NAEB Newsletter (Mar 1961)

Capital To Have ETV Station Washington, D. C., expects to go on the air on UHF over Channel 26, under the administration of the Greater Washington Educational Television Asso¬ ciation Inc. GWETA, organized in 1953, has been actively programing over a commercial station, reaching more than 50,000 children in 18 school districts throughout the metropolitan area. The breakthrough looking toward an ETV station came with a grant of $50,000 from the Old Dominion Foundation. In announcing the grant, Monroe Bush, of the Foundation, said: “There is an urgent need for an educational television station in Washington. The Old Dominion Foundation, recognizing this, congratu¬ lates the Greater Washington Educational Television Association for its careful persistence in pursuing this goal. The experience gained by the association, through limited in-school telecasting on commercial stations, will prove invaluable. The plans that have come to a head are completely realistic. “For these reasons, the Foundation is glad to be able to make a grant of $50,000 to assure the early establishment of an independent educational station. We are confident that the Greater Washington com¬ munity will meet the challenge of this opportunity with the sort of continuing financial support that is essential.” The $50,000, plus additional funds which GWETA is expecting from other sources, is for capital expend¬ itures, and will be used to purchase used UHF equipment. The Washington group also has leased a tower in nearby Arlington, Va., the only remaining tower in the area suitable for wide-range broadcasting. GWETA hopes to be ready for in-school pro¬ graming when the new school term begins in Sep¬ tember, with minimum programing of four hours a day, five days a week. In addition, sample programs for adult viewing will be broadcast. Operational financing will be provided by the schools. Currently participating schools are support¬ ing the program over the commercial station to the extent of $60,000 for only half an hour a day, and Mrs. Edmund Campbell, president of GWETA, hopefully anticipates that they will be able to support an extended program of $150,000. THE PRESIDENT'S SAY Some wag has said that a camel is something created by a committee; right now I feel like a committee created by a camel. I have been recently subjected to a series of mild buffetings and kicks, nudges and shoves, and just generally stepped upon. What is more, I brought it all on myself. In my innocence, I addressed a friendly little communique to the membership a while back inviting people to write and tell me if they would like to be on an NAEB committee, and, if so, to list their pref¬ erences in order: 1, 2, 3. It was my feeling, I explained, that there were many who were willing to serve but were often in¬ advertently overlooked. Evidently, many agreed. I expected a modest response; certainly I was not prepared for a mail return of about 90%. Not only did you answer the questionnaire with indica¬ tions of your preferences, but almost a fourth of you appended letters indicating the reasons for your choices, recounting your background, or indicating why you should be chosen. Actually, I was pleased and warmed by this whole¬ hearted response. This had been a call for assistance (“not honor or glory ... a lot of hard work”) and, as always, the NAEB responded. But this reaction, while helping to place more in¬ formation at my disposal did make the task of se¬ lection more difficult and time-consuming. More than ever I wanted not only to get the best people to do certain committee jobs, but I wanted, so far as pos¬ sible, to give them the jobs they preferred. This care¬ ful sifting and winnowing has taken many days—and nights. Obviously, the results will not please everyone; there are not enough assignments to go around to give a job to all who offered their services and certain committees were “over-subscribed” by as much as 4 °°%. This year, in order to insure a continuous flow of new blood into the committee system, while yet pre¬ serving continuity of experienced personnel, I am initiating an arrangement of staggered terms for committee members. After the initial two years, mem¬ bers will serve three-year terms, with three new mem¬ bers being chosen each year to replace three members who rotate off. The small numerals opposite the names on the committee list indicate the length of terms for each appointee. In general, these terms relate to the service record of individuals, with veteran committeemen being assigned the shorter terms. Com¬ mittee chairmen are subject to reappointment and replacement each year. Three committees, because of the “ex-officio” composition of the membership, do not co me within the “stated term” system: the Executive committee (chairmen of TV and Radio Boards and the presi¬ dent), the Grants-in-Aid committee (chairmen of the Radio Network, Radio Planning, and School Net¬ work committees), and the Awards and Citations committee (composed exclusively of those who them¬ selves have been awarded citations.) It is my belief that the arrangement of fixed terms will provide for a regular infusion of new blood, prevent any tendency toward ingrownness, and development of special empires or group monopolies; it is my hope that the membership will welcome this plan as a means of affording greater opportunity for wider participation in the work of their association. —Bill Harley 4. NEWSLETTER