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TelevisionTHE BUSINESS MAGAZINE OF THE INDUSTRY

NBC TELEVISION THEATREGreat plays-recent smash -hits of Broadway andHollywood-theatre classics, experimental moderndrama-recreated for television in NBC's liveaction studios.

Time: Sunday evenings at 8 o'clockPlace: \ BC Studio 3-H

For complete information and Costs of these andother \B(: built and produced telex ision programswrite or plimw:

TELEVISION SALES DEPARTMENTRCA Building 30 Rockefeller Plaza

New York 20, N. Y.

September

35

IN TOWN TODAYEast side, west side-wherever interestingthings are happening to interesting people, theNBC Mobile Unit goes to bring televisionziudiences spontaneous, on -the -spot telecasts ofNew York life.

Time: Thursdays at 7:30 PM (with additional specialinterviews on Fridays and Sundays)

Place: A different point of interest each week.

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NATIONAL BROADCASTING COMPANYA SERVICE OF RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA

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THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE OF THE INDUSTRY

Television

Articles

VOLUME III, NUMBER 7 SEPTEMBER, 1946

CBS Approach to Programming-by Frederick A. Kugel 10Basic philosophy of developing new entertainment forms suited primarily for television,as outlined by Lawrence Lowman and Ben Feiner of WCBW

Esso Sponsorship of the NBC Newsreel -by Mary Gannon 12Policies governing the commercial formulae used by Esso in presenting the NBC newsreel

TELEVISION'S Audience Panel 16Survey conducted among TELEVISION'S audience panel of 150 families

WRGB Station Operation.. 17

Operational set-up and staff -training procedures, which could be well utilized by ofh,,stations in non -talent areas

Lights, Sound, Camera - by James L. Caddigan 20Lighting problems could be solved if systems were modeled after those used in the theatreand motion picture studios

Television Outlook in Baltimore 38Detailed information on the three CP: granted in Baltimore

Departments

Telescope 2This month around the trade . . . persons and places

Washington - by Dorothy Holloway 4FCC Round -up . . . grants . . . decisions

Long Shots and Close Ups - by H. G. Christensen 22Film commercials can double in brass-and here are some specific examples to prove it

Advertising 24More big names coming into video ... review of commercial formats . resume of retailtele advertising

Programming29Remotes on the increase WOR tries recordings to speed rehearsals ... current reviewsand formats

Equipment - by Jack Kilpatrick35Recent technical developments . . latest patents

Editorial40

Frederick A. Kugel, Editor and PublisherMary Gannon, Managing Editor; Sidney R. Lane, Associate Editor

Dorothy Holloway, Washington; T. R. Kennedy, Jr., Technical Editor; Jack Kilpatrick, PatentsHelen Howley, Res h; M. Pritchard, Circulation Manager

Just talking ...Because of the increasingly important part that films are playing in television programming and

advertising, we will inaugurate a regular department covering the news, production and techniquesin television and commercial film starting with the October issue. H. G. Christensen's, "Long Shotsand Close Ups", will continue to reflect Mr. Christensen's views on the use of film.

This is to assure our readers, in answer to many requests, that Dr. Goldsmith's column, "OneMan's Reflections", will again resume this October.

FREDERICK A. KUGEL

Published monthly by Frederick Kugel Company, 600 Madison Ave , New York 22, N Y. Single copy, 35 cents.Yearly subscription in the United States, its possessions and nations of the Pan American Union. $3.50; in Canada.$4.00; elsewhere, $4.50. Entered as second-class matter February 20, 1945, at the postoffice at New York, New York,under the act of March 3, 1679. Copyright 1946 by Frederick Kugel Company. All rights reserved. Editorial con-tent may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

telescopeThis Month

Approximately 70 television stations-licensees and con-struction permits-in 36 cities this year. That's the latestunofficial FCC prediction on video prospects for 1946. Box -score now shows half that number authorized in 19 cities,with 9 now operating. But grants in the next four monthsare expected to speed up, once all the companies have re-inforced their earlier applications with up-to-date engin-eering information.

Receivers beginning to appear in retail stores, with de-livery by major companies promised for October ... Manycompanies will not go into production until the first of theyear though . . . RCA and DuMont delivering studio andtransmitter equipment this year; G -E around the first ofthe year.

Persons and Places

0 0 0

DuMont programming to get needed shot in the armwith the appointment of Bob Emory as coordinator ofsustaining and commercial programs for both WABD(New York) and WTTG (Washington) . . . Resignationof CBS's Paul Kesten will see no letdown in CBS colorcampaign. Adrian Murphy, one of net's executive vicepresidents, is even more pro -color than Kesten . . . ABC'srapidly expanding television activities, has resulted in theappointment of Don Giesy (former Tide television editor)as video publicity director.

Credit for the best definition of television heard to dategoes to Capt. Charles F. Horne, Deputy Chief of Com-munication, U. S. Navy. In describing the television in-struments which made possible the observation of theatomic bomb explosion on Bikini, he stated . . . "It putsthe human eye where the human body cannot go."

W6XAO's cameras were probably sprouting orange blos-soms the past month what with the marriages of Mar-jorie Campbell, film director, and Mark Finley, publicitydirector.

WNBT thought they had unveiled television as a detec-tive when stills taken during a remote pick-up of "InTown Today," showed what definitely looked like a staffsergeant having his pocket picked by a little gent. NewYork police squelched the crime detectors with the laconiccomment that the fellow was too obvious-no real pick-pocket would so openly have his hand in anyone's pocket.

According to a salesman at Liberty Music Shop, thebirth of the Ford Motor Company's interest in televisioncame the night of the Louis -Conn fight-when the head ofthe business got so excited about the possibilities of tele-vision that he immediately contacted his agency and de-manded some action about the best advertising medium hehad ever seen.

The other night before the Standard Brands show atWNBT, the hero had a nose -bleed that required the ser-vices of all the medicos in the area of Radio City. Rightup to showtime they were trying to stem the flow ofblood. Either the actor finally ran out of blood or thedoctors triumphed. Of course there were the usual rumorsabout what caused the nose bleed and they ranged fromirate director to jealous husband . . . but we have beenassured that it came from natural if unknown causes.

In getting set for a remote pick-up, W6XAO engineersstrung a cable over the bank, posted one man at the topwith the portable transmitter. Suddenly the plans wereupset a bit when two boys, seeing the cable, decided toshinny up it, leaving the engineer engaged in a vigoroustug of war to save his equipment.

A cricket who never heard of Petrillo gave MarvinDresser, assistant stage manager for Don Lee Television,a busy half hour during a recent live broadcast. Lodgedin a ceiling ventilator, it was having a sensational tele-vision sound debut until Marvin climbed up in the raftersand finally achieved quiet with the help of a six-foot pole.

Ben Butler, star chef on ABC's 'Society of AmateurChefs," can certainly testify to the realism of video. Withno butter to grease the pan, a stage hand slipped himsome machine oil. A fine idea, until Butler had to eat thescrambled eggs before the camera.

Up at the ballpark the other night, WNBT cameramen,tiring of earthy things like balls and bats and baseballplayers, tried to reach for the moon between innings. Theyfinally succeeded in their quest . . . but on the receiver itlooked just like a slightly luminous baseball. There's amoral here for would-be escapists.

Bob Hope in a telecast over W6XYZ apologized for notbringing Bing Crosby . . . he was afraid that Bing's earswouldn't fit on the small television screen.

Everyone will be there! Yes . . .

everyone will be there! That is . . .

in Television, everyone will be there,

because a convention is a convention,

is a convention. But not TBA . . .

no not TBA. That's a Television Con-

vention, a Convention on Television.

That's really a convention.

Big Shots and Little Shots. Little Shots

and Big Shots. Advertisers and Engi-

neers. Engineers and Advertisers.

Management and more Management.

Yes . . . everyone will be there!

The cost is 525.00 a quarter of a

century-or a century of quarters.

Not bad. No . . . not bad at all. For

you'll watch the world go by. Yes .

the world roll by, that is on Tele-

vision, where the world rolls by.

Check Ralph Austrian or call Ralph

Austrian, or wire Ralph Austrian or

write Ralph Austrian, for Ralph

Austrian is chairman and after all .

The dates are October 10th and I I th,

that is the 10th and 11th days in

October. The place is the Waldorf

Astoria.

You will be missing plenty if you miss

the TBA conference, so don't miss

it! Wire Ralph Austrian today at

TBA-500 Fifth Avenue. We'll be

seeing you of course, at the Conven-

tion.*

*Of course, the deepest apologies to

the late G. S., that is Gertrude Stein.

2 Television

September, 1946

Crystal detector -1946

ENLARGED

TINES

Remember the crystal detector in the first radios - huntingfor the right spot with a cat's whisker? For years the detectorlay discarded in favor of the vacuum tube. But when micro-waves came, and with them the need to convert minuteenergy to amplifiable frequencies, a Bell Laboratories' scien-tist thought back to the old crystal.

Silicon of controlled composition, he discovered, excelledas a microwave detector. Unlike the old-style natural crystals,it was predictable in performance, stable in service. From1934 to Pearl Harbor, the Laboratories developed siliconunits to serve microwave research wherever needed.

Then Radar arrived. The silicon crystal came into itsown, and found application in long-distance microwaveRadar. Working with American and British colleagues, theLaboratories rapidly perfected a unit which the WesternElectric Company produced in thousands. It became thestandard microwave detector.

Crystal detectors are destined to play a big role in electriccircuits of the future. They will have an important part inBell System microwave radio relay systems. In variousforms, they may reappear in radio sets. Here again BellLaboratories' research has furthered the communication art.

BELL TELEPHONE LABORATORIES

EXPLORING AND INVENTING, DEVISING AND PERFECTING FOR CONTINUED ECONOMIES AND IMPROVEMENTS IN TELEPHONE SERVICE

3

WASHINGTON

THIS month saw a new flurry of activity inexperimentation in UHF color video. FCC re-

ceived applications for color research from Don LeeBroadcasting System, St. Louis University and theRadio Division of Bendix Aviation Corporation.

Don Lee's request was the most sensational sincethe network's chief engineer, Harry Lubcke, proposedto test out an "all -electronic" system of color trans-mission. He also proposed to multiplex both soundand pictures on a single video carrier channel.

Both St. Louis University and Bendix proposed anexperimentation program, leaning heavily on the CBS-mechanical color techniques. Both said they would

Industry HyposHere's the kind of rumor we'd like to believe. There's

a persistent report around the Civilian Production Ad-ministration that a few of the bans on commercialbuilding projects - including TV buildings - may beeased beginning in October. The same rumor addsthat on or around November 15, CPA will move tookay some repairs and alterations to existing struc-tures that could conceivably enable video broadcastersto get on the air more quickly.

More solid is the report of increased lumber sup-plies for transmitter houses and studios. Carl Niewen-haus of CPA's Forest Products Branch indicates anincrease of some 500,000,000 feet of lumber availablefor all commercial building projects by October. Thisis a 25 percent improvement over the present situation.

Here's another bit of good news, particularly fortelevision broadcasters. It seems that enterprisingGeorge Adair, FCC's Chief Engineer, took the bull bythe horns months ago and moved to rid radio of inter-ference from automobile ignition systems. (This, asall radio users know, is the single most annoying inter-ference to all radio transmissions over the 30 mega-cycle range.) And it is particularly ominous for tele-vision where an entire image may be distorted byautomobile traffic.

But we hear that beginning January, 1948, Amer-ican automobile manufacturers have agreed on a newdesign for ignition systems guaranteed to suppressall such interference. Anyway, that's the gist of avoluntary agreement entered into by the AutomobileManufacturers Association, the Radio ManufacturersAssociation and the Association of Automotive Engi-neers. It seems that the Automotive Engineers havebeen running tests for the past year and a half andhave come up with the conclusion that ignition systemscan be redesigned to cut out disturbing signals onnearby radio receivers.Round -Up

Television boosters within FCC were pleased aspunch when the Broadcasting Corporation of Amer-ica reacted to FCC's "follow up" request for more in-formation, and indicated firm intentions of buildinga TV station in pint-sized Riverside, Calif. Videochannel No. 1 has already been set aside for Riverside.

Another small-towner, WJAC, Johnstown, Pa., isgoing through with its plans for a TV station here.

4

FCC roundup ... grants in Boston and Buffalo ... onenew commercial application-by Dorothy Holloway

dip into other systems of both black -and -white andrainbow transmissions.

October 3-4 is date of the last scheduled televisionhearing-for Toledo, Ohio, where two contenders arebattling for the town's single channel.

Latest recipients of grants are WBEN in Buffaloand Westinghouse in Boston. Although originally re-questing stations in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh,Westinghouse dropped out of both races and an-nuonced it would confine its operation to an ultra-high experimental transmitter in Pittsburgh and theregular low -frequency station in Boston.

FCC DecisionsFCC's allocation of wave lengths for television pick-

ups and studio -transmitter -links was greeted here withmingled feelings. Argument may already have beenheld on the proposed allocation by now. A half -dozenbroadcasters and set manufacturers took exception tothe FCC proposal that such frequencies could be usedfor ST links only where wire facilities were not avail-able. TBA, NAB, Philco, NBC and DuMont all teamedup to oppose this ruling.

At the same time, the A. T. & T. took exception toanother FCC provision-that the pick-ups and studio -transmitter -links would be licensed only to broadcast-ers themselves. A. T. & T. would, of course, like toserve as common carrier for the TV licensees. Andprivate opinion is that this would be "efficient" sincein a city like Los Angeles, A. T. & T. could license suchfacilities and lease them when needed to the seventelebroadcasters. It would, undoubtedly, mean a sav-ings of valuable frequencies. However, FCC is quickto point out that other common carriers-Press Wire-less, RCAC, General Electric-might want to competewith A. T. & T. in rendering this service.

new applicationsMinneapolis, Minn.Name-Minnesota Broadcasting CompanyAddress -115 East Grant Street, Minneapolis, Minn.Officers-B. H. Ridder, President; W. J. McNally, Vice

President.Ownership-Company 50% owned by Northwest Pub-

lications, Inc.; 50% owned by Minnesota Trib-une Company.

Estimated Costa-l. Via. transmitter $ 66,5002. Aural transmitter plus tubes3. Antenna System 12,0004. Studio Equipment 33.2005. Studio Lighting 1,5006. F & M Monitors 1.8007. Land8. Building9. Other item *1,500

Estimated Total Costs $136,500* electrical wiring and remodeling.

(continued on page 39)

Television

CONTROL!Only MOTION PICTURES give you Control

Showmanship Control vital on TELEVISION programs

In Television...Film removes the question mark!

Only Film can guarantee: perfect lighting - absolute focus -flawless dialogue.

Only Film can make possible: repeat performances of uni-form quality - identical selling messages - selectivemarketing.

Only Film eliminates: costly rehearsals - telephone linecharges-time zone differentials.

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Copyright U. S. Pat. Off.

September, 1946 5

20 TOP 1 OADCASTE S

Get your television station started now with this fully developed, in -production line of RCA equipment

Remote Pick-up Relay Film Studio Control -room Transmitting AntennasEquipment Equipment Equipment Equipment EquipmentEquipment

Television

take the lend in televisionThe broadcasters listed below have placed

firm orders for RCA Television Equipment

and will provide television service to a combined

audience of 34,000,000 people

WBAL-Hearst Radio, Inc., Baltimore, Md. Owned by Hearst newspapers andpublications including "Baltimore News -Post", and others.

WBAP-Carter Publications Inc., Fort Worth, Texas. Publishers of "The FortWorth Star -Telegram."

* WG14-WGN, Inc., Chicago, Ill. Subsidiary of The Tribune Co., publishers of"Chicago Tribune."

*WLIB-WLIB, Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y. Owned by Theodoro Corp., Dorothy S.Thackrey, Pres., publisher "New York Post."

WMAQ-National Broadcasting Co., Inc., Chicago, Ill.

WTYW-Evening Star Broadcasting Co., (WMAL), Washington, D. C., Sub-sidiary of "The Evening Star."

"WMIT-National Broadcasting Co., Inc., New York, N. Y."WPTZ-Philco Television Broadcasting Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa.

WNW-National Broadcasting Co., Inc., (WRC), Washington, D. C.WTAM-National Broadcasting Co., Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.* WTTM-Trent Broadcast Corp., Trenton, N. J.

WWI-Evening News Association, Detroit, Michigan, publishers of "TheDetroit News."

"KFI-Earl C. Anthony, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif.

*WC- (Formerly KMTR) Los Angeles, Calif. Owned by Dorothy S. Thackrey,publisher of "New York Post."

KKOB-Albuquerque Broadcasting Co., (KOB), Albuquerque, New Mexico.* KSO-Pulitzer Publishing Co., St. Louis, Mo., publishers of the "St. Louis

Post -Dispatch."

KSTP-KSTP, Inc., Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota."KTSL-Don Lee Broadcasting System, Hollywood, Calif.

A. TIMES-"Los Angeles Times," published by the Times-Mirror Co., LosAngeles, Calif.

* KYA-San Francisco, Calif. Owned by Dorothy S. Thackrey, publisher of"New York Post."

THE companies listed above have indicated byfirm orders that they are anxious to start tele-

casting immediately and have authorized us to saythat they plan to start as soon as their equipment isready and FCC approval is granted. It is interestingto note that ten of the stations are owned by pub-lishers.

The coming months should see all of these sta-tions bringing television programs to their respectiveareas. Almost every item necessary for a televisionstation has now been fully developed by RCA. Most

'Consruction subject o FCC approval' Already broadcasting on a regular schedule

equipments are now in production. Deliveries havealready begun on such items as monoscope camerasand synchronizing generators. Shipments on exist-ing orders for portable field equipment, relays,antennas, 5 -kw transmitters, and studio equipmentwill begin this Fall.

It will pay you to investigate RCA televisionequipment immediately, so that you will also beready to explore the tremendous potential promisedby this new market. Write: Dept. 79-I, Radio Cor-poration of America, Camden, New Jersey.

TELEVISION BROADCAST EQUIPMENTRADIO CORPORATION of AMERICAENGINEER/NO PRODUCTS DEPARTMENT, CAMDEN, N.J.

In Canada: RCA VICTOR Company limited, Montreal

Here are the television units that meet everytechnical and program requirement-basedon tie experience gained from more than

2000 different telecasts at General Electric'sWRGI3 Here are units designed to handleevery known type of program source. Here

are the basic equipments that enable you to"blcck-build- for future expansion

illaveyou

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STUDIO AND STATION EQUIPMENT TRANSMITTERS

GENERAL ELECTRICTelevision

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Low -Cost Community -type Stations-Metropolitan Stations- Rural Stations

Whether you go into television modestly or big-time, G-Efixed stale me+ment will give you better picture quality, provide a flexibility to match theimagination of any director, furnish the proper program experience rightfrom the start-all at reasonable cost.

Check these important featuresin SHARPER, HIGHER CONTRAST PICTURES

Picture quality, contrast, and depth to satisfythe most critical audiences.

Cl GREATER FLEXIBILITY

Complete fading and switching facilities assuresmooth programming from studios, network, or out-side pickup.

rTROUBLE -FREE OPERATION

Proved circuits backed by six years of operatingexperience at General Electric's WRGB.

SUPPOSE you want to start out small. With the minimumof equipment as shown below in list 1 you can produce

such programs as outdoor sports events, network shows,simple studio presentations, speeches, motion pictures, slideprojections, and commercials. As more elaborate programsare required or air -time is increased, add to these basic unitsin almost any combination you desire-up to the maximumrequirements of a 6 -studio metropolitan station. For ex-ample, the equipment requirements for a 2 -studio metro-politan station are fully met by the G -E basic units shownbelow in list 2.

fi EASY TO INSTALLStraightforward wiring and convenient terminal

boards simplify inter -unit connection.

"BLOCK -BUILT" DESIGN

Completely integrated studio units are uniformin size and appearance. Easy expansion without dupli-cation. Styled to match the most modern station.

EASY TO MAINTAIN

Vertically mounted chassis, readily accessiblefrom both sides, makes maintenance easy.

Write for these important G -ETelevision references

"G -E Television Equipment Data Book".An illustrated description of G -E studiounits. transmitters and antennas. This 4116..rdata book is free when requested on f hpyour company letterhead.

"Television Show Business". 246richly illustrated pages of production"knowhow' by Judy Dupuy. An indis-pensable guide to successful program-ming. $2.50 per copy.

Call your G -E broadcast sales engineer for complete in-formation, or write at once to the Electronics Department,General Electric Company, Syracuse I, New York.

Offices in an principal cities.

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Community station

OM Ilhomn projector On. weve-lorm rockOne slide projmier One general-purpose reekOne flint comm. chennol field pick-up equipmentOn. Muni. renown chennel Tronsenining equipmentOwe rooster control desk Lighting equipment

Audi* equipment

STARTING BIG?Here's whet yaw need for 2 -studio

Metropolitan statin

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Three general-peep*.o racksfield pick-up equipmentTransroMing equipmentloglehng equipment

Of. waste, conhel MoirAram equipment

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FM TE LEVI S ION AM_sew at:fr ag 714a/

September, 1946 9

CRITICS have often had a field day with WCBW'sprogramming but an analysis of their objectives

presents a different story. Others have ended up withbetter shows but few have shown the imagination ordetermination to fully capture the uniqueness of tele-vision. Undoubtedly many showmen will counter thattelevision is theatre or movies in the home, and, afterall, it's the show that counts. While that tholds, the show might be different i

Perhaps CBS will end up wi

the home and the siz

unlimited exof the negli

to findtain.

what's good theatre will a matically be good tele-vision. But they may

factors to deman different presentation of enter-tainment. Cer

receivers

or br

evision.e conclusion that

out that the intimacy off the screen are strong enough

ly the opportunity for practicallyimentation which exists now because

ble audience will not last for long. Oncee out in quantity, gone will be the chance

t new ways to educate, new ways to enter -r once the chips are down, few advertisers

adcasters will strike out in new fields but ratherwill stick to the old tried and tested.

n summing up their basic programming philoso-p y, Lawrence Lowman, vice-president of CBS tele-

ision, stressed this point with his statement: "Ourrimary purpose is to find a new form for the me-

dium. Television must get away from inviting com-parison with other mediums; from having peoplethink or say, 'It's almost as good as the movies, thetheatre, etc.' We are not contributing anything if ourprograms are compared."

Coupled with this is their effort to overcome someof the problems connected with television by tryingto find simple, economical means of doing everything."We want to determine if there is a way to cut cor-ners in production overhead costs," continued Mr.Lowman.

Ben Feiner, acting program manager of WCBW,elaborated on this concept with his statement, "Pro-gramming theoretically is divided into two schools-derivative and indigenous. Not only is it a questionof economy, but it is a simple fact that you don't in-vite comparison. Let television develop something onits own. I feel that unless the medium can do shows

hich can't be done by any other medium, or whichn be better than any other medium, you are not

g ing the public anything new. Full length plays, nom ter how good they are, still invite comparison withany other medium which has much more available toprod e them in the way of money, experience, etc. Inour shows, we don't invite that kind of thing."

I

Pe

I

I

I I

Good ample of this kind of thinking are theirdance seri , the most elaborate of the CBS tele shows."We want develop and go as far as we can withthe dance. B we ask the producer, the choreogra-pher, and ever e involved to seek new methods ofpresentation for evision, rather than those whichhave been evolved r straight ballet, theatre ormovies. They are corn tely designed for televisionfrom camera angles out," I lained Mr. Lowman.

While comedy holds great . o ise, perhaps morethan any other form of television rtainment itstill needs a great deal of experimentation. ten-tialities have barely been scratched. Both CBS execu-tives concur that comedy has a much wider scope thanthe present quiz type and audience participation for-mats. Even this low budget programming, which de-pends on a live wire master of ceremonies and awilling group of human guinea pigs, needs the boostof spontaneous studio laughter to give it the fun per-

sonality it needs to project itself on the televisionscreen. The same radio premise of having a comedianwork before an audience holds true in television. Forcomedy is based on an audience. The comedian shouldhave audience response to his routine; he dependsupon it for his timing. The home viewer also needs

reaction provides.studio is the an -

night clubry at-

,

"Maybe doing it away froswer. Making it live; picking it upwhere it is going on might supply the nemosphere," suggested Mr. Lowman.

Another must in comedy presentation are expewriters to produce top-notch gag material. Stage andnight club comedians work out a 12 -to -15 -minuteroutine and may live off it for months. Television, likeradio, allows for no repeats.

DramaIn order to find a simple, economical means of doing

drama, WCBW is now experimenting with improvisa-tion. This improvisation theory is aimed at cuttingpre -show preparation and rehearsal. First requisite,of course, is a group of actors trained along theselines. The cast receives a skeleton script, with the keyfeatures outlined. Idea is for them to work on it fora couple of hours, filling out the plot with ad lib dia-logue and planning the action. When they have it inshape, the director goes over it with them, smoothingout any rough spots. Then with a brief facilities re-hearsal, the program is ready to go on the air. Withmemorization and dry rehearsals eliminated, time ele-ment is thus reduced to one day for a completeprogram.

This, they feel, may be the answer to the daytimeprogram or simple dramatic episode. For unless amore practical solution than expensive hours of re-hearsal and facilities use is found, they believe thereis no possibility in the way of a return or inducementbetween studio and advertiser.

While they realize that improvisation is not thepanacea, they are using it to determine where it canbe employed to best advantage and where scriptedjobs would be better. Another good feature of thistheory is that scenario writing is simplified - andhence better and more highly paid writers can beemployed. All that is needed are three or four keyspeeches.

Special Events-Film"Of course, all remotes are going to be terrific,"

Mr. Lowman emphasized. "Sports and special eventswill be the answer to low budget programming forlocal stations."

CBS have been taking their own films of specialevents and also short documentaries for inclusion intheir "Saturday Night Spotlight" program. Theydon't see how too much of this can be done as it isextremely expensive to get first class material. "Fillibraries can usually provide atmosphere shot rdocumentary clips to be used in the studio t o if aprogram requires factual material ch as thecharacters in the play shown tdoor sequences,

cars trains et uation really becomes in-volved. ' ou ave to go out and shoot these sequencesand then integrate the film into the studio work," Mr.Feiner pointed out.

That potential programmers, as well as those nowoperating, are becoming more aware of the film situa-tion, both from the cost, Petrillo and availability

C

I0 Television

Law -nce Lowman-vice .resident, CBS Television

angles, is proven, thinks Mr. Lowman, by the dropin predictions of the use of film under a year ago.

Jurisdictional disputes - between the IBEW andIATSE in their case - has also tangled up the use oftheir film crew.

Educational

CBS has been cooperating actively with the NewYork City Board of Education. These programs aimat stimulating thoughts and ideas, as well as givingthe high school youngsters a chance to learn show-manship. "But," stressed Mr. Feiner, "all shows mustbe entertaining. Liven up your educational formatsand make them interesting."

Overall Policies

As to running time of programs, most of WCBW'sshows are 15 to 30 minutes. Main thing, they feel, isto keep them from dragging and a 15 -minute segmentis cut to 10, or a 1/2 hour show to 20 minutes when-ever necessary to quicken the pace and hold interest.

The Petrillo ban, of course, is a definite detrimentto television programming. Live music is necessaryfor any kind of variety program, helps out immeas-urably with certain types of comedy.

"The matter of good taste is an important thingto determine - and a hard thing to define. Everyonehas his own idea of what constitutes it. We are try-ing to determine it in our own programs," Mr. Low-man said. Their own audience research polls show awide divergence on this point.

On the question of personnel, both executives agree

Ap roach to Programming

Ben Feiner, (extreme right), acting programmanager, WCBW, with other CBS staffers.

By Frederick A. Kugel

that in addition to the obvious qualities of creativity,imagination and adaptability, the talents of the thea-tre and films must be combined with the pattern ofradio. As Ben Feiner puts it, "Ruggedness is the mainrequirement for program personnel." Television re-quires a wide diversity of talent in one man. Althoughthey have made no attempt at specialization in theformation of their staff, some people have a flair forcertain things and to an extent this has resulted ina degree of specialization among their staff.

Talent is no problem, for the big names are willingto work for comparatively little to get a chance tolearn the peculiar techniques of television acting. Onthe other hand, there are many young unknowns whoare equally eager to have a chance at improvisationand the creative work which this method involves.

"Another important part of our program thinkingis the work we are doing with color," continued Mr.Lowman. "Right now we are getting set for anotherdemonstration, this time combining live and film.

"In a way, I suppose we make it difficult for ourstaff with our program policy, for we do have thefacilities and personnel to do more elaborate pro-gramming, such as big dramatic shows, if we wantedto spend the money and adapt good plays, cast withstars, etc.

"However, as I said before, our main aim is to finda new form for the medium. We do not feel we arecontributing anything -if, as a result of our program,television is to be compared with other existingmediums."

II

MOST of those television "firsts," where televisionbeats the newsreels, have been scored by the

Esso-sponsored NBC Newsreel. Such momentous oc-casions as the screening of the atom bomb tests andthe opening of the Paris peace conference, as well asmany "it happened today" incidents, have been shownto the WNBT viewers first, by "Your Esso Reporter"-NBC's director of film programs, Paul Alley.

According to Marschalk & Pratt's tele director, JohnAllen, it is Esso's aim to establish themselves as spon-sors of the best regularly scheduled television news.Although slated for two 10 -minute spots a week, Essohas been sponsoring many important special newsbreaks and hopes eventually to have a full 7 -day aweek news telecast. Content and format of the news-reel are left entirely to NBC's Paul Alley, who does theediting and commentary on the series. Commercialformat is handled by R. M. Gray, manager of the ad-vertising -sales promotion department of Standard OilCompany of New Jersey and R. H. Crum, assistantto Mr. Gray, in charge of radio and television.

Mr. Gray sums up Standard Oil's viewpoint with hisstatement, "We are in television because it has a tre-mendous potential and we are in it now to learn as

much as we can, as soon as we can. It is also our desireto render a public service by presenting last minutenews and to keep the public completely informed onwhat is happening in the world."

Tele-Tailored CommercialsOn the question of commercial content and tech-

niques, both agency and client believe that televisioncan tell advertising stories that other media can'tand they see no point in duplicating a series which canbe effectively sold in newspapers or on radio. Due tothe nature of their product, film was decided upon asthe best medium for presenting cars and motors;service stations and the like. All of the commercialfilms are made especially for television and usuallyrun about 11/2 minutes.

In resuming their series over WNBT last June,they decided to experiment with technical commer-cials to test their effectiveness-effectiveness, in thiscase, meaning how technical they could get withoutlosing the viewers' interest. If they failed, there'd belittle harm done at this stage of audience viewing.

A survey was conducted by Marschalk & Pratt amongtelevision set owners to determine just how muchcar owners in the group knew about gasoline and

motor oil. As a follow-up to test the effectivenessof the sales messages, a personal interview survey willsoon be conducted among the same group.

In addition to the opening and closing commercials,pictured here, three series were decided upon -amotor oil story; the Esso Touring Service and the con-trolled volatility feature of Esso gasolines.

Series ThemesHere are some typical examples of the themes be-

hind the three series produced so far.The motor oil story stressed the necessity of chang-

ing oil because of the dirt which accumulates inmotors especially during the summer months. Goodexample was "A Bit of Dirt". Opening with a groupof women gossiping or "dishing out the dirt", filmthen swung to a shot of the New York skyline, withthe commentator pointing out that there are 11/2 tonsof dirt in each cubic mile of this air. Numerals weresuperimposed over the scene for further visual im-pression. Switch to cars driving on the road, the dustthey stir up and what happens to the motor whenthis infiltrates was made. Shot of a car pulling in atan Esso dealer to have the oil changed followed, with

a can of Esso Motor Oil shown for further productidentification. Commentary was quick, factual, de-void of extravagant adjectives. Switch from the "dirt"angle to Esso was natural and well integrated.

While the gasoline story of controlled volatility isnot new, still it was one that has never been told andwhich lent itself well to television. Series stressedwhat this feature meant to the customer in terms ofincreased mileage and smoother operation. One versionof dramatization used to put the point across openedwith a customer receiving change from a dealer andthrowing some coins on the ground. Off -screen com-mentary pointed out that while you wouldn't deliber-ately throw away the price of a gallon of gas, in effectyou might be doing the same thing through gas evapo-ration. The Esso feature which prevented it was thenexplained.

Original idea of the Touring Service series was totease the audience into writing in for information onspecialized trips. That, however, was abandoned infavor of the general touring service story, with in-vitation to the viewers to obtain postcards at localEsso dealers or to visit the Esso travel headquarters inthe RCA building. Scenes for this series are takenwithin a radius of 75 to 80 miles of New York-stateparks, lakes, etc. Switch from a man driving along a

12Television

road to his children swimming in an uncrowded, cleanlake pointed up the fact that he had found the spotthrough the Touring Service which Esso offers. Thisseries will probably run until October. The motor oiland controlled volatility series are being repeated onceand audience reaction to this will also be tested.

IntegrationOn the whole, commercials .are smoothly integrated.

Since a good part of the newsreel is human interestmaterial, opening sequences of the commercial-show-ing women gossiping, a man driving, etc.-form anatural bridge into the plug. Fact that Paul Alley doesthe narration on the entire show also eliminates anyaudible break in the continuity.

Since the newsreel is only ten minutes, commercialis always given at the end in order to avoid disruptingthe continuity on such a short time segment. Agency,being its own severest critic, feels that if the end com-mercial isn't interesting enough to hold attention, it'sup to them to work out a more effective technique.

Most sensational newsbeat scored by the Esso-NBCNewsreel-the first showing anywhere of the atomicbomb films-brought up the delicate point of good

taste in commercials. Considering it realistically andfrom a "hot" news point of view, the test had beenwidely covered by newspapers and radio; it was sixdays old; its news value, as such, had been dissipated.New York viewers, however, were seeing it ten daysbefore the newsreel releases. And this impact of seeingit for the first time was so terrific that the agencyand the sponsor did not feel that any product storyshould follow the screening. Standby commercials tocover shock news are now in the works. Main aim hereis to achieve name and brand identification, whichwill put over the product without offending anyone.However, in some cases, such as disasters or deathsof prominent people, probably the only credit will bein the narration-"Esso Marketers present your EssoReporter . . . ",-with the opening and closing filmcommercials omitted entirely.

Production Procedure

Films are shot in series of six or eight and the mostearnest word of advice that John Allen can give any-one is-"Start in plenty of time." There's a long,tough road to travel between a paper outline and pro-duction schedule to the completed film, okayed and

on the reel. Agency procedure is to work at least twomonths in advance. Meeting is held with the client onthe 1st of the month and the series slated to start intwo months is discussed. Scripts are written andokayed and production starts the 15th-leaving aboutsix weeks to complete the job. Film is shown to thesponsor about one week before air -time and then thesound track is made.

In their first three series, only the Motor Oil grouphad a sound track-lack of time preventing it on theother two. However all those now in the works willhave the sound track incorporated. Their same radiotechnique-of having the commentator give the com-mercial-is followed in television, with Paul Alleyhandling both.

Esso Marketers put few restrictions on the budget,feeling that the agency should be free to do the bestpossible job and work from there on cutting the costsfor future editions. Costs so far have been out of line-which is what they expected-but applying the age-old rule of learning by mistakes, pruning job is nowgoing on to eliminate the extras and bring the pro-duction costs down. Naturally savings can be effectedby shooting an entire series at one time.

Esso Sponsorship

of theNBC Newsreel

By Mary Gannon

Expansion PlansEsso fully intends to expand their coverage to other

cities but all the bugs must be worked out first. AsJohn Allen puts it, it's much more sensible to makemistakes in one place at a time-why duplicate them?However next year will probably see "Your Esso Re-porter" in Schenectady, Philadelphia and Washington.And this extension of the service is another questionmark that the agency hasn't worked out yet. Formatof the newsreel now is mainly local and the com-mercials, particularly the touring service and the serv-ice stations, are keyed to the local area. Before networktelevision arrives, decision will have to be made as towhether shows will be network or local, or a percentageof each. Eventually though, commercials will probablybe put on by local stations with prints shipped to them.

To find out what the general public thinks of newsshows and commercials, agency is currently conduc-ting a series of panel studies in the WNBT viewingroom. Thirty to thirty-five people, selected from theNBC guide tours, watch the program, fill out a ques-tionnaire, and then discuss it at the end. While resultshave been favorable, agency does not feel this methodof surveying is very conclusive. There are too many

Sepfember, 1946 I3

who just go along with the crowd, plus a percentagewho, on seeing television for the first time, are moreimpressed with the novelty of it than with what theyare seeing. Answer to this survey problem will probablycome in the fall when sets are on the market and theviewing audience will increase.

Do's and Don'tsHere's John Allen's advice to anyone who intends

to produce motion picture commercials for television.

Don't... feel every foot of film needs narration.... use music only to fill a silence....use live sound. The extra expense of a soundtrack can cut costs; a well scored print can standrepetition.... produce commercials singly. A series-four isthe minimum-costs less.... count on less than six weeks for production!

Do... use narration only when the picture alone can'ttell the complete story.... use close ups-even closer than that; medium

shots only when absolutely necessary; long shots-never.

. use wipes and dissolves to the fullest. They arethe punctuation of motion pictures.... use superimposed lettering at every chance tosell your main points.

NBC NewsreelIn compiling the Esso newsreel, Paul Alley's basic

idea is to cover metropolitan New York-the area inwhich the present television audience lies. Same for-mat is used as in building an interesting feature news-reel, leading off with spot news, sports events andhuman interest material, such as novelties, personali-ties, etc.

MEN PICTURED ABOVE:Esso program in the making-R. M. Gray, manager ofthe advertising -sales promotion department of StandardOil of New Jersey; John Allen, television director ofMarschalk & Pratt; Paul Alley, NBC's director of filmprograms and R. H. Crum, assistant to Mr. Gray, incharge of radio and television shown in usual order.Commercial formats are planned two months in advance.

Mr. Alley estimates that about 75% of the so-callednews stories are fixed events which can be planned forin advance. Such happenings as conference openings,parades, conventions, sports, arrivals and departures-even the atom bomb tests-are scheduled ahead oftime. Newspapers are carefully checked for this in-formation. In addition, they have a tip service withthe news desk of one of the local picture dailies, whocall them at any hour a the day or night when someimportant pictorial story is breaking. Other goodsources are press agents for the airlines, ships, rail-roads, etc., as well as the publicity representatives forVIPs (very important people).

No attempt has been made to do a national or in-ternational newsreel job, for they are not gearedphysically or financially for such an undertaking. How-ever, they will cover Washington or Philadelphia ifthe occasion has sufficient interest to warrant it. Plansfor the immediate future include a cameraman inWashington, with others in Chicago and Boston next.Of course, as stations begin to operate around thecountry, the picture will change and an interchangeof film on a more national basis will probably start.

In addition, NBC has also made arrangements with

foreign news services to cover important openingevents-such as the filming of the peace conferencein Paris, the arrival of G. I. families in Germany, etc.They also have tie-ups with news services in variousparts of the country and with correspondent camera-men. Where important events are scheduled, these menreceive definite assignments; otherwise they submitfilms for Mr. Alley's okay. Unless the news value ishigh, such film fare must have broad general interestto be acceptable-for example, a Legion Parade inPhiladelphia, while having high local interest, wouldnot mean very much to the New York viewers, whilesome humorous stunt contest, no matter where it washeld, would be entertaining.

Present NBC staff consists of two cameramen withadditional cameramen engaged by the day if the storywarrants it. 35 mm. film is used. In addition, thereare two men and an assistant in the cutting room.

ShortcutsSpeed is the essence of television news presentation

and every shortcut possible is taken to get the film onthe air FAST.

Paul Alley works with the cutters in editing thefilm. While looking at it, they list what is in each reel,decide on what they want and what will be cut out.

14 Television

After the first reel is edited, Mr. Alley receives arough shooting script, listing the reel number, thescene list and the footage. He then starts to write hiscommentary as the second reel is being edited. Ifthere is time, a rehearsal is held, with the film runoff and the commentary given. But if there isn't time-and scoring the number of "firsts" that they do, thisoften happens-the film is put on the air and Alley fitsin his commentary as he sees the picture in the booth.Technique is the same as that used for scoring news-reels-except that the voice is going out over theair instead of onto a sound track.

Another time saving trick is the use of a negativeinstead of a positive film. Although the engineers pre-fer to work with prints, as they are easier to shade andtransmit, if the negative is good to start with, thereis no picture loss in running it that way.

T.I. "Firsts"Among some of the events telefilmed the same day

they happened, were shots of New Yorkers visitingthe 8th Fleet; the arrival of Anthony Eden at LaGuardia airport; conferring of honorary degrees atFordham University; weighing -in of Louis -Conn; the

departure of the youth hostel to Europe; the 9 -alarmStaten Island terminal fire, which was still raging asthe televiewers saw the films; the Davis Cup play-offs; opening session of the UN Security Council foratom bomb plan discussions; the Sidney Hillmanfuneral; the arrival in New York of the RAF Squad-ron; and the Soap Box Derby.

This business of beating the newsreels will probablycontinue, according to Paul Alley, for under the pre-sent distribution set-up, newsreels are made up onMonday for Thursday showings, and on Thursday forthe following Monday. Television can put film on assoon as it's edited; newsreels have to figure on playingsix to eight weeks, must have national interest, the

pictorial quality and news value to stand up that long.Television cashes in on the immediate news interest.

Typical of the other films offered were such eventsas the Automotive Golden Jubilee; West Point gradua-tion; mass jump of 350 paratroopers; Assault winningthe Belmont Stakes; the Katonah Dog Show; polomatches at Meadowbrook ; floods at Croton Dam; theAquaretta; the Greenwich Village Outdoor Art Show;Curb Exchange anniversary; track meet and pro-fessional tennis matches.

Human interest fare included the crowds at ConeyIsland; milady's beach fashions; Chinatown's babyparade; a carousel wedding, and square dancing inCentral Park. From foreign sources, such shots as thefirst pictures of Panama's Choco Indians; the Dutchanniversary of Liberation; the Paris auto race; Bel-gian canoe race; Paris hair styles; the Mexican presi-dential campaign; demonstrations in Vienna; and thefamine scenes in China, were also varied with theusual local and human interest material.

Summing It Up ...Esso's aim is to become identified with the latest

television news; to make full use of the visual as-pects of the medium both in the news format and intheir commercials; to take advantage of video's sightand sound features in presenting product stories thatmay not be effective in other advertising mediums.

And to realize these aims takes the research, theexperimentation and the work that they have beenwilling to expend in developing their series of 11/2minutes of commercial film.

To put the NBC television newsreel together re-quires a good organizational set-up to make the con-tacts and plan the film fare. Then SPEED-so thattelevision viewers will have the first look at what'sbeen happening.

A BIT OF DIRT

Lead-in to the commercial which stressed the need for changing motor oil in thesummer months because of hot weather dirt, was this clever play on words showinggossips "dishing the dirt." Commercial went on to point out the dust and dirt incity air, then switched to a highway scene and pointed out how dust collects inmotors during the summer. Scale weighing the amount which gathers drove the pointhome, with the direct Esso commercial worked in at the end with advice to motoriststo have their oil changed every 1,000 miles at any convenient Esso service station.

September, 1946 15

Television magazine audience panel

THIS report is based on 77 returns to the 150 ques-tionnaires sent out. Three receivers were reported

not in working order. Twenty of the panel were notviewing television that night for a number of reasons.Two were at the movies, three were on vacation, onewent to the theatre, one was listening to the radio, andso forth. One panel member stated that the programswere not worth tuning into and another had just soldhis set because the quality of programming was so un-satisfactory. Of the 74 sets in working order 53 or71%, were in use; 111 men and 81 women made up atotal audience of 192, or an average of 4 viewersper set.

By far the greatest amount of viewing time wasgiven to WNBT. WNBT also came out ahead in num-ber of viewers with 90% of the audience, or 48 outof the 53 television set owners using their sets thatnight tuned to this station. WABD was second with19 and WCBW was third with 14 viewers. Importantqualifying fact was the reception report, for whilemembers of the panel can receive the three stationson their receivers, WNBT was voted first in picturequality by 100% of the panel.

Program SchedulePrograms for August 1st were as follows:

WNBT7:30 p.m.-In Town Today -a mobile pick-up.

7:50 p. m. -Your Esso Television Reporter -anewsreel featuring Atom Bomb Test Baker, the ParisPeace Conference, human interest incidents.

8:00 p.m.-Hour Glass, sponsored by StandardBrands-an hour-long variety show.

9:00 p.m.-Famous Fight Film

Time Signal -Bulova.

WCBW8:15 p.m.-Television News, sponsored by Gulf Oil-a combination live and film format. Latest news ofthe day visualized by animated maps, charts and car-toons, plus film shots of local happenings.

8:30 p.m.-Draw Me Another-a cartoon format.

8:45 p.m.-Stop, Look & Listen-an audiencepart icipation honer -quiz.

WABD8:00 p.m.-Fare Enough presented by ABC-anaudience participation format.

8:30 p.m.-Film Shorts

9:00 p.m.-Cash and Carry-an audience -viewerparticipation show.

Time Signals -Elgin, Waltham and Botany weatherspot.

Advertising ImpressionsIn answer to the question "Which advertiser made

the most vivid impression in giving you facts aboutitself?" 30 panel members voted for Tender Leaf Tea,7 for Esso, and 3 each for Bulova and Botany.

To the question "Would you list the names of adver-tisers that first come to your mind when you think oftelevision?" Gillette led with 35 votes although theyhad no show on that night. Second was Tender Leafwith 30 and close behind was Esso with 25 ballots.Other high pollers were Botany with 20 votes; Bulova,15; Chase & Sanborn, 11; Waltham, 8; U. S. Rubber,7; Minit-Rub, 7; Firestone and RCA, 5; Elgin, 4;Chevrolet and Lever Brothers, 3; Alexander Smith, 2;and 1 each to Sanka, DuMont, Trushay, Gruen,Benrus, Adler and Textron.

Significant is the fact that Gillette, Botany, Chase& Sanborn, Waltham, U. S. Rubber, Minit-Rub, Fire-stone, RCA, Chevrolet, Lever Brothers, AlexanderSmith, Sanka, Trushay, Gruen, Benrus, Adler and Tex-tron had no program on the night of August 1st. Im-pressive was Lever Brothers' toll considering thatwhile they were once heavy television advertisers,they have had no program since November, 1945.

Some of the comments on the Tender Leaf adver-tisement were: "Very smooth method of presentation". . . "Thought the little skit that leads up to the ad-vertisement very interesting" . . . "Novel idea, makesit easy to remember the brand." Interesting was theobservation, "Enjoying the show seems to impress theproduct on the viewer" . . . and one for the copywrit-ers, "Because of the clever way they make an adver-tisement entertaining instead of boring" . . . "Be-cause Tender Leaf is advertised by having sceneswhich might occur in the average home." Importantare these comments which, while they name TenderLeaf as the advertiser making the most vivid impres-sion, qualified their vote by "I think they spent toomuch time advertising their product" . . . "Advertis-ing methods poor" ... "Now we actually see the box."

Copywriters certainly hit the bell on the Esso com-mercial, at least according to this comment, "Every-one is interested in necessary information for up -keepof their car. My guests were interested in the vaca-tion trailer information as they are planning a trailertrip." Another Esso follower voted for Esso becausethe commercial was short, precise, and well presented.Evidently, the informative commercial will pay off forEsso for most comments on their commercial werealong the lines of how much they appreciated the in-formation and how interesting it was.

Program RatingsInteresting were the answers to "Which program

did you like best?" Here the unquestionable winnerwas Standard Brands' "Hour Glass" (Chase & San-born and Tender Leaf Tea) which received 35 votes.There were 16 other votes but they were split among13 programs. Typical comments were-"Our favoriteprogram" . . . "I like variety because it holds your

(continued on page 19)

16 Television

WRGB

Left, top to bottom: G. Emerson Markham, station man-ager, WRGB; Ted Beebe, supervisor of scripts; BobStone, senior producer; Marc Spinelli, producer; PatCrafton, producer.Right, top to bottom: Helen Rhodes, acting supervisor ofproduction; Larry Algeo, senior producer; Clark Jones,senior producer; Edith Kelly, producer; Art Weld,producer.

WRGB is more typical of the average televisionstation of the future than any of the other

operating stations. Located in an area which certainlycannot qualify as a talent center, its problems are thesame as those which other local stations will facebefore network television is an actuality. Thus theoperational set-up which they have developed couldwell serve as a pattern for prospective stations tofollow in training their staffs and in arranging theirschedules.

Underlying principle in setting up their staff train-ing procedure is based on the belief that the besttrained staff is one thoroughly familiar with everystep of studio operation, rather than specialistslimited to a particular phase of the many sided opera-tional and programming set-up. So, regardless of pastexperience or particular aptitudes, each new membergoes through the same training routine. This systemresults in an interchangeable staff-an important fac-tor in making up the crews for each programmingnight.

Rotation SystemTo start at the beginning, new personnel are first

assigned to various jobs on the floor, taking their turnson the camera, operating the light bridge, working asassistants, floor supervisors, script writers, producers,

STATION OPERATIONS

etc., and, if they have the talent, as actors and an-nouncers. In short, they have a crack at everythinguntil they are thoroughly familiar with each phase ofstudio operations. Their first shows are done under thesupervision of a veteran producer to whom they are as-signed, and while there is a degree of technical super-vision, there is practically no supervision on thecreative end. Although all of them do various typesof formats, eventually they evolve for themselves thekind of show that they want and are best suited tohandle.

As a constant check on their efforts, a weekly sur-vey to get viewer reaction is conducted. On the pro-gram schedule, which is mailed out each week, a ratingcard is attached for audience evaluation of each show.Home critics are asked to rate the programs accordingto A (excellent) ; B (good) ; C (fair) ; or D (poor),and to indicate the number of persons seeing each per-formance. In addition a member of the WRGB staffacts as critic for the night and submits his report.

Programming Techniques

Staff meetings are held regularly to discuss the re-sults of these surveys, as well as production flaws,camera standards, script writing, methods of pro-ducing various types of shows, etc. To simplify theirown operation, terms have been defined so that therewill be no misunderstanding and certain basic pro-duction principles have been evolved.

Following are some of the more important "dos anddon'ts" which they have formulated for their own use. Strive for good pictorial composition and balancewithin the frame. If shots are organized and plannedbefore camera rehearsal and framed thoroughly be-fore being taken, this will be a natural result.

Establish orientation at the beginning of the show,perhaps by a long shot, so that the audience has achance to familiarize themselves with the place andatmosphere of the play. The relationship of performersto each other should also be established early. Take at least one close-up of each performer so thatthe audience knows what the cast looks like. (This isparticularly important because of the small screensize.) It adds vitality to a performance to see goodfacial expressions. Direct the cast to move, instead of moving thecamera to them. In planning shots, cardinal principleto remember is that movement within the frame ismuch better than moving the camera. Pre -plan all shots so that there are no unnecessarycuts. The same rule holds true with matching shots, forthere's no point in cutting from camera to camera ifthe shot is the same. Dolly in and out if there is physical motivation andthen there should always be a cut in between. Typicalexample is dollying out to reveal the entire set afterclose-ups or dollying in to visually explain points ofinterest. Panning should have sufficient motion to justify it.Good example of physical motivation would be a per-son crossing and recrossing a room. It can also be usedin dramatic motivation where a deliberate effort ismade to slow action and hold suspense. However,another rule is, "Don't pan without cutting in be-tween." A cut speeds it up, is more straight forward. Change the boom levels of the cameras so that theyare not on the same level throughout. This practicefollows the motion picture technique. Know the character and field of the camera-a par-ticularly important must for the producer and thecameraman. Follow the producer's instructions. There must beno ad libbing on the cameraman's part. In turn, thedollyman follows the cameraman's signals. Don't straighten the dolly while the camera is onthe air. Have one protective shot for audience participationshows, where almost anything can happen and all toooften does. It's a wise precaution to have a stationarycamera to cover up in case of an "emergency". Train your cast for video. Actors must be madeconscious of the cameras and taught to watch thelights, so they'll know which camera is on the air-and on them. If the "intimate touch" is wanted, wherethe performer is to talk directly to the audience, thenit's okay to face the camera. Otherwise the results aredefinitely amateurish. A side angle effect is muchbetter.

Production ScheduleSo much for the programming side of the picture.

But looking ahead to the time when networks are inoperation, and split second timing will be as essentialin television as it is in radio, WRGB has already be-gun to "work by the clock."

Behind this precision work is a closely coordinatedsystem devised by Helen Rhodes, Acting Supervisorof Production. For to bring all the diverse elementswhich comprise a weekly television schedule into asmoothly working whole, each step must be carefullycharted.

Complete crew schedules are made up four programnights in advance, listing stage and light crews,cameramen, announcers, etc., as well as camera re-hearsal and program times. The alternating job idea

18 Television

is used here, and a WRGB staffer often finds himselfproducing a show, setting up a boxing ring, playing abit part or pushing a camera around.

Further systems have been worked out for the physi-cal requirements and the actual production involved.

First step is for the producer to put all require-ments for the show down on paper. Each producermakes out a floor plan exactly to scale, indicatingthe placement of sets, furniture, props, entrances,windows, doors, decoration, etc. Also included is thelength of the mike boom and how far away it can befrom the set, while still adequately covering it forsound. To this is attached a property list form, whichincludes the names of the production and the producer;the dates of camera rehearsal and production; a listof furniture, set and hand properties, with space leftfor sketches of sets and props. The artist and pro-ducer go over the floor plan, discussing the details ofdecoration, etc.

As there are three or four live shows a night-separated by film breaks to allow for set changes-thestage manager correlates the floor plans for all theproductions into a composite scaled drawing. SinceWRGB has but one large studio, 42' x 70', sets must bearranged to get the best possible lighting effects forevery telecast. This often means over-lapping-ornesting-with one set placed in front of another. Toclarify the set-up, a different color is used for eachshow on the final drawing.

There are three stage managers and two artists tohandle the physical details of production. A generalschedule is worked out one month in advance, with anexact schedule two weeks in advance. Everything isdouble-checked the afternoon of the telecast.

Rehearsal RatiosAs a large percentage of the WRGB live shows have

been prepared by outside groups for stage presenta-tion, this eliminates dry rehearsals in the studio. In-stead, the producer usually watches the rehearsals ofthe show, makes whatever adjustments may be neces-sary for televising, plots his camera angles, and has allthe production details outlined on paper before theshow moves into the studio for facilities rehearsal.Because of this pre -planning, WRGB camera rehearsalschedules can be kept to a minimum. Subject, of course,to the discretion of the producer, schedules run 1 hourfor a ten minute show; 11/2 to 2 hours for 20 minutes;2 to 21/2 hours for a thirty minute production.

Timing is in five minute segments and the showmust be cut or padded to make it come out right. Anydiscrepancy is discovered in the camera rehearsal andfixed then.

As WRGB has its own 16 mm. film unit, outdoorshots can be taken and integrated with the live studioprogram. The producer works out his own time sched-ule with the cameraman, a location is selected in thearea, and a few "on the scene" run throughs made be-fore the camera shooting.

So that the entire programming schedule can becoordinated, each producer makes out a technical work-sheet after the final camera rehearsal. Under theheadings time on -off ; program; camera; audio andprojection, necessary data is written in. Informationon audio includes the types of microphones used (bing,announcer or both) ; records to be played; transcrip-tions; sound effects, etc. Under projection are listedin order of use the opening slides, with the first fewwords to identify them, film or anything else that has

to do with the projection room, and the closing slides.For live programs, the description of cameras isusually limited to the numbers of the opening andclosing cameras. Where there is a combination oflive and film, more detailed information is given in theprogram and camera columns to show the integrationmore clearly.

Before showtime, this information is correlated in-to a time chart and copies placed for easy referenceof the entire crew.

The floor supervisor is the final check between allfactors. After the camera rehearsal is over, the exactplacement of every set is marked on the floor, in thesame position as the sets were during the rehearsal.He must oversee the setting and positioning of theentire floor; delegate and supervise set changes; re-set lights for each show; and see that the crew andperformers are on stage and all set to go. He is re-sponsible for, or must delegate, live sound effects, giveinstructions on light moves, and either wear the ear-phones or assign them to an assistant. He is also fur-nished with a revised script.

At the conclusion of the telecast, the crew strikesthe sets and puts up the ones for the next programnight for the artist to work on. These are placed inthe correct order as indicated on the floor plan.

Summing It Up ...WRGB is frankly experimenting both on program-

ming formats and commercial techniques, with thewelcome mat out to prospective television advertisers.Headed by G. Emerson Markham, station manager,WRGB's staff includes acting supervisor of production,Helen Rhodes; supervisor of scripts, Ted Beebe;senior producers, Larry Algeo, Bob Stone and ClarkJones; and producers, Pat Crafton, Art Weld, MarcSpinelli and Edith Kelly.

To sum it up, a well trained staff which candouble in brass and a closely coordinated schedulewhich takes care of every detail involved in program-ming and production keynote WRGB's station opera-tion-factors which should be considered in formula-ting the operating plans of other stations due to maketheir television debut within the next year.

Television Magazine Audience Panel(continued from page 16)interest at all times" . . . "Smooth method of presen-tation, unusually good artists" . . . "Above averagevariety, occasionally hammy, but generally entertain-ing." Magician on the variety show was the best likedact. Three members voted for the Hour Glass showfor its "high class variety."

Of particular interest to programmers is the panelmember who voted for Esso "because they showed

-movies - action which radio cannot show." This pro-lific member also voted for movies as the program heliked best, "They are the only visual programs thatmove faster and give more action than so called liveprograms-too much programming in which mouthwagging is the only action.-Columbia prates a lotabout colored television, I'd like to see them broad-cast a professional black -and -white program first . . .

Let's have some ACTION on television. Even thirdrate cowboy movies will do."

TELEVISION Audience Panel will now be a regu-lar monthly feature. As receivers come into the mar-ket, we will materially enlarge the size of our panel.Analysis of our panel will be furnished upon request.

September, 194619

MHE selection of lighting andI lighting control equipment

must be given careful and lengthyconsideration. Lighting should becontrolled in a smooth, fluid mannerthrough its entire range of intensi-ties. Lamps and lighting unitsshould be portable in design inorder that they may be movedabout the studio and set up with-out delays or difficulties. Based onthe fact that present camera pickuptubes are more sensitive, and be-cause of the laboratories' promiseof better definition and a widerrange of contrasts in the future,the most practical and workablesystem of lighting for the televisionstudio would be a system patternedon those now in use in the theatreand motion picture studio.

Location

Such a lighting system would useincandescent lamps, floods, andspots, controlled through dimmerequipped circuits operated from amain switchboard located to givean unobstructed view of the tele-vision stages. A lighting controlswitchboard should not be locatedin a position that would require theelectrician to work "blind" andmake his light changes on cues re-ceived through the head sets of thedirector's cue channel. Many cuesbased on stage business can be de-layed, if relayed, just long enoughto ruin completely the effect de-sired.

In a large studio set up, wherehigh intensity lighting is desired,arc lamps will probably be used,

and the correct selection of carbons,rectifier settings or other controldevices, plus the familiar iris orvignette shutter, will determine themaximum or minimum illumina-tion to be delivered from the arctype of lamp. The studio planningfuture production of musical showswill undoubtedly require frontfollow spots and such high intensityarc lamps should be equipped withfast framing devices. In order toclear cameras working on the studiofloor, such spots should be locatedin a projection room forward ofand above the stage.

Circuits

In planning the lighting layoutof a television studio, a more thanadequate number of circuits shouldbe included. All circuits should beportable in nature, terminating inoutlets or plugging boxes that willpermit quick changes as needed.Outlets should be located in posi-tions that will permit set lightingfrom any angle or location calledfor. I believe it practical to have asingle switchboard circuit termi-nate in two or more positions on thestage in order that the flexibilityof the switchboard's operation beincreased and that use of the con-trol equipment of any individualcircuit be made available for useat more than one location on thetelevision stage. All circuits shouldbe numbered, and the switches anddimmer control units located onthe main switchboard, controllingthe circuit, should be identified bythe same number. During a telecast

this technique of circuit number-ing will permit the director to callfor a number rather than a lamp oreasily misunderstood set or stagelamp location. A light script can beprepared during the rehearsalperiod, noting the numbers of cir-cuits in use at any given time dur-ing the show.

All circuits should be dimmercontrolled through a type of dim-mer that will function smoothlyand satisfactorily when handlingloads of varying capacities. It is de-sirable that all lamps and lightingunits used on and over the stagearea, in front of the camera posi-tion, be equipped with fins orblinders that can be adjusted totrim the lighting to the desiredcoverage. This will keep spilledrays of light from reaching thecamera lens directly, creating thefamiliar and undesired "halation"effect.

Consideration should also begiven to providing adequate over-head rigging to facilitate speedychanges and safe hanging of suchoverhead lighting units as may beneeded.

FlexibilityBecause of the many varied pro-

duction techniques, formats andsizes of productions a studio maybe required to handle, no part ofa television lighting system shouldbe a permanent, hard -to -move in-stallation. Flexibility of use andspeed of change should set the rulecontrolling the design of a lighting

system. In the large network pro-duction center of the future, the"heavy" type of production thatwill be on the schedule may make itpractical to give consideration tothe construction of one or morelight bridges, supported on rails at-tached to the side walls of thestudio. Such bridges could bequickly moved to any part of atelevision stage and would providea location, above the sets or stage,for the heavier type of presetoverhead spots and effect equip-ment, as well as unique camera lo-cations for unusual and dramaticoverhead shots.

Factors Involved

In determining the amount andtype of lighting equipment thatwill be needed by any one studio,several factors will have to receiveconsideration and be given investi-gation. Among these factors willbe the number of lighting unitsneeded to permit advance set up onprograms immediately followingone another, the number of "live"programs to be telecast daily; theamount of remote lighting equip-ment that will be needed to handlethe special events schedule; thesensitivity of the camera's pickuptube; the speed of the camera'slens, (more light will be needed ifit is necessary to stop down or usea slow lens to achieve a desireddepth of focus) ; and the type ofproductions to be produced by thestudio.

A step in the direction of per -

Suggestions for a flex-

ible system of light-

ing patterned afterthose used in thetheatre and in mo-tion picture studios.

By James L. Caddigan

fection in television lighting wouldbe the development of a light moni-tor channel that would permit themaster electrician and director toobserve constantly, meters givingthe light value on several differentparts of a scene or set, while atelecast is in progress. Such a sys-tem, designed by the writer, wouldmake possible the exact duplicationduring a telecast of the lighting setat the time of rehearsal. Basedupon the familiar tool of the pho-tographer, the Light Meter, thesystem would take readings fromseveral desired parts of a scene orset and through the medium of apanel of meters, located on the pro-ducer's control desk and the light-ing switchboard, would instantlymake the director or electricianaware of any condition of over orunder exposure through the entirerange of the many different lightintensities that might be used tolight a television set. Such a systemwould be calibrated to providereadings over a scale that matchedthe sensitivity of the camera's pick-up tube. Light plots prepared inadvance of an actual telecast couldbe duplicated exactly by followingthe light plot and, through lightingcontrol equipment, keeping themeter indicators on the pre -deter-mined readings.

The lighting system of any tele-vision studio should be consideredas permanent, long life equipmentand a plan for its continued upkeep,periodic inspection and repair

(continued on page 23)

long shots

tanik,ttMOTION pictures do not have

to be produced exclusivelyfor televising. They can be pro-duced for either theatrical or non -theatrical distribution, or both; re-turning their costs through theresults thus achieved . . . andTHEN TELEVISED . . . withoutthe penalty of having to producedollar sales returns through tele-vision alone."

"Advertisers can afford RIGHTNOW to get into television throughthe commercial picture route andreap dividends at the same time."

"A smart advertiser can so planhis TELEVISION OR PICTUREprogram so that he can obtain ad-ditional uses for it. For instance,there are about 1000 associations,clubs, societies, and other organ-ized groups who are getting pic-tures periodically on hundreds ofdifferent subjects. All these groupsconstitute a very large and im-portant buyer's market. There isno reason why good canned tele-vision shows can't be distributed tothis market . . . a great many ofwhom won't have a television setfor years; nor a station to servethem."

"Why must a picture only betelevised once . . . and why has itoutlived its usefulness after it hasbeen televised? . . . Its life can bejust beginning! A lot of use canbe found for pictures of the righttype after they've been televised!"

I could go on and on . . . butwhat's the use of quoting yourselfall the time. Those quotations arefrom articles of LONG SHOTSAND CLOSE UPS published inprevious issues of TELEVISION.But I've got a reason. Like Win-chell, when I can prove I'm right,I like to do it.

As you can see from the fore-going, I have been trying to pointout the way in which advertisersbreak into television and gainmuch valuable experience there-from without having to have tele-vision bear all the expense which

lose ups a.regulmonthly feature

ar

on film productionby H. G. Christens

can, under certain circumstances,be prohibitive.

Special Events

This is especially true when itcomes to televising special eventswhich may happen "one time andone time only," (apologies to Dr.I. Q.), such as the Indianapolis500 -mile race, championship ath-letic events, gold cup races, varioustypes of celebrations, and such.Recently Detroit, Michigan cele-brated the 50th anniversary of theautomobile with a big "to do" of-ficially called the Golden Jubilee.American Broadcasting Companywas very much interested in bring-ing the highlights of this event tothose who had television sets, andimmediately, as always, severalquestions popped up. First, theJubilee being held in Detroit andhaving to be televised from NewYork meant only one thing. It hadto be FILMED. The next questionwas how soon could it be televisedafter the actual event took place.This involved the problem of get-ting the film processed, edited, re-corded, scored and ready for tele-vising. Last and probably most im-portant was that little item re-ferred to as COSTS . . . and as towhether or not ABC could charma sponsor into standing at leastpart of those costs for a singlebroadcast over ABC's outlets inNew York, Philadelphia, Washing-ton and Schenectady to approxi-mately 4500 television sets (or soI've been told).

My hunch is . . . that while ABC,in the interest of public service,was anxious to bring this show tothe television audience . . . was notoverly anxious nor had the budgetto stand the entire cost of such anundertaking . . . and that the samewent for any sponsor who might beinterested.

Commercial Aspects

But nevertheless and notwith-standing, ABC's champion charmer,Paul Mowrey, started out to sellthe idea to Mr. C. J. Durban. Mr.

Durban, in case you didn't know, isAssistant Advertising Manager ofUnited States Rubber Company andwho, in addition to many other re-sponsibilities, is in complete chargeof that company's long range tele-vision plans. While Mr. Mowrey wasdescribing the possibilities of theGolden Jubilee . . . it's entertain-ment and historical value . . . asonly Mowrey can; Mr. Durban, onthe other hand, was visualizingand thinking of the greater pro-motional possibilities of such a pic-ture distributed to their distribu-tors and dealers in the field . . .

sponsored by United States RubberCompany. Here was the quick reac-tion of a man thoroughly exper-ienced in the making and use ofpromotional motion pictures. Idoubt, very much, if a man withoutsuch a background would haverealized that here is a picture thatcould "double in brass"! So, Mow-rey made a sale . . . which other-wise might not have been made.

ABC then made a deal withEmerson Yorke to take a motionpicture crew to Detroit and coverall the important celebrities, hap-penings and sidelights of the Jubi-lee. Caravel Films were selected byMr. Durban to shoot an introduc-tory opening for the picture. Thiswas a speech made by Dr. S. M.Cadwell, Head of Research for thecompany, on the progress of theautomotive industry during the lastfifty years and the part that UnitedStates Rubber Company played inthat progress. Caravel also pro-duced a closing sequence for thepicture. This was shot in Arizonaand showed how the U. S. Test CarFleets continuously test the per-formance, wear, and qualities ofU. S. Royals and U. S. Royal Mastertires and tubes. When this wholeshow was completed on film andready for televising its runningtime was thirty minutes, brokeninto these three sequences asfollows:Dr. Cadwells' intro-duction and tributeto the automotive in-dustry 4 Minutes

22Television

The Golden Jubileeas it took place inDetroitThe closing sequenceof U. S. Test Fleetsin action in Ari-zona

22

4

Pt

11

30 Minutes

Here was thirty minutes packedwith interest. Famous inventors,great industrialists, celebrities,cars of all kinds and descriptiondating back as far as 1893 . . . andmany interesting sidelights. Wal-ter Kiernan did a swell job of com-menting on the "goings on" at theJubilee . . . while Clyde Kittell toldthe folks how U. S. tests its tiresdown Arizona way . . . where theygotta really be able to take it!

So much for that!

The Pay-off

Now here's where the doublingin brass comes in and the picture"pays off" for the sponsor. And Ithink I'm perfectly safe in saying. . . had doubling in brass been im-possible . . . Mr. Durban wouldn'thave bought it.

Naturally, all U. S. distributorsand dealers all over the countrywere anxious to hear Dr. Cadwell,see the Golden Jubilee, and learnhow the products they sell are sub-jected to all and every kind of testbefore being offered to the public.A lot of their customers would liketo see it all, too.

So, fifty prints of the entire showon film were distributed to thethirty five principal Americancities where U. S. Rubber havebranches. These prints are avail-able for showings to distributors,dealers, their customers and anyclubs, associations or other organi-zations who may be interested.Schools and other educational in-stitutions are also interested insubjects of this type. As a matterof fact, before any prints wereavailable, two large colleges had re-quested copies of it . . . no doubtfor its historical value and infor-mation. There is no telling howmany people are going to see theGolden Jubilee by this means, buttwo things are certain. The movieaudience will greatly out -numberthe television audience . . . and . . .

every person who sees it will re-member United States RubberCompany. This, briefly, is the storyof how a special events televisionshow can be made to pay off divi-dends.

There are two more specialevents programs following this,which U. S. Rubber is sponsoring.One is the famous Tam O'ShanterGolf Championship Tourneys whichwere held in Chicago, and theMinneapolis Aquatennial, just re-cently held in Minneapolis for aperiod of ten days. The TamO'Shanter golf tourneys were tele-vised over station WBKB inChicago. Movies were made at thesame time and these were televisedover ABC's outlets from New York.The televising of the Aquatennialfilm was handled in the same way.

Department Store Usage

Now, here's another twist to thesame plot. A number of departmentstores contacted Mr. Durban andthrew this one at him. "If you hadthe facilities of intra-departmentstore television how would you . . .

if you were us . . . advertise yourproducts on the television screen?"Well, as usual Mr. Durban an-swered that in a most impressivemanner.

It so happened that U. S. Rubberwas staging a large farm exhibit inMinneapolis about that time. Thisshow ran a week . . . and one ofthe features of the program was astyle show featuring the company'swearing apparel, footwear, rain-wear, sportswear, bathing suits andmany other items. Caravel Filmswas called in and assigned the jobof going up there and shooting thisstyle show for television. The pic-ture was edited, a script writtenand Helen Claire, famous news reelfashion commentator did the narra-tion . . . with the final result thathere was a fashion reel, shot fortelevision, running time sevenminutes and a half . . . and an out-standing job. It was televised overWABD and according to reportscame over very well. Now, U. S. hasmade a quantity of prints whichwill be available to departmentstores to use in any way they can.In addition to this, don't forgetthe different divisions of U. S. Rub-ber Co. that make these variousitems can use the picture for anumber of different promotionalcampaigns.

Now you can see why I indulgedin the quotations . . . it can andis being done. Of course the typeof event selected for doubling inbrass must fit into the scheme ofthings. But I believe there aremany such special events that canbe used in this manner with greatsuccess and worthwhile results.

Conclusions ...

Also, don't forget that picturesmade for this purpose should beshot for this purpose if the besttelevising quality is to be obtained.It's also very important to get com-plete coverage on such an assign-ment so that you get the wholestory. This requires a director andcamera crews of long experiencebecause usually on events of thiskind . . . rehearsals ARE OUT.You've got to get it as it happens. . . NO RETAKES either. Cameraangles are very important to tele-vision. Except for an establishingshot, long shots are out. Also, youcan't just shoot at random. Don'tforget that the picture has got tocut; the continuity has to makesense. There's many others butthis is not a course on how to shootspecial events . . . this is just toprove it can be done and made topay off by "doubling in brass."

Lights, Sound, Camera(continued from page 21)

should be prepared and placed inoperation as soon as such equip-ment is placed in use.

Summing It Up ...

Like the motion picture, tele-vision finds itself a medium of pic-ture reproduction lacking the muchdesired third dimension. Many ofthe "poor press" recently heapedupon television's young head hasbeen brought about by a so-calledlack of picture "quality" which thewriter believes is the critic's in-terpretation of the missing thirddimension. The motion picture hasvery successfully created the illu-sion of the third dimension to agreat degree, through the carefullyplanned and executed lighting of itssets and stages. This had beenachieved by lighting a subject ina manner that developed the reflec-tion of light from as many planesof the subject as possible in asmany different light intensities aspossible. Through lighting, tele-vision can develop perspective forits picture, give it a breath of lifeand satisfy the critics saturated inthe high standards of picture pro-duction accepted as commonplacein the motion picture field. The de-sired goal is at the end of a longroad still blocked at many turnswith technical barriers but, if thetelevision audience is to be satis-fied, the trip will have to be made.

September, 1946 23

ADVERTISING

station activities

I.DROOF that commercial activityr is picking up is evidenced byNBC's claim to 44 hours, 13 min-utes and 31 seconds of commerciallysponsored time during July. Add tothat the impressive rumors thatNBC is said to have fifty accountsactively interested in going on tele-vision and the old chestnut "youwon't have advertisers until youhave sets, etc." seems to be ban-ished-even if you divide the fiftyin two.

Among the regulars on WNBTnow are Standard Brands (Chase& Sanborn Coffee and Tender LeafTea) through J. Walter Thompson;Bristol-Myers ( Trushay and Minit-Rub ) through Young & Rubicam;Standard Oil Company of NewJersey ( Esso) ; through Marschalk& Pratt; Bulova Watch Companythrough Biow Agency; Elgin Na-tional Watch Company through J.Walter Thompson; Firestone Tireand Rubber Company throughSweeney & James; Botany WorstedMills, through Alfred J. Silber-stein, Bert Goldsmith ; WalthamWatch Company through N. W.Ayer; Gillette Safety Razor Com-pany through Maxon, Inc., and the

Big names hypoing commercial television . . . currentcommercial shows ... resume of retail tele-advertising

RCA Victor Division of RCAthrough J. Walter Thompson.

To this list can be added Bordensponsorship of "I Love To Eat"segment on the "For You andYours" program, which started theend of August (Young & Rubi-cam). Goodyear Tire and Rubberhave also signed through N. W.Ayer for telecasting the Armygames to be played in New Yorkand West Point.

CBS' biggest advertising deal todate is the Ford contract for sportstelecasts. All events, other than box-ing, originating in Madison SquareGarden will be sponsored by Fordand negotiations have also beencompleted for pick-ups of the Co-lumbia football games from BakerField. Importance which Ford Com-pany attaches to the potentialitiesof television is best outlined in thisstatement by John R. Davis, Fordvice-president . . . "In our opinion,television has demonstrated itselfas a practical advertising mediumand will rapidly reach larger andlarger numbers of automobile cus-tomers and prospects . . . The com-pany assumes leadership in theautomobile industry in the use ofthis dramatic medium for the pre-sentation of automobile models,where the visual element is so im-

portant." Deal was handled by J.Walter Thompson.

WBKB's telecast of Tam 0'-Shanter golf tournament - spon-sored by U. S. Rubber through ABC-marked the first time a majorgolf tournament has been televised.Image orthicon camera equippedwith 8" and 15" lenses was bor-rowed from RCA for the event andequipment was mounted on the clubhouse observation tower. Cameraswith a 300 -yard radius were ableto sweep across the greens andfairways. Coverage totaled 13 hoursof video viewing over a three-dayperiod. Players and visiting celebri-ties were brought to the roof di-rectly below the tower for inter-views. Reinald Werrenrath, Jr.,head of WBKB's special events di-vision, presided in the controlbooth, switching to sponsor's film,course map talks, and backgroundinformation during lens changingperiods. Harvey Marlowe was ex-ecutive producer for ABC.

In addition to the live telecastover WBKB, tournament was alsofilmed by ABC for showing overWABD, WRGB, WPTZ and WTTGin Washington. Commercial for thefilm shows were handled by a studioannouncer. Golf pros were usedwhen feasible and the ad theme wasthe changes in golf balls since thewar - with genuine material re-placing the wartime ersatz.

ABC has now extended theircontract term for advertisers to a10 -week period instead of their pre-vious four weeks.

Recent advertisers through ABChave been Gertz Department Store,Jamaica (see Retail Store, page27), BPOE sponsorship of films ofthe Elks Parade; and U. S. Rubbersponsorship of the Tam O'Shantergolf tournament and the Aqua-tennial films.

WPTZ recently set up a tenta-tive rate card. For a 13 -week con-tract, charge is $180 for a half-hour of studio air time. Rehearsal

WBKB's remote telecast of the TamO'Shanter Tournament, totaling 13

hours over a three-day period, wassponsored by U. S. Rubber throughABC. Telecast was supervised byReinald Werrenrath, Jr., director ofspecial events for Station WBKB.

24 Television

time is $50 per hour to the nearesthalf hour. Art and constructionwork is charged on a man-hourbasis. Film rates for all film com-mercial is $140 per hour; $80 perhalf-hour and $50 per quarter-hour.

Atlantic Refining has signed withWPTZ to sponsor seven Penngames. Although this marks theirsixth year, it is the first time com-mercial rates have been set.

commercialsBristol-Myers sponsorship of

"Geographically Yours" is now inits third month over WNBT. Tento fifteen minute format consists ofa travelogue film taken by Mrs.Carveth Wells, who also gives thecommentary. Commercial is usedat the beginning and end, andMinit-Rub and Trushay are pluggedalternate weeks.

Simple line cartoons are used asideographs to illustrate some hu-morous story. In the Minit-Rubcommercial, for example, off -screencommentator brought back the goodold days of apartment hunting, withthe landlord ready to paint, fixroofs, make repairs, etc., as thisseries of exaggerated cartoons il-lustrated his story. Present dayconditions showed the couple doingall these things and winding upwith aching bones - with Minit-Rub being the answer to that par-ticular problem. End commercialis also in ideograph form, withsome of the first cartoons of paint-ing, repairing, etc., used to fill inthe vocal blanks "When you do this. . . or this . . . and feel like this. . . use "Minit-Rub," etc.

Same technique is used for theTrushay commercial, with romanceadded a la the "love of your life"ad theme. Cartoons showed the lit-tle woman washing, scrubbing, do-ing dishes, etc., with red, red handsas a result. Trushay plug is gottenin through the same ideograph idea- "Before you do this . . . or this. . . or this . . . use Trushay."

Cartoon idea and off -screen com-mentary is amusing and effectivelyhandled. Execution of it is rela-tively simple and inexpensive, re-quiring a series of clever cartoonstills, with one close-up camerafixed on them. Visual aspects ofvideo are fully utilized both by let-ting the pictures "speak" andthrough showing the product.

Bristol-Myers has also signed upwith WCBW for Ipana Toothpasteand Vitalis, through Doherty, Clif-ford & Shenfield. Series, which willstart in September on a 52 -week

'The Fitzgeralds, another ABCsponsored by Gertz Departmentweeks series. Commercials were

contract basis, will be on the Sun-day night, 8:30 to 9 segment. Firsthalf is the Syd Hoff cartoon pack-age show (with the artist drawingthe commercials) and second partwill be a sports program in a com-bination film and live format. Withtheir Minit-Rub and Trushay prod-ucts (through Young & Rubicam)

no platitudesno rosy propheciesjust solid fact

it's easy now to keep fully in-formed on television in all itsphases by reading only onemagazine.

every month, TELEVISIONmagazine will bring you a fullreport on all significant devel-opments in the industry whetherit be FCC actions, advertising,equipment news, programming,station operation, etc.

S3.50 for a year's subscriptionsend in the attached card today

Keep up with television byreading TELEVISION600 Madison AvenueNew York 22, N. Y.

radio program given a video adaptation wasStore and presented over WABD for a four -well integrated with domestic dinner patter.

alternating in the 8:15 to 8:30spot on WNBT every Sunday, Bris-tol-Myers can also be listed amongthose who are grabbing up choicetime spots now.

Standard Brands''Hour Glass"show, now in its fourth month overWNBT, usually gather togethersome good talent and interestingacts. However, some of the acts arenot particularly good video and themanner of presentation is not al-ways top drawer. Typical of someof the flaws in a recent telecastwere:

1. Following the ballyhoo andtrend to integrate variety acts, set-ting was a cruise ship, with theemcee and femcee scanning the pas-senger list for talent for the ship'sconcert. There was no conversa-tional patter between the two andthe stars - with introduction lim-ited to such phrases as "there arethe so-and-sos who do . . .," withthe camera picking them up, andswinging back to the f and m teesat the conclusion of the act. Inte-gration needs more than the samesetting used throughout to put itover.

2. Comedy must have an audienceto make it click. Jules Munchen'stake -off of Maurice Evans as atrain caller fell absolutely flat -not even a giggle among the forty -odd people in the viewing room.Same thing has happened beforewith other comedy routines whichare tops in a nightclub or on thestage.

3. Close-ups of singer Helen Car -

September, 1946 25

In the Kaufmann, Pittsburgh -RCA intra-store television demonstration, RoyalLace Paper Works presented a comedy skit evolving around the use of Roylieslace paper doilies for a luncheon setting. Show, "Tips on Table Setting," whichran for fifteen minutes, was produced by Kiesewetter, Wetterau & Baker.

Barret Textile program, presented by Wanamakers in their weekly 1/2 hour spotover WABD, used models to display their fabrics. Live program was integratedwith film depicting interesting stages in the Barret manufacturing processes.

roll showed that she was out ofsync with the recording - and youdidn't have to be an expert to guessthat.

4. There were two commercials- both following the integratedformat. First one used the compasswheel, with the emcee taking theN, E, S, W marking as the key to

the merits of iced Tender LeafTea. To put a thing like this over,it must fit in naturally. It failedand was the signal for the viewersto giggle a bit at its obviousnessand then to whisper until it wasover. Second commercial used anold lady stowaway with a largepackage of Tender Leaf Tea, which

she had hid on board to give herniece. Patter back and forth gavethe merits of the product.

Package of tea was shown at theopening and closing of the showand after each commercial - andprobably was more effective thanany of the blurb in impressing it-self on the viewer's mind.

5. In magic and juggling acts,certain stunts are not particularlysuited to the television camera. Itwas hard to see the lighted ciga-rettes and when the juggler turnedtoward the wall the white ballswere lost against the background.

On the credit side, the entertain-ment value of the acts was highand order of presentation good, in-cluding singing, dramatic skit, acomedy take -off on interpretativedancing, modeling of clay faces, amagician, pantominic dance, a jug-gler, etc. Despite its flaws, show issteadily showing improvement andTELEVISION Magazine AudiencePanel Survey on page 16 indicatesthat it has high audience appeal.

Standard Brands' "Face ToFace" cartoon format featuringBill and Eddie Dunn is used toplug iced Tender Leaf Tea. Open-ing and closing commercial sticksto a still of the package and thisconstant repetition, week afterweek, will undoubtedly result inproduct identification among theviewers. Commercial comes at themiddle of the 15 -minute segment,and is given by Bill and EddieDunn, with the help of Sugar whoadds the feminine touch. Gag tricksare usually worked in, with EddieDunn unveiling his latest "master-piece" -a combination Rube Gold-berg-Dali invention - as a lead-into the commercial. Typical examplewas the drawing of his latest gad-get -a kitchen sink arrangement,with one faucet dispensing icecubes and the other Tender LeafTea. Drawing came to life, and thethree drank their iced Tender LeafTea while giving the plug for theproduct. Another lead-in was a sur-realistic drawing, with the explana-tion of each object being a plug forTender Leaf. Same follow-throughof the participants drinking icedtea was used. Commercial seemsoverlong at times - and too wordy.

Natural break occurs in the samespot each week-between thesketching of the three people in theviewing room and their appearancein the studio. While interest ismaintained through the cartoonlead-in to the commercial, the view-ers know what to expect becausethe format is set and the com-

26 Television

mercial is in the same spot eachweek. Surprise element is lackingand group drinking iced tea everyweek and repeating more or less thesame lines gets a bit boring.

Gulf Oil sponsorship of the CBSTelevision News is a weekly 1/4

hour spot over WCBW. News pres-entation follows the familiar CBSpattern of a studio commentator,visualized with cartoons, maps,charts, films taken around NewYork and a studio guest chosenfrom the human interest angle.

Gulf commercial is smoothlyhandled. Opening with a shot of theGulf sign, camera comes in for aclose-up as off -screen commentaryannounces the program and givesthe Gulf slogan. Second commercialcomes around the half -way mark.Humorous touch was worked in onthis one, with a still of "your caras it was when new," switching toa battered car of today. Directcommercial was used, with stills ofa motor and commentary on the useof Gulf products to keep old cars inrunning condition. Wind-up camewith close-up of a Gulf station andthe Gulf slogan "Go Gulf."

End commercial was aimed di-rectly at the local listeners, show-ing a station near New York and astill of the man who runs it,amounting to almost a personal in-vitation to visit it. Show concludedwith a shot of the Gulf sign andslogan.

U. S. Rubber "Serving ThroughScience," is a regular 1/2 hour week-ly feature over WABD. Films areculled mainly from various govern-ment agencies, such as the Depart-ments of Interior, Agriculture, etc.,which turn out film with a popularappeal and bordering on science.Schools and museums are anothersource of material for this series.None of these films are being madeby U. S. Rubber - all of them be-ing rented, borrowed or bought.Commercial is live, being a straightdiscussion of facts by a man seatedat a desk and talking to the view-ers. According to Charles Durbanof U. S. Rubber, they feel that thissetting creates a friendly, pipesmoking, scientific (dabbler) at-mosphere. Campbell -Ewald is theagency.

DuMont commercial on theirtele sets seem to miss the very pointthey're plugging - the visual as-pects of television. One commercialShowed a camera dollying in overthe shoulder of a man sitting inan armchair and reading. Off -screen commentary stated that he

was reading a DuMont teleset adand plugged the 20/20 clarity ofthe DuMont screen but even on aclose-up shot, the ad was not visibleto the viewers. (Cut to a blow-upor a close-up of the ad would haveproved the point better.) Switch toeach DuMont teleset was then madeand the features described. Hereagain the commercial missed theboat. Instead of a closed cabinet,which resembles a sideboard, setshould be demonstrated as the an-nouncer gives the facts - showingthe television screen, the recordchanger compartment, etc. (Thiscould be done too because the pick-up is live in the DuMont studio.)As it is now, it's a newspaper ormagazine ad with sound effects.

RETAIL STORE ADVERTISINGRETAIL use of television has

been accelerated recently withGimbels, Philadelphia, (WPTZ),the Fair in Chicago, (WBKB 1, andWanamaker's in New York,( WABD), using the medium on aregular weekly basis. Gertz has justconcluded a four -week experimentover WABD, through ABC, andAlexanders, Bronx, is also due tostart a ten -week program series tobe presented over WABD through

Gimbels weekly half-hour show,"All Eyes on Gimbels," over WPTZhas resulted in an average sales re-turn of 2%. Basing the computa-tion of results on the 752 televisionsets in the Philadelphia area, fig-ures are recorded only where thecustomer mentions the televisionprogram in making her purchase.

First half of the show is com-mercial, with products or servicesdemonstrated. Particularly effec-tive was the demonstration of newkitchen gadgets as against the oldmethods of doing such chores. Acan opener, rolling pin, mop,sweeper, food slicer and egg beaterwere demonstrated, with 24 cus-tomers ordering from 1 to 4 of theitems shown. In percentage, thismeant a 3% sales return. House-wares for vacation cottages drew11 customers, while specializeddemonstration of gardening toolsand techniques resulted in 6 pur-chasers. With an estimated 100,000set owners in the Philadelphia areawithin the next two years, the 2%return averaged in the first six tele-casts, would place television as thetop advertising medium.

Gertz Department Store recent-ly concluded a four -week experi-mental series through ABC and

telecast over WABD. Format was"The Fitzgeralds," with Pegeen andEddie, adapting their radio break-fast chatter program to television.Dining or breakfast room settingwas used with commercials woveninto their patter. Stunts, such asEddie fixing a clock and breaking itof course, and demonstration ofthe merchandise, added visual in-terest to their usual conversationalformat.

To test any sales which were adirect result of the telecast, hard -to -get merchandise was featured,such as white shirts and nylons,with the listeners instructed to goto the counter, say the Fitzgeraldssent them and give the high -sign.Point was stressed that these itemswere reserved for television listen-ers only.

Various types of commercialswere tried in the series. Demon-stration technique was used on furcoats, with Pegeen reading thelabels, which described the furs,giving the prices and trying the twocoats on for Eddie's benefit. Aman's overcoat was plugged in thesame way, with Eddie being themodel, while Pegeen gave the salespoints. Overall price policy ofGertz' was also pointed up in onetelecast by reading a newspaper ad.About four items were plugged oneach program. In other cases, mer-chandise was shown or mentionedwithout any prolonged demonstra-tion or plug.

According to Harold Merahns,promotion manager at Gertz, storeundertook the experiment to learnmore about the medium and notactually with the idea of immediatesales returns. Results were fair,with a number of people coming inand giving the high -sign. Com-mercial handling was left entirelyto the Fitzgeralds. While extremelyinterested in the possibilities ofretail advertising via television,Gertz have no immediate plans forgoing back on the pix waves. Showwas produced by Harvey Marlowefor ABC.

Wanamaker's, who have a weeklyhalf hour spot over WABD, securethe cooperation of manufacturersin presenting the telecasts. Amongthe more recent shows put on overthe station was the Barret Textileprogram. A combination live andfilm format was used, with Powersand Conover models draping thefabrics over chairs, couches andthemselves, in what amounted to ahome furnishings fashion show. Be-hind the scenes idea was put over

September, 1946 27

by showing the models applyingtheir make-up prior to the demon-stration and prettying up after-wards. Film of the Barret plant,depicting the various processes thatgo into making the fabrics, wasalso shown. All fabrics featured inthe show were available at Wana-maker's.

Alexander's Department Storeis scheduled to start a ten -weeksseries over WABD, through ABC.Series, involving an audience par-ticipation format, will get under-way on September 10th.

The Fair Store's "Tele-Chat," a15 -minute series over WBKB, isemceed by Bill Hamilton who givesa short review of the news of theweek, and the latest news flashes.

signer of an unusual gadget is in-terviewed with good results. Bestshow along these lines featured thewoman who invented the "Cuddle-seat"-a papoose -type device wornby mothers to carry their babies.Demonstration of "Cuddleseat"with live baby in it went smoothlyduring the rehearsal, but the infantdeveloped camera fright and roaredall through the show-much to theviewers' delight.

Attempt is made to keep all showsas natural and human as possible.If feasible, commercials are linked -up with the news. Not more thantwo items are featured on any show,and most of the shows are limitedto one item. Despite this, the over-all aim of the program is not to sellarticles of merchandise, but to put

Wellington Sears used miniature settings to plug Martex Towels during theKaufmann -RCA intra-store television demonstration in Pittsburgh. Show waswritten and produced by Walton Butterfield of the H. B. Humphrey Co.

Slide pictures are occasionally usedas the news is discussed to add in-teresting visualization to the bulle-tins. Commercial is usually limitedto 3 minutes and an attempt ismade to show merchandise whichcan be easily and clearly demon-strated on television, such as a fold-away rubber mattress bed whichcould actually be blown up for usebefore the audience's eye.

When merchandise is not tooclearly demonstrable, the buyer isinterviewed, and attempt is madeto keep the patter informative andentertaining. Sometimes the de -

over the name of the store. Al-though with the limited Chicagoaudience, there is no way of testingtelevision's effectiveness now, theFair feels that "the field will betruly great-hence, the extensiveexperimentation now."

Infra -Store ExperimentMost recent intra-store television

experiment was the Kaufmann -RCAdemonstration held in Pittsburgh.Reports showed that direct sales in-creases could be traced to the videomerchandise plugs, the most spec-tacular of which was the sale of

$19,000 worth of Quaker Laceproducts in two days. In additionto store produced shows, suchmanufacturers as Simmons mat-tresses and blankets, Royal Lacedoilies, Eversharp pens, Weareveraluminum, Textron, Charter Housefurniture, Quaker Lace and Martextowels participated.

Integrated formats as well asdemonstrations were used. Exam-ple of integration was Royal LacePaper Works' "Tips on Table Set-ting," a fifteen -minute comedy skitrevolving around the use of paperdoilies in setting a luncheon table.Which is which quiz opened theshow with the audience asked toguess which was a real lace doilyand which the Roylie paper doily.Program concluded with a demon-stration on making party favorsand novelties. As a merchandisingtie-in to measure audience response,a promotional booklet, "The RoylieTelevision Instruction Manual,"was prepared and lookers-on in-vited to ask for their copy at theRoylie counter. Although this pres-entation was intended as an ex-periment to determine methods oftelevision techniques and formats,H. B. Smith, advertising managerof Roylies, intends further tele-vision activity, believing it a goodmedium for their product. Showwas handled by Kiesewetter, Wet-terau & Baker, Inc.

Plywood bandshells formed thesettings for the ten receivers lo-cated in strategic locations aroundthe store. In addition to shadingthe screen and preventing observ-ance from extreme angles, theseimproved the acoustics. Shows werepresented on the hour from 10 to 4.Receivers were never left blank, asslides showing the time of the nextshow and turntables carrying mer-chandise were used between pro-grams.

Latest reports, however, indicatethat Kaufmann feels that the costof an intra-store system will haveto be cut and improvements madein the equipment. (Which bears outour June editorial on the use ofprewar equipment in such demon-strations.)

Live talent shows, produced bymanufacturers to tour a circuit oftele-equipped stores, could reducethe program costs, store feels. Alsothey favor more pick-ups from sell-ing counters and location of sites inspots such as restaurants, restrooms, etc., rather than fixed storespots.

28 Television

PROGRAMMING

dramaWOR presented "Absinthe for

One" as part of their BrownstoneTheatre series over WRGB. Novelpsychological method for solving athree -year -old murder was thetheme of the mystery, with a tav-ern scene used throughout. Denoue-ment called for quick scene changeas the drama pivoted around slid-ing a panel in front of the door toeliminate it and confuse the peoplewho had watched the landlord enterand exit through it. To handle this,the camera shot from downstageleft to upstage right - not takingin the upstage left door. At thepsychological moment, the camerashot upstage to show no doorvisible.

Bob Emory, producer of theshow, tried recordings to teach thecast their lines. Scripts were givenout, and the cast familiarized them-selves with the lines. Then a re-hearsal, including all business, washeld and recordings were playedduring rehearsals, as a prompt andfor timing. As a result, rehearsalswere cut from the usual 16 hoursto 8 or 9. Mr. Emory had previous-ly used this method during actualtelecasts a few years back. No mikeboom was used in the studio, thetime between speeches was workedout in advance, and the directorcould call out the cues just as wasdone in the silent movies. Theactors merely pantomined the ac-tion and the words. Synchroniza-tion of lips to words was importantonly in close-ups, with such busi-ness as half turned faces, etc., tak-ing care of any fluffing of lines.Methods of blowing up the scriptfor actors to refer to while "on theair" are not particularly workable,in Mr. Emory's opinion, for itbreaks into the action if the casthas to glance up to read and thenreturn to the role.

WNBT's "The Show -Off,"adapted this stage play of the 20'sinto a 70 -minute scanning. Al-though NBC has often been ac-cused of televising a stage play,instead of adapting it to television,in this they used a few good videotricks. Show opened with film shotsof Philadelphia, off -screen coin-

WOR tries recordings to cut rehearsal time . . .

remotes on increase . . . review of current formats

mentary giving some of the inter-est points of the city, narrowingdown finally to one street andsingling out a particular house.Camera cut from the doorway ofthe house to the people inside gavethe impression that you had justentered yourself. It was an ex-tremely effective way of setting thescene, with the locale and circum-stances of the people fixed in theviewers' minds before the playstarted.

Another chatter -eliminating andorientation trick was the close-up

Lines were brought up-to-date;the show was well cast, and theentire action centered in a com-bination living room with hall re-cess set. However, further tighten-ing of the script would have quick-ened the pace and sustained interesteasier. Eddie Sobol produced theshow.

mobile pick-upsW6XAO recently used their

outdoor swimming pool in a pool -side pick-up of a fashion show, as

W6XAO's mobile cameras moved outside to the swimming pool

which is part of their outdoor studio for a pick-up of a diving exhibition.

introduction of each member ofthe cast, who gave his or her im-pression of Aubrey - "The Show -Off." WNBT has discarded theiroriginal idea of a few minutes in-termission between acts, thus sus-taining interest better. However,where long time lapses occur, aslide announcing this or off -screencommentary - which would havefitted in well here since it was usedin the introduction - should in-form the audience of the fact. Ablack -out was used at one point inthe play and it took the viewers afew minutes to realize that thetime was six months later - andnot the following morning, partic-ularly since the characters were inthe same costumes.

well as a water ballet and divingdemonstration. Remotes are alsoscheduled for increased use at thisstation.

WBKB set the recent all-timehigh record for weekly stationoperation with 35 hours and 8 min-utes of telecasting. Thirteen hoursof the golf tournament and fivehours of boxing and wrestling re-motes, about 50% of the total time,made this record possible. WBKB'sregular remote schedule calls fortelevising the Cubs' home games,usually four days a week. Boxingand wrestling pick-ups from theRainbo Arena (arranged throughABC) have been cancelled pendingthe arrival of image orthicon equip-ment.

September. 1946 29

WNBT moved its studio inter-view format "In Town Today" toTimes Square for its debut as a re-mote pick-up. Fifteen -minute sportis scheduled for every other week. . . Sunday afternoon baseball andFriday night fights are regular fea-tures, with pick-ups of special nightgames or championship fights asscheduled . . . Other special eventstelevised included the five-daystretch of the National Profes-sional Tennis Matches and themidget auto races from Freeport,L. I.

WABD's remote pick-up equip-ment is currently televising themidget automobile races fromPaterson, N. J. Hinchliffe Stadiumraces are said to be the fastest inthe country and crack-ups are acommon occurrence. Stills of thedrivers are used between races, to-gether with commentary on thehighlights of their careers . . . Inaddition, fights from Ebbets Fieldare televised regularly, and suchspecial events as the DiamondGloves Tournament, also fromHinchliffe Stadium, Paterson, areincluded on their schedule.

WCBW, in addition to theirdeal with Ford (see Advertising,page 24), has recently completeda survey of all pick-up points forremote telecasting. Outline includesforums, opening nights, arrivalsand departures at airline andsteamship terminals, fashionshows, art museums, and even theFulton fish market. WCBW willdepend on remotes to carry theirprogramming when their scheduledlive and film color demonstrationsare carried on in the present studio.

varietyABC's "Rumpus Room," featur-

ing Johnny Olsen, is another radioshow to be given a video versionover WABD. Rumpus room settingby Bob Bright was excellent, with

Top: "Walter Thornton Show," pre-sented over WCBW, is designed totake the viewers behind the scenes ofglamour in the making. Center: scenefrom "Hedda Gabler," Ibsen playrecently telecast over W6XAO. Bot-tom: "Stop, Look and Listen," audi-ence participation boner quizwhich was presented over WCBW.

30 Television

booths and table along the sides forthe youngsters and the juke box setin the middle. Program was beamedstrictly for the teenager crowd andcombined the elements of audienceand viewer participation, with avariety format. Opening sequenceshowed the kids jitterbugging withthe titles superimposed over thescene. Johnny Olsen, as mc, calledfor a christening to launch the newtelevision program and Nick Ken-ny, radio columnist and song writer,obliged by hitting him with a rec-ord. Stunt idea was okay but Kennydidn't have the stage presence orvideo personality to put it over andspot missed -a thing that happensall too often with "name" gueststars.

From there, Olsen started cir-cling the room talking to the kids,thus working out a good integra-tion for the variety program.Songs, gag tricks with the young-sters, and a community sing festwith Johnny Olsen leading the gangin a comic song gave the varietytwist.

Viewer participation was workedin by leading one of the kids to thequestion of the evening - hiddenbehind a large venetian blind witha huge question mark on it. WABDphone number was given and thehome viewers asked to call in theirguesses. Prize of $25 was offeredwith the prize dropping as eachclue was missed and the blindraised a bit. Phone rang on the setand was answered by the emcee.Punch came when the blind wasraised and the ? of the eveningstepped out in person.

On the commercial aspects side,use of the juke box was obtained inexchange for a credit slide; andthe Kingston watches given asprizes were also free for the plug.Youngsters, with the exception ofthe singer and the beauty contestwinners, were selected from amongthe kids who follow Johnny Olsen'sradio program. However, when theprogram resumes in the fall, Har-vey Marlowe, executive producer ofthe show, intends to tie-in with adifferent high school each week.

Top: WNBT's "Memories with Music"used a series of flash -backs to presentthe music from the "Merry Widow."Center: "The Magic Chef," pre-sented by ABC over WPTZ, showedfamous gourmets in action. Bottom:"Pagliacci" planned with television inmind was presented by the ColonyOpera gang over Station WRGB.

September, 1946 31

WOR's, "Absinthe for Two," produced over WRBG was a crime thriller witha psychological twist used for the denouement. Bob Emory produced the show.

WBKB "Adam vs. Eve" formatgave still another twist to the audi-ence participation angle. Drama-tized incidents in the daily lives ofhusband and wife, with the compli-cations that a three -year -old cancreate, are acted out and the juryis asked to render a verdict on thefamily squabble which inevitablyensues. Audience -selected jury ofthree men and three women are en-tirely unrehearsed and their de-liberations usually can be countedupon for a few good laughs. Lor-raine Larson is producer -director.

WCBW's ballet to Duke Elling-ton's "Dark Brown and Beige" wasanother Belanger -directed dancesuccess. Camera panned perfectlywith the movement of the dancersand the usual Belanger trick ofhaving the dancers spin toward thecamera or enter the scene in frontof the camera and dance toward therear was employed most effectively.Sets, by Jim McNaughton, em-ployed the perspective line floortreatment which resulted in a senseof distance, in what was a limitedspace. Camera tilting down to pickup the couple in embrace on thefloor, then sweeping the empty floorand raising to catch the next dancerwas an excellent shot, gave dra-matic emphasis to the spot, andprovided good transition to the nextnumber.

WABD's "Sketches in Music"combined abstract music and artinto an interesting format, with

artist Lizzy Bauer sketching inrhythm to the music. A youngcouple on a park bench - necking,of course - illustrated "June IsBustin' Out All Over." A dancer inHungarian costume depicted aHungarian Dance by Brahms;while "Dinka-Doo" inspired asketch of Jimmy Durante. Showwas produced by David P. Lewis ofthe Caples Agency.

WNBT's "For You and Yours"is a streamlined version of theirformer thrice -weekly presentationof "Radio City Matinee." Designedfor afternoon viewing as dealer aidin demonstrating sets, show wasshifted to an evening spot and cutdown to a weekly 1/2 hour showwhen sets were not out as early asanticipated. Format is in four parts-featuring a window shopper, car-toon lessons, home decoratingadvice and menu hints.

Window shopper segment hadGertrude Ederle as guest, on the20th anniversary of her EnglishChannel swimming feat. Studio in-terview was interpolated with news-reel prints of the welcome homeovation tendered her in 1926. "ThisIs My Own" is an amusing cartoonlesson, showing how the combina-tion of such simple forms as thecircle, triangle and cylinder can begrouped into a circus tent back-ground, with an elephant eatingpeanuts from a clown in the fore-ground. Visual appeal of this kindof program is high, with good close-up shots and instructive commen-

tary by the artist Jon Gnagy ac-companying the lesson.

"America Redecorates" has aban-doned its earlier "before and after"technique in favor of a straight"here's how to do it" approach.Miniature room settings and furni-ture were used to show diningroom treatments for large and smallrooms, in traditional and modernfurnishings. Close-ups of the setswere clear, with cut back to thedecorator between each demonstra-tion. "I Love To Eat" - now spon-sored by Borden's Cheese - is anactual cooking demonstration byJames Beard, with the food sizzlingaway on the electric range. Part ofthe preparation is done beforehandso that the viewers will be in onthe proof of the eating. Recipe isflashed on the scene so that inter-ested housewives can copy it down.Beard's patter is good - and he ac-complishes his purpose of reallyshowing how to prepare the spe-cialty of the night. However, he'sfun to watch and to listen to, evenif you're not interested in cooking,which lifts what could easily be astrictly housewife interest programinto a general appeal segment.

"Cash & Carry," audience -viewerparticipation show, produced byCarr & Stark and presented weeklyover WABD, is making a bid forsponsors. Appeal to audience as towhether or not sponsored programwould dim their enjoyment of theprogram resulted in over 100 let-ters from the New York area, about30 from Washington, and another18 from Philadelphia, signifyingtheir approval, according to TomCarr. Half hour before show time,about 30 people are chosen fromthe studio audience and some 7 or8 selected for the stunts, with everyeffort made to eliminate the "regu-lars."

Setting is a grocery store, withDennis James, emcee, acting asstore manager. Customers enterthe store and after the usual pre-liminary give and take, are asked toselect a can of Libby's products towhich a question is attached. Prizesare displayed on shelves labeled $5,$10 and $15, according to the ques-tion.

Stunts were visual; contestantsfitted well into the mood of thething and occasional flashbacks tothe washer -man were well timed.Brief camera run-through' withDennis James for positioning ofstunts is all the rehearsal neces-sary.

34 Television

EQUIPMENT

Vacuum Tube AmplifierMost important development was

the announcement last month thatBell Telephone Laboratories havedeveloped a new vacuum tube am-plifier which can handle dozens oftelevision programs simultaneously.The new tube is capable of ampli-fying voice or television signalsover a frequency band 40 times aswide as that of the best tube nowin use, and supply many times theamplification. Statistics for thetube show a power gain of 10,000times over a band width of 800megacycles, as compared with thepresent pentode tube which gives apower gain of only 10 times over a20 megacycle band width.

Despite the great improvement inperformance the tube is unusuallysimple in design, being only a littleover a foot long and a few inchesacross. The complete amplifier hook-up is only about two feet long anda few inches high.

Principle of the tube's operationis entirely different from otheramplifiers. Wave which is to be am-plified is fed into the coil and drawnoff through a wave guide at theother end of the tube. The wavetravels along the coiled wire at thespeed of light, but moves along thetube length at one -thirteenth speedbecause of the winding of the wire.At the same time a beam of elec-trons is shot through the inside coilfrom the bulb. Slight differencebetween the speeds of electrons andwave causes a tremendous gain inenergy and amplification by trans-ference of energy to the wave.

G -E WayGeneral Electric's Hillsdale relay

station is now being used fivenights a week to relay telecastsfrom WNBT. Topographical loca-tion of the transmitter requiredline -of -sight to the WRGB receiverin the Helderberg Mountains. Lo-cation of the relay at Hillsdale wasdecided upon, and although it is4900 feet below line -of -sight of theEmpire State Building, enoughsignal strength was received for re-transmission purposes.

A large rhombic antenna waserected on Hillsdale mountain topfacing WNBT. NBC contributedtechnical equipment which included

G -E relay in operation ... new developments in tubesand film . . . patent grants-by Jack Kilpatrick

a pulse generator, a monoscope, anda 400 watt radio -picture transmit-ter. Power is supplied by a Deiselelectric generator.

Biggest problem was the elimin-ation of the WRGB signal from therelay station's receivers to permitthe N.Y.C. signal transmission sinceboth stations operate on the samefrequency. At first 2500 square feetof chicken wire was used to shieldthe rhombic receiving antenna, butthis was not entirely successful,and the problem was finally solvedby the erection of a dipole antennawith a reflector which picked upthe WRGB signal and fed it to thereceivers out -of -phase with - thesignal received on the rhombic an-tenna.

DuPont Film

DuPont Company Photo ProductsLaboratory have developed a newtype of 16 mm motion picture filmwhich can take pictures from theface of a viewing tube. Film is finegrain and fast, and very sensitiveto type of light emanating from atelevision tube. The new film wasdeveloped especially for use in

making film records and transcrip-tion of live programs. This is inline with experimental work nowgoing on at all the film companies.

patents

Pick-up DeviceFrederick W. Reynolds, Ridge-

wood, N. J., was granted No. 2,403,-023 on a pick-up device designed tohold a television camera on a mov-ing field (application for patentAug. 28, 1941; 15 claims allowed,assigned to Bell Telephone Labora-tories, Inc.).

This invention provides a simplecombination of automatic controlmeans with a remote manual con-trol for orientating a camera on amoving object and keeping it there.Superimposed controls are fea-tured, so that large speed changesand changes in direction of move-ment which the camera executes infollowing a moving object are han-dled manually by an observer look-ing at a synthesized image, whilesmall changes and minor departuresare taken care of automatically.

Interesting is camera designed and manufactured by Farnsworth for their ownstation in Fort Wayne. Camera has an electronic focusing sight incorporated inthe dolly enabling the cameraman to stay stationary while camera is operated.

September, 1946 35

For the telecasting of the Tam O'Shanter golf tournament, a double relay sys-tem was devised by WBKB and RCA engineers to lick the "thermal agitation"which made the long-distance radio relay difficult to view. Signal from the clubwas relayed to the permanent WBKB installation at the Rainbo Arena and re-transmitted from there to the main WBKB transmitter. Telecast, which totaled13 hours over a 3 day period, was sponsored by U. S. Rubber through ABC.

A motor -driven support is pro-vided to tilt the camera or turn itto any desired angle, and the unitis synchronized carefully to controlapparatus. The controller unitmovements may vary the controlgrid potential of an electronic tubewhose output current flows in thefield winding of a generator, thegenerator armature in turn feedingthe armature of an aim -alteringmotor.

Portable Modulation SystemWaldemar J. Poch, Moorestown,

N. J., received No. 2,403,549 on animproved modulation system forportable television transmitters(application for patent April 20,1942; 5 claims allowed, assignedto Radio Corporation of America).

This invention is aimed at solv-ing one of the basic problems ofportable units - the weight whichmust be shifted from place to place.Under this patent, picture signalmodulation is obtained by gridmodulation while the synchronizingpulse modulation is obtained byplate and/or screen grid modula-tion. A unilateral conducting de-vice, such as a diode in the platemodulating circuit, is built in toprovide the necessary impedance inthe plate circuit for plate modula-tion during the occurrence of a

pulse; it presents a low impedancefor grid modulation during the oc-currence of the interspersed picturesignals. The unit as a whole is heldto be of unusually light weight forportable equipment.

Automatic FocusGeorge L. Beers, Haddonfield,

N. J., won No. 2,403,628 on a novelsystem for obtaining automaticfocusing of a television camera(application for patent April 25,1944; 16 claims allowed, assignedto RCA).

An automatic focusing system, ifit is to be effective, must insureagainst the possibility of accidentalfocusing on some unimportant por-tion of the field of view. This devicepermits a skilled operator to selectthe important portion - the centerof interest - and keep it steadilyin focus. A motor control systempermits reversing, and the use of aluminous spot, reflected from ahalf -silvered mirror onto a groundglass viewing screen, permits high-ly selective focusing.

Improved Luminescent TargetHumboldt W. Leverenz, South

Orange, N. J., received No. 2,404,-077 on a highly efficient light sourceof the luminescent or thermal in-candescent type (application for

patent Aug. 12, 1942; 4 claimsallowed, assigned to RCA).

In prior cathode ray tubes utiliz-ing luminescent targets, he com-ments, it has been customary toscan targets to develop light on oneside and to view the opposite sidebecause of the translucency of thetarget. Describing this as inefficientand impractical, the inventor offershere a tube in which a luminoustarget has the same brilliance onboth sides. The very thin targetstructure is excited by a flood ofhigh velocity electrons which areaccelerated toward a luminiferoustarget which is semi -permeable tothe electrons so that those electronswhich are not absorbed pass onthrough. Electrons then are redir-ected to the target, and the stepsrepeated until all of the energy ofthe electrons is absorbed.

Electrostatic TargetLeslie E. Flory, Oaklyn, N. J.;

Ernest A. Massa, Osborn, Ohio, andGeorge A. Morton, Haddon Heights,N. J., obtained No. 2,404,046 ontelevision apparatus incorporatinga tube in which an electron beamhaving substantially zero velocityis scanned over a target (applica-tion for patent June 21, 1941; 8claims allowed, assigned to RCA).

The patented system is aimedgenerally at conquering familiardark spot troftles. Under this plan,the tube generates an electron beamwhich hits the target or mosaicelectrode with zero velocity so thatno secondary electrons are libera-ted. Such low velocity scanning sys-tems have been patented before,with a magnetic field utilized to di-rect the beam along paths normalto the target, but the inventors herecomment that the magnetic fieldoften is bad for use in compact tel-evision camera units.

It is held that the tubes coveredby this patent will prevent the"crawling" or creeping form of dis-tortion caused when the recreatedimage replica shifts continuouslyover areas remote from the centerof the image. Purely electrostaticmeans, rather than magnetic means,are used to direct the electron beamonto the target.

Excessive Lighting ControlOtto H. Schade, West Caldwell,

N. J., received No. 2,404,098 on atransmitting system which also uti-lizes low velocity electron beamscanning tubes (application forpatent June 27, 1941; 9 claims al-lowed, assigned to RCA).

36 Television

Professional DirectoryRING & CLARK

Consulting Radio EngineersWASHINGTON, D. C.

Munsey Bldg. Republic 2347

JANSKY & BAILEYAn Organization of

Qualified Radio EngineersDEDICATED TO THE

Service of BroadcastingNational Press Bldg., Wash., D. C.

Consulting Radio Engineers

JOHN J. KEELEarle Bldg., Washington, D. C.

NATIONAL 6513

WELDON 4 CARRRadio Engineers

WASHINGTON, D. C.1605 CONNECTICUT AVENUE

Phone-Michigan 4151

GARO W. RAYConsulting Radio Engineers

991 Broad Street Bridgeport, Conn.

Phone 5-2055

In a review of the operation ofthese tubes, the inventor commentsthat electrostatic charges developedon the mosaic are limited only bythe amount of light incident there-on. Inasmuch as the electron beamapproaches the mosaic in the ab-sence of light with near -zero velo-city, any positive charging of themosaic in response to light tends toaccelerate the beam. Too rapid in-creases in the amount of light causecumulative secondary electrons tobuild up on the mosaic until theelectron beam no longer is able todischarge the mosaic to developtelevision signals. In addition, ifthis action is initiated over a smallarea of the mosaic target, the high -

September, 1946

FRANK H. McINTOSH

Consulting Radio Engineers710 14th ST., N. W. ME. 4477

WASHINGTON, D. C.

COMMERCIAL RADIO

Z) EQUIPMENT CO.Radio Engineering Consultant

Complete eu al neer Mg services forapplicant, owners. and operators of

AM -FM -and TelevisionBroadcasting Stations

International Building, Washington. D. C.321 B. Gregory Boulevard, Kansas City, Mo.Cross Roads of the World, Hollywood. Calif.

GEORGE C. DAVISConsulting Radio Engineer

Munsey Bldg. District 8456

WASHINGTON, D. C.

DIXIE B. McKEYROBERT C. SHAW

Consulting Radio Engineers1730 Connecticut Avenue, N. W.

Washington 9, D. C. Adams 3711

HOYLAND BETTINGER

ConsultantStudio Design, Programming.

Personnel Training

595 Fifth Avenue PLaza 8.2000

ly charged area spreads until theentire mosaic becomes inoperative.

This patent covers a system inwhich the tube may be made inop-erative in response to excess illumi-nation and immediately returned tooperation without excess delay.Slight excess charging of the tar-get is neutralized.

Automatic Beam ControlJohn A. Hansen, Bayside, N. Y.,

won No. 2,404,173 on a beam con-trol which will automatically main-tain a predetermined optimum val-ue of beam current in a televisionsignal generator, even when thetransmitter installation is left unat-

McNARY & WRATHALL

Consulting Radio Engineers

National Press Bldg. DI. 1205

WASHINGTON, D. C.

WORTHINGTON C. LENT

Consulting Engineers

International Bldg.

1319 F Street, N. W.

Wash., D. C.

District 4127

JOHN CREUTZ

Consulting Radio Engineer319 Bond Bldg. REpublic 2151

WASHINGTON, D. C.

JOHN BARRONConsulting Radio Engineers

Specializing in Broadcast andAllocation Engineering

Earle Building, Washington 4, D. C.Telephone NAtional 7757

BROADCASTING STUDIOSDesign and Construction

Television, also F.M. and A. M.THE AUSTIN COMPANY, Cleveland

NATION-WIDE (TM) OFFICES

tended (application for patent July5, 1941; 8 claims allowed, assignedto Hazeltine Research, Inc.).

Spurious pulses, caused by anyof several possible factors, have anamplitude which is many times thatof the desired video -frequency tele-vision signal components and fre-quencies corresponding to the line -scanning and field -scanning fre-quencies. The amplitude of thesespurious signals varies with themagnitude of the beam current ofthe tube, and this invention aimsto provide a method of keeping thebeam current substantially constantduring trace scanning periods ofthe signal generator.

37

OUTLOOK

IMP

ar+

3O

Black lines indicate both the primary and secondary coverage in the Baltimore areawhich can be given by a 25 kw station, assuming the antenna is 500 feet high andlocated in the center of the business district. Dotted lines indicate the trading area.

VERYBODY'S happy in Baltimore, with the threej video slots neatly plugged by three CPs. But

there was a lot of reshuffling in the television deck,with three of the original four applicants pulling out( Maryland Broadcasting Co., Joseph Zamoiski Co.,and .the Tower Realty Company being the backslid-ers), and two newcomers taking their places. As itnow stands, Hearst Radio, Inc., operators of WBAL;Radio -Television of Baltimore. Inc., and the A. S.Abell Company, publishers of the Baltimore Sun, havebeen given the FCC green light for video stations.

Baltimore should be in a good spot for networktelevision with the coaxial cable already operatingfrom New York to Washington. Although A. T. & T.have no definite plans for installing the terminalfacilities needed to include the Baltimore area, nodoubt this will be done when the stations get intooperation.

Network affiliation is also an open question foronly WBAL (Hearst Radio, Inc.) has a tie-up withNBC on the radio hook-up. Other two companies arenewcomers to the field and have no previous com-mitments.

Over $343 million are spent in the retail tradingarea of Baltimore and the wartime growth of thisport city's population to approximately a million per-sons shows no immediate signs of shrinking. Balti-more is thirteenth in sales rank in the country.

Impact of television on economics is readily dem-onstrated by the financial investment involved in

38

building and equipping these three stations. Total ofthe estimated costs for setting up the video outletshits $674,510, with the monthly operating costspegged at $48,000 to start.

A. S. Abell Company (Baltimore Sun(Address-Baltimore and Charles Streets, Baltimore,

MarylandOfficers-Paul Patterson, President; Henry C. Black,

Chairman of the Board; William Schmick,Vice President; Frank R. Kent, Vice President;Hamilton Owens, Vice President, EmmettKavanaugh, Secretary

Ownership-A. S. Abell CompanyEstimated Costs -

1. Vis. transmitter $ 22,5002. Aural transmitter plus tubes 13,5003. Antenna System 12,0004. Studio Equipment 140,0005. Studio Lighting 7,5006. F & M Monitors 2,5007. Land8. Building9. Other item 5,000

Estimated Total Costs $203,000Estimated Operation Costs per month-$16,000Breakdown of programming plans -28 hours per weekChannel-No. 2Kilocycles -54-60 megacycles

Television

AntennaHeight, ground level -491 feet

Transmitter location-O'Sullivan Building, Baltimore,Maryland

Power, aural & visual -5 kw; 5 kwPopulation -1,220,691Size of area -2,380 square milesLocation of studio-O'Sullivan Building, Baltimore,

MarylandEngineering Consultant-Worthington LentLawyers-Hartson, Cory LockwoodMisc.: Company has been publishers of the Baltimore

Sun since 1837 and proposes a service in radioparalleling that given in the newspaper. Alsohas bids for a standard and FM operation inBaltimore pending at the FCC. Station will ser-vice portions of Baltimore, Carroll, Howard andAnne Arundel Counties, Maryland.

Hearst Radio, Inc.

Address -25 W. 43rd Street, New York, N. Y.Officers-E. M. Stoer, Vice President; H. C. Burke,

ManagerEstimated Costs -

1. Vis. transmitter $ 30,0002. Aural transmitter plus tubes 15,0003. Antenna System 12,0004. Studio Equipment 85,0005. Studio Lighting 7,5006. F & M Monitors 5,0007. Land rented8. Building 50,0009. Other item *25,000

Estimated Total Costs $229,500*Installation and engineering costs.

Estimated Operation Costs per month-$12,000Breakdown of programming plans -28 hours per weekChannel-No. 6Kilocycles -96,000-102,000 kcs.ESR-1800Antenna

Height, sea level-vis.-665'; aur.-724'Height, ground level-vis.-650'; aur.-709'

Transmitter location-pendingPower, aural & visual-aur.-3kw; vis.-4kwPopulation -1,288,101Size of area-primary, 430 square miles; secondary,

2,640 square milesLocation of studio -2606 North Charles Street,

Baltimore, MarylandEngineering Consultant-A. Earl CullumMisc.: Operates WBAL in Baltimore (NBC affiliate)

Radio -Television of Baltimore, Inc.

Address -428-436 O'Sullivan Building, Baltimore andLight Streets, Baltimore, Maryland

Officers-Ben Cohen, President; Herman Cohen, VicePresident; Samuel Carliner, Treasurer; Her-bert Levy, Secretary

Ownership-Ben Cohen and Herman Cohen d/b as"Cohen Brothers" own 60 percent stock incorporation

Estimated Costa-l. Vis. transmitter $ 73,8002. Aural transmitter plus tubes3. Antenna System 13,3304. Studio Equipment 104,380

5. Studio Lighting6. F & M Monitors7. Land 37,5008. Building9. Other item 8,000

Estimated Total Costs $242,010

Estimated Operation Costs per month-$20,000Breakdown of programming plans -28 hours per weekChannel-No. 13Transmitter location-Negotiations now pendingPower, aural & visual -5 kw, aural and visualPopulation -1,436,539Size of area -4,800 square milesLocation of studio-Negotiations now pendingEngineering Consultant-Kear and KennedyLawyers-Henry Fischer. Herbert Levy, general

counselMisc.: Cohen Brothers subscribed to 6,000 shares of 5

percent cumulative preferred stock for $600,000in cash. Norman Kal of Washington, D. C. ad-vertising firm, Kal, Ehrlich, Merrick, Inc., has10,000 shares of common stock. Frederick All-man, another stockholder, is 99 percent ownerof WSVA, Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Washington(continued from page 4)

Estimated Operation Costs per month-$4,800 initially(Expect return of $4,000 month in revenues,

first year of operation)Breakdown of programming plans-proposed 125

hours a month; 64% commercial; 26% sus-taining. 60 hours of pick-ups; 30 studio pro-duction hours; 35 motion picture.

Channel-#4Kilocycles -66-72 megacycleESR-2,080Antenna

Height, sea level -877 feetHeight, ground level -477 feet

Transmitter location-Foshay Tower, MinneapolisPower, aural & visual -2.5 kw audio; 5 kw visualPopulation -1,049,152Location of Studio-Hennepin County, Minn.Engineering Consultant-Worthington C. Lent, Wash-

ington, D. C.Lawyers-Segal, Smith & HennesseyMisc.: Applicant licensee of WTCN, Minneapolis and

has been in broadcasting business for 12 years;maintains a television department which keepsabreast of latest tele equipment developmentsand operating techniques. Also has long-termcontract for use of suitable transmitter andantenna site for tele operation in either Minne-apolis or St. Paul.

Company has existing capital of $25,000 buthas promises of loans amounting to $120,000.

Company expects network affiliation withABC and will feed local shows to net.

Application declares that Minneapolis -St.Paul area is 12th ranking metropolitan areain the U. S. with a 1940 population of 911,077.Distance to the downtown business district ofSt. Paul is 11.8 miles from the proposed tele-vision site.

September, 1946 39

EDITORIAL

THE balance of 1946 is a very crucial period for television. Advertisers, broad-casters, manufacturers, publishers, film companies, and other closely allied

fields will all be watching television closely. Set manufacturers will plan their1947 production according to sales results in this quarter. Advertisers will plantheir budgets on number of receivers sold and proof of television's effectiveness.Potential telecasters will apply for stations on television's showing during thisperiod.

The sale of receivers, the quality of reception, the installation of antennas,the improvement of programming, the number of advertisers on the air, willindicate just how fast television will take hold. A poor showing in 1946 can slowup television progress for many years. A good showing will increase its rate ofprogress geometrically. There are still a lot of people from Missouri. Theymust be shown results.

And they can and will be shown results.

But television needs coordination - coordination on the part of the manu-facturer, telecaster, advertiser and retailer. Manufacturers must educate theretailers. Telecasters must on regularschedules. Programming must be improved. Advertising agencies must use alltheir resources to improve commercial techniques. Meetings should take placein every city to coordinate this television drive now.

Commonwealth Edison has set the pace in Chicago by bringing all televisioninterests in that city together. Manufacturers committed themselves to a per-centage of their production for that area. Agencies and the local television sta-tion have promised cooperation. Cooperative newspaper advertising will be run.

The Television Broadcasters Association should spearhead this drive with acomplete plan for the entire country. We hope their conference will develop sucha plan.

Advertising AgenciesSome agencies apparently believe that they can draw new business out of the

yellowing pages of their scrap books. One in particular, an early starter in tele-vision, now has dropped all activity in the medium, saying that they are awaitingthe day of large audiences before they go back. They feel that they have doneenough work with the medium to rest on their record . . . and show the afore-mentioned yellowing pages to their clients as proof of their expertness in handlingtelevision. How an agency could be so shortsighted as to row almost to shore, andthen for want of judgement, permit the tide to carry them out to sea again isbeyond explanation. Some guy with no belief in the efficacy of a book of sou-venirs is going to row himself into a lot of business that these resters-on -oarlocksslept away.

40 Television

SALESKEY

EACH month TELEVISION magazine reaches the key men in the many fieldsthat make up this composite industry. Here are some of the key men who

read TELEVISION each month. (All paid subscribers.)

Jack Poppele, president of the Television Broadcasters' Association, vice presi-dent of WOR. Key man in television policy and the purchase of Bam-berger television equipment.

John Royal, vice president in charge of television, National Broadcasting Com-pany. Key man in television policy and station operation.

Lee Cooley, in charge of television for Ruthrauff & Ryan. Key man in the pur-chase of television time and talent.

Andrew Ring, Ring & Clark, Consulting Radio Engineers. Key man in the pur-chase of television equipment.

Harry Lubcke, director of television for Don Lee. Key man in the purchase ofequipment and station operation.

James Shouse, vice president of the Crosley Broadcasting Company. Key manin it l,\ ',ion policy and station operation.

David Arons, Gimbel's Department Store. Key man in television advertising.

Dr. Allen B. DuMont, president, Allen B. DuMont Laboratories, Inc. Key man(l c\ elopment and manufacture of equipment.

James Petrillo, off-key man.

WHETHER you're selling equipment, station time, programs, or films, in factwhatever you're selling in television, you will find TELEVISION magazine

the industry's only monthly business publication, the most effective medium toreach these key men, the men who buy.

Our rate card and complete circulation breakdown is available upon request.

TELEVISION magazine - 600 Madison Avenue - New York 22, N. Y.

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The Detroit News, founder -owner of WWJ

-America's first commercial radio station-will pioneer again, this time givingDetroit its first television station. The newfacilities will be built by Du Mont, builder

of more television stations than any othercompany.

When distinguished pioneers in radiobroadcasting call upon Du Mont, pioneerand pacemaker in the magnificent new artof television, the selection is a sterling honor

and a signal recognition of Du Mont's out-standing achievements and capabilities.

Du Mont will provide a 5 kw video trans-mitter, 2.5 kw audio transmitter, mastercontrol equipment, film projection and pick-

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designed antenna atop the Penobscot Build-

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IF YOU HAVE NOT READ "THE ECONOMICS OF DU MONT TELEVISION," WRITE FOR A COPY

Copyright 1046. Allen B. Du NIont tal.nrat or In,

all MOP t,ALLEN B. DU MONT LABORATORIES, INC. GENERAL TELEVISION SALES OFFICES AND STATION WABD 515 MADISON AVE., NEW YORK 22.N. Y. DU MONT'S JOHN WANAMAKER STUDIOS, WANAMAKER PLACE, NEW YORK 3, N. Y. PLANTS AND HOME OFFICES, PASSAIC. N. J.