Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

A HAZARD THAT NEVER SLEEPS A daily occurrence — Radio and TV Stations are accused of LIBEL — SLANDER PIRACY — PLAGIARISM INVASION OF PRIVACY COPYRIGHT VIOLATION through act of station, staff, announcer, speaker, talent, commentator, sponsor. THE SPOKEN WORD IS MASTER! BUT you can INSURE against embarrassing loss by having our unique Excess Policy at amazingly low cost. Write for details and rates EMPLOYERS REINSURANCE CORPORATION 2 1 WEST TENTH STREET KANSAS CITY, MO. New York, Chicago San Francisco, 107 William 175 W. 100 Bush St. Jackson S* SPECIAL REPORT ON ETV continued public, and are likely to pass $100,000 by year-end. Business firms will donate about $17,500 and foundations are continuing to contribute. In addition, corporations in the Pittsburgh area have provided an endowment that now has a book value of $229,500. WQED's signal ranges far out into the western Pennsylvania hills. Since the programming is directed to specified teaching .or entertainment functions much of the time, an audience of 50,000 at any given moment may be quite satisfying to the station. "We appeal at different times to different segments of the public," Mr. White said. "We change audiences rapidly all through the day. In the course of a week we reach a vast number of people. A U. of Pittsburgh survey earlier this year showed that 73% of the people in Allegheny County (1.6 million population) tune to WQED in the course of a week." He noted that 19,000 people mailed gifts of money in the last school year. U. S. Steel gave $50,000 and H. J. Heinz Co. $30,000 for the increase in power. WQED goes in for live programming in a big way. "We have more live productions than most commercial stations," Mr. White said, explaining that the 80-hour week includes 59 live shows totaling 31V4 hours, or 38% of the air time. The schedule is so jammed that WQED has applied for uhf ch. 47 so its service can be expanded. This awaits FCC action. The Commission watched WQED operating last spring, four members inspecting it and observing tv teaching demonstrations. The station has produced many programs for the Educational Television & Radio Center, Ann Arbor, Mich., and the clearing house makes them available to other ETV outlets. A special Tele-Cam film process was devised by the staff and 1631/> hours of color film were produced last school year. An average of 45 hours of kines are produced every month. A WQED appearance by Martha Graham, a dancer, has been shown many times around the nation. The Children's Corner was picked up by NBCTV last school year. Housed in the old stone building, WQED supplements the skill of two professionals — Edward C. Horstman, chief engineer, and Ralph J. Tangney, program director — with enthusiastic volunteer help. Every known production trick and a lot of ingenious gadgets and money-stretchers go into the operation. Last year WQED was donated the services of the staff recruited by WIIC (TV) while William Block and WWSW were waiting for a ch. 11 grant from the FCC. At WQED they operate on the principle that education needn't be dull. A few stiffnecked oldtimers may ,look down their noses at such goings-on, but WQED is satisfied many thousands are learning to live better lives via electronic education. COMMERCIAL TV'S BIG HELPING HAND • $6 million in equipment • $4 million in services The commercial broadcasting industry has made major contributions of money, services and equipment to noncommercial education by television besides putting important educational and cultural programs on their own facilities. In the competition for scarce tv channels, especially in the vhf band, commercial interests naturally have tried to get all the facilities available in , important markets, ■ often begrudging the assignment of choice channels to many noncommercial educators. But most educators familiar with recent broadcast history are happy to concede that commercial aid has been a big help to many noncommercial tv stations. A compilation made earlier in 1957 by the Joint Council on Educational Television shows that commercial broadcasters have contributed or promised equipment and physical facilities totaling $6 million (see table). A rough estimate would indicate that the time of commercial personnel and other miscellaneous assistance would run the total up to $10 million. Major national networks, operators of broadcast station groups and individual stations have cooperated generously in the educational cause. Some commercial encouragement of noncommercial channel use, especially in the vhf band, has been referred to by educators as "enlightened selfinterest" — in other words, they presumably helped a noncommercial project to keep out commercial competition. ETV stations in Pittsburgh, Memphis, Jacksonville, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Seattle, Oklahoma City, Cincinnati, Miami, Birmingham, Lincoln, Neb. and Milwaukee are among those which thanked commercial interests for contributions running into six figures. Educators agree, too, that commercial broadcasters have generously loaned personnel for program production plus providing the use of station facilities. NBC-TV provides the only live nationwide educational tv network. In October it resumed free transmission of program service— plus some program production in connection with the Educational Television & f— BROKERS ~*%£?*IOS STATES ] RADIO and 1 ^ EL 5-0405 50 EAST 58th STREET NEW YORK 22, N V -A \AI1 Inquiries Confidential^, Broadcasting