gotham dailies Monday <30* by distributing some 250.0 0 t <bloid-sh;iped one-sheet flyers to commuters bearing the l itest headlines. It wasstric.iy a teaser, though. The he;u’- lin* s were subtitled. "Details on WNBC and WNBT.” Flyer, a two-color (black f: red' job. gave three nr s headlines (one about Harry S. Truman, a second on Christ- n>i s parking rules and the third on the s rike», and g.n* li>lin 4 s of all radio and t le n vvs shows. Sheets were dis- tributed in railroad and hi * Stations be NBC' pages and guides, while some newsstands ottered to terry them. CBS O&O’s Continued front pair 35 Washington. Dec. 1 Basis of the entire*, hfissle over spies in Gpvernment will get thorough rehashing on Sundav\ •«* "Meet the Press" on NBC-TV and radio, when Elizabeth Bent- ley, onetime Communist Conner testimony helped tip the in Government, will appear as guest, Ids her first public appearance in some time, also the first time she’ll he speak ng for the record in public on the current Harrv Continued Irom |>aee I ^ personnel ! with tin* Sunday Enquirer, which ejanment started daily publication tor tin* ml report duration of the strike, ng guides. WCBS-TV. on the other hand, k market ( |j ( | |j,|p» excess business lor two reason—ids near-sat m at *d sched- ule and i's re u^.tl to so ic t husi- nv, . St-a on did up i.s n. v s con- iderahiy over the we’kend and • • t tlm daily 7-8 am. period for a *|H*ei.'il n« v s show* with Charles (’olliir'womi's reading of tii * convc strip., one of tin* chief al.r.ci'ons, ()n f. <* other hand. WCBS (AM* only pulled in about $5,000 nv.r the 1 nm s. -week'nd from Bloom n'ldde's. when v hich bought a heavy station break >!:.•<!. from five film coin o.tii * which took a station bi/«v! : f"d on--minute spot sked and frouvfiic j-Nev. - . which presented sMiCoii iurak capsule bulletins. Siumn h. . ;.dd.d st vend daily no . on i [i Us . with • mpiinsis on services not or- do d manly carried on rattio-'l \ - I lock market. business and anuisr- m**nt I .‘m ures. • \V\BC expanded to two and a - hall hours of news coverage dailv, ' with two 15-minute and two liw- in niiV shows beyond its i •■•ii' r eh‘dole. WABC-TV set a so *< rd »e tl *al v ith the Daily Minor, nut- ntial fmg on Mirror features and l*'i\’- nd ing Bill Steinke read the conirc; to the I.ids tn his noon-1 pm. show. I'Ver, VVIMX. v, as station also aired a special Chiisi- n s mas shopping service nightly. Both writ- \|*,(' outlets reported iiuovised In/ WMGM. radio indie, lipped k. its news considerably and repoi'ieh r.W, indie radio ■>! i- , t huge influx of dt pat linen. ‘‘ore airs news programs advertising, WARD ‘Insert’ \V.\BD. the DuMont key. ii.wrt- t (I a .mir-ininute newscast jn e.g li ti lec.i'ting hour, and also Ji,r4 it* women's programming** supiu \ is »r. Dunean M icDonahir shoo ilu* major s'nros enabling tie* stat mi to air pi'ices on its "Pood lor Thought " Station also ottered its in Inal.ins to all dailies to aw n or feature shows prenaroM nv ' « • ;r stalls Dailies, with most n! their editorial si ids out. couldn’t take advantage to the oiler to any ex- tent Mac lie tS. Co . X. Y. stockbrokers, put three financial report- daily on Wplt. paving lor the shows hut not inserting commercial'. WOH was s U i<j out Monday, with heavy Iiiivs irotM Mary's and Blooming- daites Station stepped U|> news and shopping services. On the ioi»i«n language end, WWIII, dou- bled its news and integrated news bulletins in 1(i languages. One result of the strike and the hop of retail advertisers to broad- casting, some tradevters feel, may he to bring the print-only holdouts info the radio-TV fold on a pernin- ne*t basis Department stores have been reluctant to move into radio- TV and have done so on a limited basis. But broadcasters feel that it they've put across the sponsor's message with any degree of im- pact. the retailers may move into the field to stay. If a Nona n. ass! ,tant program man- ager. and Stowe Phelps, p rod lice r- I director who figures himself a mid- dlebrow but actually is just as hep on pop and longhair. The WCBS stan/a was inhered in whose list April 13 and the other live »°lv of Reds played "follow the loader" within ! a month. R & it meantime em- ployed the gen to go through an ■ other series of d'*ejay showcasin'’*, o ily this time it was a fivefold 1 chore. The same ty pe of contract applies to all $ix outlets. "M«. sic Til Daw n" circuit, wilh the respective di-k-ahd-plug jocks a*»d program directors, line up like MhC: WEE1. Boston! Jack Luring and Gro King; V.'MBM. C’hica o. Jay Andres and AI Bland; WTOJ*. Washington '45'/ CBS-owncd >. Roger Elect and Patti SK^w right; KNX. Los Angeles. Mel B ldwin and Boh Sutton; and KCBS. San Figinciseo. Dave Mac Elhattan and Pede Worth. Since there are regional tastes to lie considered, especially on the Pons, each station sets up its own j library but X. V. headquarters he)ns the deal along by dispatching a weekly suggestion sheet. (Inci- dentally, the Gotham spreads spill over into 7:30 a. in. Sunday from i its midnight Saturday teeofT.» The two-hour period to 2 a. hk is more middlebrow-longhair t*han the other three and a half hours, theory here being that the gen-u-winc night- owls on the graveyard heat are more attuned to the lighter songs. Bid all through the night there’s a daisy chain of long and near-long music. In New York. Stowe Phelps lias that "integrity’" yen when it conies to the repertoire. He says tie*ro’s a bigger audience for clas- sic, operetta and light opera music than many programmers may be aware of. ...• / I # V On the commercial side, the first couple of hours are straight sell- icrvices, sending in*' around to food and stores to price good' them on the air. Shoj amusement guid< s, .* i < port >. comic s rips a rial |eatui( s were the days. Several stations tied in w.th various of the dailies for’ rcifain features. Others offered free time to Local I of the photoengraxrrs muon and to the publishers group to air their grievances. V. <)XK Dilemma (ii all tin* Gotham stations ■\VO.\lL owned by the N. V fcullerv I a little confusion. ch lice \ o i k e * s at tin* stat '.on. in*. pi* li.Ts oi the Newspaper Guild which la .pci ted p ck< t lines, v. I’ls^i tucy T- t.hii to Whether (o r-epoeTTdor wot k ii v. , s finally decided by tin* Guild i i their contract was wilh tin* striiioii. not with Hu papei .itill (onscqueiit i. show .-tl lo, work. WQXH didh I tlialciiali increase its cove age, hec-. u e i * hourly news stiovvs are ordinarily prepared by the broad- cast dr ’. o tin* Times, com,.rising Guild i po aois and rewrite up n who i an (I lo ciae s pick *t lines. SixtioM renorted a limit'd inuvi in r 1. il husin -ss, hut suhsla 1 \ nuo I rein fdin companies a chains and from legit producers. Daiiv Yew al>o miafferl; d < xcept for h v covi*r,•»••;(*. v.ilii the s alion i iug v. ne s. rvices instead m u-in f v v. i illc n by its broadcast (h's l‘W IS!', W I, V. hicdl par. d by the News in an «x- ^ » o.it) '.<* (h al. resorted to the W ile fce.rv ice*' "'ieitluT station i'r*porte(l lunch additional revenue. WNEW h 'cans ■ ol i s lew av. ilahi.lil.ies ami \V IM \ Inc. use it didn’t solicit too mu' h, W MU -HMl I Splash Biggest splash was made le \V\H(/-WNiiT, the NBC !;»*;.,s c'fnried p*> ads. and publication was haded after that date. ' early till bigger theatres hou 'ht • pet announcements, mainiv on radio. Loevv’s backed its hill' at the Capitol and State via its own si at ion i WMGM • and also took time cut a few other outlets. Radio City Music Hall bought elaborate coverage on both radio and tele since bringing in its annual Christmas stageshow and Xmas pic. ’"Easy to Love." tomorrow iTIuii s. 1 . The Hall’s svv itclihdard was jammed with calls a king v hen the new bill was opening, about reservations, etc. Inciden- tal!.''. advance reserved-seat sale lor the Clr istmas show' is the larg- est in the Hall's history. Actually, only houses like the Par-amount and the Hall, which are opening n "\ lulls this week, were very worried about lack of news- paper adveitising and publicity -ince it is normally the worst pe- riod of the year for film homes. Par launches "Hondo" next Satur- day <fr. Attitude of some theatre managers having extended-run pix v as that the absence of newspiper a<is would mean little unless the newspaper shutdown is prolonged -ince no amount of hal'v or ads 5G-Mar!>et Ride For Schwimmer ‘Movie Quiz’ Chicago. Dec. 1. "Movie Quick Quiz," Walt S< hwininier’s combination live and film package, is now riding on ome 50 stations, with 23 outlets added to the sales roster the past several weeks. The quarter-hour strip giveaway show, built around filmed vig- nettes. is now being peddled by Sehwinimei’s own sales force after formerly being syndicated through United TV Programs. Cunt: it tied h'nm p.iip* 31 Si iunis went all uti irnlv as soon as the local TYer begins operations next year. Pure Oil bought Detroit. It. Way ne, Toledo, Indianapolis. Saei- naw and Kalamazoo in the midwest and Miami. Jacksonville and Rich- mond in the south. Both deals were for 2d weeks. Burnett agency is now placing the pix on stations in those markets. ABC Film, inci- dentally. i.s currently dickering rc- gionals on ils "The Playhouse” Schliiz reruns, which it's kept out ol local sale for the time being. .shine $10,000 to $15.00') worth ot exit a business over the weekend, making on-the-air pitches for newspaper advertisers to conn* into the broadcast fold during the strike and even printing on Mon day '”()' 250,000 handout* vviih headline* aqd distributing tin in at commuters stations. On T\ station sold K so nine fivc-minutc and one 10-minute special newscasts over Monday and yesterday 'Tins 1 It sold tunc to Mat y . 1 , Peck A Peck, ai <1 Xdinii. t ion Cigars v in six tel- c\ isn n and nine radio newscasts o\ti the weekend. It made a Hem City'station's stanza, etc. L After tint, the deejays plug the institu- tional aspect for American Air- lines. On programs heard over WCBS a few days ago. even the ’’selling" continuity was quiet, un- hurried and unobtrusive. There's a five-minute newscast every hour on the hour and a weather report during the last half hour. Levoy ’53 Poll (untmtird f.om p.itit* ao "distate" for the process a* far as i v iew ing is concerned. On Hollywood's role in TV, 51'/ | believed this would expand. 37'/ that it would develop slowly, 9'/ that it would remain as at present, and 3'. that it would decline. A large number pushed for an in- neased number ot the ielcpix in the dramatic class. A substantial number of those surveyed, espe- cially sponsors and stations, sug- gested reduet ion in costs or main- taining tin* status quo on coin. Levoy declares m his analysis th.ft "On the method of dramatic programming, the ’anthology’ type of program with a dilTerent story and dilTerent casts each week, i.s lavored equally as much as in prior years. This is once more the mo- tion picture pattern." He also makes note that the preferences ol TV editors on live vs. film must he considered in light of the fact that many of them are former ra- dio editors, "and, as such.-film be- comes nothing more than a ‘record- ing.’ always in disrepute in fh.it medium. Furthermore, they'have the same feeling toward Hollywood that lias been generally felt by the dramatic critics of the legitimate theatre: and this was evidenced when a number of them, determin- ing that Hollywood's foie will ex- pand. added such as comments as 'regrettably'." Levoy adds on the telefilm find- ings that sponsors, agencies and stations are more concerned with production problems, costs, unions, time slots, etc., "all of which must motivate their thinking. Independ- ent stations mnv seek filmed drama because of a greater revenue through local sales; and for the same reason, the owned and op- erated stations ot the network* may oppose such programs because ot tin* 'desire of the networks, to maintain control over the affili- ate* " Sponsors m.iy prefer film be* cause ot multiple usage, Levoy as- , sorts, or more finished production, j or simply "to enable them lo use it at di lie rent time periods." Ad I agencies may like variety shows, on the other hand’ because it per- mits them to control production or to keep the sponsor's name con- tinuously mi tin* backdrop before i thi? cameras.* ( outimit>d from page 31 Gordon. Elliot Gruskin, Klwond •Mill* Hoffman. .Johanna Johnston. Lawrence Marks ami Marianna Norris, serving as alternates. Three officers, incidentally, serve one- year terms, as does Slander. * Tunick. in a public statement, asked writers to look to the exec committee as "the only people equipped and qualified to work out a realistic contract" in which writers’ rights would he protected. They are working writers, lie said, who know the conditions prevalent in the industry today and who can he*si icali/e the issues involved in handling contract negotiations. COLGATE COMEDY HOUR Effect on Pix Biz. With Broadway first-run tluatres having no newspaper advertising in the Manhattan dailies after last Sunday i29\ most house* took to the airwaves and TV to holster in- terest in ■ current hills. Strike of engravers at all N. Y. daily papers, excepting f tn* Herald Tribune which has iis engraving done out- side t!u* plant', forced a cessation ot publication because other union members .would not cross picket line'' Mondav’s Herald Tribune Mgt.: William Morris Agency USE the Versatile TWA Names Wedlock Hollywood. Dec. I. New western regional president of Television Writers of America is Hugh Wedlock, elected along with Ben Starr as veepee and Sol Stein as secretary-treasurer. Nat Monaster. Dick Powell. Joel Murcott. Bob Schiller and Boh Weiscoft were elected to tlu* board of directors for two years, and Bill I reedman. Phil Sharp. Stan- ley Shapiro. Leonard St. Glair. Ed S'in moils, Dorothy Deere and Norman Lear for one year. Latest Coral Release THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS SONG Direefion: MCA The Girl With The Lift — in her voice • DRAMATIC LEADS • CHILDREN'S VOICES • COMEOY CHARACTERS • DOUBLES fag* 2-60) • COMMERCIALS Conla/'l: RADIO REGISTRY. MU B 66)9 ...■»■»/ iHfi/rtil\ re-sty led and VJr ^ t’U itiHiily devot ed vv ith ^ extravagant simfilu ity. I lancing. /. ntcr ttnuinrnt, lelevivitm t «t " .. . and a \uf>erhifu'r cuisine (iiiniJthr J \nifru 411 pt.m. '/ Jr > 0 * 1/ Your Most*. 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