Yearbook of radio and television (1958)

A Growing Industry Meets A Year That Is Filled With New Challenges <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< THE responsibilities which have been placed on the radio and television industry in its service to the American people have increased with the years. The great source of satisfaction which I have derived from a lifetime in broadcasting has been the way in which the industry has met those responsibilities. And I can recall no year to compare with the one that has just passed in which the demands made upon broadcasters have been greater or have been met with more imagination and with a deeper awareness of the vital function which broadcasting serves. I should like to review briefly some of the developments in television and radio during 1957 and to mention some of the contributions made by the National Association of Broadcasters. Just 10 years ago there were 102,000 television sets in the nation, most of them in New York. Today there are 47 million sets in use in nearly 42 million American homes. Ten years is a very short time for an infant industry to grow to a major one. Television has become a way of life for Americans. It has brought into being new ideas, new ways of acting and thinking, and it is proving to be the most effective means ever devised by which values can be communicated to a mass audience. That television can and does transmit ideas to tens of millions of homes in one instant is perhaps not so significant as that as a medium of instant communication it also creates new ideas. The proof, if indeed any is needed, of the impact which television may have upon ideas and world developments was given in dramatic terms during 1957. Public service programming was in fact for many of us the most exciting aspect of television during the past year, remarkable for the high level of responsibility it reached and for the wide scope of its concern. With all three national TV networks offering memorable programming, the 195758 season was the most competitive in television's history. While television continued its amazing growth, radio dramatically captured attention by demonstrating again that it could By HAROLD E. FELLOWS President and Chairman of the Board National Association of Broadcasters sell, inform and entertain in a way no other medium can. Financially 1956 was the best year in radio's history. Estimates indicate that 1957 will be even better. Today radio has the largest potential audience of any mass means of communication, reaching over 98 per cent of American homes and, on a typical day, approximately 70 million people. With these developments in radio and television broadcasting, the National Association of Broadcasters has been intimately concerned. In 1957 NAB membership reached an all-time high with 2,187 members. This gratifying support has increased along with the activities in which NAB has been involved. A major development within NAB was the expansion of its Public Relations Service, which has as the underlying theme of its expanded efforts "Broadcasting Serves America." Weekly and monthly publications, television and radio kits, speech materials, brochures and booklets designed for various broadcast purposes, and on-the-air material have been designed to aid the broadcaster and to show the service of broadcasting in its responsible programming, its ability to inform directly and accurately, and its effectiveness as an economic stimulus for selling goods and expanding markets. Certainly the greatest challenge during the year with which broadcasters, and consequently NAB, was faced was the FCC decision to consider applications for pay-TV on broadcast channels. From its early days the NAB has opposed subscription broadcasting as against the public interest, and at a time when a free and continuous flow of information and ideas is needed as never before it remains in firm opposition. These and many other vital problems were reviewed at eight NAB regional conferences held in the fall. The results of these meetings were gratifying. The promise for 1958 is great, and I have no doubt that we shall realize it to the fullest. 85