Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1961)

the $7.50 installation fee would come to manufacturer's cost for the decoders — $125. But the subscriber can discontinue service on a month's notice and besides, the manufacturer's cost would not necessarily be the retail price if decoders were sold. ■ The licensee's exercise of its responsibility will not be impaired under the RKO proposal. ■ RKO has supplied sufficient information on its proposed programming. The brief pointed out that the FCC cannot expect an applicant for an experimental venture to be as precise as a regular tv licensee. The FCC must consider future possibilities in such a new industry, it said. Eisenhower is against presidential tv debates Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower is opposed to presidential television debates. He made his position clear on CBS Reports telecast of "Eisenhower on the Presidency" last Thursday (Oct. 12) when he asserted: "Well, answering this in the general rather than any specific sense, I can't think of anything that's worse. Any man who is an incumbent has to stick to the facts. He is a responsible man — debating with someone, who if he chooses, can be irresponsible. . . . No, if I were giving one political piece of advice to my associates in government, my past associates, I would say, 'when you're in, never debate with an outer.' " CBS News correspondent Walter Cronkite, who served as reporter on the one-hour program (10-11 p.m.) asked: "Suppose Mr. Kennedy takes that advice?" Mr. Eisenhower replied: "He probably will." Bureau asks revocation of WITT's license Wireline Radio Inc., licensee of WITT Lewisburg, Pa., does not possess the experience or capability to be a broadcast licensee, the FCC's Broadcast Bureau said last week. The bureau recommended that the station's license not be renewed in proposed findings to Hearing Examiner Asher Ende. WITT countered that the record demonstrates "mitigating factors that negate any willful, deliberate or callous action" and asked that its license be renewed for the full three-year period. A hearing on Wireline's renewal application was held last summer on technical violations and to determine if control of the station had been trans fered with authorization (Broadcasting, Aug. 7). WITT, which went on the air in 1957, is owned by local citizens without prior broadcast experience. The bureau charged that since 1958, the directors of Wireline" have devoted most, if not all, of their energies toward finding someone who would purchase their unprofitable venture." Specifically, the commission counsel said that two unauthorized transfers of WITT had occurred: (1) to Robert L. Wilson, owner of WKVA Lewistown, Pa., in 1959-60, and (2) in June 1961 to the present time to employes Joseph Pelletier and Richard Fenstermacher. The technical violations, the bureau found, were brought on by an insolvent financial position, rather than willful intent, but are of such magnitude to prohibit renewal. WITT countered that the proposed sale and management arrangement with Mr. Wilson was "openly and freely set forth" to the commission and that the licensee retained a "very substantial voice" in the station's operation under Wilson management. Mr. Wilson had contracted to purchase WITT in December 1959 with an agreement to manage and put money into the station pending FCC approval. THE MEDIA NAB's hopeful view of Washington ROADSHOW TOLD MINOW NOT ANTAGONISTIC TO BROADCASTING The regulatory conflicts of broadcasters and the FCC were road-showed last week as NAB held the first two of its eight fall conferences in Dallas and St. Louis. Several hundred station delegates were given first-hand accounts of the industry's troubles as NAB took a hopeful view of what's been happening lately in Washington. President LeRoy Collins made his first major industry appearance since the May convention of NAB. He delivered a formal speech at each meeting and took part in question-answer sessions. At the opener in Dallas Oct. 9 Gov. Collins flatly stated that FCC Chairman Newton Minow is not antagonistic to the broadcasting industry but is the victim of trade press emphasis of the critical parts of his speeches. The chairman wants to see better programming, Gov. Collins said, but has "overstated his case." The NAB conference series resumes Oct. 18 at Salt Lake City and the first half of the eight-meeting series will wind up Oct. 20 at San Francisco. Several broadcasters at the Dallas meeting were critical of Gov. Collins' administration, including his stands on censorship and Chairman Minow's policies, but the association's head said he welcomed criticism and had "a thick skin." The Trade Press ■ The topic receiving most attention in Gov. Collins remarks at the question-answer session in Dallas was the purported "screaming" by the trade press about the FCC along with what he described a dozen times as misleading reports of speeches. Time after time he denounced business journalism for the way it dealt with regulatory problems and comments. He minimized the importance of Chairman Minow's speeches, saying he was more concerned about his actions than his words. The fast-moving agendas, based on a single day of conference programming, included morning reviews of the activities of NAB departments in the fields of lobbying, public relations, station services, codes, accounting, engineering and station personnel problems. Final action at Dallas was adoption of a resolution commending Gov. Col lins and his administration. It was introduced by W. D. Rogers, KDUBAM-TV Lubbock, Tex., an NAB tv director and member of the original committee that selected him for the NAB's top post. Fate ■ "We should be thankful we could attract a man like LeRoy Collins," Mr. Rogers said. "Believe me it was fate. It was fate that gave us Judge Justin Miller as leader when freedom of speech was at stake. It was fate that gave us Harold Fellows at a time when radio and television were pulling in opposite directions and he brought us together. And now fate has given us LeRoy Collins at a time government intervention is knocking on our door. In the past we have complained about NAB's relations with the FCC and Congress." George Hatch, KALL Salt Lake City, president of the NAB Radio Board, put the resolution to a vote as presiding officer. It was passed unanimously. Gov. Collins and Vincent T. Wasilewski, executive vice president, reviewed the association's activities on the New Frontier. The president said he 62 BROADCASTING, October 16, 1961