U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1961)

RADIO IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST At present, the only official accounting a station has to make of its pnblie interest activity is a compositeweek percentage breakdown of programming in various fixed c ategories. There is a strong industry movement afoot to liMKiden the FCC requirement to include a narrative report by stations ol their public interest functions. The NAB has been a very vocal advocate of the measure. The association's view is that "submission by the broadcaster ol a percentage breakdown of his programming is unrealistic and unnecessary." It is also the view of NAB that the commission "could ask the broadcaster what he had done to determine the desires of the responsible elements in the community which he serves — and having reached a logical decision on the needs of his listeners or viewers — in the light of all other services available to them — the broadcaster alone might then shape the programs of his station." Mr. McCollough declares that "It is most encouraging that the commission's conclusions on these program . . . matters stated that it is the obligation of the licensee to pursue a diligent, positive and continuing effort to discover and fulfill the taste, needs and desires of his service area. "The commission may revise its application forms to require of the applicant a narrative of the measures he has taken and the effort he has made to determine the taste, needs and desires of his community or service area — and the manner in which he is meeting them. "What this means in essence — presuming final favorable FCC action — is that a broadcaster will be able to forget about percentages, or most of them, and organize his programming structure to meet the needs and desires of his community in light of other services that are being provided for community use." Most of the stations replying to the u.s. radio questionnaire survey indicated they were very much in favor of the proposed narrative format. The remarks directed against the proposed narrative form do not criticize the idea itself, but are concerned with the extra amount of work that would be involved in preparing such reports. "This allows the station to go into greater detail and to cover projects not included in the 'composite week,' " states Jack Wagner, program manager, KNBC San Francisco. "Also, the effectiveness of the service should be considered." Support for the narrative approach because it considers results and effort is explained by Dick Embody, program director, KGGF Coffeyville, Kan. "Numbers are only half a story. In public service how do numbers explain an appeal for a needy family burned out of its home or the hospital asking for a special type of blood. We say that we programmed 150 hours of public service in 1960, but that doesn't tell you that approximately 100 hours of that time was station-produced programs dealing with local affairs, farm activities, special drives, among other features." Robert Dunville, president of WLW Cincinnati, emphasizes how the true picture of a station's public service activity is not presented death or accurately under the present system. "The present compositeweek percentage report does not accurately reflect the true nature and scope of the programs included in this percentage and docs not allow to be stated the real service the station is fulfilling in meeting its obligations to serve the community interest, convenience and necessity. Neither does the composite-week percentage report allow consideration for special programming which is not typical of the broadcast week throughout the year. . . . "Neither does the percentage report give consideration to the cost of research, writing, production and talent in producing programs in various categories, nor to the true type of some public service programs. "For example," continues Mr. Dunville, "each summer WLW broadcasts an hour weekly of the highlights of the Summer Opera. The Cincinnati Sumer Opera is the second oldest grand opera in the U.S. and the company performs on the stage of the outdoor auditorium at the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens for a month in early summer. WLW presents one hour of programming each week taken from the actual performances at the opera. "To broadcast this opera, it is necessary to incur four to six hours of engineering time merely to record the whole opera score as it is being performed. Additionally, it is necessary to spend six to eight more engineering hours under the supervision of an assistant director of the opera to edit the whole score down to an hour's broadcast time. This time and talent is necessary to preserve the story and musical continuity of the opera. WLW goes further as it is also necessary to write the running commentary to retain the continuity of the opera as it is broadcast. ENTERTAINMENT OR PUBLIC SERVICE? "And then," states Mr. Dunville, "all this ends up merely as a percentage in the broadcast 'entertainment' category,. There is little quarrel with the necessity of preserving and fostering our cultural heritage by broadcasting opera; however, when the station performs this service to the community, and reports it to the FCC, it must be classified in the 'entertainment' category — along with less cultural, less costly programming. Consequently, the station receives no credit for performing a public service — but instead must defend its preponderance of entertainment programs. "We at WLW sincerely believe," concludes Mr. Dunville, "that a truer picture of this sort of programming could be shown through use of a narrative, qualitative form of reporting to the FCC." Stephen Labunski, vice president and general manager of WMCA New York, explains the station's stand in favor of a qualitative report. "The government has at its disposal a large body of information 22 U. S. RADIO • February 1961