Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr - June 1951)

fur It am : TV'S BIG CHANCE Forcf Foundation Offer Poses Challenge COMMEECIAL telecasters, facing direct challenge from the Ford Foundation to show the sort of job they can do in TV education, assemble in Washington Friday to decide how to meet the challenge and how to maintain high program standards. Creation of an agency to guide TV stations in meeting this challenge may emerge from the allindustry station conference, called a month ago by NARTB to deal with growing criticism of video programming. At the time the meeting was arranged [Broadcasting • Telecasting, May 21], NARTB's Television Program Standards Committee was concerned over the "ever-increasing swell of criticism directed fr;^C against television programming from many sources." The committee was worried about 'well-organized efforts being made :>y educational groups to secure control of a very considerable portion of the frequencies available or TV uses." Last week, however, the whole enor of the Friday all-industry TV neeting was changed by announceI nent from Ford Foundation that it lelieved commercial telecasting, vith a billion dollar potential, "will >e the real impact of television on his country — on its level of infor■ nation, its emotional maturity and H ts unconscious behavior patterns" B [Closed Circuit, June 11]. Fears Dispelled , The foundation, according to James Webb Young, its consultant, A ' 'feels it should "work within this | stream to promote educational tele■I casting." * This recognition of the power of 1 commercial TV brought immediate approval, of course, from telecasters. It dispelled fears that the heavily endowed foundation had .fcecome over-run with anti-commertial pedagogists who didn't like tponsored telecasting, jj At the same time the announcement caused some concern at the National Assn. of Educational Broadcasters lest the foundation lose interest in efforts to obtain TV ^locations to accommodate noncommercial educational stations. While plans for an advisory froup to show the foundation what commercial TV can do along educational lines have not been put on iaper, it was felt the all-industry neeting might come up with a concrete proposal. Such a proposal could range from i purely counselling committee to » fast-acting cooperative group representing telecasters, advertisers, agencies, educators and peraaDS government. With educators and TV critics urning the heat on telecast staions because of program calibre, lecklines, multi-spotting and obfcxious commercials, station operators will find themselves under many pressures when they meet Friday. Actual agenda for the closed Friday meeting will be drawn up Thursday by the NARTB-TV Program Standards Committee, all of whose members are TV directors. Other TV directors have been invited to attend the Thursday meeting so the TV board can take up such problems as completion of NARTB's TV personnel and budget. The Thursday meeting will come face to face with the Ford Foundation's challenge. Some observers contend the foundation's acceptance of the industry's position that it can do an educational job is a make-or-break proposal. If the industry fails to produce funds, knowhow and personnel to implement the foundation's idea, then telecasters face the danger of being labeled video medicine men without proper conception of public service responsibility, it is contended. NARTB headquarters was hopeful at the weekend that well over three-fourths of TV stations, perhaps more, will be represented at the all-industry meeting Friday. Site will be the Statler Hotel in Washington. Robert D. Swezey, WDSU-TV New Orleans, is scheduled to open the Friday meeting as chairman of the program standards group. He will introduce Dr. Kenneth H. Baker, NARTB research director, who will review a TV programming analysis based on station logs for the May 6-12 week. The analysis will cover ratio of commercial and sustaining programs, network and local sources, spot announcements and similar factors rather than program content. Coy Is To Talk FCC Chairman Wayne Coy is to appear at 11 a.m. for a discussion of the TV programming situation. It was believed he would answer questions from the floor. Sen. Edwin C. Johnson (D-Col.), chairman of the Interstate & Foreign Commerce Committee, will address the luncheon session. Afternoon agenda will include statements by industry members and frank discussion of the issues raised. In a nutshell, the industry expects to take a look at itself Friday in an effort to see where it is heading and decide if anything should be done about TV pro gramming at this stage. Suggestion has been made that TV stations should act quickly and develop a program for Mr. Young to submit to the Ford Foundation's board. The educators' association became agitated Wednesday when it saw the exchange of correspondence between NARTB President Harold Fellows and Mr. Young, who had appeared a week before at the NARTB's television board meeting to outline his views. Edward L. Bernays, famed press agent and chairman of NAEB's public interest committee, sent a hot telegram to Dr. Robert M. Hutchins, associate director of the foundation, asking him to clear up any implication in the Young letter that the foundation was opposed to educational channels for TV. Mr. Young said, after reading the Bernays telegram, that he had expressed his position clearly in his letter to Mr. Fellows and had nothing to add. While NAEB made snide reference to commercial TV and hoped the nation's level of information would not depend on "dictates of (Continued on page 78) CBS-HYTRON Mf RGf R Stockholder Groups 0K CBS MOVED into the radio and television manufacturing field as a full-fledged member last Friday with consummation of its purchase of Hytron Radio & Electronics Corp., after the respective stockholder groups had approved the $20 million exchange-of -stock deal on Wednesday. Hytron, which owns Air King Products Co., now becomes a division of CBS, while Air King will become CBS-Columbia Inc., another division. Exact name of the Hytron division had not been decided, but officials said the "Hytron" identity would be retained. Company officials estimate that Hytron, which has manufactured receiving tubes since 1921, ranks fourth in volume among the eight companies in that field and is among the first eight of approximately 25 picture tube manufacturers. Air King manufactures television and radio sets and phonographs, while an Air King subsidiary, Royal Wood Products Mfg. Co., manufactures TV and radio cabinets. Three top Hytron-Air King officials— Chairman Lloyd H. Coffin and President Bruce A. Coffin of Hytron and President David H. Cogan of Air King — became CBS vice presidents upon the closing of the deal, and they and Frederick L. Chapman, a banker and member of the Hytron board, are slated for election to the CBS board of directors in July. Board Chairman Wil liam S. Paley and President Frank Stanton remain at the helm of the expanded CBS operation. The name "CBS-Columbia" will be given to the Air King products. The merger puts CBS in a position to manufacture its own brand of color TV receivers, despite the reluctance of other manufacturers to build sets for the FCC-authorized CBS-type color television system. Officials point out that Hytron's production of tubes, sets and cabinets and its facilities for stamping and plating chassis make it "more fully integrated than most other units in the industry." Air King already has demonstrated a new "Colorvision" set capable of tuning both CBS color and standard black-and-white, with deliveries scheduled for "late summer or early fall" [Broadcasting • Telecasting, June 11]. See Reasonable Production In the face of shortages of critical materials, Hytron authorities feel they will be able "to maintain reasonable production unless there are greater governmental restrictions," even though "some of the components required . . . will be in critical short supply for the balance of the year." An advance statement sent to CBS stockholders explained: As is customary in the industry, Hytron and its subsidiaries endeavor to have more than one source of supply for any article and this is true of all major components of Hytron's products except glass bulbs for its receiving tubes. The latter IROADCASTING • Telecasting are purchased from one supplier without any long-term contractual relationship. Bulbs for television picture tubes are purchased from two suppliers. Air King purchases its materials from several hundred sources of supply and in nearly every case each item is purchased from several sources with the major exception of tubes, substantially all of which it purchases from Hytron. . . . Both Hytron and Air King hold standard RCA patent licenses, relating respectively to radio and TV receiving tubes and to radio and TV sets and phonographs. Air King also holds a Hazeltine Corp. license under patents relating to radio sets, phonographs and reproduction apparatus. The Hytron companies' consolidated dollar sales in 1950 — which totaled $40.5 million — came approximately 25.6% from TV picture tubes; 25.2% from radio and TV receiving tubes; 45.1% from TV sets; 1.1% from radios and radio-phonograph combinations, and 3% from other products including those sold to the government. "The sales of Hytron and its subsidiaries during the first quarter of 1951 were substantially greater than for the comparable period of 1950," the report said. Air King Distributors Corp., a subsidiary of Air King Products Corp., is distributor for that company in the New York metropolitan area. Of Air King's 1950 output, ap (Continaed on page 72) June 18, 1951 • Page 25