Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

Hollywood Ad Club and IRTS Announce Special Affiliation New York — The season for reciprocity has apparently arrived. First harbinger was Network Election Service in which the major networks and wire services pooled their coverage resources on election night. Latest brotherly moves include announcement that the International Radio and Television Society and the Hollywood Advertising Club have formed an affiliation, and reports that the Associated Press Society of Ohio and the Ohio Associated Press Broadcasters Assn. have begun talks on the possibility of forming a single organization. IRTS and the broadcast-minded Hollywood Ad Club have approved an agreement that will give members of each all membership privileges in the other except voting. IRTS members will be able to take part in HAC affairs and vice versa. Also, each organization will have representation on the other's board in an ex officio capacity, with Harry Saz, vice president in charge of media services, Ted Bates & Co., Inc., New York, as the HAC designate-member of the IRTS board, and Herminio Traviesas, vice president in charge of the Hollywood of Funt, Bendick Join Forces New York — A pair of broadcast veterans, Allen Funt and Robert Bendick, have joined forces for the stated purpose of "developing new concepts for a variety of entertainment media." Operating under the banner of Allen Funt Productions, Inc., projects under consideration include tv, full-length feature films, and both Broadway and off-Broadway presentations. Funt is best known for Candid Camera on television and the earlier radio version. Bendick, a longtime producer and director, has handled such shows as Today and Wide, Wide World, plus several Du Pont specials. He also did a stint as director of tv news and special events at CBS and was co-producer and director of "This Is Cinerama" and director of "Cinerama Holiday." November 9, 1964 fice of BBDO, as the IRTS designate member of the HAC board. Commenting on the new arrangement. Jack O'Mara, president of HAC, said: "The HoUywood Advertising Club, by its name and by its tenets, is basically an advertising organization, but its location, history and membership have oriented it strongly toward broadcasting. Thus we are delighted to join forces with IRTS." For his part, Sam Cook Digges, IRTS president, said "both HAC and IRTS have many programs which benefit their members and the industry. Through mutual promotion and participation, the programs of each will be expanded." At a meeting in Columbus, Ohio, involving 150 newspaper editors and radio-tv executives, the Associated Press Society of Ohio and the Ohio Associated Press Broadcasters Assn. appointed a joint committee to investigate the possibility of a merger. IWMCA Suspends Gray; Charges Unfairness New York — Charging that he failed "to adhere to WMCA's standards of fair play during an interview with Senator Keating's administrative assistant, Milton Eisenberg, on an election eve broadcast," WMCA has suspended interviewer Barry Gray. The WMCA statement stressed that "the suspension was not related to any editorial position taken by Mr. Gray on the air. The issues involve WMCA's integrity, the station's standards of fairness and the courtesy accorded to guests on WMCA programs." For his part, Gray admitted that he lost his temper with Eisenberg, calling him an "oily guest." That's what apparently caused the suspension, he said. Eisenberg said Gray became angry a number of times during the interview. The suspension means a loss of an estimated $2000 a week for Gray. Substituting for Gray on WMCA's election night coverage was Ed Brown of the station's news and public affairs staff. TyQ Reports Flipper' and Bewitched' Are Tops with Small Fry Tv Viewers New York — Both moppets and teenagers have responded favorably to the new crop of television shows, judging by a just-released report from TvQ. The six to eleven-year-old bracket included seven of the new shows among its top ten, while teenagers gave the nod to eight of the new offerings among their top ten. TvQ points out that not a single new show managed to make even the top twenty list of people 50 and over "who preferred to remain faithful to such long-time favorites as Lawrence Welk, Perry Mason and Password. Here is a breakdown of the top ten shows among the six to elevenyear-olds as taken from the second October TvQ report: 1. Flipper 2. Bewitched 3. Beverly Hillbillies 4. Walt Disney 5. Flint stones 6. Daniel Boone 7. Addams Family 7. Munsters 9. Gomer Pyle 9. Jonny Quest Favorites among the teenagers included: 1. Bewitched 2. Gomer Pyle 3. Bonanza 4. Man From U.N.C.L.E. 5. Fugitive 5. No Time for Sergeants 7. Flipper 7. Shindig 9. Daniel Boone 9. Gilligan's Island 9. McH ale's Navy 9. Patty Duke Show TvQ points out that its comparable report last year showed the younger children's list with five new shows and the teenagers' list with three. 17