Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-08
PRESS INTERESTS
BATTLE FOR WAVES
Various News Groups and
Radio Companies Fight for
Rich Monopoly.
BY MARTIN CODEL.

OlSCOIQA1lt elements III the IleIQS o.
Journalism and communications. al
working at cross purposes presented
their respective cases for ALLEGATION II
the short waves reserved for the Amer.
lean press at their joint hearing before
the Federal Radio Commission yester-
day.
Recognition Of radios actual and pc.
tential value as medium for the dis
patch of foreign and domestic news
now presents the commission with an
other of those complex situations which
it must work out in accordance with
known legal precepks or with new con-
cepts of law needed for governing the
newborn communications art.
AS fundamental principle, the COM
mission is holding over the heads of the
dissenting groups the demand that the
20 short waves reserved for transoceanic
news-carryng purposes and the 20
more for intracontinental wrod traffic,
shall be utilized only on public util-
ity basis, that is, that all the American
press must be served, regardless of who
owns or operates the stations TO be built
for transmitting or receiving on the 40
channels.
This was acceptable to the American
publishers committee, initial applicants
for the waves, and this committee
worked out an agreement last Deem
Der for dividing the use of the chan
nels among the dozen or more press
associations and large newspapers which
traffic associations. Most of these
newsgathering associations and news
papers have already arranged to estab-
lish stations to be operated on a pub
lie utility basis. for their own and for
other press traffic.
Breach Of Faith Charged.
The first note of discord developed
when John F. Neylan, representing the
Hearst newspapers and news services,
as well as proxy representative for other
scattered newspapers. charged a breach
of faith in working out the agreement
which the commission has been asked to
ir1dorse preparatory to actually assign
ing the channels.
Mr. Neylan charged that the agree
n1ent was designed to retain to q group
of affiliated newspapers the control over
the use of the channels. He suggested
that only the major press associations
be assigned to use the channels and
proposed to exclude individual news
papers.
The reply by Louis M. Loeb, counsel
for the American Publishers commit
tee, was that the agreement was &C.
ceptable to all the affiliated press as
sociations and newspapers and con-
formed entirely with the commission s
proposals. The Hearst services, he
averred, have been allocated three
transoceanic and three domestic chan
nels, but are dissatisfied because they
were not given four domestic channels.
Mr.. Loeb denied the charges Of con-
nivance or breach of faith, and ex-
planned to the commission that the
journalistic groups, party to the agree
ment, were entirely independent Of each
other.
Papers on List. .
The American Publishers committee
includes the United Press, Hearst serv-
ices, New York World, New York Times.
New York Herald Tribune, Chicago
Tribune, Chicago Daily News. Christian
Science Monitor, Consolidated Press As
ISOLATION. San Francisco Chronicle and
Los Angeles Times, among others. The
plan is to have each establish its own
station or stations, but each must hold
the service open TO all press traffic on
an equal basis.
In addition, Il is proposed to reserve
some channels for a mutually owned
and operated string Of stations for use
where conditions Of rivalry render it
unlikely that correspondent will file a
news dispatch with a station owned by
q competitor.
The fight for the channels was not
only fight Of the Hearst interests
against the others In combination, but
resolved itself at the hearing into a
presentation Of nultilateral claims for
channels.
The Associated Press. for example.
asked for an allotment Of channels for
its own use, independent OF the Ameri-
can Publishers committee and free from
public utility restrictions on the ground
that its non-profit-making cooperative
basis OF organization precluded It from
owning or holding stock in subsidiary
corporation. 1t has been unable, the
Associated Press commended, because OF
its charter requirements. to join with
the others in working under the agree
ment Tor the use Of the reserved chan
nels.
New Project Asks for All.
An entirely new radio news project
the National Radio Press Association
represented to be headed by Herbert
Bayard Swope, recently executive editor
Of the New York World. asked through
Its counsel that all the 20 domestic
This company proposes to gather news
throughout the country, transmit It via
the short waves to subscriber broad.
casting stations, or others willing tc
purchase 1t, and to have these stations
disseminate the news to their listeners
Local advertisers would sponsor the
reading of the news flashes, it was said
This proposed new development ir
American journalism found all the
printed press elements at the hearing
combined in opposition, despite tfeil
other differences. The radio press
project contemplates the establishment
OF Is stations Of 10000 watts power ant
Q Of 10000 watts. It was represented tx
be underwritten for $250O,O0O and K
have 100000 already In escrow.
Another dissenter was the Labor Daily
and Weekly Press represented by HOPE
Thompson, counsel for station WCFI. o.
the Chicago Federation of Labor. TIL,
Chicago labor station has long beer
seeking band of short waves to linl
other stations
While remaining silent as the pres
interests Waged their internecine quar-
rel, the Radio Corporation of Americ;
and the Mackay Radio g. Telegraph