Evening Star Newspaper, October 11, 1936, Page 55

B m TWO BIG CHAINS SPLIT ON SUPERPOWER BROADCASTING Conflicting Views Given At Hearing Before F. C. C. Columbia Reveals $2,000,000 in Budget for Advent of Television—Newspapers Acquire More Stations. THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTO D. C, OCTOBER 11, 1936—PART FOUR. Singers Who Have Made a Success Before Microphone By the Radio Editor. This was the chief point at issue, HALL 30 or more superpower broadcasting stations, radiating energy of 500,000 watts or more and equaled only by one station in Cincinnati and another in Moscow, be authorized in the United States in order to widen and improve service to the rural listener? among several issues, at the technical thearings on future broadcast allocations last week before the Federal Com- % munications Commission. The power of American broadcasting stations, now limited by Federal regu- lation, was the chief topic before the parley which brought to Washington some 300 broadcast station operators and their engineers, the presidents of the two big networks and their tech- | nical aides, and scores of technicians | and others identified with broadcast- ing. ITH respect to superpower, two schools of thought set forth their theories before the F. C. C. whose members, five of them lawyers and two of them politicians, were frankly get- ting a “liberal education” in the tech-, nical phases of radio as the various witnesses paraded before them. Not | only the commissioners but their engi- | neers, most of them men of long ex- ! perience in radio, were seeking to get | from the industry itself ideas about the methods to be pursued in improving radio in this country. They heard the so-called clear channel group, headed by Chief Counsel Louis G. Caldwell and bul- warked by an imposing array of tech- | nicians. expound the view that clear | channels (exclusively used by one high- | power station at night) should have no | power limitations placed upon them if they are to send their programs out into rural America. Their powers are now limited to 50,000 watts. They heard the so-called regional channel group, headed by Chief Coun- sel Paul D. P. Spearman, ask that their night powers should be raised uniformly to 5000 watts in lieu of their present 1,000-watt limit—and at the same time heard Spearman and his engineers tell why superpower | &hould be banned in the United States. ‘The regional group’s main contention | was that superpower would virtually | doom regional stations, with their lo- cal and nearby audiences standing to suffer blanketing and cross-talk in- | terference as well as facing an undue economic disadvantage. | OTH Caldwell and Spearman are | one-time chiefs of the legal stafls of the Federal Radio Regulatory Boards—the first having served as FOR the most part, the new sta- tion grants were for local sta- tions in the 100-watt category, which the Commission under the amended 1934 radio act can grant without re- gard to so-called zone and State quota requirements now eliminated. A few of the new stations granted are now on the air, but only a few. Possibly the most important grant of the last nine months was that awarding a new 1,000-watt outlet on 1.250 kilocycles to the St. Louis Star- ‘Times. Another important move was the recent granting of authority to move KGKO, Wichita Falls, into Fort Worth, where it will be operated by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A new station for Chicago was also au- thorized when the Commission grant- ed the operators of the 100-watt WWAE, Hammond, Ind., authority to erect a 5,000-watter in that sub- urban community. Still another ma- joy grant was a 1,000-watt daytime outlet in Pittsburg, Kans. Major Features and Notes { IRSTEN FLAGSTAD, Norwegian soprano, will be the guest soloist | during the Sunday Evening Hour on WJSV at 9. She will sing “Elsa's Dream” from the opera “Lohengrin” | and Elisabeth’s aria, “Dich Teure Halle,” from “Tannhauser.” The or- chestra will contribute the “Forest Murmurs” from “Siegfried” and the “Dance of the Apprentices” and the finale of the third act of “Die Meister- singer.” Bruna Castagna, contralto, and the famous Metropolitan Opera chorus will assist Erno Rapee's Symphony Orchestra in presenting its programs on WRC at 10. Miss Castagna will sing the “Habanera” from “Carmen” and an aria from “La Forza del Destino.” The orchestra’s selections include the overture to Rossini's “Semiramide” and Debussy's “Clair de Lune.” seve: Kenny Baker, known as the “timid tenor,” who has returned to Dana Doran (left), new singing star appearing with Shep through fright when he first read stoog-e lines before the micmT Fields’ Orchestra on N ral years with the C. Bejore coming to ovincetown Players. I radio she spent n the center is N. B, C. with Jack Benny. Baker earned the “timid tenor” title CAPITAL’'S RADIO PROGRAMS Sunday, October 11, (Coprright, 1936) Eastern Standard Time. WRC—950k [ 8:15 8:30 8:45 | T9:00~ 9:15 9:30 9:45 10:00 10:15 10:30 10:45 11:00 {11215 | | Children’s concert 00 |William Meeder, organist' Melody Hour Tone Pictures WMAL—630k WOL—1,310k WJISV—1,460k [AM. Salutations News—Music Jungle Jim | Elder Michaux | Antobal's | This 'n’ That |Concert Ensemble Sabbath Reveries Cubans | ! American Homes Lut! College Band Vogues and Vagaries Greetings and music from 12 for- | 11:30 Songs Left Behind first chief counsel of the old Radio ign nations will be broadcast during 11:45 Commission and the latter as chief the “Magic Key” program when it counsel of the F. C. C. when it re- Celebrates its first anniversary on PM placed the Radio Commission. | From William S. Paley, president of Columbia Broadcasting System, they heard the view expressed that additional superpower would mean a lessened need for local apd regional WMAL at 2. Dublin, London, Paris | | and Rome will be among the first to send birthday greetings. John Mc- Cormack, famous tenor, will take part in the braodcast. Nelson Eddy will feature romantic | 12:30 12:45 | Peerless Trio Coast to Coast on a Bus — Southernaires Brown String Quartet | Alice Remsen, Contralto | Neighbor Nell The World Is Yours Organ Recital Musical Potpourri Dixie Harmonies Watch Tower—Music John Ford, Lecturer Concert Gems (New Poetry |At Aunt Susan’s 'Songs of the Church n Sonatas | |Beethovei String Quartet Musical Moments | Church Services |Day Dreams |Last of the Mohicans Maj. Bowes Family AFTERNOON PROGRAMS | Chicago Round Table “ Pageant of Youth Radio City Music Hall | WOL Forum Police Flashes—News Cantor Shapiro Maj. Bowes' Family Kiddies’ Review outlets on the networks, but from | Selections from Victor Herbert's oper- Lenox R. Lohr, president of National etta, “Sweethearts,” during his re- Broadcasting Co., they heard a strong | cital on WISV at 8. exposition of the need of superpower | Frederick Jagel, Metropolitan Opera in certain areas in order not only to tenor, will be the guest soloist with serve the outlying audience but to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra 1 T1:00" Lucille Manners 1:15 - 1:30 | Myriad Voices 1:45 | “ Radio City Music Hall High Lights of the Bible e Watch Tower—Music Art Brown, Organist Echoes of Hawaii T2:00 Moods and Modes sl s 2:30 |Thatcher Colt Mysteries deliver clearer programs to interfer- | ence-ridden metropolitan areas. i Paley's statement asserted that c.| B. S. was ready for superpower if it | is decided upon, but he urged the F. | C. C. to step warily before di.sruptmgt the present broadcasting structure. ! On the whole. his attitude was dis- tinctly lukewarm toward superpower, | and one of his conclusions read: “We find that the difference between 500 kilowatts and 50 kilowatts is clearly not the difference between good serv- ice and bad service. Even in the deep Tural areas it is rarely the difference between a usable and non-usable | signal. Perhaps in one-half of 1 per cent of the radio homes of the United States would superpower. as such, | make the difference between an ade- | quate and an inadequate signal.” N THE other hand, the N. B. C.’s +~ president, Lohr, and his engmeersi stood stanchly for superpower, and since both networks own clear chan- nel stations their conflicting attitudes were deeply significant. But even more significant, was an observation rather obscurely tucked away in Pa- ley's statement while he was cau- tioning against too great capital expenditures at this time in view of imminent changes in the whole radio picture, | Having asserted that superpower | 3" grants would impose a burden of over | $10,000,000 of new capital by the broadcasting industry, and an addi- | tional annual operating cost of three to four million dollars a year, Paley ventured this prediction: “In television alone, it is my opin- | fon, after a study of European devel- opments and a knowledge of tele- vision’s status here, that the broad- casters are less than two years away from commitments of many millions of dollars. Columbia’s budget alone is over $2.000,000—for experimental broadcasting work in this new field. | Many more millions must follow, in | the public interest, before there is any hope of return.” . Thus the biggest independent Amer- fcan network discloses that it has ‘budgeted itself for the advent of tele- vision not less than two years hence! And Paley had returned only the week before from Europe, where he, himsélf, studied television, and whither a few months earlier he had sent one of his right-hand men, Paul Keston, to make | a thorough economic study of the subject. :AUTHORJZATIONS by the Federal Communications Commission for the construction of 13 new radio sta- “ tions during the last two weeks brought to 45 the number of such grants since last January 1. The log of broadcasting stations in the United States thus will be swelled to nearly 700 by the end of this year. In the meantime, applications for more pew stations continue to pour into the F. C. C. at the rate of 25 or more per week, with newspaper interests leading the parade of would-be ‘broadcasters. In fact, newspapers are not only seeking new stations, but are pur- chasing many existing stations, one such purchase this week having given to the Scripps-Howard chain two additional stations—WMC and WNBR, both of which were purchased along with the Memphis Commercial Appeal by the Scripps-Howard news- papers. Scripps-Howard now owns four stations, having late last year purchased WNOX, Knoxville, and | ing the “We, the People,” program on | during its concert on WJSV at 2. His' selections include “Celeste Aid: “Macushla” and “I'm Falling in Lo With Some One” from Herbert's “Naughty Marietta.” “An Anthony Adverse to End An- thony Adverses” will be Jack Benny's dramatic offering on WRC at 7. Rev. William S. Abernethy. pastor | of Calvary Baptist Church, will speak | during the morning Church of the | Air period on WJSV at 10. William Shakespeare, a merchant of Auburn, N. Y.; Colin Langley, who was saved from the electric chair seven times, and William Broser, chief clerk of the New York Marriage License Buerau, will be among the | Americans with unusual stories dur- WMAL at 5. | Jack Johnson will tell what hap- pened in his fight with Jess Willard at Havana in 1915 during Bob Rip- ley's program on WMAL at 7:30. Italy will salute the tenth anniver- sary of N. B. C. with a special con- cert on WRC at 12. The program will be provided by a symphony or- chestra under the direction of Tito Petralia, noted Italian conductor, 15 Radio Cycles. TFTEEN radio-equipped motor cy- cles have been placed in opera- | tion by New York State police, the | highway patrolmen getting their in- structions via the 5000-watt State | police station WPGC, Schenectady. The fleet will be increased when transmitting facilities are augmented since the Schenectady station’s range 1 is only about 100 miles. Records Child Songs. AYMOND PAIGE, the “Hollywood Hotel” maestro, is making a series of recordings of comedy songs for children. Paige has had plenty of experience in this line. He introduced all the Walt Disney tunes, such as “The Grasshopper and the Ant” and “Three Little Pigs.” SHORT WAVE FEATURES TODAY BUDAPEST—10 a.m.— Gypsy band; messages to Hungarians abroad; musical program. HAS-3, 195 m., 15.37 meg. ROME—1:20 p.m.—Varied pro- gram from Italian stations. 2RO, 31.1 m,, 9.63 meg. MOSCOW—4 p.m. — Broadcast for women. RNE, 25 m., 12 meg. PARIS —5:15 p.m. — Concert from Radio-Paris. TPA-4, 25.6 m., 11.72 meg. LONDON—6:45 p.m.—Crystal Palace Band. GSP, 19.6 m,, 15.31 meg.; GSD, 255 m., 11.75 meg.; GSC, 31.3 m., 9.58 meg. EINDHOVEN, Netherlands — 7 p.m.—Special transmission for Central and South America. PCJ, 312 m., 9:59 meg. BERLIN—8:30 p.m.—Concert by an army band. DJD, 254 m., 11.77 meg. LONDON—10.25 p.m.—Recital of Roger Quilter's songs. GSF, 19.8 m., 15.14 meg.; GSC, 31.3 m., 9:58 meg. TORONTO—10:45 p.m.— Ca- nadian Press News Bulletin and Dominion Meteorological Bureau weather forecast. CJRO, Win- 2:45 | 73:00 3:15 | 3:30 3:45 | “4:00 4:15 | 4:30 4:45 | 75:00 | 5:15 | 5:30 5:45 | P.M. |The Magic Key “« - Church of the Air Joe Brown's Kiddies Church of the Air Theater of Romance Safety Campaign Pittsburgh Symphony Harold Nagel's Orch. Grand Hotel Our Neighbors Helen Fraubel Joe Brown's Kidd News—Music {Petite Musicale Bulletin Board Y. M. C. A. Founders’ Dny! Marion Talley Home Harmonies “« a National Vespers Tea Time |Pishface and Figsbottle We the People Stoopnagle and Budd “ { EVENING Petite Musicale | Dance Themes Ballad Time Sunday Serenade Church of the Air 5 | " 4:00 Dov 8:15 8:30 | 45 | :00 15 30 45 | :00 15 | 30 45 00 115 30 45 | | | | 11 | n 11 P.M. 12:00 12:15 12:30 12:45 1:00 1:15 | 2:00 2:15 | 2:30 2:45 3000 | 3:15 3:30 3:45 Church Service Cocktail Capers Kay Kyser's Orch. PROGRAMS Grace Vitality Sun Flame Singer Guy Lombardo’s Orch. 76:00 6:15 | 6:30 6:45 | 700 | 7:15 7:30 | 7:45 | National Catholic Hour A Tale of Today Jack Benny Fireside Recitals Sunset Dreams " {Good Will Court From the Orchestra Pit | Alistair Cooke Armchair Quartet Tony Wakeman Dave Vine's Revue Modern Melodies {Eventide Echoes Joe Penner “ Mayfair Singers Pittsb'gh String Ensemble Bob Ripley Little Jack Little Watch Tower—Music Joan Grey Treasure Chest Symphonique Moderne | “Spirit of '76"—Drama 0 Merry Go Round Album of Familiar Music ) [Erno Rapee's Orch. | Walter Winchell Whiteman's Varieties |Jewels of Music for Dancing Madonna Five Star Final Harmony Hall Moral, Religious Training |Arch " McDonald Phil Baker Nelson Eddy |Eddie Cantor Headlines™ “Behind 'Moments of Melody [News Bulletins Let's Visit I Kay Kyser's Orch. Community Sing |H. V. Kaltenborn Organ Reveries Henry Busse's Orchestra Xavier Cugat's Orch. Slumbet Hour SIS Art Brown Jack Little’s Orch. - P i Jay Freeman's Orch. {News Bulletins [Roger Pryor’s Orch. " | Fletcher Henderson's Or. |Eddie Fitzpatrick's Orch. Gordon Hittenmark Al Sakol's Sky Ride Sign Off Nat Brandywine's Orch, Ted Fio Rito’s Orch. |Vincent Lopezs Orch, Frank Dailey’s Orch. o) | racve: WD AW D 5858 &85 aaaa 838538 awe= S 2 3 P | | | o000 mnnm | 588 Sign Off EARLY PROGRAMS TOMORROW |Sign Off )| Gordon Hittenmark Today's Prelude ‘Wake Up Club ) | Gordon Hittenmark - “ Gordon Hittenmark The Streamliners Mrs. Wiggs John's Other Wife Just Plain Bill Today’s Children Morning Devotions 'The Wake-up Club Cheerio News Bulletins Breakfast Club “« w Art Brown Pianologues Police Flashes—Music News—Band Music Vaughn De Leath Viennese Sextet Josh Higgins Aristocratic Rhythms Hollywood Brevities Jack Barry Mrs, Frances Northcross Singer of Hymns Richard Maxwell Melodies Betty and Bob Modern Cinderella John K. Watkins Hymns of all churches S| HEHBGSaZ a8 0 |David Harum Backstage Wife How to Be Charming Voice of Experience Herman and Banta Home, Sweet Home The Honeymooners {Edward MacHugh [Popular Tunes This Rhythmic Age Joan Gret Merry Go Round Story of Mary Marlin Merry Madcaps (Gene Arnold and Cadets; AFTERNOON PROGRAMS Vanderbilt Cup Race Curbstone Queries Farm and Home Hour Salon Music News—Music Dance Music Magazine of the Air The Big Sister Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe The Gumps Happiness Talk Romance of Helen Trent| Rich Man's Darling Joe White, tenor Moods and Modes Dan Harding’s Wife Happy Jack Farm and Home Hour Vaughn de Leath Dot and Will | Music from Texas Progra Musical Afternoon Rhythms Poetic Strings Rhythmaires Education Forum “ o« Mary Masod — | U. 8. Navy Band woow nipeg, 48.7 m., 6:15 meg., CJRX, Winnipeg, 25.6 m., 11.72 meg. WCPO, Cincirnati. A A [Pepper Young'’s Family ] ‘Wakeman's Sports Page wnk‘e.mln;n Bports Page - 4 Romany Trail 'Happy Hollow Manhattan Matinee News—Melodies lflran Charles cw‘m phone. No longer frightened, he just acts that way now. Doris Kerr (right), who jumped from amateur ranks to a regular spot on Columbia. Myrt-Marge Plans Unmade. ‘T NOW develops that Myrt and Marge are not definitely set for an automobile show and as yet have no contracts for their return to the air. SRR, Lauder May Broadcast. TR HARRY LAUDER'S next Amer- ican engagements will be on the | radio instead of the usual “farewell” tour in theaters. A New York agency has an air deal for him if he cares to come to the United States to accept. Margaret Speaks Returns. ETURNING from a triumphant concert tour of Europe, Margaret Speaks will resume her regular role as prima donna of the voice concerts on N. B. C. tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. Miss Speaks appeared in London, Amster- dam, Zurich and Basle. Health Advice on Air. HEAL’I‘H advice in the form of drama will once more be broad- cast over N. B. C., beginning Tuesday | under auspices of the American Med- ical Association. Originating in the Chicago stu- “Your Health.” will be written by Wil- | liam J. Murphy, author of last year's 31 dramatic episodes. RENOVIZE ... your home DEPENDABLE . 47 Years EFFICIENT 37 Years INEXPENSIVE 87 Years EBERLY’S F—3 Autumn Brings Deluge Of Good New Air Shows Jack Benny, Phil Baker and Many Others Back—Orchestras and Opera Stars Join Parade. By Dorothy Mattison. W ITH the liveliest season in many years getting under way over on Broadway, the confirmed “first-nighter,” who makes it kis business to see and hear every show that trods the boards, has his work all cut out for him. But Broadway's first-nighter is having an easy time, compared with his brother theatergoer of the kilocycles. The curtain goes up on a new radio show every few minutes these Fall evenings , , . and it takes & heap o' listening to work: all the way around the dial now that% 'most of radio’s regular broadcast fam- {ly is back at the microphone after the Summer lay-off. 4 1t's old home week on the Sunday schedules in particular, with Jack Benny and his company in as fine feather as they were last year, when ‘Writer Harry Conn was still grinding out the scripts , . . with Phil Baker's second show almost up to the par he has set for his breezy series, his last airing measuring up better than his premiere, which sounded somewhat as if the show were being padded to eke out the necessary 30 minutes. The microphone trek back to normalcy also benefitted by the return of Bob Ripley, again titillating the customers’ fancy for odd bits of drama from re- mote corners of the world . . . with Shirley Lloyd doing considerably more than a mere fill-in job for Harriet Hilliard. Phillips Lord is stepping up to the microphone to air his newest Sunday radio formula, personal interviews which sound far less genuine than they probably are, so thoroughly | scripted are their lines. What cold ) remedy outfit is putting on one of the | best of the musical shows by head. lining Nelson Eddy—but is also nom- inated as sponsor of the lengthiest commercial on the night air . . . Hope | | the youngsters are all abed before Eddie Cantor takes the air with his sophisticated lines these Sunday nights. I | N THE Saturday night radio picture Arthur Allen and Parker Fennelly rate applause for their return with | those “Snow Village Sketches.” And | they'll probably get it, for the erst- | while Stebbins boys are long-time fa- vorites on the networks. But there should also be some enthusiastic ac- claim for those behind-the-scenes | boys, Erich Dontam and Edward Graves, who carry on with those elab- orate sound effects, and John Milton, the Adinirum of the show, although it's true that narrator gets his share 9 Let amateurs and stu- Insist_om service by & radiotrician D. A. R. Messenger “Radiotrician” Drive-in AUTO RADIO Service HARRIS ARMATURE CO. North 1920. 9th and O N.W. TONIGHT KIRSTEN FLAGSTAD SOLOIST ON THE FORD SUNDAY EVENING HOUR SYMPHONY SONS 1108 K N.W. DISTRICT 6! y | Dionify_vour home. Phone_*Eberl onden £ Body Dent! N Your car deserves our, '_- “Special Tune-up.” E: ert ignition. body. and motor repairing: inting. Modern ndly prices. equipment. i AUTO CENTRAL voxc OFFICIAL KEYSTONE STATION 443 EYE ST. N.W. Di. 6161 TODAY at 5:30 tune in for STOOPNAGLE BUDD new program for Minute Tapioca Don Voorhee’s orchestra —a half hour of merri- ment—Station WMAL— every Sunday! WHAT ARE YOU DOING SUNDAY AFTERNOON? ; TUNING IN THE RADIO FOR THAT SWELL NEW SHOW | "WE THE PEOPLE!"} SUNDAY 5 PM STATION WMAL ORCHESTRA OF 70 Conducted by FRITZ REINER 9 to 10 o'clock, E. S. T. WISV Coust b0 Coast Colambia Neswork Miss THIS resenteqd in 6 i oniE_ PARK OVER m,_u"." N of notice on that folksy new “Dude Ranch” show of Louise Massey and the Westerners. Headlining the good news of the ‘week is the report that Phil Spitalny’s all-girl orchestra will stage a come- back on the kilocycles late this month in a new commercial on N. B. C.'s'Red network. . . . that Walter O'Keefe will be master of ceremonies as well as comedian on that new dairy show Saturday nights on the same hook-up beginning October 17 at 8, while Don McNeill and the rest of the Jamboree show move over to Thursdays on N, B. C.-WJZ . .. That the “Radio Guild" —one of the top-notch dramatic shows of the air—comes to life again on its old Friday hour on N. B. C.’s Blue net work . . . That Dorothy Dreslin and Jerry Sears’ Orchestra have a new Sunday show on the N. B. C. Red web, although it's still lamentable this paiz haven't snared a sponsor, Hear “The MusicYou Love” e FITSBURGH gl 1110411 WISV To0ay2 P.M. | atriTTSBURGH, PATE GLASS COMPANY L.S.JULLIEN. xc. __ 1443 St.RW. NO.BOT6 _ \General Motors Concert METROPOLITAN OPERA CONTRALTO |With METROPOLITAN OPERA CHORUS And GENERAL} MOTORS ORCHESTRA erno RAPEE ERNO WRC — 10 P. M. NELSON EDDY! Tonight WJSV—8 P.M. Tonight and every Sunday night, the idol of the concert stage, screen and | radio will be host at Vicks Open House. Tune in and hear Nelson Eddy sing the songs that have won the hearts of millions. Over Columbia network, coast-to-coast. Sponsored by Vicks, makers of Vicks Va-tronol, to help prevent many colds, and Vicks VapoRub, to help end a cold quicker, N NE ETURNS AVENUE PENEps™ RIOT ETW, by @co “ITD TAKE AN EARTHQUAKE TO MAKE ME MISS PhilBaker TONIGHT T:30 WSV e ————"