NAEB Newsletter (May 1958)

mature and literate.’ It is to the thoughtful saver of leisure time—or perhaps just simply the thoughtful person—that WNYC and WNYC-FM appeal most. It is at 830 kc on the conventional radio set and 93.9 mg. on your FM dial that the best in literature, music, public affairs discussions and radio drama is most con¬ sistently available. It is because thoughtful New Yorkers are ‘investing in the best’ use of their leisure time that we report happily a welcome increase in listeners and supporters.” ► A proposal involving the use of instructional TV for elementary and high schools of San Francisco was recently made to more than 400 school districts by the community ETV station, KQED. The project envisions an instructional service of 15 hours of programming a week, for a total cost of about $165,000 for the school year to be shared by the school districts on the basis of total student enroll¬ ment. The proposal was made possible by the enactment of permissive legislation, passed by the last regular session of the state legislature, allowing school dis¬ tricts to contract with KQED for instructional use of television. PROGRAMS y This month WGBH-FM started a new program series, “The Creative Mind,” which explores the creative process as it pertains to American artists and scientists in the twentieth century. The weekly series features an exceptional line-up of creative personalities, such as theologists Louis Finkelstein, Reinhold Niebuhr and Milton Nahm who appeared on the first program. Future guests will in¬ clude architect Frank Lloyd Wright, choreographer Agnes deMille, theoretical scientist Harlow Shapley and composer Aaron Copland. The, series was produced by WGBH-FM under a grant from the ETRC and will be distributed by the NAEB. y Mrs. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt is featured in the new “Heritage” series, produced by WQED, Pitts¬ burg, and distributed last month by the ETRC. In this weekly series of four TV programs, Mrs. Roose¬ velt is joined by Henry Morgenthau III and Dr. Clarence Cramer, dean of Adelbert College. Each guest on “Heritage” talks informally of his life, work and philosophy, either appearing with a guest or alone. Mrs. Roosevelt discusses her lonely childhood, her first meeting with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and her work with the UN after his death, concluding with her views on the world today and her hopes for the future. “Heritage” was a Peabody award-winner for “im¬ peccable taste and integrity” in television education. It was cited for having “opened the eyes of American adults and students to the richness of our educational life.” ► More than 100 man-hours go into the weekly pro¬ duction of a 15-minute Sunday evening news program telecast by WTTV from the studios of Indiana Uni¬ versity’s radio and television service. The program, an all-student production under faculty supervision, serves a double purpose in covering campus, state and national news as well as training future radio-TV news men and women. Preparation for the Sunday show starts the pre¬ ceding Monday with a conference to select campus subjects for movies. During the week, student cameramen shoot film and live shots, edit and write the script before the Sunday presentation. y A four week introductory course in basic astron¬ omy was started April 21 on WPIX, New York. “A Glimpse Into Space,” the first astronomy offered to New York TV audiences, will be seen as part of the series, “META Presents.” The telecourse with its accompanying syllabus provides the layman with an understanding of the basic laws governing astronomy and brings him up to date on the principles of our own space age and its machines. James S. Pickering, assistant astronomer at the American Museum-Hayden Planetarium de¬ livers the course each week, using visuals to study the solar system and the possibilities of life elsewhere in the universe. ► A special program entitled “Air Pollution” was presented last month by the Chicago Technical Societies Council on WTTW, Chicago. The telecast consisted of discussion and demonstration of air pollution problems in major cities, with special ref¬ erence given to Chicago’s proposed air pollution or¬ dinance. PERSONNEL y Dr. H. K. Newburn, president of the ETRC since 1953, announced last month that he will leave this position in September. This decision corresponds with his expressed intent to return to university ad¬ ministration after a five-year period with the Center. Before becoming the first full-time head of the new organization, Dr. Newburn was president of the Uni¬ versity of Oregon for eight years, and before that was dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the State Uni¬ versity of Iowa. MAY, 1958 11