Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1959)

portunities to independent packagers?" Mr. Hausman wondered if inadvertently the industry has been creating the impression through program advertising and promotion that tv airs fewer public affairs shows than it does. "It's a question well worth examining," he said. Another area worth exploring, he said, is the whole field of community service by broadcasters. He suggested community projects undertaken jointly by all the broadcasters in a city without competitive considerations. Public service and prime time C. Wrede Petersmeyer, president, Corinthian Broadcasting Corp., at the opening session Monday morning proposed that both networks and stations use their prime evening time and their top personalities to promote public affairs and public service programming. The objective: to make the public more aware of the whole range of tv's offering and to get the viewer at least to "sample" the non-entertainment shows available. Mr. Petersmeyer appeared with Frank Shakespeare, general manager, WCBS-TV New York, on a panel on "Public Service and Your Station." "We must create the programming that provides a full range of program service covering both majority and minority taste and we must make sure that our total audience knows of the full range of programming available to it," he said. This done, he continued, the problems of prestige and standing with the public and opinion-makers, the problem "of the 'image' of television will largely vanish." Cold Wind Rages • He said that while the winds of the quiz scandal raged, "all the fine words that tell of our medium's accomplishments, our phrases about public service and contributions to our communities — all is just a whisper in that wind." He said it is vain to argue that the quiz shows, even in their heyday, represented less than one percent of total tv programming or that the dishonest quiz show represented only a small fraction of these, or that the real culprits are a mere handful out of the scores of thousands of men and women "dedicated to the sound ideals and service of this fabulous medium." But all are caught up in the "holocaust," he said, no matter how innocent. "We share the guilt whether we will or not." Mr. Petersmeyer felt, however, that the long-range prospect is bright "simply because the American public has a sense of fair play and, I am convinced, a deep-rooted affection for our medium." After the initial shock, he said. Get the picture • You can build a strong station image by planning and executing an all-out promotion campaign, according to WITH Baltimore Manager R. C. (lake) Embry (1) and Arthur Schofield, assistant to the president, Peoples Broadcasting Co. the average viewer will recognize "the elementary truth that not all broadcasters are villains. He will recognize the great service the medium has rendered and its many fine accomplishments." Commercial Success First • Mr. Shakespeare said commercial success is a prerequisite to public service programming. "Only a financially sound station can do it," he pointed out. Effective public service cannot be done on a "shoestring," he said. The WCBS-TV manager said stations should budget as much for production of the public service show as for the purchase of a syndicated show of the same length. The five major weekly public service programs on WCBS-TV each have an average budget of $3,000 weekly. Evening exposure for public service shows "on some sort of a continuing basis" constitutes broadcasters' moral Trade up trade ads • Broadcasters should practice what they preach and do more advertising. Sponsors might follow the example, suggest R. David Kimble, Grey Adv., New York, and Henry J. Kaufman, head of his own Washington agency. obligation to their audiences today, he said. Upgrading Tv Awards • Mr. Shakespeare also observed that stature for awards in television is lacking and he urged promotion managers to consider the value of the awards more carefully before submitting their entries. He said too many awards today are mere selfserving promotion devices of those wishing "to ride the television train." With video tape now generally available to permit local programs to be screened and judged, a new award structure akin to the newspaper industry's Pulitzer Prize or movie's Oscar Awards is needed, he said. War of labels underway Max Buck, manager of WRCA-TV New York, warned broadcasters to awaken and listen to the guns of the marketing war now being waged in the retail merchandising field, especially foods. He said the nationally advertised brands in some situations are being outsold by the private label brands of the big supermarket chains. "They can set advertising back 25 years if they win the war," he warned. Mr. Buck was participating in Monday's panel on "How to Manage the Merchandising Maelstrom." Broadcasters must hire or learn to be retail specialists, he indicated. "Get on your feet and get into a supermarket this week," he said. "Get the 'whys' as well as the 'whats'," he urged. Supermarket stores' "selling muscles" are becoming more powerful than ever, he said, and these "showmen of retailing" have cut distribution costs from 30^ to 17^ per dollar gross. "They've struck terror in the hearts of the department store moguls," he said. Short Change • Sharing the panel with Mr. Buck, Emil Mogul, president of Mogul, Williams & Saylor, New York agency which is heavy in radiotv, said station managements are "shortchanging" their merchandising departments with "insufficient budgets, inept personnel and less than token cooperation." He urged broadcasters to study the huge merchandising departments of newspapers and magazines to learn how to give real sales impetus to the products advertised on the air. Stations must learn to think in terms of the "total marketing concept," Mr. Mogul said, and to provide clients with a strong merchandising program which is in harmony with this concept. His three-point platform for easing the merchandising problem: Stations should (1) set aside a merchandising budget based on a fixed percentage of total volume; (2) separate the merchandising department from the functions of the station promotion manager, and (3) give the merchandising manager BROADCASTING, November 9, 1959 77