Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1963)

6— TELEVISION DIGEST MAY 13, 1963 Television Digest PUBLISHED BY TELEVISION DIGEST, INC. HEADQUARTERS: 2025 Eye St., N.W., Wathington 6, D. C. Phone: 965-1985. TWX: 202-965-0979 EDITORIAL NEW YORK OFFICE ALBERT WARREN, 580 Fifth Ave. Editor & Publisher New York 36, N. Y. JONAH GITLITZ, Circle 6-2215 Managing Editor, TWX: 212-640-6938 Television Digest DAVID LACHENBRUCH, PAUL STONE, Editorial Director, Television Factbook Editorial Director CHARLES SINCLAIR, Contributing Editor VIRGINIA SNOWDEN, Managing Editor, Television Factbook PHILADELPHIA OFFICE 1 1 1 Beverly Rd. BUSINESS Overbrook Hills EDWARD M. KELLY, Philadelphia 51, Pa. General Manager Midway 2-641 1 RUDOLPH SAPPER, HAROLD RUSTEN, Circulation Manager Associate Editor TELEVISION DIGEST. Published Mondays. Services: $75-$150 annually. For group rates & other subscription services, write Headquarters. TELEVISION FACTBOOK TV & AM-FM ADDENDA Published Annually Published Saturdays AM-FM DIRECTORY Published Annually Personals William M. Materne promoted to CBS-TV vp-eastem sales . . . Tom Tilson promoted to Metro TV Sales eastern sales mgr., succeeded as midwest sales mgr. by Alfred Parenty, exAdam Young eastern TV mgr. Weston J. Harris, ex-USIA TV program mgr., appointed WNBC-TV N.Y-. program mgr. . . . Robert D. Gordon, ex-KIRO-TV Seattle program dir., named USIA deputy chief of production for information TV. Leroy E. Lattin, ex-General Telephone Co. of California chmn., named pres.. Home Entertainment Co. of America, Santa Monica, pay-TV firm . . . Ted Robertson, TV programming mgr., Compton Adv., Los Angeles, elected vp. Joseph F. Cagen, ex-Hackensack (N.J.) Record, opens ABC News Ireland office, hq in Dublin . . . William McIntyre, ex-ABC News, appointed radio-TV-film officer. Agency for International Development. James Taglia, ex-Philco representative, Washington, named exec, asst.. National Community TV Assn. . . . Robert A. Bernstein, ex-Westinghouse Bcstg. public relations dir., named vp & special projects dir.. Softness Group, PR. Charles Britt, ex-National Telefilm Assoc, southern rep, appointed southern sales mgr.. Embassy Pictures’ TV dept. . . . John J. (Chick) Kelly, Storer Bcstg. advertising & promotion dir., elected vp. Charles J. Mathews, national sales mgr., WLBW-TV Miami, promoted to general sales mgr. . . . David Drisin, ex-MGM, apointed special projects dir., Marketscope Research. Dr. Margaret Mary Kearney, educational dir., WCAUTV & WCAU Philadelphia, named national pres., American Women in Radio & TV. Rollin K. Godding, ex-account exec., J. G. Kelly Adv., Buffalo, named WKBW-TV promotion mgr., succeeding O. Lyle Koch, appointed program dir. (incorrectly reported in Vol. 3:16 p5). HENRY'S TOUGH LINE: FCC Comr. E. William Henry is not shy. And if he becomes next chairman, as speculation has it, industry may have someone harder to deal with than Chmn. Minow. After reading his recent Nashville speech, many industry people have been shaking their heads. Henry was addressing Radio & TV Council of Middle Tennessee. Excerpts: “Network proposals for [public affairs specials] are exceedingly vague. I wonder if the reason for this vagueness will prove to be the networks’ intention to inject public service specials as sporadic substitutes for programs whose ratings turn out to be lower than their competition. . . “A network recently reported that when it cancelled a certain program in its winter schedule, it received between 40-50,000 letters of protest from loyal fans of that program. Now what do you suppose happened as a result of these letters? We may guess that there were some second thoughts, but otherwise, absolutely nothing. The network, having inhaled the mystic vapors from the rating service oracle, announced ex cathedra that its audience did not justify the program’s continuance. So be it; the decision is theirs to make. Nor could the FCC approve or disapprove this or any other specific program, and rightly so. Censorship by any group is bad, and if exercised by government, it can be fatal. “On the other hand, if 50,000 letters were received by the FCC next Monday morning demanding more general public service programming in prime viewing hours, or less conformity, or more creativity in programs, there would be a flurry of interest at our 12th and Pennsylvania Avenue offices the likes of which has not been seen since the rigged quiz scandals. If Sen. Pastore, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, received 50,000 letters on these or any other broadcasting subjects, there would probably be an inquiry within days. And remember, 50,000 is only a small fraction of the people in the 59 million homes having television sets. The area served by Nashville’s stations would meet its quota with only 225 letters.” So how does Henry propose to improve things? His suggestions : “(1) Adopt a staff proposal to re-evaluate our policy with respect to sustaining or noncommercial programming. While public service programming may well be commercial or noncommercial, and entertaining as well as not, the percentage of sustaining time in the broadcast day is one of many appropriate yardsticks or guidelines for use in the examination of a station’s over-all performance in the public interest. “ (2) Propose a rule to require all broadcasters to carry over their facilities regularly-scheduled announcements concerning the legal responsibilities of television stations to serve their listening public’s needs and interests — at the same time soliciting public response, criticism, and suggestions for improved programming.”