Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1959)

VOL 15: No. 31 5 Congress Gets in Quiz Act: Long-dormant plans by Congressional committees to have an investigative look at last year’s TV quiz show scandals were revived last week. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Magnuson (D-Wash.) started the revival by asking N.Y. District Attorney Frank Hogan for a copy of an impounded grand jury presentment on operation of the quizzes (Vol. 16:30). Chairman Harris (D-Ark.) of the House Commerce legislative oversight subcommittee followed suit by announcing his group was mapping a probe of the shows. A formal motion requesting the grand jury’s minutes was filed with the N. Y. Court of General Sessions by a subcommittee staffer. Senate committee staffers said they already had basic information on some of the publicized quiz cases and would be able to go ahead on an inquiry without help from Hogan — but that the jury’s report would save some time. Harris reported his subcommittee had been watching quiz show developments with “great interest.” He said it’s now ready to “investigate these programs in order to insure that effective enforcement measures, designed to prevent the recurrence of any fraud, will be taken by the regulatory agencies of Govt, which are subject to our legislative jurisdiction.” Chances that there’ll be competing probes in Senate & House were discounted by Magnuson, who said he had been unaware Harris had any such inquiry in mind. Magnuson added that his committee had no firm plans for a formal inquiry, but that if one is started, he & Harris “might do it together.” ■ Tenure of FCC members would be extended until successors are installed in office under terms of a bill (S-1965) passed last week by the Senate to insure continuity of the agency’s work when vacancies occur. Existing law provides that members of the ICC, FTC & CAB stay on the job after their terms run out if successors aren’t ready to take their places, but no such provision applies to the FCC & FPC. Introduced by Chairman Magnuson (D-Wash.) of the Senate Commerce Committee, the bill originally would have permitted the President to dismiss members of FCC & FPC for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office” (Vol. 15:21) — grounds which may be used now to fire members of the other 3 agencies. But this section was cut from the bill by the Commerce Committee, Magnuson explaining there are “some serious legal matters which we want to look into in much more detail.” He said that agency investigations by the Senate Judiciary administrative practice & procedure subcommittee headed by Sen. Carroll (D-Colo.) “will be of help to us on this matter.” However, no hearings on the subject have been scheduled by Carroll, whose initial hearings on agency practices 2 weeks ago ran into objections by other Senators to proposed “influence” legislation (Vol. 15:30). TV-radio reciprocity: The Soviet Union would own & operate TV & radio stations in the U.S. under a proposal by Sen. Bush (R.-Conn.) providing that “we were permitted to do the same thing in Russia.” He said “audiovisual exchanging of viewpoints & environments would inspire a truly wholesome competitive race for an increasingly better way of life for people everywhere.” Foreign films & recordings “imported for public exhibition or broadcasting” would be “clearly marked” to indicate their origin under a Tariff Act amendment (HR8474) introduced by Rep. Roosevelt (D-Cal.) He said “viewers & listeners as well as importers & exhibitors” should know what they’re getting in movies & sound. The FCC More about OPTION TIME PROS & CONS: Heart of networking remains option time, according to network affiliates’ committees which were unanimous in their plea to the FCC that the present 3-hours-per-time-segment be retained, not cut to hours (see p. 2). The only opponent of option time which filed comments with FCC so far, KTTV Los Angeles, insists that option time is illegal and must be done away with. Herewith is a summary of comments filed last week (networks expected on the Aug. 3 deadline) : ABC-TV Affiliates’ Committee (Alex Keese, WFAATV Dallas, chairman) likes all of FCC’s proposed changes except the reduction of option time. The 3-hour provision should be retained, it said, since a reduction would produce “an interruption of continuous income to the affiliates with possible damaging effects at least upon the operations of smaller-market stations” and “seriously affect the programming function of the network with corresponding detrimental effects upon the affiliates’ ability to program in the public interest.” The ABC group endorsed the proposal that “straddle programs” (partly in option time, partly out) be considered as falling entirely within option time “provided that the amount of time that can be optioned under the present rules is not reduced.” It also supported the proposed change in length of notice given by networks of plans to enforce an option from 8 weeks to a sliding 4-17week scale, and the proposals to broaden affiliates’ right to reject specific network programs. CBS-TV Affiliates’ Committee (John Hayes, WTOPTV Washington, chairman) asserted that a cut of 30 minutes from evening time alone “would seriously threaten successful network operations, would consequently have an adverse impact upon affiliated stations, would reduce the amount of high-quality programming available to the public and, hence, would be contrary to the public interest.” The group also: (1) Supported the proposal on option time. (2) Endorsed the change “which would lengthen the period of advance notice required before a network may exercise its option rights” but opposed the proposal to shorten it. (3) Supported the idea of giving affiliates more latitude in accepting and rejecting network programs, though it asked that rules be limited so they won’t “pose a serious threat to effective operation of option time.” NBC-TV Affiliates’ Committee (Jack Harris, KPRCTV Houston, chairman) stated that a cut in option time would produce “a quantitative and qualitative loss in network programs available to the affiliates and to the public which could not be made good from any non-network program source.” FCC’s “straddle” objective was endorsed but changes were suggested to eliminate the possibility that the Commission’s language might prohibit straddle programs altogether. The group opposed the “length of notice” change on the grounds that it would be “cumbersome to administer” and remedy “no existing evil,” and it endorsed the proposals on program acceptance & rejection. Station Representatives Assn, said that it has been persuaded that option time is necessary. But, it said, something needs to be done to “alleviate the deterrent effects of option time on creation of competitive program sources.” The answer it said, is “station reserved time.” SRA proposed that at least one hour per segment of the broad