TeleVISIONS (Autumn 1977)

6 Black broadcasters: NAB/NABOB (National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters) held its broadcast management seminar at the NAB in Washington, D.C. Sept. 21-22. Included on the agenda were advertising, ratings, White House Conferences on Communications and the FCC. Advertising and ratings generated the most controversial exchange because black broadcasters recognized that Arbitron does not conduct a complete census of their audiences which deprives them of revenue. The FCC announced they would let a contract for a study of minority ownership in broadcasting. The study is a result of the minority ownership conference held at the FCC in April. D.C. media battle: D.C. community activist groups are still dogging the heels of millionaire Joseph L. Albritton, owner of the Washington Star and WJLA-TV. Adams-Morgan Organization, National Capitol Area Chapters of NOW, D.C. Media Task Force, and the National Black Media Coalition challenged Albritton’s original acquisition of then-WMALTV several years ago. Forced to divest himself of one of his D.C. media properties, yet wanting to make the best deal possible, Albritton in 1975 agreed to the groups’ demands. Chief among them was that he seek local minority Owners for WJLA. Instead, he sold the station for $98 million—the largest sale in TV history—to Combined Communications of Phoenix, AZ. In response, the community groups filed a petition with the FCC in August to deny the transfer, charging that Albritton failed to live up to the agreement, and that he is “trafficking” in stations. In September, Washington Star Communications, Inc., Albritton’s organization, made its reply before the FCC. The matter now awaits final disposition. Satellite Art: The Center for New Art Activities, (93 Grand Street, N.Y.C. 10013) presented a two-way satellite transmission between New York City and San Francisco Bay. It was in fixed orbit at 116 degrees longitude west and was comprised of Digital/voice/video elements. The project by Keith Sonnier, Liza Bear and others took place on Sept. 10 and 11 was directly relayed to Manhattan Cable TV Public Access Channel D through the Live Injection Point of the Franklin Street Arts Center from San Francisco Cable 22 and 24 through Archdiocese of San Francisco. Bio-arts: The Bio-Arts Laboratory is an interdisciplinary project examining the development of sensory communication beyond the normal audio-visual capacity including infrared image conversion, healing processes, thermal energy transfer between living systems. The group is producing a series of videotapes and live performances that present their findings, as well as offer professional services. Contact Richard Lowenberg, 3101 Washington St., San Francisco, CA 94115. (415346-2466). Southern Baptist Convention, representing 35,000 churches and a membership of 13 million, has recently begun a campaign called ‘Help For Television Viewers.” The packet includes a series of pamphlets—“How Television Affects Us,” “What Churches Can Do,” “What Families Can Do,” “Resources for Study and Action,” and a sticker for your television set, immediate reaction cards to be sent to the networks. They also provide a survey form for evaluating television programs. The primary criteria in evaluating programs is to determine what is “positive programming” that is morally responsible, and “negative programming,” those programs that violate the basic principles of morality, encourage immorality or are offensive to morally sensitive people. Two examples of “positive programming” that they cite are The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie. Write: Christian Life Commission, Southern Baptist Commission, 460 James Robertson Parkway, Nashville, Tenn. 37219. The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN with 140 TV affiliates, and 120 radio affiliates has recently built an earth receiving station and signed a six-year agreement for 24-hour domestic satellite services with RCA. CBN is also developing an_ international communications center which will teach radio and television broadcasting to students from Third World countries and Europe. PBS watchdogs: California Friends of Public Broadcasting (PO Box 36144, Los Angeles, CA 90036) joins the Committee to Save KQED in trying to focus public attention on the operations of the state’s two largest public TV stations. Principle activity has been to support state Dill bringing public broadcasting into the sunshine law governing other state supported agencies. TV sound stinks, said Linda Ronstadt at one time. the FCC may change Linda’s tune with its inquiry into stereo TV. Begun this summer, the commission wants to determine whether the public and the broadcasters will spring for it, cash-wise. A feasible system for transmitting stereo is another problem. But WCVB-TV in Boston has been testing stereo TV the past year, so some data will be coming in. Foreign language translation, and augmented audio for the blind are two additional benefits. National Gay Task Force petitioned the FCC to include gay organizations in its list of community groups stations must include in ascertainment process. Currently 19 groups are required, including women’s, minority and ethnic, business, labor, and religious. 143 male and female homosexual groups from 49 states and D.C. joined NGTF in filing petition in August. Portapak Associates is a new group designed to bring together individuals concerned with producing and releasing Ye" video. Contact Dorinda Hoarty, 30 Cornelia St., Suite 18, NYC 10014. (212) 675-2511. Portable Channel is accepting applications for 36 month unpaid apprenticeships in 2” portable video. Details: David Rose, Portable Channel, 8 Prince St., Rochester, NY 14607. Global Village: Beginning Oct. 15, Global Village will offer free Friday night weekly workshops at 7 p.m. in their NY loft featuring visiting artists and others who have materials to share with the public. Hands-on video lessons will also be featured. Global will also begin twice monthly screenings of prominent documentaries beginning in Oct. Applications for guest artists grants are now being accepted, made possible by NY State Council support. (454 Broome St., NY 10013. 212—966-7526) Talent Needed: Noumenon Visual and Performing Artists are looking for talent for their multimedia public presentations. Background with children is necessary. Send one page resume, slides, videos, etc. to The Artery 181 Main St. Danbury, Connecticut. 06810 w/S.A.S.E. or signify if Noumenon can keep your materials on file. PHOTO:MARTHA STUART COMMUNICATIONS Martha Stuart (back of head to camera, right) communicates with a group of household technicians in the studio. SOFTWARE Gay Festival, New Tapes, All About TV This Software column lists new tapes in production or distribution, details of program activities, festivals and exhibits, tapes sought and offered. Software items are not reviews, and TELEVISIONS is not endorsing any program listed here. Instead, we offer the space for information exchange about work in the field. If you wish to inform our readers, our next deadline is Nov. 15. Gay video festival: An audience of 250 viewed some 20 videotapes during the first San Francisco Gay Video Festival held for three days in June. Widely varied in style and subject matter, the tapes were made by both gay men and lesbians. Organizer N.A. Diamon was surprised that ‘most of the entries, even when presenting gay subject matter, were done for a non-gay audience.” The majority of tapes entered were from the West Coast, although a large group from Europe were unable to be shown because sponsors didn’t have European standard equipment. A panel of local gay videomakers selected the 20 from a total of 30 tapes submitted. Six of the tapes have been packaged into two 90-minute programs which are now available for showing around the country. Sponsors are already planning a second festival, hopefully with more entries. For details or info about the traveling exhibit, write: San Francisco Gay Video Festival, The Antares Foundation, 631 Castro St, SF CA 94114. (415) 8616679. Abortion tapes: “Video Informed Consent-First Trimester Abortion” is a videotape being distributed by McGraw-Hill. The tape is used to explain the benefits and risks involved in abortion prior to the actual surgical procedure. A booklet accompanies the tape that reviews the material in the tape—using monitor shots for recall. The tape can be previewed. Write: McGraw-Hill, Institute for Continuing Patient Education, 4530 West 77th Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55435. Preterm Institute, Newton, Mass. has produced a series of six videotapes to train abortion counselors. The tapes use six individual abortion counseling interviews followed by discussion and analysis. The tapes are available through: Blue Hill Educational Systems, 52 South Main Street, Spring Valley, N.Y. 10977. Preview material costs $35.00 “Television as if people mattered” is how Martha Stuart describes her series, Are You Listening?, 31 videotapes she has produced over the last seven years with millions she has raised, despite her fierce independence and commitment to causes. Faces you see are most often those of the underrepresented on TV, like the household workers pictured above. Other groups with something in common —cops, gangs, women in management, villagers, etc.—spend hours in a studio with Stuart, a trained psychologist, and reveal their own extraordinary realities. The final edits are seamless and broadcast quality. Nonetheless, PBS has declined to run the series, although two shows did run in 1975. While dealing with PBS, Stuart launched a one-person attact on the rule that limits independents from gaining direct access to the network. In June, after months of meetings, the PBS Board endorsed a slight policy change, placing the authority of deciding whether an indy can bypass stations in the hands of PBs staffers. With it came a statement about the need to develop program capability within stations, but allowing that “the public television system seeks to attract and encourage the development of new talent and a diversity of programming ideas.” No test of the policy has yet been made. Stuart’s work is available directly from her at 66 Bank St., NYC. WNETs TV Lab: In addition to any documentaries which are produced by the TV Lab as a result of the new Ford/ NEA Fund, several projects are currently underway or completed: Dr. Behrhorst in Guatemala by Skip Blumberg, a portrait of a doctor who has devoted his life to working with the Cakchikel Indians of Guatemala; Pamplona in July by Esti and Bill Marpet about a Brooklyn man who returns to Spain for the 12th year to “run with the bulls”; Rite of Passage by Theresa Mack and Mario lano, about several children’s lives as they pass from elementary school to junior high; HDM by Stefan Moore and Claude Beller, about Riker’s Island and the criminal justice system. Downtown Community TV’s documentary called Health Care: Your Money or Your Life is an hour scheduled on PBS for Nov. 22. VTR, the omnibus anthology of video work, will run as six new “mini” specials on PBS Monday nights starting in October. The programs include new work by Ed Emshwiller (Sur Faces), Arthur Ginsberg (the staging of Allen Ginsburg’s Kaddish), video/film artist/animator Eli Noyes; and a half-hour William Wegman program.