Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr - Jun 1952)

EDUCATION ON COMMERCIAL TV Dunham Data Refutes Educators' Claim AKE commercial telecasters — networks and independent operators — cooperating adequately with educational institutions by contributing their time and facilities to noncommercial fare in the public interest? And are educators doing all they can to promote their own cause on commercial television outlets on the scale they approached this task in radio? v Franklin P. Dunham, radio-TV director for the U. S. Office of Education, has mixed opinions on these two questions. To throw some light on the subject, Dr. Dunham came armed with a fist full of statistics to the 22d annual Institute for Education by Radio-Television at Columbus, Ohio, where the accent was on educational TV reservations (see separate story). Dr. Dunham feels commercial radio-TV broadcasters are making important contributions but urged educators to take the initiative in their own communities as they have in connection with radio on which some 78 programs are aired each week by the networks. "If we move this thinking into television which we are about to do ... we will probably be able to present an equal number of educational television programs," he told IERT delegates. But what of possible overlap between prospective non-commercial educational stations and commercial broadcasters in the area of obligation? "Those who will venture to own and operate their own station . . . will find ready cooperation from people who nave pioneered in commercial television and soon types of programs which are better fitted to university and school production will find themselves the responsibility of education's own stations," he asserted. Dr. Dunham observed a conviction held by some educators that "television is not following the example of radio" in offering time to institutions. Ingenuity and enticing fare is the answer, he said. Dr. Dunham recalled that years ago he and Dr. I. Keith Tyler, institute director, agreed that "an educational program was one that was put on for the purpose of education regardless of whether it succeeded in that purpose or not." But now, he noted, FCC "deliberately and arbitrarily has judged the program on the strict criteria of its source." Today well over half of commercial stations are in the field. Here is a breakdown of educational programs presented by commercial TV stations as compiled by Dr. Dunham: WBZ-TV Boston— The Living Wonders, from the Museum of Science. WPIX (TV) New York— Operation Blackboard, planned by Ed Stasheff, TV director of New York City Schools. WCAU-TV, WFIL-TV, WPTZ (TV) Philadelphia — At least 16 TV programs during any single week in cooperation with Board of Education. Mentioned were WFIL-TV's College of the Air and Dr. Roy Marshall's Nature of Things on NBC-TV. WMAR (TV), WAAM (TV),WBALTV Baltimore — Numerous educational shows. Home of the famous Johns Hopkins Science Review on DuMont TV Network. WMAL-TV, WNBW (TV) Washington— Science and music fare. Georgetown, Catholic, George Washington, American and Howard universities and public schools, as well as Arlington, Va., schools utilizing TV. WDTV (TV) Pittsburgh—". . . Although crowded with the offerings of four networks, has had time to develop educational programs with U. of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Tech and Duquesne U." WAGA-TV, WSB-TV, WLTV (TV), Atlanta, Ga., and WDSU-TV New Orleans— Have begun experimental series with local universities and school system. WTVJ (TV) Miami— Many series of programs already produced by U. of Miami — public discussion, drama and science. KPRC TV Houston, KRLD TV, WFAA-TV, WBAP-TV D a 1 1 a s-Ft. Worth; KEYL (TV), WOAI-TV San Antonio — Programs originated at Radio House on U. of Texas' campus and produced on individual stations. WKY-TV Oklahoma City and KOTV (TV) Tulsa — Cooperating with universities on experimental TV shows. KOB-TV Albuquerque, N. M. and KPHO-TV Phoenix, Ariz. — Both carrying educational shows. All seven Los Angeles stations — U. of Southern California, U. of California (L. A.) and Loyola U. produce shows. KGO-TV, KPIX (TV), KRON-TV San Francisco — Voluntarily provide time. KING-TV Seattle—". . . Has carried some of the most exciting experiments in children's programs" — Telaventures for Children. KDYL-TV, KSL-TV Salt Lake CityDone programs with U. of Utah. WOW-TV, KMTV (TV) Omaha— Cooperated with Creighton U. WOW-TV ". . . one of the pioneers in educational television." U. of Omaha gives credit for courses over WMTV. WOI-TV Ames, Iowa — ". . . One of the most notable of all centers in the country." A commercial TV outlet of Iowa State College served by all four networks. KSTP-TV, WTCN-TV MinneapolisSt. Paul — A janitor's strike a year ago started the ball rolling here educationwise. WTMJ-TV Milwaukee and WBKB (TV), WENR-TV, WGN-TV, WNBQ (TV) Chicago — Programs successful here "despite fact that "demands on the time of the stations in these cities have been overpoweringly great." KSD-TV St. Louis — Carries many programs with public school system and cooperates with other institutions on feature programs. WCPO-TV, WKRC-TV, WLWT (TV) Cincinnati — Shows put on by U. of Cincinnati and Xavier U. Also tested effectiveness of shows in project with WLWT. WEWS (TV) Cleveland— Western Reserve U. produces four regular college courses for credit. WWJ-TV, WJBK-TV, WXYZ-TV Detroit — Successful telecourses with Wayne U., U. of Detroit, U. of Michigan and public schools. WWJ-TV and U. of Michigan cited particularly. WBEN-TV Buffalo — Early experimenter with programs, under aegis of Mount St. Joseph's Teacher's College and U. of Buffalo, with former center of TV training as well. WHAM-TV Rochester— Pioneer in programming from start with cooperation of U. of Rochester and Eastman School of Music. WSYR-TV, WHEN (TV) SyracuseFormer operates downtown and U. of Syracuse studios; later produces programs for School of Forestry. Both have experimented in drama, art, news and music. Among the "outstanding" network programs cited by Dr. Dunham are ABC-TV's Town Meeting of the Air, NBC-TV's Inside Our Schools (with Time magazine) and the opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors; CBS-TV's See it Now with Ed Murrow, Mr. I. Magination and New York Philharmonic Orchestra; and DuMont TV Network's Keep Posted and Life is Worth Living with Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. HILL CAMERAMAN Proposed by Sen. Hoyden WHAT do Senators think of television as a medium through which they can express themselves ? The answer came during debate on an appropriations bill April 17. Sen. Carl Hayden (R-Ariz.) proposed the voting of a $3,600 salary for a newly-created TV cameraman post in the Joint Congressional Recording Facility, U. S. Capitol. This is the studio which records (or films) reports by congressmen for home station consumption. Sen. Hayden's request was included in the Third Supplemental Appropriation without objection. COLLEGE FOOTBALL TV Threat Is Cited TELEVISION represents "a $10 million threat" to college football, according to Robert A. Hall, Yale, chairman of the National Collegiate Athletic Assn.'s special TV committee. Speaking on a WTIC Hartford program, Yale Interprets the News, Mr. Hall argued that colleges should share receipts of televised football, otherwise a financial premium on winning teams will be created and it will kill amateur football. Washington Watches Qf)) omens Sko ws "INGA'S FIGURE FORMULA" 9:45 10 a.m. Monday through Friday Inga puts an attractive model — and her viewers— through their exercise paces every morning. And the women watch it — witnessed by an 8.0 cumulative rating (ARB, March, 1952). SPOT PARTICIPATIONS — $65.00 Watch Washington Retail sales in Washington are climbing . . . climbing . . . Sales Management Magazine has designated the city as a "preferred" one every month this year. Television set ownership is climbing too . . . 354,129 as of April 1. wnbw Channel 4 NBC Television in Washington Represented by NBC Spot Sales BROADCASTING • Telecasting April 28, 1952 • Page 75