Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1961)

GOVERNMENT Quit taking that beating lying down THAT'S THE UNEXPECTED ADVICE FRED FORD GIVES BROADCASTERS Broadcasting should turn its great powers on its many tormentors, "not vindicatively, but in vindication," FCC Commissioner Frederick W. Ford told the Southern California Broadcasters Assn. last week in a strong defense of free enterprise and radio and tv. For many years. Commissioner Ford said, the radio-tv industry has been the "whipping boy" for other forms of mass media. "These other media assign dozens of writers, some of whom are illequipped for the assignment, to ferret out the ills of broadcasting," he said. "I suppose that no media of mass communication . . . has been so consistently attacked by other mass media [as has] broadcasting under the guise of improving their competitor." No other form of communication has attained the reputation with the public for accuracy and integrity — even with all its faults — that broadcasting has attained, Commissioner Ford said. "I am at a loss to understand, however, why the power of broadcasting has not been judiciously turned on its tormentors ... It seems that writers are at liberty to call broadcasting and broadcasters any names they choose, but if one little performer strikes back there is a yell of 'foul'. I see no reason why the power of broadcasting should not be used properly to defend itself. . . ." Speaking to a SCBA seminar on community leadership at the U. of Southern California Friday (Dec. 1), Commissioner Ford urged broadcasters to possess and cultivate a knowledge of their communities. Broadcasters must have enthusiasm, zeal and loyalty to their localities, he said, along with initiative, imagination, thoroughness and force in advocating improvement. They must have moderation and tolerance, ability, industry and courage. Such broadcasters earn the respect of their community and the FCC through the excellence of their judgment, firmness, kindness and most of all fairness, the former commission chairman said. "These are qualities I urge you to develop in your program operations. These are the qualities which will make your station a symbol of leadership in your community," he said. Community Leadership ■ Commissioner Ford said that there is no other mass media which can compete with the broadcaster in community leadership "if you aggressively seek that leadership. This is true because no other media can simultaneously concentrate the attention of so high a percentage of the population of your community on any given issue." He urged broadcasters to editorialize, including the expressing of an opinion on political matters. In citing how a Commissioner Ford station should meet the needs of its community, Commissioner Ford quoted at length from the FCC's 1960 program policy statement (Broadcasting, July 31, 1960). "The public should care what opinions your stations hold on public issues . . . and if they don't care you should seek to make them care," he said. "This country can no longer afford to have a sterile broadcasting industry from the point of view of community thought, action and controversy. You have been given a valuable government resource to serve all of the interests of WJRT asks dismissal WJRT (TV) Flint, Mich., last week asked the FCC to dismiss or deny an application by WKNX-TV Saginaw, Mich., a uhf station, for WJRT's ch. 12. WJRT said the two cities are located so near to each other that Lake Huron would be violating FCC overlap and duopoly rules. WKNX-TV also has applied for ch. 11 Alpena, Mich., and, according to WJRT, said it would not press its bid for ch. 12 Flint if it gets ch. 11. This constitutes a "contingent application" which is against commission rules, WJRT said. your community and this includes political, social and economic interests as well as entertainment." Answering the critics of broadcasting who recommend sweeping government intervention, Commissioner Ford made these points: ■ Broadcasting should not be additionally taxed by a requirement that politicians be given free time with stations paying electricity, line costs and other incidental expenses. The "enterprising spirit" of the industry in granting free time should not be destroyed by "compulsion." "I do not consider, therefore, this suggestion as being one that should be considered further." ■ A citizens' advisory board or a programming expert to advise the commission could not make any worthwhile contribution not now available to the FCC. It would merely confuse an already highly complex regulatory situation. ■ It would not be a good idea to establish a "public network" supported by the government "so that people can see and hear what is not popular but what is good. Good from whose point of view — the government's or the proponents of the idea?" ■ There is a common disability to those suggestions which would have the FCC allocate certain portions of the day for cultural and educational programs, public issues and local live shows — "namely, a presumption that pre-determination in Washington . . . will produce better programming and protect the public taste." Advocates of such laws assume that all communities needs and wants are the same. ■ There is no reason to attempt to impose the magazine concept of advertising on broadcasting. If the business concept of those engaged in broadcasting dictates that the magazine concept would be the best method of presenting advertising messages and serving the public interest, then their judgment should prevail and not that of the government. "In reviewing these suggestions which have been seriously made I have concluded that they are worthless and could work great harm to our system of broadcasting and its opportunity to mature fully in community leadership and as a thought-provoking media," Commissioner Ford said. "In fact, some of these suggestions pose a real threat, if taken as seriously as they were intended, to the freedom of this media and the public it serves." 48 BROADCASTING, December 4, 1961