Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1963)

2-TELEVISION DIGEST OCTOBER 21, 1963 (Ch. 13) Yuma, Ariz. , Dec. 1; KTVS (Ch. 3) Sterling, Colo., Dec.; KUSU-TV (Ch. 12 ETV) Logan, Utah, Jan. 1; WEIQ (Ch. 42 ETV) Mobile, Ala., Jan. 1; WBGU-TV (Ch. 70 ETV) Bowling Green, O. , Jan. 2; WMEM (Ch. 10 ETV) Presque Isle, Me., Jan.; WSVI (Ch. 8) Christiansted, V. L , Jan.-Feb.; KCSM-TV (Ch. 14 ETV) San Mateo, Cal., Feb. 4; KCOY-TV (Ch. 12) Santa Maria, Cal., Feb. ; WNJE-TV (Ch. 77 ETV) Glen Ridge, N. J. , 1964; WTIU (Ch. 30 ETV) Bloomington, Ind. , April-May; WNJU-TV (Ch. 47) Newark (Linden), N. J. , spring. ROGERS— FCC TOO BIG FOR ITS BRITCHES: FCC and some of its regulatory agency brethren are dangerously assuming role of 4th branch of govt. , in opinion of Rep. Rogers (D-Tex. ), chmn. of Communications Subcommittee. Issues involved are basic to govt. , he told us, because FCC is trying to exercise legislative, administrative, judicial functions. Rogers has strong feelings about regulatory agencies ’’being responsible to the duly elected representatives of the people.” If trend continues. Congress will have to limit its efforts to defense, taxes & appropriations, he speculated. He’ll shortly have chance to air issue, has set Nov. 6-8 for hearings on bills to prohibit FCC from setting rules on length & frequency of commercials. He plans hearing on license fees later. (He addresses Texas Assn, of Bcstrs. Oct. 21 in Dallas.) FCC can’t write ’’substantive law.” Rogers said, though ’’they prefer to call these changes procedural.” He emphasizes that agencies are creatures of Congress, formed to help lawmakers do their work. ”If FCC has a problem, like overcommercialization, it should come to Congress with its reasons and proposals. We assume the solutions would be in keeping with our free enterprise system.” Another thing that gripes Rogers about Commission’s proposal to limit commercials is that, in his opinion, FCC is ’’writing criminal law. ” He said: ”FCC is setting the standards and setting the amount of fines or forfeiture. And all this is going to be done without benefit of a public hearing.” Rogers is also concerned that FCC, by considering adoption of NAB's Codes, has delegated writing of rules to a trade assn. This he finds even more bothersome because FCC wants to promulgate * something that ’’only about half of the stations subscribe to. ” Rogers said FCC adopted its rule to set license fees also without a public hearing. Rogers repeated his view that Commission’s authority for fees stems from language in 1951 appropriations act, | which he thinks is far less than adequate. He’s going to hold hearings on his measure to stop FCC from charging fees— imless Congress approves— after his commercial ceiling hearings are finished. At that time he also expects to conclude record on his subcommittee’s editorializing hearings of last July. GROUP W SUCCEEDS AS TV-STAGE ANGEL; ’’Tremendously successful” is how Group W Pres. Donald McGannon summed up his first experiment with angeling Broadway play and premiering it on group's 5 stations simultaneously. ’’The Advocate,” drama by Robert Noah about Sacco-Vanzetti case, didn’t particularly excite theater critics, and betting was that it would fold on Broadway shortly. But TV reaction was almost uniformly enthusiastic in Group W’s cities where it was telecast from tape: Boston, Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh & San Francisco. ’’We’ll have to analyze it for about 30 days,” we were told by McGannon, a ”Man for AH Seasons” himself, who seems to be making major contributions to industry everywhere you turn (see p. 3). ’’But reaction to date bears out the contention that TV is a mass audience, theater a class audience. I think the theatergoer will see plays regardless of what’s on TV. They just like to go. It means that a play may succeed on TV where it might not in the theater. "Technically & dramatically, it was a success on TV. The conversion from the theater to tape was first class. We hope we can do more of them. There was an extraordinary response by the advertiser. We have to wait until the show closes before we can syndicate it. We’ve had 8 or 10 calls by stations which are eager to take it. I think we’ll break even, maybe make a little money. TV can j use innovations. The public wants an unusual dish.”