Television digest with AM-FM reports (Jan-Dec 1951)

6 NATION-WIDE study of “viewers’ evaluation of TV” was voted by NARTB’s TV Program Standards Committee (Vol. 7:25,28-29) at organizational meeting in Washington July 30, as step toward compilation of TV program code. Survey will be conducted by NARTB research dept, under Dr. Kenneth H. Baker, and supplemented periodically to reflect changing opinions of viewers. Four subcommittees were named by chairman Robert D. Swezey, WDSU-TV, each charged with making tentative drafts of sections of code for presentation to full committee in Washington Oct. 2-3. Subcommittees, their meeting places and dates: Education & culture, responsibility toward children, acceptability of program material, decency & decorum in production: Davidson Taylor, NBC, chairman; James L. Caddigan, DuMont; Clair McCullough, WGAL-TV; Paul Raibourn, KTLA; Donald W. Thornburgh, WCAU-TV. Meets in New York Aug. 6. News, public events, religion, community responsibility, controversial issues: Harold Hough, WBAP-TV, chairman; Leonard Reinsch, WSB-TV; Henry W. Slavick, WMCT; Mr. Swezey. Meets in New Orleans, Aug. 10. Advertising practices: Walter J. Damm, WTMJ-TV, chairman; Harry Bannister, WWJ-TV; James D. Hanrahan, WEWS. Meets in Milwaukee, Aug. 8. Standards observance: Mr. Raibourn, chairman; Mr. Bannister; Mr. Thornburgh. Date and place of meeting to be announced. Parent committee agreed to serve as reviewing body — to “interpret the standards and advise participating TV broadcasters on day-to-day developments affecting such standards.” TV-radio rules in case of war disaster were announced Aug. 1 by New York State Civil Defense Commission following conferences with committees representing 12 TV and 129 radio stations in State. To avoid confusion and panic, rules make it felony to broadcast announcements other than official ones during “yellow” alert warning of possibility of attack. Commission gave all TV-radio stations 30 days to prepare plan of action and list of individuals to be notified in case of alert. Commission chairman Col. Lawrence Wilkinson said in event of “red” or imminent attack alert, TV stations would announce alert, broadcast siren warning signal, then leave air. Radio stations would broadcast music between official announcements if security doesn’t necessitate their leaving air. Hollywood “can win substantial control of TV” if it’s willing to risk the money, predicts highly critical article in August Fortune. With unconcealed glee over what it calls “TV’s time of trouble,” unsigned article maintains: “The big story about TV today is no longer one of irresistible power. It lies rather in the unexpectedly strong bargaining power of TV’s competitors, heretofore given up for lost, and in the equally unexpected weaknesses of the new medium.” High costs of TV time and talent will be biggest contributor to its undoing, article reasons, sounding this rallying cry to subscription TV, Hollywood and the educators: “The mastodon is in the mire. Now is the time to harness him.” British TV manufacturers — ^notably Scophony-Baird, Pye & Thorn Electrical Industries — ^have been pressing Australia to get into TV but, says correspondent of Motion Picture Herald, commei’cial men think it’s 5 years away — and then only for Sydney. Govt.-owned Australian Broadcasting Corp.’s gen. mgr. Charles J. Moses thinks it can come in 2 years. It’s estimated TV would mean added burden of $4,500,000 on Postoffice Dept., which has jurisdiction, for one station only one year, and would require license fee of at least £3 per set (radios now pay £1). “Some of the bloom has worn off Bloomington,” laments radio-TV columnist John Crosby, as he contemplates fact WTTV now gets network shows, via its own relay. In his July 25 syndicated column extolling manufacturer-telecaster Sarkes Tarzian, Crosby describes this “paradise”: “If anyone in Bloomington wants to get on TV, he just calls the station. With no audition and very little rehearsal, he’s on. Almost anyone, Bloomington has discovered, has something to say or do, and, even in the worst cases, it isn’t any worse than some of the celebrities who show up on Ed Sullivan’s shows and in many cases it’s a lot more interesting.” Crosby goes on, with his typical snappishness: “Tarzian, in fact, has just reversed the usual order of things. The normal, but by no means the best routine with a new TV station (in a onestation town) is to throw a switch putting on whatever of the 4 network shows the program manager happens to like. In that way you can avoid the headaches of local programming, and can almost avoid thinking at all . . .” One-fourth of non-TV o>vners haven’t purchased set because they can’t afford it, one-flfth are waiting for color or improvements, one-eighth aren’t interested. So Advertest Research, New Brunswick, N. J., reports in study based on 1,350,000 non-TV households (36.1%) out of 3,740,000 in 17 counties of New York area. Sampled homes totaled 758. Among conclusions: (1) One-third of all nonowners, or 450,000, expect to buy set within 12 months. (2) Average non-owner watches TV 1.5 days a week, equivalent to 11 minutes a day; he listens to radio 114 minutes a day. Some 30% don’t view TV regularly. (3) Nonowner families are smaller than TV families; only 35% of non-TV families have children, while 55% of TV families have children. (4) Average sponsor identification by nonowners is 71% for TV, 56% for radio. Color adapters and converter parts, kits, etc., continue to be announced by various companies. In addition to those previously reported, Colortone, New York, offers adapters and discs, no motors yet; Color-Video, Long Island City, has Philco adapters (Vol. 7:23) at $17.95 list; United States Service Co., Philadelphia, reports plans to make and install converters; JFD Mfg. Co., Brooklyn, is reported planning to manufacture adapters and converters under CBS license. Spectacular, often lurid ads, are appearing to herald color films that fit over picture tube to give illusion of color — but have nothing to do with TV systems (Vol. 7:24). These are getting quite a play despite fact colors rendered bear no relation to scenes, which are transmitted in black-and-white. Newly formed CBS Laboratories Div. has been organized into 2 departments — engineering research & development under Dr. Peter C. Goldmark, v.p., and licensing & contracts under Richard C. Mahler, director. Both report to division president Adrian Murphy. Licensing & contracts dept, will negotiate licenses and contracts with manufacturers under CBS patents covering color, recording, etc., will also handle govt, and other contracts for engineering development. If: * He Hollywood correspondent Thomas M. Pryor, New York Times, reported Aug. 1 that David 0. Selznick may make deal for I’elease of some of his old pictures “if he is convinced that the market can provide sufficient financial reward”. These would constitute most important group of Hollywood-made films yet made available to TV from standpoint of dramatic value and big names. Included would be Duel in the Sun, Spellbound, The Parradine Case, Since You Went Away, Rebecca, Little Lord Fauntleroy, Portrait of Jenny — ranging in age from 15 years for Fauntleroy and 3 years for Jenny.