TeleVISIONS (Autumn 1976)

THE 526TH LINE Since the Carter election Washington is abuzz with rumors, including appointments to communications posts with activists like Everett Parker of the United Church of Christ as the head of the Office of Telecommunications Policy and former head of the Cable Television Information Center Bo Cutter as FCC Chairman (he’s on the transition team right now). Half a dozen activists had been sending position papers to Carter campaign. Consensus: Carter will support a re-write of the 1934 Communications Act. Look for a major suit against the network news operations by independents whose work has been excluded by “The Policy,” i.e., the practice of total exclusion of inde pendent productions in the news and public affairs field. A major proposal from the first regional meeting of the new National Federation of Local Cable Programmers (see p. 11) is to establish a Washington-based lobbyist for community video and cable interests. Complaining about philosophy and procedures at the National Endowment for the Humanities, more than a dozen large and small media producers have asked NEH program officer Tom Litzenburg for a meeting to iron out problems. Topics in a letter sent the week of Nov. 8 include grant review process, use of academic consultants, scheduling budgets and cash payments. Leaders in the group include Mike Ambrosino, producer of Nova and other PBS shows, Rich Hauser of WGBH. The producers spent a weekend in midOct. at the Stanton Project, Cambridge, working out their strategy. Corporation for Public Broadcasting President Henry Loomis, with prodding by activists at the Public Interest Satellite Association (PISA), has committed CPB and PBS to convene a meeting of representatives of potential non-profit users of its proposed satellite interconnection, and to participate in a study of the potential usefulness to various non-profit users of the nearly $50 million system (including radio). The meeting would be open to a wide variety of non-profit groups that might eventually wish to make use of public TV’s proposed satellite interconnection system. PISA tells TELEVISIONS that any group that wants an invitation should write directly to Loomis, CPB, 1111 16th St., NW, Washington, D.C. 2U036, and send them acopy at PISA, 55 W. 44th St., NY 10036. The meetin eile THE VISIONS Editor-Publisher NICK DEMARTINO Editors LARRY KIRKMAN REBECCA MOORE GAYLE GIBBONS Designer SKIP JOHNSTON Design Associate DENISE SHAY Copy Editor REBECCA MOORE Business Manager GAYLE GIBBONS Contributing Editors VICTORIA COSTELLO (video) GAYLE GIBBONS (libraries) MAURICE JACOBSEN PATRICIA MOLELLA (arts) RAY POPKIN GLENN RALSTON THE TELEVISIONS NETWORK Board of Editorial Advisors TOM JOHNSON, New York (media) RALPH LEE SMITH, Washington (cable) DAVID ROSS, Long Beach (arts) HENRY GELLER, Washington (regulation) ROGER HICKEY, Washington (advertising) PHIL JACKLIN, San Jose (access) ALLAN FREDRICKSEN, Pennsylvania (tecnie) JOSEPH NOCERINO, Washington (health) KAS KALBA, Cambridge (media) HARRY SKORNIA, Miami (education) TONY SCHWARTZ, New York (Sound) MARVIN SEGILMAN, Los Angeles (advertising) RON SUTTON, Washington (education) PETER HARATONIK, New York (education) HERBERT SCHILLER, San Diego (policy) TRACY WESTEN, Los Angeles (law) WILLIAM WRIGHT, Palo Alto (policy) EMMA COHN, New York (libraries) NELSON PRICE, New York (religion) ANDREW HOROWITZ, New York (satellites) CALIFORNIA: Robert Jacobson, Janice Cohen, David Talbott, Barbara Zheutlin (Los Angeles); Martha Freebairn-Smith (Mill Valley); Peter Kirby (Newhall); Marilyn Freund, Bill Hartmann (Oakland); Oscar Gandy (Palo Alto); Neil Goldstein ( munity Video Center (San Diego); Ant Farm, Tony Diamon, Bonnie En Wolfrom (San Francisco); Barry Verdi (San Jose); Charles Bensinger, Hali Paul (Santa Barbara); John Hunt, Joan Logue, Janice Yudell (Venice). COLORADO: Tom Cross (Boulder). CONNECTICUT: Maurice Jacobsen (Bridgeport). FLORIDA: Sherry Alexander, F.R. War dell (Miami), Ronald R. Young Ii (Plant City); Elliott C. Mitchell II] (Tallahassee). GEORGIA: Jack Frost, Steve Cheatham (Atlanta), ILLINOIS: Barry Fleig, Videopolis (Chicago). INDIANA: David Tanner (Fort Wayne). LOUISIANA: Jeanne Keller (New Orleans). MAINE: Robert Cowan (Augusta). MARYLAND: Lauralyn Bellamy (Baltimore). MASSACHUSETTS: Jeff Hudson, Rebecca Lawrence, Tava (Boston); Ben Achtenberg (Cambridge); Tom Nickel (Newton); Dave Bonner (Somerville). MINNESOTA: Steve Kulezycki, Gerardine Wurzburg (Minneapolis). NEW JERSEY: John Downey (Morris Plains); Barry Orton (New Brunswick): Barry Hantmann (Princeton). NEW YORK: Helaine Waldman (Albany); Sherry Miller (Binghamton); Tony Bannon (Buffalo); Walter Dale (Flushing); Skip Blumberg, Parry Teasdale (Lanesville); Carol Brown, Maxi Cohen, Darrell Delamaide, Dimitri Devyatkin, Terri and Dan Mack, Hollis Melton, Susan Milano, Allan Miller, John Reilly, Richard Robinson, John Trayna (NYC); Jean Viamynck, Thomas P. Proietti (Rochester); Richard Simmons (Syra cuse). PENNSYLVANIA: John Rosenbaum (Newton); Lois Brown (Phi CAROLINA: Charles Brown, Bill Robinson (Charleston). TENNESSE: Owen (Austin). WASHINGTON: Ann Focke, Eric Carlson (Seattle). (Burnaby). EUROPE: Maria Gloria Bioccocchi (Firenze, Italia). TELEVISIONS Magazine is a publication of the Washington Community Video Center, Inc., P.O. Box 21068, Washington, D.C. 20009. Phone: (202) 331-1566. All contributions of articles and photographs are welcome, though we cannot guarantee publication. Send Stamped, self-addressed envelope if return is desired. TELEVISIONS is composed by Unicorn Graphics, Silver Spring, Md. The opinions expressed herein represent those of the staff, except when articles are signed. This issue went to press Nov. 16, 1976. Deadline ladelphia). RHODE ISLAND: Robert Raymond (Kingston). SOUTH E: Richard Blaustein, Lynn Bennett (Johnson City), TEXAS: Brian WISCONSIN: Glenn Silber (Madison). CANADA: Fred Horstman for next issue: Jan. 15, 1977. Subscription rates: $10 for 10 issues (individuals) and $15 for 10 issues, institutions. Back issue price: Vol. 1, $25; Vol. 2, $5; Vol. 3, $6; Vol. 4, $1.50 for single issues. odependsuponFCC _—Y a aa cia patting Pasadena); San Diego Comgel, Tom Kent, Optic Nerve, Michael Sales, Suki Wilder, Manfred The tube scans only 525 lines. The extra scan line presents our Point Of View on the state of communication arts, business, and public action. approval of the massive CPB application, which would establish the TV industry's most sophisticated system of satellite groundstations (150 receive only and five regional receive-transmit station). The system would use the WESTAR satellite for transmission of radio and TV signals, but could accommodate many more channels of information. PISA held its first national conference of “experimenters” —public interest groups like the Farmworkers, community radio stations, community video groups, investigative reporters, and others—on Oct. 1-2. They discussed potential projects they might undertake on NASA’s ATS-6 satellite, recently returned from India. (See p. 5). 3-M has released a survey of 502 chief engineers of broadcast stations indicating that about 60% of all commercials are distributed on videotape. The figure represents a continuing trend in the industry. Of the commercials distributed by film, some 41% were later transferred to tape. A Boston-based radical foundation called the Haymarket Peoples Fund is exploring the possibilities of setting up ‘‘The Film Fund,” to help finance political films and videotapes. A January meeting in New be the ini SUMMER.1976 ACNO, The Advisory Council of National Organizations to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, has received resignation of the National Latino Media Coalition because of the group’s dissatisfaction with public broadcasting in areas of employment, policy-making, programming and ascertainment. TelePrompTer Cable Corporation has petitioned the New Jersey Public Utilities Commission for across-the-board-rate increases in South Jersey. For the first time in the state, the PUC flatly rejected the increase after a municipality battling the hike proved the cable company was acting improperly. While press attention was rightly given to the newly developing documentary funds (see pp. 6-7, PBS has frittered away all but an estimated $40,000 of a million bucks it received in May from the Ford Foundation to spend on public affairs programming of its choice. Its choice included live coverage of Queen Elizabeth at the White House, PBS convention and election coverage. Yet, when the net is asked whether it has money to buy documentaries, they drag out'the sackcloth and ashes. Stamped on a piece of our incoming mail: “Technology is the answer . . . But whatisthequestion?” ONE OF A KIND. “VT on TV’’ is the most comprehensive look at the development of small-format video tape (VT) on broadcast TV. Ideal for use by educators. Order more than 10 for the discount rate of $1 each. Or receive a free copy with a new subscription. Pass this ad on to a friend. The issue includes: interviews with TV professionals and independents; ‘‘Time Scan,” the history of small-format on broadcast; “TV's Ali-Electronic Future’; hardware reports; Videomakers as Workers—unions and organizing; new productions for broadcast; plus 14 depts. O)Send me rate). OBill me at $15 ($5 additional charge for billing costs). CJ Enter a subscription at $15 for my organization. copies (10 or more) @$1. Total: $ | ! want a free copy with my subscription: Ol enclose $10 for my personal subscription (special prepaid ces NAME ORGANIZATION ADDRESS een aaa