Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1958)

9 Plans for Ann Arbor Center: Educational TV’s prideful showcase, 4V2-year-old community-financed WQED, Pittsburgh (Ch. 13), has provided the Ford Foundation-backed Educational Television & Radio Center, Ann Arbor, Mich., with its new president — John F. White, who takes over the $30,000-a-year post Oct. 1 as successor to resigned Dr. H. K. Newburn, onetime pres, of U of Oregon. Elevated to v.p.-treas. is Kenneth L. Yourd, onetime CBS executive, who has been secy.-treas. since 1954, with ex-CBS educational director Robert H. Hudson continuing as program coordinator. Succeeding White as acting gen. mgr. of WQED and of the projected uhf counterpart (Ch. 16) it proposes to operate in Pittsburgh in order to handle in-school telecasts, is Edward C. Morstman, exABC Chicago, who is presently WQED director of engineering & business mgr. It’s planned to move the Ann Arbor Center, which is in no way connected with the U of Michigan, to New York City, where White probably will make his headquarters, the Center to maintain Ann Arbor operating under Yourd, a U of Michigan graduate who returned there following a heart attack during his service as director of CBS business affairs. The Center has operated under Ford grants of about $2,000,000 a year for the last 5 years. With a staff of 25, it originates and syndicates ETV programs and acts as clearing house for successful shows interchanged among educational stations. Dedicated largely to expansion of ETV stations (there are now 33, of which 7 are uhf) and their programming, the Ann Arbor Center was result of 1950 proposal of National Assn, of Educational Broadcasters and Joint Committee on Educational TV, which persuaded Ford Fund for Adult Education to back it despite strong commercial opposition, mostly interests desiring the vhf channels reserved in certain metropolitan areas under the FCC’s 6th Report & Order. While relatively few stations have been built, some have achieved considerable success in their communities and most have enjoyed cooperation and sometimes substantial backing from local commercial station operators. WQED has won Peabody, Sylvania and numerous other awards. The Center’s board has always had substantial standing, comprising Ralph Lowell, pres., Boston Safe Deposit & Trust Co.; Robert D. Calkins, pres., Brookings Institution; Everett N. Case, pres., Colgate U; Norman Cousins, editor, Saturday Review; Leland Hazard, v.p. & counsel, Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. and prime mover in the development of WQED; Richard B. Hull, director of TV-radio, Ohio State U & founder of Iowa State’s WOITV, Ames (Ch. 5) ; Harold D. Laswell, Yale law professor; Kenneth E. Oberholtzer, supt. of schools, Denver; Mark Starr, educational director, ILGWU ; George D. Stoddard, dean. School of Education, New York U ; Herman B. Wells, pres., Indiana U; Raymond H. Wittcoff, v.p., Cari’adine Hat Co., St. Louis & chairman of Ch. 9 educational KETC there; Lloyd S. Michael, supt., Evanston (111.) Township High School. At board meeting last week, it voted 2 new co-equal vice chairmen, Wittcoff and Michael. The John White appointment was result of recommendation of committee comprising Cousins, Hazard & Wittcoff after numerous other names were considered, including CBS pres. Frank Stanton, ex-MBS pres. Theodore Streibert and ex-NBC & CBS director of public affairs Davidson Taylor, none of whom was available. White has headed WQED since 1955, coming from v.p. of Western Reserve U (1950-55). He was director of admissions, then dean and director of development, Illinois Institute of Technology (1944-48). He’s a graduate of Lawrence College, holds M.A. from U of Chicago. Another Quiz Casualty: Quiz-fixing charges weren’t mentioned by sponsor P. Lorillard Co. as it cancelled $GU,000 Challenge, due to start on NBC-TV Thu., Sept. 18, but its reasons for switching to still-to-be-selected show for the 10:30-11 p.m. spot (after special one-shot news program Sept. 18) weren’t too convincing. Lorillard said that it was dropping $6i,000 Challenge to “bring its commercial messages to as varied an audience as possible”; that it is already co-sponsor of $6i,000 Question, returning to CBS-TV Sept. 21, which has “similar audience appeal” to that of $6U,000 Challenge. Meanwhile, N.Y. district attorney Frank S. Hogan announced he would ask for impanelling of a grand jury to consider “whether the crime of conspiracy or other crimes have been committed.” But, he added, “it is not a fair assumption that we have concluded that there has been wrongdoing. A number of charges and countercharges have been made against the integrity of certain individuals and commercial enterprises and have received much publicity. I think they are entitled to as speedy a resolution of those charges as possible.” Hogan has been looking into complaints against $f>i,000 Challenge, To Tell the Truth (CBS) and some unidentified shows, while continuing to work on TtventyOne (NBC) and defunct Dotto. Highlights of the investigative week: (1 ) Assertion by the Rev. Charles E. Jackson, former $CJ,,000 Challenge contestant, that he won $4000 through answer given him by show’s associate producer Shirley Bernstein — who denied it. (2) Reiteration by Barry & Enright, Twenty-One producers, that their show is clean. (3) Claim by several Dotto contestants that several on-air questions had appeared on pre-show questionnaires or that they’d been coached. * * * * Showmanship problems of quiz shows were dissected in Sept. 6 N.Y. Times by columnist Jack Gould, who noted that repeated appearances of contestants are necessary to impart “a sense of continuing identity to a show which otherwise only has a master of ceremonies as a familiar weekly feature.” He pointed out carry-over guests are “immensely attractive because a program could talk about huge sums interminably but only pay them out infrequently,” and they lend themselves to exhaustive publicity while one-shot contestants don’t. Quiz-doubting spread to Europe, meanwhile, when Austrian woman doctor who had won a quiz grand prize was alleged to be “well acquainted” with program’s producer. The Austrian program’s name: Twenty-One. Tightening Their Belts: CBS has informed all TVradio stalf that customary one-week Christmas bonus won’t be handed out this year. NBC has released newsmen Henry Cassidy & W. W. Chaplin, of N. Y. staff, Jim Hurlbut & Dick Applegate, Chicago; Chaplin & Hurlbut are completing 13-week contracts, then will freelance. Waiver of FCC rules as granted to WSJV, Elkhart, Ind. (Ch. 28) — to identify itself also with South Bend.