Broadcasting (Apr - June 1960)

separate unit. It’s almost a police organization, he said. Mr. Ford hastened to tell him the unit would be part of the FCC’s broadcast bureau. Sen. Allott was concerned with obscenity and profanity, which the FCC always has watched closely. He thought what’s proper to one viewer or listener may be “obscene” to another. Mr. Ford said the FCC could go only so far here because of prohibitions against censorship. What the FCC wants, he said, is to know “what’s going on before the rules and statutes get completely out of hand.” The FCC, he told Sen. Magnuson, has absolutely no plans to study broadcast ratings. The senator then threw another bombshell: "We’ve got some stuff (on ratings) we might want to turn over to you,” he said. The committee staff afterward declined to explain just what. Sen. Magnuson then moved on to that terror of all agencies seeking funds: regulatory lag (also see story page 51). In the Hole ■ Commissioner Rosel taste,” including 98 in December protesting language used on several major programs. In the entire month of November 1959, after Charles Van Doren made his sensational confession of quiz rigging, the whole U.S. population (more than 175 million) produced a total of 79 complaints against quiz H. Hyde told the senators the FCC is getting “farther in the hole all the time.” The trouble, he said, is the McFarland Act of 1952, which went “beyond the requirements” of the Administrative Procedures Act. The FCC is prohibited from getting opinions and advice from staff members — and is slowed down by lengthy pre-hearing procedures. It takes longer to put a case in hearing today than it took the old Federal Radio Commission to establish the service, he said. The next day, Chairman Ford returned and furnished the Senate group with a breakdown of complaints against stations during October, November and December 1959. Ready and primed was Sen. A.S. Mike Monroney (D-Okla.), who doesn’t like most of the programming on the air these days. The Oklahoman went right into his pet peeve. Mr. Ford said the FCC can’t touch programming. The only thing it can do, he said, is to compare promises with performances, which the investigating unit is designed to do. shows. Mr. Ford’s figures also revealed that some people complain to the FCC against good programming. Thirtyseven wrote to protest that regular programs were dislodged by special coverage of the Khrushchev visit to the U.S. and the CBS-TV special, “The Population Explosion.” COMPLAINTS Oct. 1-31, '59 Nov. !■ ■30, '59 Dec. 1-37 , '59 PROGRAMMING: AM-FM TV AM-FM TV AM-FM TV Alleged bad taste 15 20 20 54 37 98“' Alleged indecent and obscene 2 3 3 5 3 5 Give-aways 2 424A 13 794E 145C 26“ Poor quality 637A 637A 12 19 15 26 Religious: Opposes faith healers 0 0 1 2 3 4 Opposes specific religious program 0 0 1 3 5 4 Wants more religious programs 1 1 2 2 5 2 Repeat shows 0 1 1 5 0 2 Sports: Opposes blackout in certain areas 0 0 0 0 0 4 Wrestling — boxi ng 0 6 0 12 0 4 Too much crime and horror 76"A 84,IA 26r,1! 555B 30oc 56"c MISCELLANEOUS: 5 5 4 9 8 8 TOTALS 255 309 281 557 384 550 1A Ariene Francis' reference to "Crack-pots" for those who disagree with her position on fluoridation. 2A Refers to irresponsible and deceitful qualities displayed in connection with investigations of quiz shows, payola, etc. 3A Directed to WADO's (formerly WOV) discontinuing Italian program. *A Against "rigged" quiz shows. r,A Petition signed by 52 students requesting substitution of scientific and educational programs for present poor-quality type. ,iA Includes petition with 64 signatures. 11! Deodorants, excretory aids, undergarments, etc. Refers to irresponsible and deceitful qualities displayed in connection with investigations of quiz shows, payola, etc. "• Refers to substitution of Khrushchev's visit to U.S. for regularly scheduled programs and/or "Population Explosion." Against "rigged" quiz shows. •-K Westerns and Murders cited. Jack LeGoff of WJBK-TV. 1C Deodorants, excretory aids, undergarments, etc. -r Includes 13 complaints re: "City of Hate" (KTLA-TV). ■' Refers to irresponsible and deceitful qualities displayed in connection with investigations of quiz shows, payola, etc. 11 Critical of language used on Playhouse 90 (CBS), Startime (NBC) — "My Three Angels"— the Bob Hope and Jack Paar Shows, etc. •■■r Against "rigged" quiz shows. “r Westerns and Murders cited. 71 Drew Pearson & Kenneth Banghart. BROADCASTING, May 30, 1960 Enough Rope ■ If stations file their promises of certain programming, he said, “we wouldn’t be telling them what to do. They’d be telling us.” Then if the FCC found the station hadn’t followed its own standard, it could act. Sen. Monroney questioned the effectiveness of the composite week reports FCC requires of licensees, drawing from Mr. Ford the admission they don’t affect prime time, but his investigation unit proposal, Mr. Ford said, is planned to change that. Sen. Monroney commented that up to now the FCC has done nothing but “rubber stamp” the station reports, without knowing if they complied 5%, 10% or 100% with promises. Commissioner Robert E. Lee described the FCC’s plans for the uhf study and said he thought the agency could get by on the $2 million the House approved, rather than the $2.25 million originally requested, because it can “rent one transmitter.” Tests in the Fresno Valley in California indicated uhf will travel as far as vhf in flat terrain, he said, and the FCC wants to try the “worst place” in the country — New York City — to make the test thorough. Sen. Magnuson said he trusted the broadcast industry will be kept informed of the two-year FCC test. Mr. Lee said they would be and the FCC will welcome comments from the industry. ABCs Treyz urges industry self-help The new FCC watchdog unit cannot directly regulate the quality of broadcasting, but broadcasters can help each other, Oliver Treyz, president of ABCTV, told the New York chapter, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, at the organization’s final luncheon Thursday (May 26) in this season’s network series. The speaker referred to the FCC’s establishment of a Complaints & Compliance Div. “without commenting on the true need for such monitoring or proctoring to protect those of us whom Chairman Ford of the FCC calls the responsible broadcasters from what he calls the fly-by-nights who, he believes, have crept in.” While the government cannot enforce creative excellence, broadcasters can give each other professional encouragement in their individual efforts, Mr. Treyz said. He set an example by praising an NBC-TV show, the May 22 Dinah Shore Chevy Show (Sun., 9-10 p.m.), which featured guest star, Art Carney. Newspaper critics, he said, are taking “to the hustings to lecture, for pay, on what they claim are the evils of the tv industry which, in their view, is run by 55