NAEB Newsletter (August 1, 1966)

NAEB Team Barred From India NER Seeks Broader Use of Radio FCC Rejects Wingspread Conference Set NAEB Petition Indian protest groups nipped in the bud development of a rural radio system for India. Their technique — 'loud outcries which grounded a 4-man NAEB study team less than 12 hours before takeoff for New Delhi from Washington, D.C. Under the direction of Dr. Kenneth Wright of the University of Tennessee, the team planned to conduct an on-the-spot investigation of problems involved in expanding official In¬ dian broadcasts, All-India Radio. The main aim was to get first-hand news on crop, pest and weather conditions quickly to farmers scattered throughout the country in more than half a million villages. News would be in local dialects. Those participating in the project includ¬ ed Dr. Floyd E. Carlson, State University of N.Y. College of Forestry; Ovid Gano from the J. Hillis Miller Health Center, University of Florida; Mr. Macdonald Wig¬ gins, Martin Company, Orlando Division. The idea originated with the U. S. Agen¬ cy for International Development Mission to India and had the approval of Mrs. In¬ dira Ghandi, Prime Minister of India. Fifty key leaders in education, govern¬ ment, industry, and the arts will meet this fall to establish effective ways of utilizing radio more thoroughly here and abroad. NER executive director Jerrold Sandler an¬ nounced that the conference will be sup¬ ported by the Johnson Foundation because of its belief that “radio is an under-de¬ veloped educational resource.” Mr. Sandler commented, “There has long been the need to bring together outstand¬ ing people in major fields who have con¬ tributed significantly to the nation’s edu¬ cational and cultural growth to devise prac¬ tical suggestions for developing radio to its full potential.” The Wingspread Con¬ ference on Educational Radio as a Nation¬ al Resource is scheduled for September 26- 28, Johnson Foundation, Racine, Wisconsin. Before The FCC The Federal Communications Commission rejected NAEB’s Petition for Reconsidera¬ tion of its Fifth Report and Order, on July 12. The Fifth Report, released in March, 1966, announced a Table of Assignments in which the number of UHF assignments and the number of reservations were fewer than in previous Commission assignment plans. In its Petition the NAEB said that the unsaturated framework of the assignment table resulted in fewer educational reserva¬ tions and therefore deprived the education¬ al community of essential frequency space. Of special concern is the Commission’s attitude toward the use of broadcast fre¬ quencies for instructional purposes. In its July 13 Memorandum the Commission says “if the broadcast channels are used to serve a relatively limited number of pre-planned receiving points they are, in effect, with¬ drawn from the broadcasting service, there¬ by compounding an already serious short¬ age. If there were no other way to reach the pre-selected receiving points the use of the broadcast channels could be justified.” AID, currently guiding India in food production and family planning, had asked NAEB to choose leading communications specialists who would make recommenda¬ tions for the overall radio system, as well as the type of low-power, low-cost trans¬ mitter most suitable, development of serv¬ iceable transistor receivers that could be manufactured in India, sold inexpensively to the populace. Controversy erupted when an Indian news agency reported that transmitters would be placed in every one of India’s 320 districts, to be manned by American technicians, with Peace Corps volunteers preparing broadcast materials. The charge was denied by both American and Indian spokesmen. The left-wing press seized the opportuni¬ ty to stir anti-U.S. feelings, focusing on /—" what it considers American economic press¬ ure to divert India from its socialist path. The pro-Communist daily, The Patriot, called the proposed network “more danger¬ ous than the Voice of America.” In separate statements filed before the Federal Communications Commission, both the NAEB and the State Educational Tele¬ vision Agency for the State of Iowa op¬ posed a petition filed by Mark Twain Broadcasting (KHMO), a commercial broadcaster in Hannibal, Mo. KHMO aims to uproot Channel 12, Iowa City, to make room for a Channel 12 assignment in Han¬ nibal. NAEB stressed “that facilities to be utilized by Iowa for initiating VHF state¬ wide coverage must be located to provide effective coverage to prime population cen¬ ters,” reminding “Iowa plans to pool all educational resources hi an interconnected service for key areas.” In written testimony now before the FCC, NAEB says applica¬ tion of The Board of Regents of the Uni¬ versities and State Colleges of Arizona, licensee of KUAT, Channel 6, Tucson, to relocate its transmitter, increase power is in the public interest. Statement includes objections to a related FCC proposal to de¬ lete reservation on Channel 10 at Silver City, New Mexico, along with complete deletion of Channel 6 from that area. The NAEB petition cited the difficulty of pre-selecting receiving points and of de¬ termining reasonable criteria for establish¬ ing a “relatively limited number.” The Commission Memorandum indicated that “various alternates (have been provided) for the various needs of educators . . . The Instructional Television Fixed Service is specifically tailored for classroom instruc¬ tion and other related administrative func¬ tions.” The Commission’s Memorandum termin¬ ates this aspect of the UHF Assignment proceeding. Further decisions will deal with the use of Channels 70-83 that have been set aside by the FCC as possible “low- power community-type” television stations. Dean Rusk Reappoints Harley President William G. Harley will con¬ tinue to serve as NAEB representative to the U. S. National Commission for UNES¬ CO. The term ends in fall, 1968. 1