Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1955)

SENATE GETS McCONNAUGHEY NAME AGAIN FCC chairman's nomination is sent up for confirmation a second time. He has held the post on recess appointment since Oct. 4, 1954. PRESIDENT Eisenhower last week sent to the Senate the nomination of FCC Chairman George C. McConnaughey to membership in the Commission. Mr. McConnaughey has been serving under a recess appointment by the President since Oct. 4, 1954. The nomination — which is for the unexpired term of seven years from July 1. 1950 — was sent from the White House to the Senate last Monday. The -FCC membership vacancy was created by the resignation of Comr. George E. Sterling. Mr. McConnaughey's nomination was referred to the Senate Commerce Committee. The committee has not announced a date for a hearing on the nomination. It was the second time Mr. McConnaughey had been nominated for the FCC post. The President sent the McConnaughey nomination to the Senate during its special session last November at which it was considering a motion to censure Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy (R-Wis.). Although the nomination was propelled through the Senate Commerce Committee by Sen. John W. Bricker (R-Ohio), then chairman, and six other GOP members, it failed confirmation when Democrats objected on WTVD Durham-Raleigh has 2,400,939,000 Effective Buying Income (source: Sales Management '54) Bigger Market-More Sets than MIAMI or NASHVILLE W T ^1 D CHANNEL 11 NBC ABC Coll HEADLEY-REED -the Senate floor [B»T, Nov. 15, 1954], Democrats on the committee had abstained from voting on the nomination. The Democrat blocking move had been anticipated after a hearing on the nomination by the committee, at which time Democrats had laid down their party's policy on nominations— that all "controversial" nominations or those requiring hearings be held over until the 84th Congress. Democrats explained the move was made to prevent undue delay in the Senate on the McCarthy censure motion, but the action was interpreted as a bid for power on the basis of Nov. 2 election victories by Democratic candidates. Democrats questioned Mr. McConnaughey during the committee hearing about his views on uhf-vhf channel intermixture and about a newspaper report alleging the FCC chairman was one of a group of GOP government leaders named by the White House to clear federal jobholders, both in and out of civil service. Mr. McConnaughey said at that time he had not had time to form an opinion on intermixture and wished first to "study" the problem. He denied he had been designated to clear civil service and other government jobs with the GOP. Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-Tenn.) has indicated he may want to question the FCC chairman, when the committee holds its hearing, on "some letters" he has received which criticize Mr. McConnaughey. He did not reveal the source or subject of the letters. Easron-AIIentown Case To Go Into SCOTUS THE SUPREME COURT last week agreed to take up the FCC's appeal from a ruling of the U. S. Court of Appeals in Washington that the Commission erred in granting 1230 kc to Easton (Pa.) Publishing Co. and denying Allentown Broadcasting Corp. [B*T, Aug. 23, 1954]. The Commission, backed by the Solicitor Genera] of the U. S., said the appeals court substituted its judgment for that of the FCC. The case began in 1947, when the FCC granted Allentown Broadcasting Corp. the 1230 kc facility with 250 w unlimited time, and denied the application of the Easton Express (WEEX [FM], WGLV [TV]). The Easton applicant appealed to the courts and in 1949 the court reversed the Commission and ordered a further hearing. In 1950 the second hearing was held and Examiner Elizabeth C. Smith recommended that the grant to Allentown (WHOL) be affirmed. This was reversed by the Commission, which authorized the grant to Easton. Allentown then appealed to the court and last year's decision remanded the case to the Commission. The appeals court, in its two-to-one decision, said the FCC had no basis for determining that both applicants were equally able to serve their respective communities. The court ruling virtually upheld the examiner's findings, questioning the candor of Easton witnesses, and her belief that Easton was susceptible to being found monopolistic on the concentration of communications media issue. The court majority also said the FCC had no right to overrule the examiner's impressions regarding the credibility of witnesses. In its petition for a writ of certiorari, the FCC said the lower court's ruling raised two questions: 1. The Court of Appeals held that the FCC in deciding between two mutually exclusive applications for broadcast stations in different communities, can determine that one community s need for a second station outweighs the needs of the other community which already has a multiplicity of local services, only if it has first found that both applicants are approximately equal in their ability to serve their respecthe communities. The first question is whether such a holding imposes an undue limitation upon the exercise of the administrative licensing powers of the Commission. 2. Whether, under Universal Camera Corp. v NLRB, 340 TJ. S. 474, the court below improperly substituted its judgment for that of the Commission on the inferences to be drawn from undisputed facts, largely by holding that the Commission's conclusions concerning the qualifications of a proposed licensee to operate a station in the public interest, when such conclusions differ from those of its hearing examiner, must be supported by "very substantial preponderance'' in the evidence. Vhf Grant Issued For Jonesboro, Ark. FCC also authorizes relay for rebroadcasts in Oak Hill, Va.; finalizes changes in allocation assignments. FCC last week granted a new tv station on ch. 8 at lonesboro. Ark. to KBTM-AM-FM there. Grant is subject to the condition that no construction begin until the FCC grants the modification of the KBTM antenna. The new ch. 8 facility will operate with an effective radiated power of 1 1.7 kw visual. 7.08 kw aural with antenna height above average terrain of 200 ft. In another action, the FCC granted ch. 4 WOAY-TV Oak Hill, W. Va., authority to build a new private tv intercity relay system between Charleston and Oak Hill, a distance of approximately 40 miles. The relay system will provide a program circuit to transmit programs of ch. 49 WKNA-TV Charleston for rebroadcast by ch. 4 WOAY-TV. Meanwhile, the FCC finalized rule making, effective Feb. 21. and assigned five additional noncommercial educational tv channels for the following communities in Michigan: Alpena, ch. 11; Escanaba, ch. 49: Houghton, ch. 25; Kalamazoo, ch. 74, and Marquette, ch. 35. FCC action came in response to petition by Clair L. Taylor, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Michigan. Commission's action raises the total number of noncommercial educational channels to 257. Of this, 85 are vhf and 172 uhf. The FCC also finalized rule making, effective immediately, and amended its table of tv assignments by substituting ch. 44 for ch. 73 in Scranton, Pa., and noncommercial educational ch. 48 for reserved ch. 44 at State College. Pa. The Commission also invited comments by Feb. 18 to proposed rule making to add ch. 14 to San Antonio, Tex., and delete ch. 14 and add ch. 38 to Seguin, Tex. Basic petition was by ch. 41 KCOR-TV San Antonio. Budget Changes Proposed REVISION of federal government budget procedure to improve efficiency is proposed in a report made public Saturday by the Research & Policy Committee of the Committee for EconomicDevelopment. Chairman of the research group is Frazar B. Wilde, Connecticut General Life Insurance Co. Changes in the preparation and form of the budget were advocated to give a clearer picture of proposed activities. Page 74 • January 17, 1955 Broadcasting • Telecasting