Broadcasting (Apr - June 1960)

ROADBLOCK FOR LEE, KINTNER Renominations delayed with eye to bill that would leave choices for new administration The renominations of Robert E. Lee to the FCC and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Earl W. Kintner were sacrificed on the altar of politics last week when the Senate Commerce Committee decided to withhold a vote on them. Action on the Lee nomination has been withheld pending the outcome of a Senate-approved bill being considered in the House, Chairman Warren G. Magnuson (D-Wash.) said. The bill (S 1965) approved by the Senate nearly a year ago (July 29, 1959) would continue in office FCC or Federal Power Commission members whose terms have expired until their successors are “appointed and qualified.” The House Commerce Committee’s Communications & Power Subcommittee, headed by Rep. Oren Harris (D-Ark.), has scheduled the measure for hearing June 7. A Republican spokesman said after the meeting the committee action means the White House is likely to be in no hurry now to nominate anyone to succeed to the FCC vacancy created by the resignation of John C. Doerfer March 14 and for which one successor nominee (Edward K. Mills) has disqualified himself. Prevents Vacancies ■ Senate Commerce Committee Chairman G. Magnuson said after Wednesday’s meeting the committee decided to defer action on Mr. Lee until the House can act on S 1965 because if enacted it would keep the regulatory agency vacancies filled through the congressional recess. If the House doesn’t approve S 1965, Sen. Magnuson said, the committee will face the problem presented by the Lee nomination “when we get to it.” Both the Lee term (7 years, starting July 1) and Kintner term (7 years, starting Sept. 26) this year will run over into a new administration, whether it’s Democratic or Republican, he said. The same “approximate” reasons apply to both deferments, he said, except that in the Kintner nomination there is a question of whether the committee should adopt a policy of confirming a person whose present term expires “long after the session.” Sen. Magnuson said there is nothing against either Mr. Lee or Mr. Kintner as persons. A GOP source said last week he still believes there will be a committee vote on Mr. Lee, possibly at a special meeting this Wednesday. He thinks Democrats are aiming chiefly at keep ing FPC member William R. Connole, an Independent whose term expires June 22, on the FPC till the 87th Congress next year, though the President has nominated Thomas A. Donegan to succeed him. (The committee heard Mr. Donegan Wednesday and will call him again later.) Ironically, he said, S 1965 passed the Senate last year at a time after FPC Chairman Jerome K. Kuykendall, a Republican, had been renominated to a new term (in 1958) but could not serve because of Senate delay on confirmation until after his old term expired. Now the bill would give temporary advantage to Democrats, he indicated, and may meet stronger GOP opposition in the House. Everybody on the committee thinks Mr. Lee is entitled to a vote, he said, even Sen. Magnuson. He noted the nominee to succeed Mr. Doerfer would be the “swing man,” not Mr. Lee. School seeks ch. 37 for non-broadcast use The U. of Illinois has asked the FCC to remove uhf ch. 37 (608-614 me) from the broadcast band and to reallocate the space for the use of radio astronomy. The university said that it is building a radio telescope, with the cooperation of the Office of Naval Research, designed for optimum performance at a center frequency of 611 me. The frequency was picked at a time when “ ... it was hoped and anticipated that the band . . . would be reserved for radio astronomy . . .” by the International Telecommunications Conference in Geneva last fall. However, the university noted that the U.S. did not support this proposal and that while such use “until required by other services” of 606-614 me is permitted in allocations Regions 1 and 3, it is not so reserved in Region 2 which includes this country. At the present time, there are no operating commercial tv stations on ch. 37 or outstanding construction permits, the university said in its petition for rulemaking. The only use being made of the requested space is by RCA. which operates an experimental station in Camden, N.J., on ch. 37, Illinois U. told the Commission. Principal use of the radio telescope, which will be the largest of its kind in the world, will be to obtain accurate positions, flux densities and information Ike jammed Russian jamming of President Eisenhower’s May 25 speech on the Paris Summit meeting was almost complete, according to Voice of America. The Voice tried to blanket the Soviet Union with shortwave broadcasts, transmitting the text in Russian. The first of seven transmissions in Russian was jam-free for the first 10 minutes but from then on the jamming was intense. The jamming also interfered with broadcasts in six other Russian tongues. English language versions of the Presidential broadcast were not badly jammed during delivery (pre-dawn in Russia). The White House had challenged Russia to admit the programming. about the spectra of sources outside the Milky Way Galaxy, the university said. Several other observatories have indicated a keen desire to make use of 608614 me if it is reserved for radio astronomy, the applicant told the commission. Since 1959 ■ Channel 37 has been the subject of reallocation study since January, 1959. At that time, Springfield Tv Broadcasting Corp., a licensee of WWOR-TV Worcester. WWLP-TV Springfield and WRLP-TV Greenfield, all Massachusetts, petitioned the commission for switch of the channel from Clymer, N.Y., to Syracuse, N.Y. ABCTV, commenting on that petition, stated that it did not oppose the proposed allocation, but submitted that it would serve no useful purpose (At Deadline, May 16). WHEN-TV Syracuse, in comments submitted to the FCC, reiterated the ABC view that a uhf station “cannot compete successfully in markets with two or more vhf stations.” (Syracuse already has two operating v’s.) However, W.R.G. Baker Radio & Tv Corp.. a group of Syracuse businessmen interested in applying for a third channel for that city, took the view that the need for a third channel is “well recognized” and that it could be satisfied by a uhf allocation. Illinois U. gained support in comments filed by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y.; U. of Florida, and Associated Universities Inc. All contend that the shift of ch. 37 to Syracuse for commercial use would be injurious to the science of astronomy and the commission should hold in abeyance proceedings involving the channel until the Illinois U. petition can be considered. 58 (GOVERNMENT) BROADCASTING, May 30, 1960