Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1961)

4 JANUARY 9, 1961 manufacturers’ & retailers’ excise taxes on TV, radios and phono sets and other products. HR-938, by Rep. Collier, and a series of nearly identical bills by a dozen other House members, repealing excise tax on communications services. On product misbranding: HR-1141, by Rep. Bray (RInd.), to guard consumers against being misled by manufacturers’ descriptions of “decorative hardwood & simulated hardwood” used in such products as TV & radio set chassis. On foreign products: HR-1149, by Rep. Dent (D-Pa.), to require sellers of imported products (including TV & radio sets) to advertise their foreign origin clearly. H. Con. Res. 4 & 10, by Reps. Bailey & Flynt (D-Ga.), forbidding further tariff reductions. H. J. Res. 65, by Rep. Robison (R-N.Y.), to set up a commission to determine effects of foreign trade on domestic industry. HR-1070, 1028, 757 and 687, by Reps. Pucinski ( D-Ill.) , St. George (R-N.Y.), Monagan (D-Conn.) and Lane (D-Mass.), to weigh competitive U.S. & foreign wages & working conditions in fixing import duties. SEC. 315 ‘WATCHDOG’ HEARINGS: Public hearings on reports of equal-time misbehavior by broadcasters during the 1960 election campaign (Vol. 16:50 p6) will be conducted between Jan. 20 & Feb. 1 by the Senate Commerce Freedom of Communications Subcommittee. The 3-man Sec. 315 “watchdog” unit headed by Sen. Yarborough (D-Tex.) voted unanimously at a closed meeting Jan. 6 to ventilate “representative” complaints among “thousands” which chief counsel Creekmore Fath reported had been received from candidates, campaign managers, viewers & listeners. No definite dates for the hearings were set, but they’ll be scheduled after the inauguration of President-elect Kennedy and after the full Commerce Committee completes confirmation hearings on his nomination of N.C. Gov. Luther H. Hodgers as Commerce Secretary. Fath told us that no witness list had been drawn up. It is likely, however, that network officials and operators of some TV & radio stations will be called to Washington to take the stand for questioning. At the same time, Yarborough & his fellow “watchdogs,” Sens. McGee (D-Wyo.) & Scott (R-Pa.) approved publication of a series of volumes containing texts of broadcasts & other material heard during the Presidential campaign. They will be Subcommittee sourcebooks, intended for checking & comparison purposes, and will carry no comments by the Subcommittee or its staff. The 7 or 8 separate volumes will include: (1) Scripts of all 15-min. news programs broadcast by TV & radio networks from Sept. 17 through Nov. 7, 1960. (2) Chronological compilations of everything that was said publicly, day by day, by Kennedy & Vice President Nixon. (3) Full transcripts of the 4-program Great Debate series. (4) Transcripts of other network-show appearances by Kennedy & Nixon. Meanwhile, Sen. Goldwater (R-Ariz.), spokesman for the GO P’s conservative wing, came through on Capitol Hill with the first legislative proposal in the new Congress dealing with politics & broadcasting. Added to a mountain of bills introduced in the opening days of the session (see p. 3) was Goldwater’s S-56. It would amend the Communications Act to prohibit any TV or radio station from broadcasting any Presidential election returns — from “any one or more precincts in any state” — before midnight EST election night. Goldwater explained in a Senate floor speech: “On election night just past, the radio & TV stations of the Eastern part of the United States were broadcasting results of the election in precincts, cities and states before the polls had closed in Cal. & other Western states. I think it takes unfair advantage of the time difference in the United States.” Opening of Congress also was marked by filing of a windup report by the Special House Campaign Expenditures Committee on its Dec. hearings at which CBS’s Frank Stanton, NBC’s Robert W. Sarnoff and ABC’s Leonard H. Goldenson gave their networks’ views on broadcasting’s election role (Vol. 16:51 pi). The Committee headed by Rep. Davis (D-Tenn.) praised broadcasters generally for the “commendably impartial manner” in which they conducted themselves under the 1960-campaign suspension of Sec. 315 for Presidential tickets. But as expected, the Committee avoided making any firm recommendations about what Congress should do with equal-time rules. “The case to eliminate Sec. 315 altogether should be fully explored,” the Committee said, but urged no changes in the law. It warned instead that Sec. 315 repeal might “lead to abuses by individual broadcasting stations.” At the same time, the Committee suggested that Congress consider making permanent the suspension for Presidential & Vice Presidential candidates only. Continuation of the Presidential-ticket suspension in future campaigns was promptly proposed in legislation introduced by Chmn. Magnuson (D-Wash.) of the Senate Commerce Committee. Following the Electoral College count which affirmed President-elect Kennedy’s victory, Magnuson said the Kennedy-Nixon debates played a big part in the outcome. Note: In a Jan. 5 speech in Ithaca, N.Y., CBS Inc. Pres. Stanton carried on his anti-equal-time campaign by urging Communications Acts amendments which would expand the Great Debate format to include candidates for Senate, House and state governor. Touch-&-go election contest between House Commerce Committee veteran Moulder (D-Mo.) & Republican Robert Bartel (Vol. 16:50 p6) was resolved in Moulder’s favor last week. The House voted to seat Moulder, original chmn. of the Legislative Oversight Subcommittee. But he was sworn in only after an objection had been raised by Rep. Miller (R-N.Y.), and after Speaker Rayburn (D-Tex.) had assured Minority Leader Halleck (R-Ind.) that a further protest could be made to the House Administration Committee. Technology Space-allocations study has been undertaken by the EIA-IRE-sponsored Joint Technical Advisory Committee at the request of FCC in connection with its special inquiry into frequency problems (Vol. 16:52 pl3). Heading the JTAC project is Lt. Gen. James D. O’Connell (ret.) of General Telephone & Electronics Corp. Working with him: Richard Emberson, Associated Universities; Richard P. Gifford, GE; John P. Hagen, National Aeronautics & Space Administration; J. W. Herbstreit, National Bureau of Standards; Donald MacQuivey, State Dept.; Ross Peavey, National Academy of Sciences; Allen H. Peterson, Stanford Research Institute; C. A. Petry, Aeronautical Radio Inc.; Thomas F. Rogers, MIT; L. C. Tillotson, Bell Telephone Labs. EIA & IRE provide initial financing for the study, with additional support from individual companies.