NAEB Newsletter (June 1958)

What does this mean? It means that here are close to 1500 NAEB member representatives who will never be quite the same. While each of us has had his respective nose to the grindstone, a new profession has been born. The management of television and radio stations has begun to attract distinguished edu¬ cators, college and university presidents, distinguished public-spirited industralists. The number of people in the movement who have PhD’s, Master’s degrees and long lists of distinctions to their credit, is multi¬ plying. Our some 135 active member stations alone have on their staffs between three and five thousand edu¬ cational broadcasters who have chosen this as a career. Some 94 associate members account for an ad¬ ditional 1000 or more. Some have staffs of only three or four—with many student trainees and student di¬ rectors. Others, even associates, have staffs of close to 100. Several scores of aspiring educators and former commercial broadcasters have been helped to find positions in this new “movement” by the NAEB placement service or at NAEB conventions or regional conferences. I find this exciting. For the NAEB I find it most satisfying. To contribute to the birth of a profession —dedicated to making newer, better and nobler uses of our electronic media—is a proud experience. New types of research are being developed—measuring the impact of various kinds of programs on children and adults in a way commercial research has never done. New and higher types of talent and programs are being developed, some of which we each year proudly see transferred to the commercial media— we hope and believe with many of their ideals and am¬ bitions intact. New production, lighting, engineering, writing and teaching techniques are being developed, which contribute to the national and international growth of higher and better standards. Slow as it is, progress is ours. I hope you share with me the sense of pride I have in this new service for America. This is part of what the NAEB believes in and stands for. NETWORK NEWS —Bob Underwood I was thankful for the opportunity to see and talk with some network people at the recent IERT meet¬ ing in Columbus. I sometimes wonder if the common interests and problems of network members don’t merit a special “clinic” or discussion group session at the NAEB Convention each fall. The IERT meeting presents little opportunity for such a meeting, except on a most informal basis. It seems reasonable to me that a network of some 80 stations should have at least one annual meeting to bring network and' station personnel together. Perhaps something along this line can be arranged for the October NAEB Conven¬ tion if the demand from network members is strong enough. At the recent IERT meeting the Radio Network School Committee met and selected a new in-school offering which will be distributed beginning in Sep¬ tember. This new offering is for the 1959-60 school year, and, frankly, I believe the offering is a pretty good one. All members of the committee deserve to take a bow for hard work well done. There, was an unusually large number of in-school submissions this year. This was interpreted as an en¬ couraging sign of increased awareness of this import¬ ant field, and I certainly hope such is the case. On be¬ half of the committee and myself, “Thank You” to all those who submitted' programs. Your interest is ap¬ preciated, and we hope to receive submissions from you again next year. Another matter of import is the network’s distribution of Dr. Albert Schweitzer’s latest state¬ ments on the general topic of “Peace or Atomic War.” To our knowledge, we are the only network in this country to distribute these statements, and we wish to thank WSUI for preparing and making available this program. The network will continue its service of providing outstanding special programs like this to its members. PUBLICITY AND PUBLIC RELATIONS —William Bender, Jr. WUOM, University of Michigan One of the more difficult (and more successful) pub¬ licity campaigns for an educational series is that con¬ ducted by N. W. Ayer and Son, Inc. for the Bell Sys¬ tem Science Series. It is a series in name only. The random appear¬ ance of the telecasts prohibit the usual “audience build-up” you would expect with a regular weekly program. Only four programs, “Our Mr. Sun,” “Hemo the Magnificent,” “The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays,” and “The Unchained Goddess,” have been telecast to date, plus re-runs of the first two. Donald C. Thompson, supervisor of the public relations department at Ayers, has sketched for us some of the many activities they conduct to draw an audience for each of these random telecasts: “In publicizing each telecast, the Bell Companies direct their information programs through various media to reach: 1) the general public, 2) customers, 4 NEWSLETTER