NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EDUCATIONAL BROADCASTERS N-A-E-B MS LETTER SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 1952 OFFICIAL NAEB DEVELOPMENTS NAEB AWARDS THIRTEEN RADIO-TV GRANTS - IN-AID Thirteen grants-in-aid for radio and television projects proposed by member stations have been made by the NAEB awards committee,, it was announced on October 15- The total amounts of the grants-in-aid comes to $78,500; divided as follows: $43,700 for television projects, and $34,800 for radio projects. Awards for TV programs were made to: the Universities of Miami ($8,200); Minnesota ($8,900); Oklahoma ($8,900); Stanford ($8,900); Syracuse ($6,700); and Wayne ($2,100). For projects in radio broadcasting, awards were as follows: University of Alabama ($5,000); Boston University ($5,800); University of Chicago ($6,500); Grinnell College (Iowa) ($3,400); Indiana University ($3,100); University of Michigan ($6,000); and the University of North Carolina ($5,000). Project Summaries A summary of each radio and television project is given below: Grinnell College (Iowa)--$3,400; "Americana”; radio; Political Affairs and Humanities. 13 fifteen-minute radio programs with "intelligently patriotic” motifs plus scripts in book form (150-200 copies) for distribution to educational institutions. Produc¬ tion by Grinnell College Radio Players. University of North Carolina— $5,000; "American Adventures"; radio; Humanities. A series of 13 half-hour dramatic productions exploring the heritage of values of Western civilization as these values affect the lives and strengthen the souls of individuals in crisis. The content of the series will consist of studies of intel¬ lectual, moral and cultural values significant in the development of American society. The form will be biographical drama. Wa yne University --$2,100; "The Nationalities that Make America"; television; Inter¬ national Understanding. Each program will take a different nationality and spotlight its collective way of life. Faculty members will trace that nationality's anthropological, racial charac¬ teristics and traits, its sociological trends and living habits, and language prob¬ lems. This will present the background for an interview with a prominent member of that race who has become a citizen. 13 half-hour shows. BE SURE TO ATTEND THE NAEB ANNUAL CONVENTION IN MINNEAPOLIS NOVEMBER 6-7-8 PROGRAM DETAILS IN THE SPECIAL CONVENTION ANNOUNCEMENT BEING SENT TO ALL PERSONS ON THE NEWS-LETTER MAILING LIST The N-A-E-B NEWS-LETTER, published monthly, is distributed from the national head¬ quarters office at the University of Illinois. N-A-E-B members and associate members receive the NEWS-LETTER as part of membership service. Non-members may obtain the publication at a subscription rate of $5.00 per year. All inquiries regarding sub¬ scriptions and distribution should be addressed to: NAEB, 119 Gregory Hall, Univer¬ sity of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois. Editorial copy and inquiries concerning editor¬ ial matters should be sent to the Editor, Burton Paulu, Station KUOM, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 14, Minnesota. - 2 - University of Michigan Grant University of Michigan --$6,000; "Freedom to Learn"; radio; Humanities. Thirteen half-hour dramatic sketches of men who'ee lives and' actions "under fire" made significant impacts on the development of modern education, academic freedom, and the freedom'of men to know and learn. Among those included in the series are: Socrates, Abelard, Bacon, Galileo, Scopes, Hutchins, Elliott, Schaefer, Mann. University of Alabama--$5>000J "Document Deep South"; radio; Economics An assessment of the economic resources of the southern states and the significance of this area in the national economy. The South is now one of the frontier areas of the nation and is playing an increasingly significant role. Eighteen half-hour tapes. Boston University —$5,800; "New England Renaissance"; radio; Humanities. Thirteen half-hour tapes. A "’radio pilgrimage’ of the favorite spots of the Tran- scendentalists, recreating as much as possible the situations and sounds the Tran¬ scendent alists knew. Into this ’tour’ will be woven some of their writings and inter¬ esting background about them. We will attempt to locate their descendents and inter¬ view them as to family memories. We intend to use also the familiar techniques of the documentary: the montage, the third dimensional, the dramatic narration, to help tell the story. As much of this as possible will be recorded in the field." The University of Miami— $8,200; "The Sea"; television; Economics. Ten fifteen-minute films on the economics of the sea; to inform adults of the eco¬ nomic effects of the sea on individuals, the nation and the world. Stanford University —$8,900; "People, Places and Politics"; television; International Understanding. "’The United States has moved into a position of world leadership, and has assumed large responsibilities for cooperation with other nations. Dependable facts and bet¬ ter understanding of all this implies are widely needed. . . . The method of treat¬ ment specifically proposed is one in which a series of speakers on fields wioh which they are thoroughly familiar shall make an interesting and informative approach to the various subtopics, using an informal approach. . . .’"13 half-hour kinescopes. Indiana University- -$3,100; "Folklore of Indiana"; radio; Humanities. Thirteen 15-minute tapes, "in which the music, legends, and customs of the various ethnic centers of Indiana would be studied, and definitive programs based on these studies will be produced." Material to be considered in series includes: Swiss, French, Rappites, Dunkards, Lithuan, Negro and "mountain" Anglo-Saxon groups in various Indiana centers. Syracuse University— $6,700; "Footnotes to America"; television; international understanding. Thirteen half-hour telecasts over WSYR-TV, to "show the cultural origins of our civilization and the adaptation we Americans have made of these origins. The ulti¬ mate goal is to help the viewer-listener understand our cultural dependence on the very nations with whom we are working in the United Nations; and, in this way, .to establish a feeling as well as a knowledge of our debt to others." - 3 - University of Oklahoma- -$8,900; "Camp Fires and War Drums”; television; Humanities. Nine films in color each ten minutes in length. Four groups of films on the dances and ceremonials of the Plains Indians: Children's Dances; Social Dances; War Dances Ceremonial Dances. Filmed in color and with multi-channel sound recording*. With th< assistance of the Sequoyah Indian Club and 3 6 Plains Indian tribes in Oklahoma. University of Minnesota --$8,900; "A Great Symphony Orchestra and the Region It Serves lf ; television; Humanities. Ten hour-long telecasts in cooperation with WCCO-TV and the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. The telecasts would consist of performances by the orchestra together with a series of intermission features which would review the contributions of the orchestra to the musical life of that section of the United States. The series is intended to show how television might be used in other sections of the country in developing popular support for the Humanities. University of Chicago --$6,500; several series on political, economic and cultural problems; radio; Humanities. "We propose to record on the University of Chicago campus, and present on WFMT, com¬ mentaries on outstanding classical drama; talks on political, economic, social, and cultural problems; readings from great poetry and essays; interviews with scholars from all over the world who regularly visit the University of Chicago; specially edited versions of important symposiums and lectures which occur regularly on the University campus. .- . JEFFERSONIAN HERITAGE RECEIVES NATIONAL ACCLAIM Favorable reviews in VARIETY, BILLBOARD and in countless local newspapers have greet¬ ed the airing of the first several programs in "The Jeffersonian Heritage," the 13- week series produced by the NAEB. Member stations of the NAEB which have been broadcasting "The Jeffersonian Heritage" have been extremely successful in publicizing the series through their local news¬ papers. News releases, both those issued by NAEB headquarters and by the various stations, have brought the series to public attention throughout the country. Following are only a few typical examples of what NAEB member stations have been doing across the country to publicize the series. At the University of Alabama, news bureau releases on the series have been printed i: a large number of dailies and weeklies throughout the WUQA(FM) listening area. WNYC, in New York, sends out its releases to the New York papers each week. In Wisconsin, in announcing the new series to the newspapers WHA’s director, H. B. McCarty, pointed out for feature coverage that the programs began the same day that inaugural broadcasts marked the completion of the final two stations in Wisconsin's state-owned FM network. Michigan's WUOM's bulletin, mailed to thousands of Michigan listeners, carried a full page announcement of "The Jeffersonian Heritage" in addi¬ tion to its regular program schedules. KUSD, at the University of South Dakota, prefaced its regular weekly news releases on the series with a story on the Ford Foundation grant to the NAEB which made possible the production of "The Jeffersonian Heritage." Newspaper columnists from the Minneapolis-St. Paul newspapers were invited to a special preview and luncheon by KUOM, at the University of Minnesota, to hear the first three of the series before they were broadcast. Each of the columnists de¬ voted at least one column to praise for the series along with recommendations to their readers to make every effort to hear the program. -% - On the national level, full page advertisements were taken by the NAEB in Broad ¬ casting , the Saturday Review, and the New York Times . The Times also printed editorials lauding the series. NAEB DELEGATION RETURNS FROM EUROPE An NAEB delegation made up of President Seymour Siegel, George Probst of the Univer¬ sity of Chicago Roundtable, and William Harley of WHA has recently returned from a trip to Europe where it arranged for an exchange of cultural programs between NAEB and the broadcasting systems of Great Britain, France, Switzerland and Italy. Previewing the report which the three will give at the November 8 (Saturday) after¬ noon session of the NAEB convention, Siegel reported that their 30 -day trip operated on such a tight schedule that "out of 10 days in Britain we were allowed exactly 15 minutes of free time." But the pace paid off, he said: the group succeeded in arranging up to 8 or 10 hours a week of cultural programming from abroad. Classic French dramas presented by top French actors will give the several million French students in this country a rare opportunity to hear the language at its spoken best, Siegel said. Opera broadcasts from Italy will provide good listening for music lovers. From BBC, NAEB will receive more full-length dramatic programs and a number of current event features including a new series on international affairs which is already being produced in England for broadcast here beginning in October. NAEB to Produce for the BBC Too ' ' NAEB.on its part is recording a series on American foreign policy for broadcast by the BBC, as well as a new series entitled Talk Back in which average citizens record their comments on statements of prominent figures and topics of general concern. NAEB also is offering for use abroad The Jeffersonian Heritage series now being broadcast here. The group also arranged for BBC to produce a series of 13 half-hour TV films on aspects of British Culture for telecast in the U f S., and in Italy, where they found film costs only about a quarter or a third the U.S. rate, they planned a series of documentary TV shows on Italian art and history, to be filmed by James Willard and David Kurland. These and other foreign programs will be ready for use by American educational TV stations by the time they are on the air, Siegel anticipates. TWO 'NAEB MEMBERS CONTRIBUTE TO QUARTERLY The University of California^ Quarterly of Film, Radio and Television has published an article, "Give the Television Code a Chance," by Robert Swezey, vice-president and director of the WDSU Broadcasting Corporation, New Orleans, who is chairman of the television board of the NARTB‘, which administers the TV code. The article ex¬ plains the origination of the code, and replies to criticisms of its structure and operations published in TV Magazine and other publications. The fall issue of the Quarterly also contains "The Challenge of the 2^2 Channels" by Burton Paulu, NAEB Secretary, and "What Television Programming Is Like" by Dallas Smythe, NAEB studies director. Smythe supervised the New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles TV program studies of the National Association of Educational Broadcasters. The issue is available ($1.25) from the University of California Press, Berkeley 4, California. - 5 j: NEWS OFNAEB RADIO_ BOSTON SYMPHONY, ORCHESTRA—YEAR'S REVIEW—MARK WGBH ANNIVERSARY The opening Saturday night performance of the new season of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a review of the past year's programs marked the first anniversary Of Boston's educational FM station, WGBH, operated with the advice and cooperation of . the Lowell Institute Cooperative Broadcasting Council. The year's review of WGBH programs included the presidents and head's of the Council members as they inaugurated the station a year ago. The Coordinators of the Council, appointees of the presidents and directors of the Council members, discussed the operations and accomplishments of the station's first year. Continuing the year's review after the officials of the Council, WGBH presented selections from the seven college and extension courses in drama, history, psychology politics and modern literature, which were broadcast for women listeners afternoons through the year. These were followed by : highlights from the late afternoon music courses in the symphony, ballet, madrigal and musid of the baroque period. Profes¬ sor G. Wallace Woodworth of Harvard spoke in a selection from Tomorrow's Symphony, ‘ twice weekly preparation for the Friday and Saturday symphony concerts. Review of Prograrls Nancy Harper, of the Nursery Training School, a Tufts affiliate, presented a special Children's Circle broadcast, and Louis M. Lyons, Curator of the Nieman Fellowships at Harvard, recreated his eulogy of the late Harold Ross, editor of the New Yorker magazine. • ••• • •• Leading college and university specialists who interpreted important issues and events nightly were heard in a review of Faculty Report. An excerpt from John Gielgud's performance in the British Broadcasting Corporation production of. Hamlet was included in a review of international broadcasts of the year. Hamlet has been broadcast three times, by WGBH, according to station policy of repeating exceptional programs. Another international highlight was Mclnantv's Reel played by the Radio Eireann Orchestra, under the direction of Francesco Manda and selected from a broad¬ cast prepared especially for WGBH by Radio Eireann. WGBH feature broadcasts were also reviewed with selections from Old Books: Old Friends, New England Conservatory recitals, Lowell Institute lectures. Say It In French , a radio course in spoken French, and other series produced, by the.Council staff,., ' Symphony Broadcast Includes Silent Intermission During the Anniversary broadcast performance of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, WGBH observed its nationally known "intermission silence." This innovation in symphony broadcasting was initiated to give listeners ah opportunity to enjoy the intermission as they would if they were in Symphony Hall actually attending the performance. ... Following the concert, the Honorable Paul A. Walker, Chairman of the Federal Com¬ munications Commission, delivered a special message to conclude the Anniversary . program. - 6 - Lovell Council Organized in 19^6 The Lovell Institute Cooperative Broadcasting Council* vhich presents the major part of WGBH programs*- vas organized in September, 19^-6, by Boston College* Boston Univer¬ sity, Harvard University, Lovell Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology* Northeastern University and Tufts College. The Boston Symphony Orchestra* the Nev England,Conservatory of Music and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Joined the Council during the year. Today the Council is the only organization of its kind in the United States, and is generally recognized as being unique in the history of American education and broadcasting. The Council continues to present programs over cooperat¬ ing commercial stations in Boston vhich provide time and facilities vithout cost. WISCONSIN NET AIRS "FRESHMAN FORUM" PROGRAM Radio listeners throughout Wisconsin Join University of Wisconsin freshmen in Madison and Extension Centers to make up the "student body" for a course this year outlining resources for richer living. Starting Tuesday, September 23* listeners at home or in class are heading 17 outstanding university faculty members* teachers of this semes¬ ter’s "Freshman Forum." Included in course subject matter are such topics as philosophy* music, dance, litera¬ ture, art, and politics. Lectures are carried on the tvo state AM radio stations and the eight-station FM netvork at 11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Thursday is discus¬ sion day for classroom students. Moderator for the program vill be Frederick , Haberman* professor of speech. Program Goals "Freshman Forum," Haberman explained, has tvo major purposes: 1. To stimulate the freshman’s interest in various subjects offered by the university 2. To introduce the freshmen to a selected group of renovned'university professors Previous forums have centered around' the themes of freedom, vhat it means and hov it came to be* and modern science related to human needs. Some topics to be studied this fall are: "The Uses' of Philosophy"; "Enjoying Plays- On and Off the Stage"; "Why Men Dance"; "Literature as a Personal Resource"; "The Opportunities of Citizenship"; "Art - Why Don’t We Live Without It?"; and "Moral Force and Atomic Energy in the War of Ideas." Forum Speakers Lecturers vill be Dean John Guy Fovlkes* education; Walter R. Agard, classics de¬ partment; Julius Weinberg, philosophy; Ronald E. Mitchell, speech department; Mrs. Shirley B. Genther, physical education; Robert J. Francis, physical education; and Roe-Merrill Heffner, German department. Other speakers are Paul Wiley, English; James S. Watrous, art history; Richard Church, music; Chester Easum, history; David Fellman, political science; Graham Hovey, Journalism; Ervin Gaumnitz, commerce; Elizabeth Brandeis, economics; Edmund Zavacki, Slavic languages; Lt. Col. Jack C. Jeffrey, Corps of Engineers ROTC. - 7 - UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA NAMES HARWOOD RADIO HEAD Dr. Kenneth Harwood has been named head of the University of Alabama Department of Radio. He also was promoted to the rank of full professor. During the 1951-1952 academic year Dr. Harwood was acting head of the department and associate professor of radio. He joined the University of Alabama faculty in 1950 director of radio and television research with rank of assistant professor. The department operates carrier-current station WABP and is an associate member of. NAEB. Alabama Documents Series Continued The Radio Broadcasting Services of the University Extension Division will again pro¬ duce the "Alabama Documents" series this fall. The series which won national recog¬ nition last Spring will again be.directed by Walt Whitaker and written by LeRoy Bannerman. In the past, Alabama’s natural resources have been the subject of the program. This fall* the "Alabama Documents" series will go.beyond the state and will analyze the natural resources of the deep South as well. . Faculty Summer Activities Two professors in the University of Alabama Department of Radio have completed summer study of radio-TV topics. Assistant professor W. Knox Hagood, who has been a radio-television combat corres¬ pondent in Korea, studied television at Ohio State University in the summer. He hold a Northwestern University, master's degree in radio. As a part of his summer research Professor Hagood designed a student-operated television station. Don C. Smith, veteran newscaster and assistant professor of radio, began a year’s leave of absence with summer study at Ohio State University. During his leave for pre-doctoral work. Professor Smith is specializing in program research. His master's degree in radio was earned at Ohio State. JOHN BACHMAN TAKES OVER AS SPEECH--AUDIO-VISUAL HEAD AT UNION THEOLOGICAL The Rev. John Bachman, appointed recently Head of the Speech Department and Director of the Audio-Visual Program at Union Theological Seminary, began his work this fall. Professor Bachman was formerly Chairman of the Radio Department at Baylor University., Waco, Texas. Professor JBachraan is a graduate of Capital University, Columbus, Ohio, where he later was Chairman of the.Department of Speech.' He received a'master’s degree in speech and radio from Ohio State University. In April this year, Bachman was elected Vice- President of the University Association of Professional Radio Educators. He has served on the Faculty of Workshops sponsored by the Radio and Film Commission of the National Council of Churches and has represented the American Lutheran Church on the same Commission. He is also a member of’the Educational Committee of"the Broadcasting and Film Commission of the National Council of Churches, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Junior Town Meeting League of America, and an Associate Editor of Player's Magazine . Erection of the Mills Memorial Audio-Visual Center of which Bachman will have charge was made possible by a Davella Mills Foundation grant of •$165*000. It occupies 68,000 cubic feet on the. ground floor of Auburn Hall, a five-story addition to the Seminary Administration Building dedicated a year ago. The center includes a lecture room for choral practice and .lectures, a music studio for recordings and reproductions, and a preaching studio for teaching and practice in all aspects of public worship. There Is also a radio control room, a music record library, a film library, and two studios for individual practice and listening. - 8 - WKAR CELEBRATES THIRTY YEARS OF BROADCASTING August marked the thirtieth anniversary of radio broadcasting for WKAR, Michigan State College. The station was first licensed August 18, 1922. On the anniversary, a special program was aired with congratulatory messages from the President of Michi¬ gan State College, the Extension Director and the Director of the Experiment S-nation. Newspapers and magazines ran feature stories on the contributions of WKAR to the Michigan community it serves during the past thirty years. MINNESOTA’S KXJQM SETS RADIO-TV FALL PROGRAMMING A television series aired weekly over a local outlet, a radio lecture broadcast thrice weekly from a classroom on the campus, and a full schedule of children s pxo- grams and adult education series make up KUOM’s fall program offerings. Time for the television series, which will run for 13 weeks, was offered by WCCO-TV to the University of Minnesota’s radio station KUOM, A previous 12-week television series over the same commercial station a year ago received national lecognition in VARIETY magazine. This new series will he in the fields of World Affairs, Child Development, and Conservation. University, Minnesota State Department, and World Affairs Center personnel will advise and appear on these programs. Twelve different series make up the offerings of the Minnesota School of the Air, broadcast over KUOM for in-school listening. These series are also distributed via tape to schools in the five-state area of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota and Iowa, through the services of the Minnesota State Department of Educa¬ tion’s Tape exchange, KUOM’s adult education programming includes a series by Alistair Cooke, correspondent for the Manchester Guardian. This program is a delayed transcription offered to KUOM by the local ABC outlet which cannot broadcast it due to other commitments for that time. "American Political Parties," the classroom lecture, and talks on law and^medicine are three discussion programs featured this quarter. "The Legal Handbook" is dis¬ tributed by the Minnesota Bar Association to 20 commercial stations throughout the state. Criticism and analysis of news, politics and the arts round out the news programming. Two shows--"Background of the News" and "Critically Speaking"—are heard daily after the afternoon newscast. "Critically Speaking" received an award at the IERT Columbus 1952 convention. U. OF WISCONSIN’S SCHOOL OF THE AIR OPENS 22ND YEAR The University of Wisconsin’s "School of the Air" is. bringing 10 different radio programs each week into Wisconsin schoolrooms to supplement the offerings of local teachers this year, H. B. McCarty, director of the State Radio Service, has announced. The courses range from art to science, and individual courses are aimed at different grade-levels, from the first to the 10th. The in-school listening programs are available for the first time this year to all schools in the state, since the last two stations in the State Radio Council FM network have been completed. The programs this year are being broadcast over the. state’s two AM stations, WHA, Madison and WLBL, Auburndale; and its eight FM stations at Madison, Delafield, Chilton, Rib Mountain* Colfax* West Salem, Highland and Brule. ST. LOUIS SCHOOL BOARD INCREASES USE OF RADIO STATION Increased and more effective use of the St.. Louis, Mo., Board of Education's FM Radio Station, KSLH, is being made this year, public, school principals wer.e ; told at a- conference recently by Superintendent of Public Instruction Philip J. Hickey. It was made plain at the meeting that KSLH is regarded as an important audio-visual aid which will continue to receive more attention and which will not be displaced bj the expected local, educational TV station. MIAMI UNIVERSITY’S RADIO-TV CHAIRMAN RESUMES POSITION Professor Sydney W. Head has,resumed chairmanship of the Radio and Television Depart ment of the University of Miami after a year leave of absence to work on his Ph.D. Professor Head has completed his course work in mass communications at New York •University under Prof. Charles Siepmann. He expects to complete his thesis by the end of 1952. His thesis is in the area of the sociology of mass communications and deals specifically with a content analysis of the social aspects of television drama In addition to supervising the instructional, and program'production work of the Radi and Television Department, Prof. Head will teach "Survey of Broadcasting," conduct e senior seminar in "Communications "and Society," and direct research, special proj¬ ects, and internships. During Prof. Head’s absence, 0. P. Kidder, Jr., associate professor of Radio-TV, was acting chairman in charge of academic phases of the department, and Oliver Griswold, program coordinator, handled administration. TV Programs Back on the Air ' The University of Miami Radio and.Television^ Department has been asked by WTVJ to return all of its TV programs to the aid this fall. w Lee Ruwitch, vice-president and general manager of WTVJ, has written Oliver Griswold. Radio-TV Department program coordinator, that each university program has added prestige to the schedule. "Naturally, we want to make sure that the University of Miami will be represented again this year," Ruwitch wrote. "All of the programs presented by the University during the past three years, have been well-received by the viewing public and we at WTVJ are proud.to have had the facilities for.their presentation. Each new Univer¬ sity program has added prestige to our schedule." The Radio-TV Department starts its Television Workshop Series of programs on Sunday, Oct. 26, with a "Science Show Window," featuring Allan McNap,,Director of the Lowe Gallery, interviewed by Oliver Griswold in a demonstration Of "Art Records the Progress of Science." >. :„ • * FCC GRANTS FM CHANNEL CHANGE TO U. OF MICHIGAN The University of Michigan was recently given authority by the FCC to transfer Its non-commercial, educational FM station WFUM in'Flint from channel 209 to commercial channel 296.- The. station will continue non-commercial operations. The change waS made to eliminate some interference in Flint .to reception of television station WJIM-TV in nearby Lansing. 10 KANSAS U. BEGINS FM BROADCASTING - .. .. The University of Kansas has gotten into FM radio.. Its new station,, KANU, began regular broadcasting Sept. 10, R. Edwin Browne., director of radio, announced recently. KANU operates at 91.5 megacycles on the FM dial, with a clear,signal receivable over a 70-mile radius from Lawrence. It broadcasts by means of a 10,000-watt transmitter and a 511 -foot tower. The station is a gift to the Kansas University School of Journalism by-John B. Harris and Sydney F. Harris, Hutchinson and Ottawa publishers, as a memorial to their uncle, Fred M. Harris, a former member of the state board of regents. For many years, Kansas University has owned and operated KFKU, an AM station, which splits time with WREN, Topeka. DULUT H FM STATION TO CARRY WISCONSIN PROGRAMS . WEBC-FM in Duluth, Minnesota, which was wrecked by a storm some months ago and has since been silent, is being rebuilt and will soon return to the air on a regular basis. The station has expressed an interest in rebroadcasting the Wisconsin School of the Air for children in Northern Minnesota, and will be given permission to do so. An FM sales campaign is being staged at present in Duluth-Superior and surrounding communities. . FAR MORE FM More than 40,000 classes in New York City grade schools and high schools will listen each week during this school year to the Board of Education's WNYE (FM) programs, according to the 1952-53 program bulletin. Rapid growth from 9,000 classes in the 1947-48 school year was attributed by school officials to the greater availability of FM radios in schools and to improved programming. POSITIONS WANTED TV and radio writer with 12 years of commercial radio experience seeks connection with university or other educational station. Experience with creation and wr±ting of all program and commercial types both in radio and TV. Executive experience: commercial production manager for TV station, continuity director in local and regional stations. Available immediately. Frank C. Hart, Box 93* Route #3 > Batavia, Ohio. Music Program Director, A.B. cum laude, 19^9* A.M. 1952, Harvard University, ass't. to A. V. Frankenstein, H.U. 1951 and 1952; married; will travel; wide musical expe¬ rience; for further information and references write: Victor Yellin, 653 Concord Ave., Cambridge 38 , Mass., Tel: TF. 6 -6095; New York address: 211 E. l4th St., New York 3 , N. Y., Tel: OR3-93^5- Former Director of Promotion for Broadcasting and Film Commission, National Council of Churches seeks position in educational radio. Has e^erience in audience promo¬ tion, radio, TV and TV films; also, programming, continuity-and dramatic -writing, teaching experience in radio and TV workshops. Master's degree from U. of Chicago. For more details write to: Miss Marjorie Hyer, 520 East 12th St., New York City, N. Y. NEWS OF NAEB TELEVISION EDUCATIONAL TV BOX SCORE AS OF OCTOBER 20, 1952 As we go to press the FCC has granted a total of 10 television construction permits, 9 for educational noncommercial stations and 1 for a station on a commercial channel (which will be operated noncommercially, however). These have been given to 5 licensees as follows: . ; \ . CP's on Reserved Channels Los Angeles, California - Channel.28 The Allan Hancock Foundation of the University of Southern California Manhattan, Kansas - Channel 8 The Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science . New York State Albany - Channel IT New York City - Channel 25 Buffalo - Channel 23 Rochester - Channel 21 Binghamton - Channel 46 Syracuse - Channel 43 Houston, Texas - Channel 9 v ■ The University of Houston with the Houston Independent School District CP on Commercial Channel East Lansing, Michigan - : Channel 60 Michigan State College Action Is Pending on Five Other Applications for Reserved Channels San Francisco, California - Channel 9 The Bay Area Educational Television.Association Miami, Florida - Channel 2 The Lindsay Hopkins Vocational School of the Dade County Board of Public Instruction New Brunswick, New Jersey - Channel 19 The State Department of Education New York Stat'e Ithaca -Channel 14. Utica - Channel 25 > The Board of Regents of the University of the, State of New. York Note': The Board of Regents also is preparing applications for reserved channels in Malone and Poughkeepsie Applications Have Been Filed by Educational Institutions for Non-Reserved Channels Cornell University, Ithaca, New York - Channel 20 University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri - Channel 8 Port Arthur College, Port Arthur, Texas - Channel 4 Loyola University, New Orleans, Louisiana - Channel 4 - 12 COMMISSIONER WEBSTER MAKES CORRECTION ' The August 1952 News-Letter carried on page 3 tile following statement: "Commissioner Edward M. Webster, in a dissenting opinion, asserted that per¬ mits for state-supported educational television stations should not be issued until state legislatures had appropriated funds for construction and operation of the stations. Channels set aside for education, Webster said, should be kept open for other applicants until the appropriation of funds assured that they would be used.” • Commissioner Webster Writes to Comment Under date of September 8 Commissioner Webster wrote to the editor of the News- Letter stating that this did not properly represent his opinion in the matter. For the record the Commissioner’s complete letter is reprinted herewith: "On August lh, 1952 I dissented from the Commission’s decision to grant the applications, of certain financially unqualified state-supported educational groups requesting authority to construct and operate educational television stations. State legislatures, which must appropriate funds necessary for the construction and operation of such stations, meet only once every two years, or possibly every year - depending upon their state constitutions. I was and am of the opinion that the granting of construction permits to applicants who have received no appropriation for this purpose might pre¬ vent privately endowed educational organizations from going forward with plans to construct and operate educational television stations during this time because of the lack of facilities. I stated further that I considered it in the public interest to keep these channels open for use by as''many, varied educational groups as possible. In other words, I took the position that smaller schools, with private capital, also have something to offer the public, and I consider'it my duty to see'that an'opportunity is afforded them to construct and operate educational television stations if they are qualified to do so. I also said that I recognized that there is a sub¬ stantial difference in the manner in which private capital and public funds are obtained and conceivably a situation may develop where it would be in the public interest to grant construction permits to educational groups before they are definitely in possession of funds necessary for the construction and operation of educational television stations. "I feel constrained to call your attention to the wording'in the August NAEB NEWS LETTER which sums up my dissent by stating that I said educational channels should be kept open for other applicants until the appropriation of funds assured that they would be used. The omission of the word educa¬ tional between other and applicants abridged my remarks to the point where, in my opinion, their real meaning is lost. While I am sure this was not intended by your publication; nevertheless, inasmuch as the. Commission’s 6th Report and Order with respect to the television frequency assignment plan permits commercial interests to seek reassignment of educational channels for commercial purposes after one year, anyone not having access to my dissent might easily assume from the NEWS LETTER item that the 'other applicants' mentioned therein referred to commercial interests. - 13 - "Since, as I stated in my dissent, it is my opinion that the public interest will be served best by keeping channels open for- use-by as . many varied educational groups as possible until a trend or.development in the educational television field can be observed, undoubtedly, for the present, I will be expressing myself in the same vein .in connection with other financially unqualified educational applicants. The MS LETTER will, I assume, have reason to again refer to my remarks. I will appreciate'it if my position is made unequivocably clear to your readers.-." • .. ... _ ... - ' . WISCONSIN- TV PLANS: • TV PROJECT DIRECTOR NAMED; SEMINAR HELD Raymond J. Stanley, a member of the Wisconsin faculty since 19^6 and production manager of the University’s radio station, WHA, since 19^8, has been named project director of the University of Wisconsin Television Laboratory by the University radio-television committee. He will coordinate the operations of the UW’s closed- circuit television operations, which will be located in the former Chemical Engineer¬ ing Building, near the WHA studios. Dean John Guy Fowlkes of the UW School of Education, who will head a special tele¬ vision research committee, recently named as members of the committee: Professors Richard C. Church, School of Music; Burton R. Fisher, sociology; Chester W. Harris, School of Education; M. Leslie Holt, chemistry; Bryant E. Kearl, agricultural Jour¬ nalism; Lowell E. Noland, zoology; Robert L. Reynolds, history; William H. Sewell, rural sociology; Kurt F. Wendt, College of Engineering; and Dean William S. Middleton of the Medical School. Consultants for the committee will be Professors Glenn Koehler, Cqllege of [Engineer¬ ing; Walter Wittich, Extension Division; Raymond J. Stanley, the project director; and Harold B. McCarty, director of WHA. i ■ •• r ‘. Stanley, who was prominent in radio work as a UW student, received his bachelor of science degree in education at the University in 1939, and his UW master of philos¬ ophy degree in 19^0. He taught at the University of Nebraska and at Michigan State, where he was program supervisor for WKAR, before he entered the Navy for war service in 19^2. The television research committee^.Dean Fowlkes said, was set up as a special group to help guide research into television. "We will try to learn something.about the effectiveness of television presentations and techniques, and perhaps develop new methods. It is our hope that we can throw some light on the educational values of the medium," Dean Fowlkes said. Summer Seminar Held Several outstanding planners and producers in educational television were brought to the Wisconsin campus last summer by the Television Committee Of the University Exten¬ sion Division. The purpose was to provide guidance and stimulation for those con¬ cerned about the possibilities of television as an extension tool of the University. The series opened with two sessions conducted by Armand Hunter, director of tele¬ vision research and television at Michigan State College. Speakers were: Barclay Leatham, Western Reserve University, Cleveland; John'Ross.Winnie,.State University of Iowa; Garnet Garrison, Director of Television, University of Michigan; and,Colby Lewis, Producer-Director, WTMJ, Milwaukee. - lb - WNYE RESUMES TV SERIES On October 6th the New York Board of Education resumed its television series "The Living Blackboard." The programs, produced in cooperation with the New Yo rk Daily News television station WPIX on Channel 11 are telecast every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of the school year at 11:30 A.M. Following the successful pattern set last year, three subject areas are explored each week. On Mondays there is a new guidance program. Your Life and Your L iving, featur¬ ing sequences from selected educational films, live dramatic episodes, student participants and interesting guests from many fields of work. Dr Frances M. Wilson Director of Guidance for the Board of Education, serves as moderator On Wednesdays, Louis Kleinman, the Coordinator of the High School of the Air for Home Instruction, airs the program he initiated last year, Science At Your Fingertips. Topics in the area of General Science are covered in these broadcasts during this school term. A study guide has been prepared to supplement the telecasts. New Topics A new offering in the field of the arts is the Friday presentation, Hobbies and . Crafts . As the name implies, the program will explore such fascinating, and varied, fields as jewelry-making, ceramics, photography, ornamental painting and ham radio operating. The topics for the new "Living Blackboard" series were not chosen at random by the producers of the programs but were selected on the basis of preferences indicated by the high school students on home instruction via a poll conducted last spring. Althbugh "The Living Blackboard" is designed to supplement the work of the home instruction teachers and the radio broadcasts of the High School of the Air, James F. Macandrew, Director of Broadcasting, and Mrs. Dorothy Klock, Television Super¬ visor for the Board of Education, hope that teachers and pupils in the schools.of the city will use the programs this year wherever television receivers are available. KPRC OFFERS EQUIPMENT TO EDUCATORS Television facilities valued at more than $150,000 have been placed at the disposal of the Houston, Texas, School Board by the Houston Post Co ., licensee of KPRC-AM- FM-TV in that city. The offer was made by former Governor W. P.. Hobby,. Houston Post president, and Oveta Culp Hobby, executive vice-president. A similar offer was made to the U. of Houston Board of Regents. The two educational organizations are joint licensees of Channel 8, Houston’s non-commercial educational outlet. Acceptance of the offer was indicated by Holger Jeppesen, chairman of the school board's TV committee, who said: "I find this one of the most generous offers we’ve ever had. There was no price tag on this, but by checking I've found that we stand to get equipment valued in ekcess of $ 150 , 000 .” The Hobbys in a letter to the board noted their interest in educational TV and "for these reasons, the Houston Post Co . has decided to offer to you, as a gift, certain of its present facilities....These include without attempting to be specific, the studio building,* sets and props; transmitter building; office, storage and shop space; 500 -foot tower and its facilities...." The letter pointed out that should the offer be accepted, Channel 8 would be on the air sooner than anticipated. The gift will be'effective about Feb. 1 when a new plant being constructed for KPRC-TV will be ready for occupancy. - 15 - ILLINOIS U’S PROF. GOBLE WRITES ON 'TV--AN EDUCATIONAL FUNCTION ’ George W. Goble, Professor of Lay at’the - 'University'or 'Illinois, wrote a letter to the editor of the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette Commenting on the propriety of an educational institution’s operating an educational television station* Because of its application to situations which may arise elsewhere in the country, Goble’s let¬ ter—originally, published on April 10, 1952--is reproduced here for Newg-Letter readers who may,have missed it When it recently was circulated by the . JC-sT. Letter Makes Four Points "Much has appeared recently in the: public prints on the relative claims of the University of Illinois and private business to a license to operate a television station in this locality*..: As against the University’s claim it has been urged that the operation of a station by the University would be an interference with freedom of enterprise, that it Is not an educational function* that it would in¬ volve an unjustifiable expenditure of public funds, and that the people do not want educational programs. Hence, it is asserted private business has a clear priority over the .University for obtaining a license from the federal communica¬ tions commission. I would like to make some observations on each of these points "(1) It is difficult to see upon what theory a commercial agency has a priority over a public institution to the free use. of air space which is a part of the public domain. Private business does not own the space through which it must propel electrical waves in order,to. transmit its services to the people. This space is at the disposal of the. government for the public good, and the Univer¬ sity being a public agency ought to have.a claim to its use fpt educational pur¬ poses superior or at least equal to the, claim of a private institution. University TV Not Unfair Competition "Moreover if the University enters the telecasting field it will not come into un¬ justifiable competition with business;, as some critics have charged. The prin¬ cipal objective of the University, in operating a television station will be to provide the people 1 with.educational and cultural programs. In doing this' it wilj not engage in private business. It will not compete in selling the air as an advertising medium, nor as an agent for the purchase or sale of goods or services of any kind. The primary purpose for whiqh private enterprise proposes to use the air is advertising. It will sell time on the air at so much per minute, dur¬ ing which the merits of various commodities and services will be repeatedly ex¬ tolled and proclaimed. Between commercials, programs of a type primarily calcu¬ lated to attract other and bigger commercials will be planned and staged. This is not said disparagingly. The procedure must‘necessarily be of this type becaus of the nature of the enterprise. In no other way can the business be conducted profitably. In no other way can many..costly and valuable programs be placed on the air. But these considerations serve to point'up'the'fundamental'differences in the objectives of a University and a commercial television station. There is an overlap. There are conflicts. But each has its place. There-is no unjusti¬ fiable invasion of the freedom of'enterprise by the University. It. must not be • overlooked that public education is as deeply rooted in the American tradition as private enterprise. TV Station Operation Within Education's Orbit "(2) Is operating a television station a University function? The function of a university is education, and education consists at least partly in the dissemina¬ tion of ..information and ideas by means of lectures, demonstrations, books, movies.. • radio and other methods of communication. Television is one of the most effec¬ tive forms of communication yet contrived 'by man. Its educational potentialities are still beyond the reaches of the imagination* It has the power to place hitherto unavailable educational opportunities.within the homes of thousands of people, young and old. Should this valuable educational device be denied to the University because private business desires it for use as an advertising medium? Fund Appropriation Also Proper "( 3 ) It would seem to follow that if the operation of a television station is an educational function, the appropriation of public fluids for its operation would be justifiable. Of course the legislature would still control the purse strings, and would have the ultimate power to determine the allocation of funds to it. The vote of legislators on the. matter, no doubt, would be determined by its proved value to the people of the state. The objection by commercial stations tc the expenditure of funds by the state for television is no more valid than an ob¬ jection by privately owned technical and engineering schools to state expendi¬ tures for engineering shops and laboratories. Critics On Horns of Dilemma Do the people of the state want educational programs? On this point the representatives of private business are on the horns of a dilemma. If they say the people do not want educational programs, a University station would offer them no competition in public appeal, and their objection on this score would have to be withdrawn. If they say a University station will offer them competi¬ tion then they must recognize that the people want educational programs. Now if privately operated stations propose to sponsor educational programs then it is admitted that telecasting is an enterprise, into which the University, as an edu¬ cational institution, has a right to enter. If the people of the state want edu¬ cational programs and are willing to pay the costs to enable the University to supply them, why are they not entitled to them? It can hardly be contended at this late date that education is not a matter of public concern or that it should not be supported at public expense. TV Station Operation May Be Private or Public "It is not denied that television Is a legitimate and desirable field in which private enterprise may operate, or that television advertisement is not a bene¬ ficial and an essential branch of that business. The contrary is true. Nor is it contended that the University should have exclusive telecasting rights in this area of the state. The contention is simply that the operation of a television station comes within the proper sphere of education and that the University, in order to perform its educational responsibilities should be granted either full^ or part time control over a television station. If all available practicable air channels were awarded to commercial institutions then the vesting of substantial interests in reliance thereon could forever block education from entering the field. This might well have serious consequences. A monopoly in television by business would be as harmful as monopoly in television by the state." NARTB REQUEST DENIED BY FCC IN SCHOOL BID The request of the NARTB for reconsideration of the FCC’s grant of a television con¬ struction permit to Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science, Manhattan, Kansas, was denied recently by the Commission. The NARTB had claimed the FCC’s July 23 grant had violated the Commission rules re¬ quiring all TV applicants, without distinction between commercial and educational applicants, to be legally, technically and financially qualified as a condition to grant without hearing. The Commission rejected the NARTB claim that the grant actually affected an amendment of the rules and was, therefore, a rule-making matter. In such case, NARTB had con¬ tended, the association and/or individual persons could be parties in interest. NARTB had explained, after polling Its board on the proposed protest, that the peti¬ tion was not filed in opposition to the Kansas State College grant but to the manner of FCC handling. - 17 - COMMISSIONER WALKER ADDRESSES' WO I '-TV WORKSHOP :Vi The TV Workshop held in August at WOI-TV,. Ames, Iowa, under tha sponsorship of the HAEB and WOI-TV, was addressed by. FCO Chairman Paul A. Walker oh'"The Job Ahead for Educational TV." Following are some of Commissioner Walker's remarks: Meet Here to learn How to Build and Operate Stations "For the first time in the history, of television, we have here a national meeting of educators called not to consider whether they should build educational tele¬ vision stations or if. they can build stations, but to study how to build and how to operate educational television stations. ... : Need to Do Careful Job With Form 301 "The novice in these matters may find it hard to believe, but I assure you there is a very good reason for all’the questions on Form 301* Our experience is that when a school,files an application, it is anxious to get action from the Commis¬ sion forthwith. I offer you this earnest suggestion: I)o.not do'a superficial ■ job. The better job you do on your application form, the more complete your in¬ formation is, the less corresponding Ve have to do, the faster you can expect action* ... . .. "Please keep these three basic ..inquiries in mind: The Commission must know exactly who is asking for'the” Construction permit . Sometimes two or more educational in¬ stitutions apply jointly but unless they have, banded together to form a corpora¬ tion or some other form of single.organization, how can the FCC look to any one unit as the .responsible party? "Then, even if there is some kind of organization, you must make it clear just how the several schools, colleges or other units have the authority to join and pledge funds. " " r ... .I.../. "The third basic point is to inform the Commission as to the source of the funds for your station and how they will be obtained. . . . Impact on Both Commercial and Educational TV "I do not minimize your responsibilities. You are being entrusted with much- sought-after channels in one of the..nation,' a .mostvaluable resources—the radio spectrum. This whole movement is a bold experiment. The whole nation, and indeed, nations beyond the seas, are watching your progress. ,."X have commented on the influence you can :have on educational television. But I believe that you are destined also,.to. have a significant impact on commercial television. ^ I am sure that you are going to develop many'ideas which commercial broadcasters may find worthy of adoption. And thus, the creative work that you >" are soon to be launched on will enrich the whole fabric of American television broadcasting. ... , "You are preparing to use the mighty power of;television to help correct weak¬ nesses in our educational system--weaknesses which are among.the most glaring in our society. • "You are stepping up your attack on these problems through television under the pressure of the world crisis which demands immediate strengthening of our democracy. ■' "First, there is the: insistent challenge .of illiteracy. . . . - 18 - Educational Challenge*of Overcrowding "Then there is the challenge of over-crowding in our elemeptary schools and high schools: 300,000 classrooms are needed immediately. And, because of the increase in population, another 300,000 will be needed in 1958. "There is the challenge of the shortage of elementary school teachers, now esti¬ mated at 53,000. "There is the challenge represented by the millions of eligible young men and women who are unable to go to college mainly because of economic reasons. For every American boy and girl now in college, there is another boy and girl quali¬ fied to attend but who is not attending because of lack of funds. . . . "Implicit in all these problems is this challenge: In a democracy we are extremely sensitive to the rights, the privileges, the potentialities and the aspirations of the child or the adult as an individual . As a general principle, we believe in equality of opportunity in education. In addition, educational leaders point out the.value of an educated citizen to his community and to his nation. "Every time we fail to capitalize fully on the minds of our youth by not giving them the fullest educational opportunities that they are capable of employing, we are guilty of a monstrous waste of human resources.... Important Role of Adult Education Overlooked "The Report of the President’s Commission on Higher Education had this to say of the role of the colleges in this field: "’The present status of university extension service makes it painfully clear that the colleges and universities do not recognize adult education as their poten¬ tially greatest service to democratic society . It is pushed aside as something quite extraneous to the real business of the university.’ "The President’s Commission pointed out that elevating adult education to a posi¬ tion of equal importance with any other function would require more teachers, more manpower in administration and a very considerable increase in budget. But the Commission did not concede that this is the biggest obstacle. Should Broaden Concept to Include TV "The principal obstacle, it asserted, is the limited concept that higher education still holds of its role in a free and democratic society. "’It must broaden that concept,’ the Commission declared. ’It must cease to be campus-bound. It must take the university to the people wherever they are to be found and by every available and effective means for the communication of ideas and the stimulation of intellectual curiosity. . . "As directors of these educational stations, you have your work cut out for you in helping Americans to adjust themselves to their new responsibilities as citizens of a nation commanding world leadership, citizens who must study and solve cor¬ rectly many knotty international problems. . . . "Ladies and gentlemen, the beginning of educational television in America is in your hands. The children of America, the grownups of America, hungry for the benefits you have to offer, await the fruit of your efforts. Nowhere in the world have educators been armed with the power you now have at hand to speed the education of an entire nation. I know that you approach the fulfillment of your mission with a sense of high resolve, of humility and of dedication. And knowing this, I know that success will crown your labors." ST. LOUIS TV. STATION. FORECAST WITHIN-. ONE YEAH Opening of a St. Louis educational TV station Vithin a year appears to be a virtual certainty. Chairman Raymond H..Wittcdff of the Mayor's Committee on Educational Television said, ."There is every reason to believe we will have it." Writeoff, a manufacturer and president of the Adult Education Council of St. Louis,^ said the project is materializing in large part because of "magnificent cooperation" from area public and parochial schools and Washington and St. Louis universities. In this venture they are united "in an almost unprecedented way, he declared. He. gave an indicat ion. of the initial, cost when, he said that... each-of the area's approxi¬ mately bOO ,000 TV sets "will become a classroom for less than a dollar each." Though Channel 9 has been reserved by the Federal Communications Commission.for a non-commercial educational station, granting of a license and actual operation was until recently little more than a hope. Wow, Wittcoff said, there are tangible 'prospects" for adequate financial support, including some from a foundation. He sale planning has gone ahead rapidly. The two universities already are setting up tele¬ vision courses. Washington U. recently hired a television producer with broad net¬ work experience. ... Ho Divided Time It has been agreed, he disclosed, that programs will not be on a divided'time basis. That is, there will be no programs exclusively for any one group of schools or for any religious group. "We are agreed," he said, "that our productions will cover educational ground common to all." Channel 9 is on very high frequency (VHF) which all existing sets in St. Louis can receive without adjustment. Programs during school hours would be designed for * pupils and students. Evening programs would be for adults. "This is one of the greatest educational and cultural opportunities ever offered our people," Wittcoff told a meeting of public school principals. "Its success, once the license is applied for and issued, will be in the hands of your own and other educa¬ tional systems. The station will -be non-profit, cooperative and completely inde¬ pendent of government--city, state or federal—except for policing by the FCC." To support the venture, Wittcoff said, it is planned to seek private financial help, both from individuals and organizations such as P.T.A. groups. Donations both large and small will be sought. "The cost will be considerable," Wittcoff said, "but it will be only a tiny fraction of the community's total educational expenditure. And the cost does not in any way involve shrinkage of teachers' salaries or measures of that sort." W. VA. APPROVES $250,000 FOR MARSHALL COLLEGE TV The West Virginia Board of Education recently approved funds for the development of educational television at Marshall College. The center, to be located in the new science hall on the Marshall campus, will be a further expansion of the recently completed modern educational radio studios. Raymond D. Cheydleur, Director of Educational Radio and Television, said that the $250,000 the Board of Education has approved for the developmentof TV will enable educators in West Virginia to keep’abreast of educational trends. Because of serious geographical problems in this state, television will become one of the least expen¬ sive educational "Tools." Eventually*, .educators expect to offer programs and classes to at least 136,000 students. - 20 - POOLE TELLS SCHEDULE FOR "SCIENCE REVIEW" SERIES Topics for the fall and winter schedule-of-the Johns Hopkins-Science Review, produced in the WAAM studios for DuMont network release, have been announced by producer Lynn Poole.. The series returned to the air September 1J. The fourth program, October 6, presented !, How We Will Conquer Space, and the^ October 13 and 20 broadcasts also dealt with outer space. Upcoming programs in¬ clude: "George—The Mechanical Mind," October 27; "X-ray—by Motion Pictures, November 3; "Man Against Cancer," November 10, 11, and 2h; ”100,000 Colors to See With,"December 1; "Seeing Is Not Believing/ December 8; "New Developments in Psychiatry," December 15; and "Ask Your Dad, December 22. Johns Hopkins to Build TV Equipped Auditorium Johns Hopkins University recently announced that construction would begin soon on what the university believes to be the first academic auditorium to be built with permanent installation of television broadcasting facilities. The building, Shriver Hall, is to cost more than $1,000,000, and is to be completed by the autumn of 1953- It will have video cabling facilities and microwave facilities so that the univer¬ sity can broadcast nationally or locally from Its stage. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN OFFERS TELECOURSES OVER THREE STATIONS Telecourses—college courses via television—will be offered by the University of Michigan over.WWJ-TV, Detroit; WJIM-TV, Lansing; and WKZ0-TV, Kalamazoo. This is the third year the program has been telecast. During the.1951-52 season, 38OO registrations were received for the courses which originate in the WWJ-TV studios. Science will be emphasised in the opening courses. Half-hour weekly lessons in "Modern Physics,” a 15-weeks course, and "Understanding Our Natural Resources, seven weeks, will, inaugurate the fall semester. The resources program will be followed by an eight-weeks course in understanding music. Prof. Ernest F. Barker, chairman of the University’s Department of Physics, will deal with the atom and atomic energy, light and radio waves, radar, and the use of the electron miscroscope, during the 15 lessons. Use and waste of natural resources will be discussed by Shirley W. Allen, professor of forestry, in the seven weeks tele¬ course. Forests, minerals, water and wildlife, will be included in his list of sub¬ jects. Members of the School of Music faculty will present.the music course empha¬ sizing the vocal arts. Weekly lessons on the one-hour program have been extended from 20 to 30 minutes this year because of popular demand, according to Garnet R. Garrison, director of tele¬ vision. A third portion of last year’s show, The Teletour, will be carried by WWJ-TV at another time, he said. Supplementary written material on the courses may be obtained by enrolling with the U-M Extension Service in Ann Arboh. Fees of two dollars for 15-weeks courses and ox.„ dollar for the short courses are charged. Upon completion of a course, a Certificate of Participation is sent enrolled persons. NEWARK OUTLET SCHEDULES EDUCATION DISCUSSIONS School issues and new developments in education were shown in six weekly^TV programs over WATV, Newark, N.J., last July. The series, titled "Summer Session, was pre¬ sented by the Institute of Administrative Research of Teachers College, Columbia University, in cooperation with the station. Members of the institute staff, school superintendents, teachers, and other educators participated in the discussions which featured the half-hour programs. ===== - 21 - c r .GENERAL HEWS OF • BROADGASTING RESEARCHER TABULATES RADIO COMMERCIAL VOCABULARY Writers of radio commercials have some standard ideas on the subject of words you like to hear, according to a survey of 303 commercials made by David L. Thompson, graduate student researcher in the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism. Tile word most used is "you.” It appears eight times a commercial on the average. "Wonderful" is next, a total of 167 times by the 303 commercials. Then come--in order—"new," "good," "better," "fine," "best," "effective," "natural," "big," "fast," "finest," "great," "efficient,/■’"improved," "nice," and "favorite." But the words that writers thought listeners Tike the best--just for the sound when they are spoken^-are these: "Pleasant,","sparkling," "beautiful," "lovely," "refreshing," "perfect," "delightful," "loveliest," "pleasure,-" and "pleasing." For his study, Thompson picked only the most successful network commercials of 14 advertising agencies submitting the commercials for examination. Eighty-seven were for food products, 94 for soaps and cleansers, 31 for smoking materials, and 91 for drugs and toiletries. Purpose of Study "The purpose of the study was to Team which of the words and phrases comprising the vocabulary of radio commercials have the greatest appeal," Thompson said.' "Appeal was determined by measuring the repetition -of words and phrases in the most effective and successful commercial continuity on the airwaves." None of the words was used less than 10 times and most were used much oftener. Thompson found that radio writers have an array of favorite words for use in specific instances.' To establish a congenial atmosphere the announcer addresses the radio audience with "you," "ladies," "folks," or■"families." The time for action is "today," "now," "tomorrow," or "daily." Listeners are most often commanded to "try,"' "remember," "get," "buy," "enjoy," "use," "serve," "take," and "taste." The reasons for the commands are provided by "words of factual reference"—"easy," "American," "doctors," "tests," "facts,"..... "economical," "world," "guarantee," "thrifty," and "convenient." ; Superlatives and Prestige Of the superlatives, none of the Hollywood favorites were even ringers, but writers often put "quick," "special," "handy," "speedy," "amazing," and "super" into the announcers’ mouths. A variety of words with taste appeal were used: "fresh," "mild,' "smooth," "rich," "pure," "light," "creamy," "clear," "tender," "sweet," and "tasty. 1 Writers also often appealed to the,listener’s sense of prestige. Phrases used with prestige in.mind were often "there’s no finer," "that’s why WE suggest," "call for it by name," and "so why not join me." Thompson’s survey disclosed that the listener is often told to "ask for," "look for,' "always use," and "depend on.” These phrases are usually used with the advertiser’s brand name. Although the writers' supply of adjectives and other words appealing to most listen¬ ers seems to be fairly limited, it could not be called unsuccessful. The commercials used in Thompson's study represented three-fourths of the gross network expenditures for 1950-51. - 22 - VIENNA'S AMERICAN-SPONSORED NETWORK BUILDS UP ANTI-COMMIMIST NEWS TEAM Austria's American-sponsored German-language network, Red-White-Red, with studios in Linz, Salzburg and Vienna, has built up a news team whose goal is to counter commun¬ ist propaganda on both sides of the Iron Curtain. RWR is one of the most listened-t< radio networks in Central Europe, heard by an overwhelming majority of Austrians, anc increasingly respected by all freedom-loving people within the sphere of the former Austrian Empire over most of which broadcasts can be received. The importance of this cannot be underestimated as nearly all owners of radio sets in this area under¬ stand the German language. Furthermore, RWR is the only radio station whose broad¬ casts many of them can receive with their antiquated pre-war sets. Propaganda Plan RWR's Austrian and American chiefs have worked out a propaganda scheme, carried it out in the past year, and proved its efficiency. The first thing they did was to hire a tough and tight trade-union man who knows how the workers feel about the Russians. In a daily broadcast, early in the morning, he tells his fellow-workers ii their own language what's going on and what's going wrong, and explains what would happen if they had to work under red bosses. This broadcast, widely listened to, ha? proved successful time and again. A recent example was when communist-dominated factories voted overwhelmingly for anti-communist delegates at this year's union elections following RWR's broadcasts on the subject. The next move of RWR's chief was to hire a multilingual Czechoslovakia-borh com¬ mentator, who reads all iron curtain newspapers (available in Vienna's Russian sec¬ tor) and translates them for Austrians. RWR’s 100 kw transmitters are only a few miles from the borders of several of the Iron Curtain countries. The "World News Roundup" is a program for those who cannot or.do not read foreign dailies and magazines. This roundup of direct reports by coi*respondents all over the free world is the first of its kind in Europe. It emphasizes the unity of the West and stresses the theme of growing Western economic and military strength. Former NAEBer Skornia On Staff RWR needed not only fighters but thinkers too. The former chief of the official Austrian press agency was hired to be coordinator of all of RWR's news and commentary broadcasting. Professor Ostry, the head of the section, gives political shape to the network's newscasts. His daily analysis of the world situation expresses not only his personal view on poIitics--it represents the will and wish of the free world, tries to give hope to the suffering and enslaved, and tells the others, who do not believe in freedom, that they cannot win. After RWR network and program directors, advised by State Department officials (headed by Dr. H. J, Skornia, on leave as chairman of Indiana University's Department of Radio, and former consultant for RIAS and other German stations, as Radio Officer), has established this set-up, other political broadcasts were originated, broadcasts to show the communist world that criticism is essential to nations where there is freedom and truth. > Cultural and Moral Issues Theater critic Hans Weigel/'''Austria. r s Alexander .Wooldott; who has for, years been fighting against communist •infiltration-in the arts and for.greater activity on the part of the country's' cultural organization^, was given a weekly broadcast,: After one of Weigel's cleverly led attacks. Austria’s official daily recently fired its music critic, a-famous and influential composer but a sympathizer with Soviet Russia It is partly due to Weigel’s activity that Austria's outstanding intellectuals are less infected by the communist'disease than'those of France Or even of Great Britain Daniel Brier, one of RWR's most"promising producers, concentrates on moral problems that arise in modern life. His broadcast is a series of wise and witty thoughts, philosophical at times, often whimsical.,: The audience which his program has Success fully built up is one which wants to learn about the human aspects of what is wrong with our world and mankind. He is also the moderator of the network's forum program and "RWR Radio"Parliament," a model of free speech, heard behind the Curtain where such criticism is taboo. Freedom of Expression Insured ' To ward off the Austrian's and Western European's sceptical- attitude, two other mem¬ bers of RWR's staff write and produce a man-in-the-street program for the average man. The problem of explaining political questions in this broadcast is only second ary> what matters most is that listeners in Austria and especially behind the Iron Curtain are taught to what: extent .criticism and discussion of everything on earth is not only possible but absolutely necessary in a free and democratic world. RWR also sets aside a certain amount of air time for each party of the.Austrian coalition cabinet, to the Trade Union Federation, and to the Chambers of Agriculture. Furthermore, cabinet ministers speak at regular intervals in broadcasts especially reserved for them. The Austrian situation in the psychological war is better than in many other parts o: the world, and Vienna has become an outpost- in the Western psychological offensive. RWR, Austria's American-sponsored network, undoubtedly has contributed greatly to this intensification of the campaign by the work of its versatile and energetic news team. „ ! - /"•" •' •' " ‘ ' ■' -• " : UTAH U. RADIO PERSONALITY AIRS EUROPEAN.MEWS PROGRAM Ann Wagner, broadcasting for the University of Utah, has been steadily building up a large and discriminating audience for over a year now with her "Voices .of Europe. M This feature has been broadcast weekly over KUTA, Salt Lake City, and tapes, have alsc been mailed to other stations throughout Utah for rebroadcasting.. "Voices of Europe" is a fifteen-minute educational commentary and has as its chief aim the furtherance of understanding between this nation and our neighbors abroad. An accomplished linguist, Miss Wagner translates .from representative, European news¬ papers of varying political points of view, bringing a summary of what Europeans write for.Europeans--especially what Europeans write about American affairs and Americans. Subject matter often ranges from what Europeans think about' our political candidates or what they think about the way we think about their affairs, to what they think about American drama in foreign theatres, or any of innumerable subjects which make headlines in Europe.. Miss Wagner has been a naturalized citizen of the United States for ten years. She, was born in Germany and educated cfri the Continent. Miss Wagner brings literal translations from the foreign press, summarizes but does not analyze or interpret, and attempts always to bring about greater international understanding by increasing the "community's knowledge about our neighbors abroad. "Voices of Europe," consistent with the University's belief that educational broad¬ casters should offer radio and TV fare not- usually aired by commercial interests, has built a large and appreciative audience in Salt. Lake City*. - 2b - FORD FOUNDATION SERIES TO FEATURE.OPERA . v Opera produced, especially for television by the Metropolitan Opera Company will be presented at least twice during the forthcoming season of the Ford Foundation's "Omnibus” which will be carried on the nationwide CBS television network beginning Sunday, November 9« .Robert Saudek, director of the Foundation's TV-Radio Workshop which will produce the 90-minute Omnibus series, lias announced that Rudolph Bing of the Metropolitan Opera will personally work with the Workshop group toward the development of new tech¬ niques of stagecraft and of direction for televised opera. The opera will be presented in English, and will feature the Met's foremost artists and conductors. The choice of operas will be announced later. For the TV presenta¬ tions, Omnibus will depart from its diversified format in order to devote an entire program to.each opera. Omnibus, with a $2,000,000 fund set aside for this most lavish of all TV program ventures, has been scheduled by CBS for the b:30 to 6 p.m. EST time period on Sunday afternoons. The program is being offered for the multiple sponsorship of five national advertisers. Many of the program features will be in the nature of "show-casting’ programs that may eventually find their own places in network schedules, Saudek declares. He added that wide latitude will be given to creators of individual features to insure a high performance level. Alistair Cooke, Peabody Award-winning commentator, will be master of ceremonies for the series. Included in the Omnibus plans are original plays by Maxwell Anderson, French ballet features already in production in Paris, a music series by Leopold Stokowski, a series of plays by poet-critic James Agee, and specially edited films by the New York Zoological Society and the American Museum of Natural History, Saudek says the series will present, within its 90-minute format, five distinct features of unequal length in each broadcast. These will be both live and filmed. "A variety of features is now being produced," Saudek declared, "ranging from fact and fiction to modern living, and treated to popularize matters of vital interest and lasting value. Associated with individual features are Richard de Rochemont, former^ March of Time producer, and Jean Benoit-Levy,. producer of the French film "Ballerina" and "La Maternelle." The permanent staff of Omnibus includes John Coburn Turner, assistant director of the Workshop, Franklin Heller, executive associate, who is on leave of absence from CBS to join the Foundation, and William Spier. Omnibus will be the third series produced by the Workshop since its inception in 1951. Omnibus will continue for 26 weeks during its initial season. COLUMBIA SEMINAR SERIES PRESENTS SOCIAL PROBLEMS ABC has spotted its new "Seminar" program, presented by the Columbia University School of General Studies, at 7 p.m. Saturday evenings. The half-hour program made its debut October b. The TV series airs an actual seminar in American civilization, based on a regular course studying the major contributing factors of civilization in the United States. Television viewers can obtain a syllabus of the course from the University, and will be permitted to take a final examination if they choose to do so. Viewers taking the examination will be graded, free of charge, but will not receive academic credit for the course. Donald N. Bigelow, assistant professor of history at Columbia is conducting the programs, which are produced at ABC's 58th St. Theater under supervision of John W. Pacey,' the web's director of public affairs. AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK WILL FEATURE CHILDREN IN TODAY'S WORLD The 32nd annual observance of.American Education Week, November' 9-15y 1952, will again direct.nationwide attention to the work of the schools. The central theme of the 1952 program is "Children in Today’s World,’" with daily emphasis-upon "Their Churches," "Their Homes," "Their Heritage," "Their Schools," "Their Country," "Their Opportunity,"and "Their Future." American Education Week is a time to review the purposes and accomplishments of the schools, to consider their needs and problems, to sharpen public interest in school improvement, and to strengthen the bonds of home, school, and community cooperation. An effective community-wide observance of American Education Week is a good founda¬ tion for a year-round program of school public relations, suggests Ivan A. Booker, Assistant Director, Division of Press and Radio Relations of the National Education Association. OPERATING AMERICAN TAPE RECORDERS ITT BRITAIN Many inquiries have been made concerning the use in Great Britain of American record ing machines. For your information we reproduce below a report written by a British Broadcasting Corporation technician. "Alternating current in England generally has a frequency of fifty cycles and in the United States of sixty cycles. The frequency or number of cycles determines the speed of the electric motor used in a tape recorder to drive the tape. "One of the standard speeds at which tape is driven is fifteen inches a second. Should one connect a tape recorder with a tape speed of fifteen inches per secon* designed for United States sixty cycle operation to the British fifty cycles, it would operate but the motor would revolve slower, actually at five-sixths of the speed for which it was designed. This in turn would drive the tape slower at five-sixths of fifteen inches a second or at twelve and a half inches per second. If the tape were played back in England on the same sixty cycle machine on which it was recorded it would of course work at the : same sub-standard speed of twelve and a half inches per second and reproduce quite well. Should this tape however be played back in the United States on the same or any other standard machine it would play back at the correct fifteen inch per second speed which would be two and a half inches per second faster than that at which it was recorded. This would result in a speeding up of the program content, a rise in pitch and a shortening of the program time. "In short you can operate a standard sixty cycle American machine in England only if you are prepared to play back the tape or dub it from the same machine in England. It could not readily be reproduced in this country. "Some United States recorders—for instance the Magnacord--can be fitted with special pulley wheels which enable them to be run at a standard speed while operating on fifty cycle current. With such a device the tape is recorded at the standard speed in England and will reproduce in the United States on any standart machine or on the machine on which it was originally recorded if the sixty cycle pulleys are replaced." LONDON CLASSROOMS HAVE CLOSED-CIRCUIT TELECASTS • LONDON, ENG. - The British Broadcasting Company is telecasting closed-circuit educa¬ tional programs to 12 London schools in an experiment to determine the effectiveness of ih-school teaching by television. Inspectors Of the Schools Broadcasting Council are testing classroom reactipn to TV. Expansion of the telecasts into a regular schedule is planned following a study of the experimental programs. The BBC for many years has given a wide range of lessons daily to schools all over the country by radio. - 26 - RESEARCH REPORT by Dallas W. Smythe NAEB Director of Studies _ University of Illinois, Urbana _■ - It is a rare pleasure to be able to review an audience study conducted by an NAEB member station. This month we have that pleasure because WBAA (Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana) has published in mimeographed form a report on its 1952 study of urban audience -groups. The present study covered seven towns in addition to Lafay¬ ette. Two earlier studies oreceded this one: the first was a study of winter radio listening in 1951-a graduate thesis by R. Horton. The second was a summer radio study in 1951 by R. Lanman. Both of these studies concentrated on the rural audienc One-third of the individuals in the eight towns studied had a TV set. Radio station? thus face much greater TV competition in these .Indiana towns than in the rural areas previously studied where TV sets were less frequently owned. Almost all of the indi¬ viduals in these towns (90 percent) had at some time listened to WBAA. More than half of these (56 percent) heard the station "last week.” The kind of program most often thought of when WBAA was mentioned was Sports (23 percent of the listeners), followed by Popular Music (.18 percent) and Classical Music (17 percent,. About one- ninth, of the listeners reported no kind of program associated with the name, while only 2 /percent think of Farm Programs and another 2 percent think of Talks and Lectures. ’WBAA regular listeners are more likely to lack TV sets than to have them (two-thirds of non-TV owners listened in the "past week" as compared with 40 percent of TV owners), The station's-most faithful listeners tend to be drawn from among those ^ with advanced education (64 percent of college graduates listened in the past week as compared with.53 percent of grade and high school graduates). People who belong to one or two clubs are more likely to be listeners to WBAA than those who belong to rone or to three or more (the percentages respectively listening to WBAA in the "past week" were 6?, 46.and 55). The most faithful listeners were 'business owners and top managerial" (75 percent, of these listened in the "past week’), while un¬ skilled laborers are least, attached to WBAA (exactly 50 percent listened in the "past week") . Housewives, smaH businessmen, white collar employees and skilled labor occupied .a middle position* Individuals with children and those without chil¬ dren are equally likely to listen regularly to the station. And lastly the men in the WBAA audience are more constant listeners than the women. .The published data, however, do not support the report's conclusion that men constitute a larger part of the audience than women. The report provides information on the attitudes of the audience toward the full range of radio programs on all commercial as well as non-commercial stations. Music programs were most Often mentioned as "favorite programs" (17 percent), followed by Variety shows (l4 percent), with third place-being taken by Situation and Family COm.edv. (9 percent) and' fourth place showing a tie between Soap Operas^and Quiz shows (7.8 percent). -Asked which type-of programs the respondent thinks a "waste of time to put on," the most commonly named classes were Soap Operas (30 percent). Crime shows (25 percent), and Music (12 percent). Of special interest %o the NAEB will be .the information obtained on audience reac¬ tions to KAEB Tape Network programs. All. respondents were asked the following ques¬ tion: "WBAA has been putting on a series of evening programs by the NAEB Tape Net¬ work. They have been at 7:00 o'clock and at other odd times during weekday even¬ ings. Have you heard any of these programs?" The answer "yes" was given by 12.3 percent. These were then.asked if they remembered the names of any that they had heard., ; . In answer to. this unaided recall question, 5.2 percent recalled the name of one program or more. The proportions, of all these, program mentions were as follows: - 27 - r r BBC World Theater Music for the Connoisseur A Time for Planting Cooper Union Forum Bach Memorial Concerts Stories and Stuff University of Michigan Band America and the World Masterworks Story 42.8 percent 14.3 percent 14.3 percent 7.2 percent 7.2 percent 7.2 percent 7.2 percent 0 0 The respondents were then shown a list of the programs and asked "Which of these did you listen to most of the time, which occasionally, and which didn't you listen to a all? At this point 14.1 percent recalled hearing one or more programs. We repro¬ duce here the percentages answering "most of the time" and "occasionally'' in the order of the total of the two categories: Most of Occasion¬ the time ally Total University of Michigan Band 2.23 5.20 7.43 Music for the Connoisseur 2.23 4.83 7.0 6 BBC World Theater 2.60 4.08 6.68 A Time for Planting 2.60 3-72 6.32 Masterworks Story 1.12 4.46 5.56 Bach Memorial Concerts 1.46 4.08 5.57 America and the World 1.49 2.97 4.46 Copper Union Forum 1.86 2.23 4.09 Stories and Stuff 1.12 1.12 2.24 Special questions were included as to WBAA's "Schools of the Air" programs ;. One- fourth of the urban population reported some listening to these programs. with 30 pei cent of this group reporting listening to one of them in the "past week," and one- eighth of the group of adults who listened to them being able to remember the name oi the particular program which they found most interesting. Questions addressed to Sports program listening discovered that almost two-thirds of the population heard some of WBAA’s football and basketball game broadcasts, with three-fourths of the sports program listeners having tried "to hear all of these games they could.'* Lastly, special attention was paid to a children's program "Storyland Special" broad¬ cast from WBAA at 5 every afternoon. It was learned that older children (age 8-12) were more likely to listen to it than younger children (age 3-7). The older children ‘were also more likely to listen to the whole program than the younger children, one- fifth of which listeners listened only to the first part of the program. The technique of surveying employed in this WBAA study is worthy of warm commendation on several scores. Area sampling, carefully designed, permits precise calculation oi the reliability of the statistical results. The urban sample was designed to deal with individuals rather than families on the realistic assumption that the urban family lacks the homogeneity to yield as meaningful results as in rural areas. The main reliance was placed on this interview survey, but an effort was made to develop mail techniques which could yield more cheaply in the future the answers to questions for which known reliability is not administratively necessary. In this respect, as in the use of consistent questions and sampling techniques as between this and pre¬ ceding surveys, WBAA has multiplied the efficiency of its efforts in audience analysis. This particular study was conducted by Richard W. Lanman under the joint sponsorship of John Henderson, Director Pro Tern, WBAA, and H. H. Remmers, Director, Division of Educational Reference, Purdue University. Scanned from the National Association of Educational Broadcasters Records at the Wisconsin Historical Society as part of "Unlocking the Airwaves: Revitalizing an Early Public and Educational Radio Collection." 'oiTu> c KTwe \\KWAVEs A collaboration among the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities, University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Communication Arts, and Wisconsin Historical Society. Supported by a Humanities Collections and Reference Resources grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities I I T I—I MARYLAND INSTITUTE for I TECHNOLOGY in the HUMANITIES UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY WISCONSIN NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE Humanities views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication/collection do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.