NAEB Newsletter (Apr 1958)

sion sets in the state’s public schools primarily used for viewing in-school Alabama ETV network tele- casts. In comparison to last year’s survey, a signifi¬ cant trend towards an increased addition of ETV to classroom teaching is noted, with the largest degree of in-school TV being used in high schools and the elementary grades than in junior high schools. The majority of schools have one TV set, reports the Commission, but eight schools are registered having five or more sets. In some rural areas where a school wants ETV in its course of study but are without a set, specific classes visit a neighboring home to follow TV lessons. In issuing the survey, Alabama ETV Commission Manager Raymond Hurlbert called attention to the speed of development and acceptance of the network. The system, which is barely three years old, has or¬ ganized its network of three stations and has extend¬ ed its in-school telecasts to a total of 25 hours per week. PROGRAMS ► Production has recently been completed by WSFU-FM, Tallahassee, on seven half-hour programs documenting the question: What are our prisons for? The new series, “Prison Document,” explores the country’s penitentiaries for current attitudes and practices in state penal institutions. The programs concern the historical development of prisons, the mechanics of day-to-day life in prison, and reforms made in the system in areas of rehabili¬ tation and discipline. The series was produced under an ETRC-NAEB grant and is distributed by NAEB. ► A series describing the growth and effect of na¬ tionalist spirit in Africa, Eastern Europe and the Orient features actual recordings of Nikolay Lenin, Indonesian President Sukarno and Ramon Magsay- say. Titled “One Nation Indivisible,” the 13-program series has been in production for a full year at the University of Michigan Broadcasting Service. Opening broadcasts were given last month on WUOM, Ann Arbor, and WFUM, Flint. The pro¬ grams utilize on-the-spot recordings from several foreign broadcasting services and dramatize sequences of events in the development of nationalism. The series will be distributed this month by the NAEB network. Programs were written by Edwin G. Burrows, assistant director of the U-M Broadcast¬ ing Service, and directed by William Stegath under ^ a grant-in-aid of the ETRC and NAEB. ^ The structure of twentieth century thought as it applies to man in religion, literature, politics, science, and economics, is the theme of a new TV series called “Dialogue,” produced by META and Columbia Uni¬ versity for the ETRC. The program is designed to examine the “modern turn of mind” as it appears in intellectual patterns of modern civilization. The first segment of the series went into produc¬ tion March 18, giving three half-hour dialogues on The Literary Man by outstanding faculty members of Columbia University. Subsequent portions of the series will feature similar dialogues on man and his relationship to the other topics. ^ New Yorkers possibly saw the first televised course in the Russian language on WRGB, but view¬ ers of WTVS in Detroit were running a close second. WRGB initiated its series on the morning of Feb. 4, with WTVS beginning its evening 20-week Russian survey on the same day. The Wayne State University series on WTVS features Dr. Harry Josselson, head of the university’s Slavic Department, for instruction in Russian. Each program is divided into three parts—a general des¬ cription of the Soviet and its culture, lessons on the structure of the Russian language, and phrases deal¬ ing with daily life in the country. The series is aimed at stimulating enough interest in Russian so that the average person might continue with a more intensive study of the language. Dr. Josselson says, “I am convinced we can teach A- mericans Russian as well as they can teach Russians English.” ► “The Count Down,” a special half-hour documen¬ tary on disarmament, has been produced by United Nations Television for the affiliated stations of the ETRC. The program traces the devastation and hor¬ ror of World Wars I and II through authentic films of bombings and battles. Actor-director Peter Ustinov narrates the pro¬ gram, weighing various plans and proposals by East and West for disarmament. Heated UN meetings on the subject and debates by representatives from both sides of the Iron Curtain are shown. The program in¬ cludes in its scope discussion of the arms race among nations including information on late advances in missiles and satellites. ^ The first weekly program of a WGBH-TV series, “Camera on the Commonwealth,” featured Gov. Foster Furcolo in a visit to his office. The Boston sta¬ tion started its new 12-week series March 18 with Assoc. Prof. George D. Blackwood of Boston Uni¬ versity as host. In succeeding weeks other state officials and per¬ sonnel will describe their jobs to viewers and show how the state government functions. The series will APRIL, 1958 7