Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1960)

4 MAY 16, 1960 scribers and basing its possibilities of expansion at a reasonable rate on revenues of a contractual character, is recognized as a theoretical rather than a businesslike approach to the initiation of the system. Moreover, working capital & other capital requirements ore essential, since revenues ore problematical, depending upon public reaction to the system." MILLS APPOINTMENT TEETERING: FCC nominee Edward K. Mills has the doggonedest luck. Last week he asked President Eisenhower to withdraw his name because of "conflict of interest" legal technicahty (Vol. 16:18 p3). Three years ago he pulled out because he was offered only membership instead of chairmanship as originally intended (Vol. 13:19-20). Administration isn't giving up, however; is striving to find method of clearing Mills. Justice Dept, had told White House that law forbids Mills's appointment because he gets income from a trust (established by his father & imcle years ago) which includes GE & Westinghouse stock — even though he has no control over trust's holdings. FCC Chmn. Ford, eager to get Republican Mills on his team, came up with on idea to smooth out the kink, and Justice was studying it at week's end. Ford examined sections 4(b) & 4(j) of Communications Act, foimd an unusual difference. Sec. 4b) says that a Commissioner shall not be "financially interested" in companies making commmiications equipment, but Sec. 4(j) says: "No Commissioner shall participate in any hearing or proceeding in which he has a pecuniary interest." Mulling over the apparent inconsistency. Ford concluded that Congress must have meant that a man can't serve on FCC at all if he has a "proprietary" interest in commimications companies but that he con serve if he only receives "income" from investments in communications firms but has no direct ownership — provided that he abstains from voting in matters affecting companies from which he receives such income. Of course, this would put Mills at mercy of trustees (Trust Co. of Morris County, Morristown, N.J.) who could add communications stocks to trust and restrict Mills's voting. That seems most \inlikely, however, for trustees are boimd by law not to fiddle with the trust. In fact, the reason they don't sell GE & Westinghouse stock is because of heavy taxes they'd incur — and their legal responsibility is the financial health of the trust, regardless of how much they'd like to do Mills a favor directly. AFTRA EYES THE FUTURE: There's little likelihood that American Federation of TV & Radio Artists will seek increases in payment for live & tape TV talent on the networks this fall — but AFTRA plans to move on series of newly-developing TV fronts ranging from pay TV to multi-union status of many TV performers. So we were told last week by Donald F. Conaway, national exec. secy, of the union and one of its few paid, non-actor executives. There will "obviously be a falling-off of income for AFTRA members in live TV this fall," Conaway admitted, since each network's fall Uneup is built primarily of filmed shows. However, he doesn't see this as an excuse to hike the AFTRA price of the talent that will find live & tape jobs. Instead, he feels it's a signal for the networks to "examine carefully" the manner in which they put video tape to use, "so that it's handled as a means of storing live TV shows and not used, film-fashion, for endless, expensive re-takes." There ore enough examples of the latter method, Conaway believes, to have formed "a major factor in encouraging the heavy use of film this fall." (This problem isn't new. We've heard of several cases where budgets went through roof when TV directors suddenlydiscovered tape could be shot movie-fashion. A few: "The Fabulous Fifties" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls," which went over-budget by $200,000 & $300,000 respectively because of extensive taped re-tokes & overtime scales.) For more on AFTRA, see p. 12. FILM'S 45 DAYS OF CRISIS: The next 6 weeks will tell whether WG A strike will prevent TV film companies from producing shows in time for next season's start. Some scripts are available from non-Guild writers & WGA members who are working despite WGA orders, but there will not be enough to provide bulk of product for next season (Vol. 16:15 pi 5). July 1 or mid-July are dates most commonly given by production executives as the point of no return — point at which they must go into production or face danger of having no product. Exception: NonAlliance independents, who haven't been struck & have stockpiled scripts. Some say they could start as late as Sept. 1, but they are exceptional. Another exception: Desilu, whose exec, vp Martin Leeds tells us that studio could wait imtil as late as Aug.