Broadcasting (Apr - Jun 1949)

LEWIS VS. CHESTER CV" CHARGES and counter-charges of "irresponsibility" continued to fly between Commentator Fulton Lewis Jr. and Writer Giraud Chester last week, in the wake of an article by Mr. Chester last month in Princeton U.'s Public Opinion Quarterly [Broadcasting, May 23]. The Quarterly, Mr. Lewis said, has offered to print an article giving his reply to Mr. Chester in its next edition. The nub of the controversy was an article by Mr. Chester, former assistant professor of speech at Cornell U., on "What Constitutes Irresponsibility on the Air?" It criticized Mr. Lewis on the basis of some of his broadcasts and campaigns, which it undertook to analyze. Mr. Lewis retorted that the writer had represented himself about two years ago as having a commission to do an article on Mr. Lewis for a national magazine, and that the editor of the magazine later told him Mr. Chester had no such commission and that his article was rejected because it was inaccurate. "It evidently has taken Mr. Chester a long time to find a magazine willing to print such tripe," Mr. Lewis asserted. Mr. Chester told Broadcasting he did have authority to approach Mr. Lewis as a writer for the American Mercury, and that he was given no explanation when the Telestatus (Continued from page 36) counts, and Milwaukee's total dropped by six accounts. The decline shown in the table for Baltimore is due to the fact that WBALTV no longer reports its totals. kets in number of new accounts during May, with an increase of 21 over the April total. Erie, Pa., and New York added a net of 17 accounts, and Memphis added 16. Toledo showed a drop of 16 ac TABLE III ADVERTISERS BY MARKETS Markets Albuquerque Atlanta Baltimore Boston Buffalo i; Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Dayton Detroit Erie Ft. Worth-Dallas Houston Los Angeles Louisville Memphis Miami Milwaukee Minn. -St. Paul . New Haven New Orleans . . . New York Philadelphia Pittsburgh Richmond Salt Lake City . . San Francisco . . Schenectady .... Seattle St. Louis Syracuse Toledo Washington .... No. of Reporting Stations Net. 1 2 2 2 1 4 2 2 1 1 3 1 1 1 6 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 3 18 52 49 31 44 17 46 8 14 47 11 12 9 25 16 14 3 29 13 22 12 56 55 32 29 10 12 32 11 32 9 25 56 Spot 1 14 27 33 25 52 33 23 9 13 40 6 14 11 41 14 11 3 21 14 17 12 112 59 10 8 9 13 10 9 19 3 6 31 Loc. 2 26 54 36 53 42 33 31 9 11 47 20 9 7 103 8 25 24 43 9 8 11 55 76 20 10 29 11 27 15 17 4 21 62 May Total 6 58 133 118 109 138 83 100 26 38 134 37 35 27 169 38 50 30 93 36 47 35 223 188 62 47 48 36 69 35 68 16 52 149 April Total 4 51 152 103 110 132 73 88 17 127 20 37 24 167 34 46 99 28 51 37 206 180 62 47 43 34 62 33 62 19 68 143 Gain or (Loss) 2 7 (19) 15 (1) 6 10 12 26 21 7 17 (2) 3 2 4 16 30 (6) 8 (3) (2) 17 8 5 2 7 2 6 (3) (16) 6 CROOP NAMED Chief of Gannett D. C. Bureau ASSIGNMENT of A. Vernon Croop as permanent chief of the Gannett News Bureau in Washington was announced today (June 20) by the radio newspaper group. Mr. Croop had been temporary chief of the bureau for the past six months. Among the major objectives of the bureau, it was stated, is to develop original radio programs as a public service for the listening audience of the six Gannett stations. Gannett stations are WHEC Rochester, WABY Albany, WENY Elmira, WHDL Olean, all New York; WTHT Hartford and WDAN Danville, 111. These stations, through the D. C. bureau, receive Capital Memo, 15-minute weekly show, featuring top government and national figures in discussions with Gannett staff members. Mr. Croop WGAY Silver Spring, Md., received two special awards of merit from Silver Spring Civitan Club for "outstanding contribution" made by station in promoting club's Good Citizenship Week program. BROADCASTING • Telecasting magazine rejected his article. But he said the managing editor wrote him at that time (Oct. 28, 1947) : "As I had feared, I have to return this. I suggest that you send it immediately to . I have a strong hunch that they will grab it up. I advise you to send it directly toIf you want to mention my name, that will be all right." "This evidence," said Mr. Chester, "supports the inference that the managing editor thought my article was worthy of publication." He accused Mr. Lewis of "swinging wildly" in his references to the Quarterly. "That journal," he said, "is probably the most distinguished professional publication in its field. On its masthead appear the names of Frank Stanton, Niles Trammell, Paul Lazarsfeld, and a host of outstanding scholars." Mr. Chester challenged the commentator to "face the issue squarely and point out any inaccuracies that would invalidate my conclusions." He said his 10-page article carried 53 footnotes "giving the source of every factual statement I make." "In the absence of contrary evidence," he continued, "my statements stand undisputed as true. Thus, after comparing Lewis' testimony under oath in a court deposition with one of his radio scripts, I charge him with deliberately misstating a fact on the air or of not knowing the meaning of his own language. Which alternative does he choose?" Mr. Lewis, accusing Mr. Chester of "deliberate mendacity," promised to give a documented reply in the answer he is preparing for the Quarterly. Analysis of Mr. Chester's articles, he told Broadcasting, "proves it to be replete with misstatements, misrepresentations, quotations that are dangerously taken out of context and twisted to the convenience of the author, and downright untruths. "The publication has graciously offered to print, in its next edition, an article by me, replying to Mr. Chester," he said. "In it I shall demonstrate, by chapter and verse and complete documentation, the specific distortions, untruths, and half truths on whieh his attacks are based. I shall demonstrate further — using his own articles as evidence — that the young man's mendacity was deliberate and conscious, not accidental." Meanwhile, Editor Lawrence Spivak of the American Mercury issued a statement saying that "although Mr. Chester was not 'commissioned' to do the piece [when he visited Mr. Lewis], he certainly was writing it for the American Mercury." His statement, which he said was designed to keep the record straight, continued: The article he submitted to us was rejected almost two years ago and I have no way of knowing what he has done to it since. Mr. Angloff, our managing editor, had all the preliminary discussion and correspondence with Mr. Chester about his article and when the piece was completed, he sent it to me with a favorable recommendation. When I discussed the article with Mr. Angloff he told me of a discussion with Mr. Chester which led me to conclude that Mr. Chester could not write an unprejudiced piece on Mr. Lewis. I therefore said to Mr. Angloff: "I don't like the smell of the piece and don't think we ought to print it." I did not mean by that that I knew the piece had inaccuracies and misstatements. I just wasn't sure enough that it was accurate. . . The controversy, it seems to me, is one between Mr. Chester and Mr. Lewis, and what we thought about the article two years ago may have little bearing on it today. FIRST IN THE DAVENPORT, ROCK ISLAND, MOLINE, EAST MOLINE AM 5,000 W 1420 Kc. FM 47 Kw. 103.7 Me. TV CP. 22.9 Kw. visual and avral, Channel 5 Basic Affiliate of NBC, the No. 1 Network The November 1948 Conlan Survey shows WOC First in the Quad-Cities in 60 per cent of Monday through Friday quarterhour periods. WOC's dominance among Quad Cities stations brings sales results in the richest industrial market between Chicago and Omaha . . . Minneapolis and St. Louis. Complete program duplication on WOC-FM . gives advertisers bonus service. Col. B. J. Palmer, President Ernest Sanders, Manager DAVENPORT, IOWA FREE A PETERS, INC., National Representatives June 20, 1949 • Page 53