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CRITIC SAYS
"TELEVISION IS SIMPLY NOT READY”
"The day unquestionably will come when television's per¬ formance will more than match Its present promise, and then video can really blow its own horn. But that time Is not now. "
Thus Jack Gould, Radio Editor of the New York Times, last Sunday (May 26th) summed up the present status of television. Mr. Gould writes, in part:
"If television has had one major handicap, it is the fact that the video art has been subjected more to sensational ballyhoo than to dispassionate appraisal. Over the years, professional pro¬ phets have spread the gospel of its imminence, envisaging in nothing less than superlatives the coming hour when the whole world will be brought into the parlor. Unrestrained speculation and prediction as to television* s implications have been the accepted order, resulting generally in the unqualified oo nclusion that television is here and ready now to revolutionize the nation* s cultural and entertainment habits.
"In the best interests of television itself, the time would seem propitious to call a halt to this orgy of nonsense. The extravagant claims being made or suggested in many quarters are largely incapable of immediate fulfillment, as most Industry leaders concede privately, and their persistent repetition is not hastening but retarding the realization of video's tremendous potential. The sustained 'over-selling* of television has reached the point where it is obscuring many of the art's very real accomplishments and mak¬ ing only more difficult the ultimate popular acceptance of the medium. * * *
"From the standpoint of the broadcaster and 'viewer' alike, it is not fair to television to maintain that it has 'arrived*. It is a long way from that, it is to be hoped, if existing programming and reception standards are a valid yardstick. For, as it has been demonstrated up to now, be it in color or in black and white, tele¬ vision is only a suggestion of what it must be to Justify the appellation of a 'national service'.
"Programwise, it has hardly started. As a means of reporting sports contests and special events it indeed has proved immensely effective and a valuable new aid in entertainment and enlightenment. But in terms of original programming, night after night, there is no ground or reason for comparing it with other media..* * * *
"The expense, in short, may rival that of the film in¬ dustry, yet television can dissipate the value of its product in a single evening, while Hollywood allows years for a financial return on its wares. Added to this is the fact that the advertiser will have to be convinced that it is smart business to spend a great deal more for television than he does for radio, yet at the same time be satisfied for a number of years with a much smaller audience.
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