Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan - Mar 1951)

EMERGENCY NETWORKS E!2=i™n= NEW plans to provide disaster networks, emergency information service and defense intelligence were offered last week as New York broadcasters opened a statewide atomic program on over 100 stations. Nationwide project was suggested to President Truman and to Pennsylvania broadcasters by Robert Walter, manager of WVAM Altoona, Pa. He would have all stations clear time at 6 p.m. each weekday night for defense and emergency service. Tieup of relay and selected amateur transmitters on a nationwide basis to provide fast emergency transmission of news to the public was proposed by Robert M. Beer, co-owner of WATG Ashland, Ohio. The first New York State broadcast was staged last Wednesday under the title Plan for Survival Millard Caldwell Jr., Federal Civil Defense Administration ■ director, and Col. Lawrence Wilkinson, director of the New York Civil Defense Commission, appeared on the opening broadcast. Scheduled to continue indefinitely, the program will deal with such matters as planning for survival of children, personal survival, communications and warnings, and evacuation. The network will use no wire lines; member stations will pick up and rebroadcast the signal of the originating station on their assigned frequencies. For network purposes, the state has been divided into "upstate" and "downstate" areas, the latter reaching from New York City to Albany, Schenectady and Troy with WNBC New York as the originating station. For re-broadcast to upstate and western New York, WGY Schenectady will pick up the WNBC signal. WOR New York will be the alternate originating downstate station, and WXKW Albany the secondary station upstate. Beginning with the third broadcast in the series, the latter half of each program will be filled by individual stations throughout the state with defense information of a local nature. Foreign language stations in New York will translate the program into other languages to provide for the greatest dissemination possible. Formation of the emergency network and the program was called "an historic occasion for the radio industry" by New York Mayor Vincent R. Impellitteri, speaking in that city last week. "It represents the first time that the stations of New York State will broadcast simultaneously. The radio industry has broken all precedents in mak ing the greatest effort where there is greatest need — mobilization for civil defense," he said. The Mayor's remarks came after he had censured New Yorkers for failure to volunteer for civil defense; only 70,000 of the 500,000 volunteers required had come forward. "The danger we face is open, unprovoked savage attack without warning. Against this, the only defense is constant preparedness," the mayor said. Responsible for the emergency network and programs is the civil Defense Committee for Radio, downstate part of which includes the following from New York stations: Dave Driscoll, WOR, chairman; Harvey Gannon, WNBC; Eleanor Sanger, WQXR; John Jaeger; WNEW; Alan Carter, WNYC; Gordon Graham, WCBS; John Madigan, WJZ, and Charles Baltin, WHOM, who represents foreign-language stations on the committee. William Fay, WHAM Rochester, is chairman of the upstate part of the committee, which also includes George Driscoll of WHAM and Don de Neuf of the Rural Radio Network, the basic connecting network upstate. A television program for Greater New York viewers, called ABC of Atomic Survival and presented by the ABC Public Affairs Dept., began Jan. 14 over WJZ-TV New York. On Sundays, 9:25-9:30 p.m., it reports a "critical evaluation" of city measures for defense and provides instruction for personal and family defense preparations. Mr. Walter's letters to President Truman, and to all Pennsylvania stations, raised the possibility of tying all U. S. stations into an anti-communistic campaign. Noting that the country has "a tremend'ously powerful weapon for acquainting the American people with the evils of the system of Communism," he explained that "radiomen and radio stations have always been known for their being able to lay aside all else to do a job at hand for the interests of public service." He described the plan in his letter to President Truman in this way: I have sent out a letter to each and every radio station in the State of Pennsylvania. In that letter I have asked the managers if they will try to clear 6' p.m. each night Monday through Friday for a period of five minutes. Sponsors will be credited and will still retain sponsorship of the period, merely turning over five minutes of their period for the reading of a message (new each day) dealing with the subjects of "What Is Wrong With Communism" and "What to Do in Event of Atom Bomb Attack." Three days, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, would deal with Communism, two days, Tuesday and Thursday, with the atom bomb attack subject. All five days would include a script which I hope can be written by the government, cleared through the proper chan nels, and then sent to all Pennsylvania stations for simultaneous release over the air at the very same time by all stations of this state. This means, in effect, that all people in Pennsylvania would almost have to hear the subjects, if they listen to the radio at all. Such a voluntary "monopoly state net" would certainly get the subject to our people in this state. Mr. Walter added in his letter to the President, that if the plan works in Pennsylvania it could be done all over the country, achieving "a 6 p.m. 100% Hooper for the coverage of the two subjects above." He offered to assume personal responsibility for clearing such a scheme with the nation's stations. DIG SILENCING Termed Very Difficult ENEMY attempts to silence radio stations in the United States have small chance of success, according to Arthur Van Dyck, staff assistant at RCA Lab., speaking last week before the American Institute of Electrical Engineers at its winter meeting in New York. "While it is probably impossible to prevent an expert and determined saboteur from putting any single station out of operation, at least temporarily, the protection is complete enough to discourage all but the most determined and well-equipped efforts," he said. Transmitter protection is not a serious problem in this country, he pointed out. Instead of only one station serving an area, there are many and the task of silencing all of them would be very difficult if not impossible. Many stations have emergency transmitters available for immediate use; some even have emergency antennas. Destruction of large towers would not be a crippling blow, he continued, since hundred-foot poles can be erected quickly, or balloonsupported wires will do. World War II experience proved it to be extremely difficult to put stations out of commission by air bombing unless a direct hit was scored, he said. Mr. Van Dyck expressed doubt that an enemy attack would result in broadcasting being shut down, as was customary in the last war. Modern aircraft navigational aids are so good that broadcast station emissions for locating a city are unnecessary, he said. Pointing out radio's role of educator in defense matters, he said the media also would be needed to alert civil defense officials and agencies. "In the event of an air attack, many hundreds of points need to be alerted and signalling to them within a few seconds is vital. This can be done only by widespread, high-power radio stations, and means are available whereby it can be accomplished on standard1 broadcast stations without inter1 fering in any way with the norma! I operations of the stations." BROADCASTING • Telecasting!