Sponsor (Jan-Apr 1958)

The day the FCC hit the roof by W. F. Miksch 0\ late 1960, the activities of the House Subcommittee on Kickbacks. Hidden Bank Accounts and Questionable Traveling Expenses (formerly the Subcommittee on Legislative Oversighl I, had reached a crescendo. Every day down Washington's Pennsylvania \\enue tumbrils rumbled, bearing frightened members of the various Federal regulatory commissions to "that Cethsemane on Capitol Hill." There, in the green-walled, tearstained hearing room crowds of spectators jammed to watch FCC or FTC commissioners stripped of their Diners' pluh credit cards and drummed from the hall. Many of the women in the audience brought -.-their knitting to while away the duller portions of the testimony, and two Commissioners and "lie Subcommittee '--counsel had been jabbed |>v needles when they got too close. Tv cameras panned and dollied about the chamber, and radio microphones bristled everywhere. Sponsorship of air media coverage of the bearings was a sell-out. Since many Bessions ran far into the night, ratings "I -mil t\ ^hows as Perry Como dropped behind decimal point--, and the "adult Western" trend fell apart in the face of this much more "adult" Eastern. In radio, music-and news gave h -^ to just ..lain nev ol which about 999? had to do with the hearing in W aldington. Concerned by what such one-sided programing might do to tv and radio, sponsor decided to send a reporter to Washington to study first-hand this phenomenon that had induced a whole nation to become hysterical over such relatively small matters as who paid what to get a higher tower or an added 50 watts and how much government-paid-for-breakfast should cost in Des Moines. Thus on a chill autumn morning, the SPONSORman arrived — complete with box lunch and tape recorder at the Subcommittee's chamber. Outside on Capitol Hill the wind blew cold and rain slanted down. But inside, it was warm from the heated denials and quite dry despite the fresh whitewashing. The SPONSORman settled down between a nervous Congressman and an espionage agent for NAB, then switched on his recorder. The transcript of the hearing follows: chairman: Your name is Orken P. McTeagirt and you are in advertising. Is that not correct? WITNESS: Yes sir, it isn't not correct. I am vice president of broadcast media for Finn & Haddie Agency, billings $4.5 million. But before — CHAIRMAN: And I believe that you have on a previous occasion met FCC Commissioner Linwood Threedle, the accused? (Points across table at a slight, jaundice-colored man loaded down with chains ) . witness: Yes, but before I — chairman: On that occasion you saw the accused accept from the president of radio station WEAK a sum of money, a book of green trading stamps and a glass ash-tray inscribed with, "For signal success buy the WEAK signal." WITNESS: The latter was only a belated Christmas gift, sir. Those ashtrays flooded our agency last Yuletide. And now before I pro — chairman: (Impatiently) Before you what, Mr. McTeagirt? witness: Before I proceed with my statement, I should like to clear the air on one point. I want to make public how I came to be here. chairman: Very well, but make it brief. witness: Lo, there I was as recently as last fortnight, ensconced in my private brainstorming cell at the agency, when behold, in barged a fellow bearing a subpoena — chairman: That is hardly relevant lo this hearing. witness: It's relevant to me. I want to go on record as saying that I would have appeared here as a voluntary witness. You didn't have to send that subpoena fellow. I am a good citizen, duty-wise and all that. If you'd just asked me nicely, I'd have been delighted to come here. chairman: If your delight was so great, how come you bit the nose of SPONSOR • 19 APRIL 1958