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NOTHHAFT, Carl George, 1939- A CRITICAL REVIEW OF NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROGRAMMING AT WKBS TV IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.
The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1972 Mass Communications
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NOTHHAFT, Carl George, 1939- A CRITICAL REVIEW OF NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROGRAMMING AT WKBS TV IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.
The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1972 Mass Communications
University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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CARL GEORGE NOTHH.AFT
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University M icrofilm s, A Xerox Education Company ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Kaiser has become a name synonymous with the pioneering
spirit. It has been at the forefront in many fields -- roads,
dams, ships, steel, aluminum, cars and jeeps and UHF television.
Now another opportunity is at hand, that is, to shed many of the
shackles of traditional local television journalism and set out in
a new exciting direction. Because Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation has
a very enlightened management taam that wants to e sta b lish a major
news and public affairs service, this researcher has devoted a great
deal of time in completing this painstaking study of how WKBS TV might become the most viable, relevant, involved and different television
journalistic force in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area.
1 would lik e to express my appreciation to the management of WKBS TV and Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation for permitting me to do this study and in doing so allowed me to use the station's records and files, to conduct interviews with the station's personnel, to examine other data pertinent to the study, and to direct a comprehensive survey of the station's potential audience.
1 am further indebted to my dissertation adviser. Dr. Richard M.
M all, for h is counseling, and to Dr. Walter B. Emery and Dr. Keith
Brooks, who stepped in to provide valued guidance as the project neared its completion.
Special thanks are always in order for my wife, Carol, who is a beacon of understanding and encouragement.
i i VITA
July 10, 1939 ...... Born - Sharon, Pennsylvania
1963...... B.A., Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, Cum Laude
1964-1965 ...... Anchorman, WJIM AM and TV, Lansing, Michigan
1965-1967 ...... Anchorman, WFMJ TV, Youngstown, Ohio
1966...... M.A., Kent State U n iv ersity , Kent, Ohio
1967-1969 ...... A ssista n t News Director and Co-Anchorman, WLWC TV, Columbus Ohio
1969-Present...... News D irector and Anchorman, WKBS TV, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
FIELDS OF STUDY
Major Field: Speech Communication
Study emphasis in broadcasting, journalism, English and political science
1 1 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNCWLEDGMENTS...... ' ...... i i
VITA...... i i i
LIST OF CHARTS...... v i
LIST OF TABLES...... v i i
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION...... 1
General Introduction Statement Justification Definition of Terms Methods and Procedures Previous Research
II. PHILADELPHIA MARKET...... 26
Community Needs and In terests Television Stations
I I I . ORGANIZATION...... 82
Station/Corporation News Public Affairs
IV. NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS - - PRIOR TO THE HIATUS. . . 99
Schedules Formats Equipment Content
V. HIATUS...... 129
VI. NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS — DURING THE HIATUS. . . . 136
Schedules Formats Equipment Content
IV Page
VII. SUMMARY. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS...... 156
Summary Conclusions Recommendations
APPENDK
A...... 197
B...... 208
C...... 264
D...... 268
E...... 275
BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 278 LIST OF CHARTS
Chart
1. Station Organization ...... •...... 83
2. News Department Organization ...... 90
v i LIST OF TABLES
Tcge Table
1. Number of Television Stations Reporting Profit or Loss. . . 16
2 . News Department Work Schedule ...... 97
3. Broadcast Revenues, Expenses and Income of Television , . .130
4. News Costs at T7KBS TV 1968-1970 ...... 133
v i i CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The Philadelphia T elev isio n Market is b a s ic a lly composed
of the eight counties which surround the City of Philadelphia --
Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware in Pennsylvania;
Burlington, Camden and Gloucester in New Jersey. This area is defined
as the Philadelphia Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) by the U.S.
government's O ffice of Management and Budget and is estim ated by the 1 Census Bureau to have a population of 5.1 million people.
The American Research Bureau, a major television audience
rating service more commonly known as ARB, also considers this eight
county area in compiling its most important Metro (or home county)
Rating for Philadelphia stations. It should also be noted that
Philadelphia television signals are received beyond this "home county" area in outlying counties called ADI (area of dominant influence) by ARB. An ADI rating is taken which includes three counties in the State of Delaware, one in Maryland, 12 in New Jersey and 18 in Pennsylvania. The additional counties in the ADI raise 2 the potential audience to 8.9 million people.
This study is primarily concerned with the Philadelphia
SMSA or Metro Area where Philadelphia television stations are licensed
"1970 Population and Housing Characteristics for Municipalities in the Delaware Valley Region," Delaware Valley Data, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, September 1971, No. 3, p. 1.
2 "Counties Included in Survey Area," Philadelphia ARB Television Market, May 1972, p. 3. to operate. The outlying counties in the ADI generally have their
own television or radio stations from which they derive their
predominant service.
The Philadelphia Metropolitan Area is faced with many very
severe problems and needs which at times seem almost insurmountable.
This creates a rather fatalistic ring to the rhetoric of Philadelphia
community leaders, some of whom give the impression they would be
happy if they could only hold the line. Philadelphia is in need of
inspired leadership that can mobilize the huge population to meet
the challenge. This leadership must come from many sources including
television.
Television stations are licensed to serve the "public's
interest, convenience and necessity." This researcher contends this is not happening in Philadelphia. There is a definite and unmet need for lo c a l te le v is io n news and public a ffa ir s programming to provide the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area with indepth, meaningful treatment of the many critical problems and vital issues facing all residents.
Occasionally, a worthwhile, bold, innovative program does appear on the air. These are isolated, infrequent cases and never scheduled on a regular basis. No one is doing a really good job.
A number of prominent writers have made cogent remarks along these lines in recent years. The inadequacies of television news were described by S ir W illiam Haley, former ed ito r of the
London Times and a d irecto r general of the B ritish Broadcasting
Corporation, who agreed to make the observations for the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University "Survey of Broadcast Journalism 1968-1969" during a recent sixteen-month residence in the United States. This is more a matter of professionalism than of principle. It seems to me the performance is very uneven. Occasionally some brilliant news reporting, investigating, and documentation is done. All too often, news bulletins are meretricious, superficial,and spotty. This is markedly more so on individual stations than on networks. On many of these stations entertainment values do reign . The approach is: "lAo is new in town? How can we fill the time while we show his face on the screen?" I have been asked to appear on television in a city I was visiting -- in a news program - - and to be introduced, expound on B rita in 's economic problems. General de Gaulle, Lord Thomson's newspaper empire, and England's attitude to the presidential election campaign, a l l in two minutes. Even on the networks, the constant urge to parade faces before the camera, strings of people, some hardy regulars, others with little or no relevance, each uttering one or two sentences of hardly any value, is another example of the subordination of news to entertainment. The editors of the programs are not concerned to be constructively informing and explaining, they are desperately trying to hold their jobs by holding their ratings. Brightness is all. The subordination of real news values to visual news values is not peculiar to American television. It is as bad in Britain. Endless pictures of fires and floods -- and no two phenomena could lack v a r ie ty more — are not news. C ertainly not news of high enough p rio rity to gain a place in what should be the wide spectrum that television news, however limited its time, should cover if it is to do its duty. ^
Max Ways writing in Fortune magazine in October 1969 discussed what he called the special bias of TV.
The artistic bias inherent in the TV medium affects the behavior of the actors in the news. The "demonstration" becomes a dominant form of social action rather than the petition, the political debate, the lawsuit. Other media are drawn toward covering, as best they can, the disorderly scenes that te le v is io n covers so su p e r la tiv ely . There have been months when a consumer o f news might wonder whether anything except demonstrations was going on in the U.S. Such overconcentration
3 Sir William Haley, "News and Documentaries on U.S. Television," Survey of Broadcast Journalism 1968-1969 (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1970, pp. 61-62. of one kind of news in a society where thousands of currents are running is a sure way of walking into another ambush, perhaps more grave than that represented by today's disorderly products of yesterday's attention.
Public expectation of moralistic drama presses all media toward defining news in terms of simple conflict. But what the public needs to know may lie in just the opposite direction. Society's ability to avoid ambush may depend on receiving information before the dramatic conflict develops. ^
While a television station accrues a lot of benefits from
being affiliated with a powerful network, it also suffers some very
limiting restructions such as the lack of freedom to utilize large amounts o f prime time for lo c a l news and public a ffa ir s programming of the kind this researcher has in mind. The alternative is for non-network, independent television stations with their tremendous scheduling flexibility to step in and fill the void.
In Philadelphia, independent means UHF which opens up a whole new series of problems. It is not bad enough that the area's many needs and problems are going unmet by broadcasters, but the job of rendering outstanding public service apparently will fall to
UHF stations.
One of the biggest problems facing UHF broadcasters is their struggle to rid themselves of the second class citizenship forced on them by inadequate tuning devices which have helped create a disastrous public image over the years. Hopefully this will be
4 May Ways, "What's Wrong With News? I t Isn 't New Enough," Fortune, October 1969, p. 159. corrected in the foreseeable future and the UHF designation will
become irrelevant. The public w ill be able to view the UHF's as
simply independent stations.
A large part of any change in public image will have to
be earned by the stations themselves by doing the kind of meaningful
news and public a ffa ir s programming that is p resen tly m issing in
Philadelphia.
WKBS TV has the capability of filling the void in the
Philadelphia T elevision Market. However, i t cannot be overlooked
that the station failed in its previous attempts to launch a major
news and public affairs service. That is why it is important now
to assess the past and present in preparation for the future.
Projections are that Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation will begin
rebuilding i t s news departments in 1973 follow ing a three-year hiatus in this area.
This researcher does not agree with those critics who would say television news has gone about as far as it can. A whole new course should be charted to make television news much more meaningful. It can be done.
In order to present intelligent conclusions and recommendations, this researcher will (1) establish the context in which television news and public a ffa ir s programming e x is ts in the law and in the mind of the general public, (2) describe the tremendous problems facing the
Philadelphia Metropolitan Area to show how the "public interest, convenience and necessity" is not being served, and (3) detail how
WKBS TV has attempted to establish a major news and public affairs service so that shortcomings can be eliminated next time around. Statement of the Problem
The to p ic, "A Study o f How WKBS TV, an Independent UHF
Television Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Can Establish A
Major News and Public A ffa ir s Service to Better Meet the Public
Interest, Convenience and Necessity," will seek to isolate the
problems confronting WKBS TV, an independent UHF television station,
in i t s continuing attempt to e sta b lish a meaningful news and public
affairs service in order to provide a record and analysis of the
past and present to aid in constructing a model for the future
achievement of this vital and significant goal.
Justification
An act of Congress created our system of broadcasting with
the overriding philosophy that its channels are a public trust.
. . . in 1923, a general philosophy on the public use o f broadcasting had evolved and been recorded in the form of the Federal Radio Act of 1927, which subsequently was incorporated into the Communications Act of 1934. The act created a seven- member commission to operate in "the public interest, convenience and necessity." The philosophy underlying the act made broad casting a public trust. The air waves are "owned" by the public and leased through their "agent," the Federal Communications Commission, to various applicants who demonstrate their ability to serve the public interest. An applicant for a license to broadcast must state his intentions, and provide financial wherewithal to keep the station operating in a manner which will satisfy both his need to make a profit and the cultural, educational, and informational needs of the public. ^
The Federal Communications Commission demands and ap p lies pressure on te le v is io n sta tio n s to produce news and public a ffa ir s programs. In 1960 the Commission issued a report and statement of p o licy concerning programming requirements. I t sp elled out the
5 A. W illiam Bluem, John F. Cox, and Gene McPherson, T elev isio n in the Public Interest (New York: Hastings House, 1961), p. 12. obligations of a station licensee.
The major elements usually necessary to meet the public in te r e s t, needs and d esires of the community in which the station is located as developed by the industry, and recognized by the Commission, have included: (1) Opportunity for Local Self-Expression, (2) The Development and Use of Local Talent, (3) Programs for Children, (4) Religious Programs, (5) Education Programs, (6) Public Affairs Programs, (7) Editorialization by Licensees, (8) Political Broadcasts, (9) Agriculture Programs, (10) News Programs, (11) Weather and Market Reports, (12) Sports Programs, (13) Service to Minority Groups, (14) Entertainment Programming. ^
On May 9, 1961, the then newly appointed Chairman of the
FCC, Newton F. Minow, made h is h ig h ly p u b licized "Vast Wasteland"
speech before the 39th Annual Convention of the National Association
of Broadcasters meeting in Washington, D.C. Minow challenged the broadcasters and restated the philosophy in the context of the present and future tim es.
Your industry possesses the most powerful voice in America. It has an inescapable duty to make that voice ring with in te llig e n c e and w ith lead ership. In a few years, this exciting industry has grown from a novelty to an instrument of overwhelming impact on the American people. It should be making ready for the kind of leader ship that newspapers and magazines assumed years ago, to make our people aware of their world. What you gentlemen broadcast through the people's air affects the people's taste, their knowledge, their opinions, their understanding of themselves and their world, and their future. The power of instantaneous sig h t and sound is without precedent in mankind's h isto r y . This is an awesome power. It has lim itless capabilities for good -- and for evil. And it carries with it awesome responsibilities; responsibilities which you and I cannot escape. ?
6 Washington, B.C., Federal Communications Commission, Broadcast Primer, INF Bulletin No. 2-B, July 1966, pp. 4-5.
7 Newton F. Minow, "Program Control, The Broadcasters are Public Trustees," Vital Speeches of the Day. XXVII (June 15, 1961), pp. 534-537. Eight years later on November 13, 1969, an even more
dramatic challenge came from Vice President Spiro Agnew in a speech
before the Midwest Regional Republican Committee meeting in Des Moines,
Iowa. Agnew touched off wide-spread, heated debate when he questioned
whether the television news medium was meeting its responsibilities.
He particularly lambasted the networks, but individual stations did
not escape the fallour.
As with other American institutions, perhaps it is time that the networks were made more responsive to the views of the nation and more resp on sib le to the people they serv e. I am not asking for government censorship or any other kind of censorship. I am asking whether a form of censorship already exists when the news that forty million Americans receive each night is determined by a handful of men responsible only to their corporate employers and filtered through a handful of commentators who admit to their own set of biases.
And in the networks' endless pursuit of controversy, we should ask what is thé end value...to enlighten or to profit? What is the end result...to inform or to confuse? How does the ongoing exploration for more action, more excitem ent, more drama, serve our national search for internal peace and s ta b ility ?
The upshot of all this controversy is that a narrow and distorted pictureof America often emerges from the televised news. A single dramatic piece of the mosaic becomes in the minds of m illio n s , the whole p ictu re.
We would never trust such power over public opinion in the hands of an elected government -- it is time we questioned it in the hands of a small and un-elected elite. The great networks have dominated American airwaves for decades; the people are entitled to a full accounting of their stewardship. ^
8 "Address by the Vice President, Midwest Regional Republican Committee Meeting," Congressional Record, Vol. 115, November 13, 1969, No. 187. See Appendix A, pp. 198 - 207, for complete text and the networks' response. Despite increasing attacks on television and the other journalistic media by Vice President Agnew and some other public o f f i c i a l s who have jumped on the bandwagon, a major survey in
September 1970 shows the public still is turning in great numbers to te le v is io n as i t s primary source of news and is placing more confidence in television than any other medium. The results of this study show a continuation of the trends discovered earlier by the research firm of Elmo Roper and Associates which conducted six previous studies for the Television Information Office on the public's view of television and other media. Roper released findings in 1959,
1961, 1963, 1964, 1967 and 1968. The 1970 study was conducted for
TIO by R. H. Bruskin and A ssociates.
"First, I'd like to ask you where you usually get most of your news about what's going on in the world today — from newspapers or radio or television or magazines or talk in g to people or where?"
ROPER BRUSKIN 12/59 11/61 11/63 11/64 1/67 11/68 9/70 Source of most news 7o % % % % % % Television 51 52 55 58 64 59 60 Newspapers 57 57 53 56 55 49 44 Radio 34 34 29 26 28 25 23 Magazines 8 9 6 8 7 7 6 People 4 5 4 5 4 5 6 Don't know or 1 3 3 3 2 3 1 no answer
Total mentions 154* 157* 147* 153* 158* 145* 142*
*Multiple answers were accepted
The second question was: "If you got conflicting or different reports of the same news story from radio, television, the magazines and the newspapers, which of the four versions would you be most inclined to believe -- the one on radio or television or magazines or newspapers?" 10
ROPER BRUSKIN 12/59 11/61 11/63 11/64 1/67 11/68 9/70 Most b elievab le %%% % %% 7o T elevision 29 39 36 41 41 44 50 Newspapers 32 24 24 23 24 21 21 Magazines 10 10 10 10 8 11 6 Radio 12 12 12 8 7 8 11 Don't know or 17 17 18 18 20 16 12 no answer
The third question was:: "Which of the four versions would you be least inclined to believe -- the one 1on radio, television. magazines, or newspapers?" 9
ROPER BRUSKIN 12/59 11/61 11/63 11/64 1/67 11/68 9/70 Least believable % 7o % %%% % Magazines 23 25 26 24 29 27 28 Newspapers 24 28 30 28 25 28 33 Radio 10 9 10 11 11 11 11 Television 9 7 7 6 5 9 9 Don' t know or 34 32 27 31 30 25 19 no answer
In addition television viewing by the American public hit
an all-time high in 1970. The Nielsen Television Index, put out by
the A. C. Nielsen Company, reports that television set usage per
television household per day established a record in 1970 with an
average of 5.9 hours. This is up from the 1969 figure of 5.8.
Viewing habits were further broken down in a report released
February 1, 1971, by the National Association of Broadcasters and the
T elev isio n Bureau of A dvertising. The report was a lso based on the
9 National Association of Broadcasters, Bruskin Study Indicates Television Extends Lead As Primary News Source, Most B elievable; Roper Studies Confirmed, A News Release Prepared by the Television Information Office (New York: National Association of Broadcasters, October 29, 1970, pp. 1-2) 10 "TV Viewing Hits New High," Broadcasting, July 18, 1971, p. 35. 11
Nielsen Television Index. An analysis of Nielsen's local-market
reports on viewing in 181 markets was completed by Statistical
Research Incorporated, an independent organization of Westfield,
New Jersey.
The report shows that the number o f homes using television in the average quarter-hour, 9 a.m. to midnight EST, increased from 20,322,000 to 21,843,000 a gain of 1,531,000 homes or 7.5%, between November 1969 and November 1970. The number of adults viewing in the average quarter-hour increased almost as much, 6.9%, from 25,949,000 to 27,742,000.
With so much in te r e st and dependence on te le v is io n news and
public affairs programs, more emphasis has been placed on producing
such programs. And as early as 1964, it was reported by Broadcasting
that over one-third o f the employees in broadcasting had newsroom d u tie s.
There also has been a substantial growth in the amount of broadcast time devoted to news. Television/Radio Age, as part of an in-depth study entitled "The News Report," commissioned a special Nielsen analysis of local and network news for its
September 20, 1971 edition. It significantly revealed that:
. . . in the major markets (the top 20), there has been a 12 per cent increase in the time devoted to early evening lo c a l news over the past two years by network affiliates. Much of the increase has been by stations upping th eir lo c a l news from a half-hour to one-hour. However, during the same two-year period, average DMA household ratings for early evening local news have gone down in 14 markets and up in six. Some of the changes in ratings have been slight, others have been sizable. The reason for the declines is the result of local programming fa cto rs.
11 "A Huge Growth in the TV Audience," Broadcasting, February 1, 1971, p. 22. 12 "The Huge Radio TV News Staff", Broadcasting, November 9, 1964, p. 50. 12
The network news programs reach an audience of approximately 40 million persons every weekday night. Local news reaches a total audience of approximately 25 per cent more than the network news. This means more than 50 m illio n people watch lo c a l news every night. This tremendous audience places in the hands of the station news director a great responsibility.
An ARB, American Research Bureau, study of the May 1970
rating period revealed the number of extended newscasts in even
greater detail. Extended, for the purposes of that study, means more
than a half hour. It canvassed 70 different stations in 39 markets
all within the top 60 markets. Of this sample, 57 network-affiliated
stations ran early evening extended newscasts while eight ran late night
extended newscasts. At the same time, eight independent stations ran
extended newscasts in either early or late time periods.
Over the years much of this country's television viewing has been concentrated on network-affiliated stations. But in recent years, independent stations have been making inroads. This includes
those outlets on the Ultra High Frequency band. Based on ARB data
for the February--March 1971 rating period, over 47.9 million homes, or over 80 per cent of all U. S. television homes can now receive UHF.
13 S.J. Saul, "Publisher's Letter," Television/Radio Age, September 20, 1971, p. 12.
14 "Most Top Markets Air Extended TV News," Television/Radio Age, January 25, 1971, p. 34.
15 "Where the UHF Equipped Homes Are," Broadcasting, July 5, 1971, p. 32 13
In Philadelphia, where UHF has succeeded better than in any other U.S. market, there was no such thing as independent stations until U's came on the air. They apparently have filled a void and have satisfied needs of both the national and local advertiser. The flourishing growth of UHF has been partially responsible for the Philadelphia market's high penetration figure...
UHF penetration figure for Philadelphia during ARB's
May 1972 rating period was 93%. Tliat is up from 88% the previous
year.
One of the UHF stations in Philadelphia, WKBS TV, is owned
and operated by Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation. It is an independent
station as are the other five Kaiser television properties.
In 1969, for the first time since the Corporation's inception,
there was a bright "black" spot on the books which was thought then
might signal the eventual success of UHF broadcasting.
For the first time since 1964 Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation has reported a profit: During last November the aggregate profit-and-loss statements of Kaiser stations (including FM outlets) were written in black ink. It was an epochal moment for the company - - and a benchmark of importance for the entire UHF industry. For Kaiser Broad casting is widely recognized as being closely identified with the fates and fortunes of UHF broadcasting as a whole. A wholly owned subsidiary of Kaiser Industries Corporation, Oakland, California, Kaiser Broadcasting is part of the largest organization ever to be so totally committed for such a long period of time to the establishment of so many UHF stations.
16 "Where Are U Now," Sponsor, June 1967, p. 40.
17 "Estimates of Households in Market," Philadelphia ARB Television Market, May 1972, p. 1.
18 "Breaking the UHF Profit Barrier," Broadcasting, March 16, 1970, p. 64. 14
One year later, the picture changed drastically in the 19 midst of the 1970 economic recession. The gloomy forecasts for
the television market in 1971 forced the struggling corporation to make a hard decision. Kaiser Broadcasting officially announced that
effective November 11, 1970, the news operations at its stations were disbanded.
Dick Block, head of Kaiser Broadcasting, called it " a h ia tu s," sta tin g that he hoped to revive news operations when conditions permitted. He stated candidly, "It's going to take longer for UHF to develop, and clearly we can't do all the things we want to do while our stations are in the growing process. Like any company, we have to show our board o f d irectors tangible r e su lts , and news has put a drain on earnings." He said the move was a lso prompted by gloomy forecasts for the TV market in 1971. According to Block, the group had invested about $6,000,000 in news in the 2% years, and while there were revenues against the outlay, they were meager, barely covering one-fourth of the costs as a rule. He estimated that news was costing the group nearly $2,000 per te le c a s t. "It was my pet project," Block said, "but there was no way to keep it g o i n g . "^0
E stablishing a major news and public a ffa ir s programming service at an independent UHF television station is extremely difficult and as of this study has not been done. At the heart of the problem is the very basic fact that UHF is in a fight for survival. While reporting the "UHF TV stations are still losing money," Broadcasting
19 Washington, D.C., Federal Communications Commission, TV Broadcast Financial Data -- 1970. Public Notice No. 71434, September 7, 1971, p. !
"Stagnating revenues and rising costs combined to reduce television profits in 1970. Hie industry reported revenues of $2.81 billion in 1970, up only four tenths of one percent from 1969. Industry expenses rose at a modest rate of 5.0 percent over 1969, apparently reflecting industry efforts at curtailment. Nevertheless, the industry suffered an 18.0 percent decline in profits to $454 million."
20„ News a Casualty of Economic Austerity in Kaiser UHF Group," Variety, November 18, 1970, p. 49. 15
said, "there is cause for some encouragement" because "UHF operators
lost more than three times less in 1970 than in 1969."
A survey of financial data on UHF stations, released. . . by the National Association of Broadcasters, indicates that the UHF industry's profit margin losses were reduced from 34% to 5.9%. In dollar profits, the typical UHF station operated at a lo ss of $54,800 in 1970, compared to the 1969 to ta l of $175,000, both figures before federal income tax. Station revenues increased 28.2%, from $729,400 in 1969 to $935,000 in 1970, and time sales jumped 18.6% to $978,000. Station operating expenses also rose in this period, up 9.4%, or $898,800 in 1970. NAB reports that UHF operators are predicting revenues exceeding $1 million for 1971.
FCC s t a t i s t i c s show that 47 o f the n a tio n 's 146 commercial
UHF television stations, or 32.2%, made a profit (before federal
income tax) in 1970. The highest profit for a UHF station was in
the $400,000 to $600,000 range and only four operations achieved
that level. All four were affiliated with one of the three major
television networks. In fact, it is significant that 42 of the 47 profitable UHF stations were network affiliated. Only five independent
UHF stations recorded a profit in 1970. The breakdown was 42 of 98 n etw o rk -a ffilia ted UHF sta tio n s , or 42.9%, made a p r o fit compared to
5 of 48 independent UHF s ta tio n s , or 10.4%. Only one of these independent stations reached as high as the $100,000 to $200,000 profit bracket while 28 of the 48 independents, or 58.3%, lost more than $400,000. A more detailed review of the television industry's 22 profit/loss performance is found in Table I on the following page.
21 "Typical U Can See Breakeven Point," Broadcasting, August 23, 1971, p. 49.
22 Washington, D.C., Federal Communications Commission, TV Broadcast Financial Data -- 1970, Public Notice No. 71434, September 7, 1971, Table 7, p. 10. 16
TABLE I
NUMBER OF TELEVISION STATIONS REPORTING PROFIT OR LOSS BY AMOUNT OF PROFIT OR LOSS, 1970* NETWORK TOTAL AFFILIATED INDEPENDENT VHF UHF VHF UHF VHF UHF Total Number of Stations Reporting 453 146 424 98 29 48
Number of Stations Reporting Profits 373 47 355 42 18
Profitable Stations As Percent of Total 82.3 32.2 83.7 42.9 62.1 10.4
Number of S tations Reporting Profits of:
$5,000,000 or over 19 18 1 3,000,000 - 5,000,000 24 22 2 1,500,000 - 3,000,000 46 42 4 1,000,000 - 1,500,000 34 33 1 600,000 - 1,000,000 30 27 3 400,000 - 600,000 33 4 32 4 1 200,000 - 400,000 68 5 65 5 3 100,000 - 200,000 54 11 51 10 3 1 50,000 - 100,000 25 13 25 12 1 25,000 - 50,000 22 4 22 2 2 Less than 25,000 18 10 18 9 1
Number of S tations Reporting Losses 80 99 69 56 11 43
Unprofitable Stations As Percent of Total 17.7 67.8 16.3 57.1 37.9 89.6
Number of S tations Reporting Losses of:
Less than $10,000 5 2 5 2 10,000 - 25,000 10 9 10 9 25,000 - 50,000 8 8 8 7 1 50,000 -100,000 24 13 22 9 2 4 100,000 -200,000 10 14 7 9 3 5 200,000 -400,000 15 19 13 14 2 5 400,000 and over 8 34 4 6 4 28
*Stations operating full year only, excluding satellite stations
Profits are before Federal income tax. 17
It is clear that UHF independent television stations are
having a tough go of it even though some encouragement is being
taken in the narrowing losses. Another very positive sign has appeared
on the horizon of the 1971-72 television season. Variety reported on
October 13, 1971:
Independent rating inroads against network o & o and network affiliate prime-access 7:30 programming has been documented here for the top three markets, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, in recent iss u e s . Now ARB co in cid en tal numbers are coming in from major markets down the line indicating greater shares for indies all around. In Washington, B.C., as reported, WTTG has been cleaning up with "Jeannie" stripped against the network stations, and the independents' share in the market (one UHF besides the Metromedia VHF) has gone up from 17% a year ago on October to 37% this year, according to the rating averages for the week of September 27th -- October 1st (Monday-Friday). By similar coincidentals in other top 10 markets, the two UHF stations in Boston (one a Kaiser facility) have increased their share from 5 last year to 17 this year. In San Francisco, the Cox VHF and the Kaiser UHF are up from a combined 11 share last year to 27 this year; in Detroit, a VHF and a UHF (Kaiser) are up from 13 to 20; in Cleveland, Kaiser and UA indie U's are up from 10 to 18; in Philadelphia, three U's (one belonging to Kaiser) are up from 9 to 22. Elsewhere (spotting around outside the top 10), Miami's UHF and VHF in d ies are up from 9 to 14: Indianapolis' VHF indie is up from 11 to 25; and St. Louis V and U are up from 11 to 28.
In a show of strong faith in the future of UHF television,
Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation, the largest UHF operator, during the la tte r part of 1970 embarked on a $2.6 m illio n c a p ita l program to increase signal power and coverage of four of its six stations.
WKBS TV installed a new RCA broadcast antenna atop a 1060 foot tower in Philadelphia. "Super Power" transmitters, two 60,000 watt RCA transmitters run in parallel operation providing a full 120,000 watts, were installed at WKBS TV as well as.Kaiser's stations in
23 "Indies Fattening Up on 3-HR. Rule in Most Key Markets," Variety, October 13, 1971, p. 32. 18
Boston, Cleveland and Detroit. Other transmitter improvements
also were made or planned at the Corporation's stations in Los
Angeles and San Francisco as part of the capital program.
Specifically for WKBS TV, the new low-gain antenna and the
120,000 watt transmitters have resulted in a high-intensity
signal over the eight-county Philadelphia Metropolitan Area.
The Grade B sign al was increased by an estim ated 2000 square
m iles. 24
S till another vote of confidence and what may well be
the biggest boost so far toward the survival of independent UHF
broadcasting was the announcement on May 26, 1972, that a partner
ship would be formed between Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation and
Field Enterprises, Incorporated. Broadcasting magazine reported
the agreement as follows:
Kaiser would have 77.5% of partnership; Field 22.5%. Officials said no money would change hands, Kaiser's acquisition of majority interest in Field's WFLD TV (Chicago) being treated as equivalent of Field's acquisition of minority interests in five Kaiser outlets. Kaiser stations involved are WKBG TV Boston-Cambridge, Mass. (Ch. 56); WKBF TV Cleveland (Ch. 61); WKBD TV D etroit (Ch. 50); WKBS TV Burlington, N. J. - Philadelphia (Ch. 48); and KBHK TV San Francisco (Ch. 44). F ield 's WFLD is on Ch. 32. 25
In order to concentrate on the six television stations in
the new group, Kaiser Broadcasting sold its two highly profitable FM stations to General Electric Broadcasting. The sale was announced
24 Interview with S. Mort Rosenman, former WKBS TV Program Manager, May 28, 1971.
25 "Kaiser, Field Put Their U's Together," Broadcasting, May 29, 1972, p. 8. 19
within days of the merger with Field Enterprises. G.E. purchased
KFOG (FM) San Francisco and WJIB (FM) Boston for $1.4 m illio n and
$3.6 million respectively. Kaiser has also put up for sales
WCAS (AM) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and another UHF station
it owns in the Los Angeles area, KBSC TV (Coronto), again
obstensible to concentrate its energies and resources on its major UHF properties.
Barry Thurston, the Corporate Vice President of Programming, recently concluded a thorough rating review of how independent stations in the top 27 markets are doing and they they are using in prime time.
All independents are still having major problems in prime time regardless of what programming they are u sing. At 8 P.M. the average independent loses 58 percent of its audience and 63 percent of its 7-7:30 audience. Several stations bridge the 8 P.M. time period and experienced much less drop off. However, they lose a greater percentage at 7:30 P.M. and their loss from 7-8 P.M. is approximately the same as the others. A h a lf hour s i t com or game show at 8 P.M. seems to do well though the demographics are heaviest in old adults and children. Movies stripped is not necessarily the answer. . .and there appears to be a slight advantage to the later start. For the most part, everyone is still stripping in prime time and perhaps the answer lies here. Maybe independents will crack the barrier by going off the strip format in certain hours of prime time and simply running strong programs ("Lawrence Welk," "Hee Haw," e x p lo ita tio n movies, "Lou Gordon" and s p e c ia ls ) . Prime time is still our biggest problem so let's start thinking of new and maybe radical ways to break the barrier. Any suggestions? 27
26 "Kaiser Follows Its Script on FM Sales," Broadcasting, May 29, 1972, p. 40.
27 Barry H. Thurston, Prime Time — Independent Markets (January 1972 ARB), A Memo to the Program Managers at the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Television Stations from the Corporation's Vice President o f Programming, March 10, 1972, p. 1. 20
This study provides a radical and meaningful way to break
that barrier.
In view of Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation's decision to
take what it calls a "hiatus" from staffing large news operations
with the hope of reviving them when conditions permit, it is
important that an attempt be made now during this respite to
analyze the past and present to aid in preparing for the future
resumption of a major news and public affairs service at WKBS TV.
The station's need for such an evaluation along with the benefits
it may have for other UHF independent television stations in the
Kaiser group and elsewhere and CATV operations which w ill struggle
to provide meaningful programming plus the d esira b le condition
of having as many different voices as possible interpreting and
disseminating news constitute justification for making a case
study of how a major news and public affairs service at WKBS TV, an independent UHF station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, can be established to better serve the "public interest, convenience and necessity."
DEFINITION OF TERMS
This study deals with the problems of establishing a major news and public affairs service at WKBS TV, an independent UHF television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that better serves the public interest, convenience and necessity. The study concentrates on the period of time from September 1969 to the present which includes the station's and corporation's news and public affairs 21
programming at the height of it s development, the sweeping cutback
and the interim "hiatus" period. Historical perspective going back
to September 1965, the date the station went on the air, w ill be
provided when it is necessary for understanding.
The term news, for the purpose of this study, is defined
as follows:
"News exists in the minds of men," writes Wilbur Schramm. "It is something perceived after the event; it is an attempt to reconstruct the essential framework of the event — essential being defined against a frame of reference which is calculated to make the event meaningful to the reader or listener..." News is related to events which in some way interest people. People are interested in reports of events which directly or indirectly affect their own lives, and in reports of any irregularities in the course of human affairs which arouse intellectual or emotional curiousity. News of natural disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, and fires interest many people. Departures from moral and legal codes of behavior interest more people than strict observance of these codes. The commission of a crime, the apprehension of the suspected criminal, and his trial, conviction, or acquittal are events usually reported as news. Important governmental actions, such as enactment of a law, the issuance of an executive order, or a court decision are reported as news when they affect our lives in some way. Speeches and interviews by important public officials are newsworthy because they provide clues to further government action.
We may see, then, that the occurence of an event of common interest is the basis of any news story, and that speeches, in te r v ie w s, and public statem ents become newsworthy as they are related to past and future e v e n t s . 28
28 Giraud Chester, Garnet R. Garrison, and Edgar E. W illis,Television and Radio (New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1963), pp. 393-394. 22
By public affairs, in contrast to news, is meant:
Public affairs. . .most clearly demonstrates the use of broadcasting to serve the public interest. In a variety of forms, these programs provide information and understanding about the real world in which we live; they report news and information about activities as different as agriculture marketing and the major league baseball contests; they present direct coverage of important events ; they provide a public platform for speeches, press conferences, and discussions of public issues; they dramatize, through documentary techniques, problems; ...they broadcast practical information for use in homemaking, shopping, fam ily h ealth , and ch ild r a is in g .29
Independent refers to a television station which operates
without being regularly affiliated to one of the three major national
television networks — ABC, CBS or NBC.
Ultra High Frequency, or UHF, is that band of television
sta tio n s which are numbered from 14 to 83 and d ia led on a tuner
separate from the one used for VHF television stations. The broad
cast signal is transmitted line-of-sight on frequencies of radio
waves between 300 and 3000 megacycles.
The public interest, convenience and necessity involves
a station's responsibility to broadcast programs to meet the signi
ficant needs and interests of the public which it is licensed to
serve. The significant needs and interests are determined by the
licensee or license applicant who is required by the FCC to undertake
(1) a survey of the major communities or areas which the applicant
principally undertakes to serve and (2) the identification of
representative groups, interests and organizations which were con
su lted .
29 Ibid., p. 53.
30 Washington, D.C., Federal Communications Commission, "Statement of Television Program Service," Application for Renewal of Broadcast Station License, FCC Form 303, February 1969, Section IV-B, Part I. 23
Methods and Procedures
It was realized that most of the information vital to
this case study could only be obtained at the station under
consid eration and from the community leaders and the general public
who reside in the station's service area. Arrangements were made
w ith the management o f WKBS TV and Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation
to use the station's records and files, to conduct interviews with
the station's personnel, to examine other data pertinent to the study,
and to direct a comprehensive survey of the station's potential 31 audience. After all the data were collected, they were
organized to reveal an accurate description of how WKBS TV, an
independent UHF television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
can e sta b lish a major news and public a ffa ir s serv ice to b etter
serve the public interest, convenience and necessity.
Table of Contents
Chapter I INTRODUCTION A. General Introduction B. Statement C. Justification D. Definition of Terms E. Methods and Procedures F. Previous Research
31 Since I am employed a t WKBS TV, I was in an e x c e lle n t p o sitio n to gather material, interview personnel, and observe various activities necessary for this study. It is my experience that television stations hesitate to make this information readily available to persons who are not in their employ. This consideration in itself constitutes a major justification for conducting this study. 24
Chapter II PHILADELPHIA MARKET A. Community Needs and In terests B. Television Stations
Chapter III ORGANIZATION A. Station/Corporation B. News C. Public Affairs
Chapter IV NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS PRIOR TO THE HIATUS A. Schedules B. Formats C. Equipment D. Content
Chapter V HIATUS DECISION
Chapter VI NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS — DURING THE HIATUS A. Schedules B. Formats C. Equipment D. Content
Chapter VII SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. Summary B. Conclusions C. Recommendations
Appendices
Bibliography 25
Previous Research
WKBS TV and the five other Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation
UHF television stations have not as yet been researched in the
area of news and public a ffa ir s programming although th is researcher has established a definate need for it. This researcher has conducted a previous, major study of a single television station for a masters
thesis, "A Study of Current Policies and Practices of the News and
Public Affairs Programming of WFMJ TV in Youngstown, Ohio, as
Typified in March and April 1966." That experience proved invaluable in planning this study. It should be pointed out, however, that the masters study dealt with a profitable television station not one that is fighting for survival as is WKBS TV. While this researcher has always believed that the masters thesis had merit and value, it does not approach the potential significance of this study which hopefully produces the answers needed to prevent the silencing of much-needed additional voices in communities across the country and to bring about changes and innovations that will better serve the public interest, convenience and necessity. CHAPTER II
PHILADELPHIA MARKET
WKBS TV is one of nine television stations in the
Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. These stations are licensed to serve the “public interest, convenience and necessity." To fully understand this responsibility and whether it is being met in a meaningful way in Philadelphia, the area's problems and needs must first be reviewed.
In the process of identifying these problems and needs, th is researcher found that community leaders and members of the general public disagreed somewhat on the s p e c ific s .^ N everth eless, it was possible to identify what are considered to be the major prob lems facing the area. The problems and needs determined to be of the most immediate significance are:
1. Schools and Education
2. Race Relations
3. Cr ime
4. Recreation
5. Hous ing
6. Taxes
7. Industry -- Business; Economic Development
1 See Appendix B, pp.
26 27
8. Alcoholism and Drugs
9. Government Organization: L ocal/S tate/F ed eral
10. Health and Medical
11. T ra ffic and Transportation
12. Youth
13. Apathy
It is clear there are some sharp differences between the
community leaders and the general public in the way they view certain
problem areas. The community leaders place the sc h o o ls, education and race relations high on their list while the general public voices
stronger concern about crime. The need for more recreation
facilities is also given more prominence by the public than the leaders. Both groups consider the areas of housing, taxes, the need for business, industry and economic development and drugs with about equal weight.
A number of other trands become apparent in analyzing the data. The community leaders are g en era lly more concerned about areas relating to the processes of government such as government organization and its function at the local, state and federal levels, finances and public apathy. The leaders also gave more mention to health and m edical care.
In co n tra st, the public seems to be more concerned about the things that touch their everyday lives such as traffic, youth and pollution. These areas generally score higher on the public's l i s t . 28
The following is a detailed discussion of the most significant
problems revealed by surveys of community leaders and the general
public.
Schools and Education
A greater concern for the quality of education and the
schools is voiced in the urban communities of the Philadelphia
Metropolitan Area than in the suburban areas. This is primarily
because the large city school systems are in the grips of major
problems that are complicated by their sheer size.
During 1971, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
completed and released a comprehensive study on the fiscal
difficulties of the City of Philadelphia and its School District.
It points out, as does the data in Appendix B, that Philadelphia's
population has declined by a small amount over the past ten years.
However, there has been a very significant shift in the composition
of Philadelphia's population with a big increase in the younger
age groups. The study states that the number of children attending the city's public schools has expanded nearly 20
percent while the city has been losing some residents.
An examination of the past ten year period reveals another major development. Many white children of the city are now attending private or parochial schools while most black students attend the public schools were black. The percentage of black students enrolled 29
in the public school system jumped to 60 percent by 1970? Along
with the racial shift has come increasing concern by the black
community over what is happening in the sch ools.
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission has described
the Philadelphia school system as highly segregated and has been
considering a court fight over its desegregation. Dr. Mark Shedd,
the former School Superintendent, declared massive busing to be
financially impossible.
The city school system was one of the major issues during
the recent mayoral campaign which saw former Police Commissioner
Frank Rizzo elected Mayor in November 1971. Rizzo made a campaign promise to fire Dr. Shedd. He did, and the position is now held by Matthew Costanzo, a veteran teacher and administrator in the
Philadelphia schools. Mayor Rizzo believes the removal of
Dr. Shedd was necessary to restore discipline in the city schools and to elim inate innovative programs in favor of more b asic stu d ies such as the "three R's." However, it should also be noted that most community leaders interview ed who are knowledgeable about urban education problems gave a very high rating to Dr. Shedd as an educator.
2 "School Expenditures," The Financial Future of City and School Government in Philadelphia, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, March 25, 1971, p. 78. 30
A cutback in school programs, which has not happened as
yet, would be the result of a financial crisis which has frequently
threatened to close down the entire school system. It reached its
peak in the spring and summer of 1971. In approving the budget for
the 1971-72 school year, the Philadelphia Board of Education voted
to eliminate varsity athletics and all extra-curricular activities.
Eleven-hundred jobs were also cut. The austerity program was the
result of a $110 million deficit in the proposed budget. WKBS TV
presented indepth news specials and editorially urged the
resto ra tio n of the programs with an a l l out e ffo r t to find the
necessary money. Enough funds were subsequently released locally
and at the state level to save the programs. However, the possibility still exists that city schools will be forced to shorten
the school year because of a lack of operating revenue. This threat has hung over the school system for the past several years.
After analyzing the dilemma, the Federal Reserve Bank reports that salary increases account for about half of the recent expansion in the Philadelphia school budget. Over the last three years, the study says, all personnel in the system have received an average salary increase of 27 percent. The remainder of the huge budget increase is taken up by the addition of more personnel, materials to support the additional personnel, and by an expanding building program. The Federal Reserve Bank says a total of 3049 new employees, amounting to a staff increase of 16.5 percent, were hired by the district over the past four years. Nearly half of the 31
new staff members are teachers. The increase has lowered the average
number of students per teacher in the public schools by about seven
percent. The study reveals that the increase in personnel has far
surpassed the growth in the number of students and thus has
significantly to the cost of education per student. It is estimated
that about 85 percent of school expenditures, excluding debt service,
go for salaries of school personnel.3
Looking into the future, the Federal Reserve Bank study
predicts a heavy reliance on the local tax base (real estate) with
a healthy support from the state. Some fiscal support will also be
necessary from the federal government.4 Former School Superinten
dent Shedd issued a number of public statements, and repeated his
belief during an interview, that massive federal funding is the only
thing that can save Philadelphia sch ools.^ Frank S u lliv a n ,
President of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, also feels
much more financial help will have to come from state and federal
le v e ls
3 "School Expenditures," The Financial Future of City and School Government in Philadelphia, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, March 25, 1971, pp. 76-77.
4 "City and School District Revenues," The Financial Future of City and School Government in Philadelphia, Federal Reserve Bank of Phila delphia, March 25, 1971, p. 89.
5 Interview with Dr. Mark Shedd Ph. D ., Superintendent of Philadelphia Schools, November 4, 1971.
6 ■interview with Frank Sullivan, President, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, November 3, 1971. 32
Other community leaders expressed a variety of concerns
about the schools. Mrs. A. Sherwood Platt, President of the Home and
School Council, is disturbed by discipline problems which she blamed
on the quality of teachers.? Philadelphia's new city council
president, George X. Schwartz, says that unruly behavior in the school
system is the reason citizens are fleeing the city. He stated
bluntly "the incorrigibles must be taken out of the schools."®
Mrs. Marjorie Duckery, President of the Citizen's Commission
on Public Education in Philadelphia, blames the bulging city prisons
on the failure of the schools. She says the jails are filled with
people who cannot read or write.^ Philadelphia Common Pleas Court
Judge Juanita Kidd Stout, in a separate interview, expressed agreement
saying the real basis of crime is a lack of education. She has
run across few prisoners who have finished high school and in many
cases even grade s c h o o l .
The drop out problem in Philadelphia is a serious one.
Harvey Levitan, a former educator in the c it y schools and now o\raer
of two private schools - - The C ollege S k ills Center and The American
7 Interview with Mrs. A. Sherwood P la tt, P resident, Philadelphia Home and School Council, November 3, 1971.
8 Interview with George X. Schwartz, President, Philadelphia City Council, November 12, 1971.
9 Interview with Mrs. Marjorie Duckery, President, Philadelphia C itiz e n 's Commission on Public Education, November 4, 1971.
10 Interview with Mrs. Juanita Kidd Stout, Judge, Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, November 18, 1971. 3 3
Business Institute, says 58 percent of the people over 22 in
Philadelphia are high school drop outs.^
In other parts of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, there
is also concern about public schools but not to the extend and with
the intensity that it exists in Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia Archdiocese which operates the parochial
schools attended by many white youngsters in Philadelphia and in
outlying southeastern Pennsylvania counties is having financial
problems. Richard Betres, Director of Development for the
Philadelphia Archdiocese, is heading a fund-raising effort. He
says the Archdiocese will go outside the Catholic citizenry to
business and industry to come up with the needed money. He believes all should be willing to contribute because of the large student enrollment in Archdiocese schools—about one-third of all city school age youngsters. Betres also says tuition to attend the parochial schools has been hiked every year for the past five years until now it costs about $300 annually for high school students.
While the general public in Camden did not place education high on i t s l i s t of most serious problems, Camden's community leaders considered the area with concern. Examples of comments received in
Camden come from both the Spanish-speaking and the black communities.
11 Interview with Harvey Levitan, Director, College Skills Center and American Business Institute of Philadelphia, December 9, 1971.
12 Interview with Richard Betres, Director of Development, Archdiocese of Philadelphia Schools, November 5, 1971. 34
Jesus Rodriquez, Director of the Movement to Improve and Rehabilitate
Areas, says language is a barrier for the majority of Puerto Ricans in Camden and there are not enough b i-lin g u a l teachers and guidance 13 counselors to encourage kids to go to college. Tyron Gilliams,
President of Careers, Inc., of Camden, believes the school administration is dragging its feet in many areas. He describes the school superintendent as incompetent to deal with school problems and the current change from a white to a black student population. He says many black teachers are leaving the school system as he did.^^
Dr. Charles Smerin, Superintendent of Camden Schools, is very optimistic. Dr. Smerin believes small student populations in the schools are the reason why the Camden system does not have the kinds of discipline trouble facing Philadelphia. He also pointed out that Camden schools are not allowed to engage in deficit spending and the budget is made up one year in advance and approved by the voters. Dr. Smerin listed a number of problems that bothered him such as parents not becoming involved until there is trouble, whites fleeing the city leaving behind more segregated schools, the dependence on real estate taxes as a way to finance education, the go-to-college syndrome, innovation for innovation's sake and the attitude of certain teachers who refuse to treat students as
13 Interview with Jesus Rodriquez, Director, Movement to Improve and R eh ab ilitate Areas o f Camden, December 3, 1971. l^Interview with Tyron Gilliams, President, Careers, Incorporated, of Camden, December 3, 1971. 35
individuals.
In considering schools and education in Burlington City
and County, it is significant that not one of the 46 community leaders
interviewed saw fit to view this area as the most serious problem.
The general public of Burlington City and County also gave it a
very low rating. The reason for this is the apparent lack of
serious financial difficulties. Burlington has a Public Service
plant that provides substantial tax revenue which almost entirely
eliminates the hassle of constantly having to look for local tax
so u rces.
Robert Dotti, Superintendent of Burlington Schools,
explained that he does not like having a contract with the teachers
because it takes the human element out of the employee-employer
relationship. He says teachers are not as dedicated and are more
concerned with how much they w ill get paid.
Otis Fields, President of the Burlington City Teachers'
Association, says there is some discontent among teachers but it
is minimal. He says he has taught in Burlington for three years and compared to other school d is tr ic t s where he has been employed, 17 the Burlington school administration is willing to listen.
15 Interview with Dr. Charles Smerin Ph.D., Superintendent of Camden Schools, December 3, 1971. 16 Interview with Robert Dotti, Superintendent of Burlington Schools, October 5, 1971.
17 Interview with Otis Fields, President, Burlington City Teachers' Association, October 19, 1971. 36
William Rosenberg, a senior at Burlington City High
School, expressed concern about the go-to-college syndrome and what he
describes as apathy in the schools on the part of many students who 18 just do not participate.
In summarizing this particular problem area, it is important
to reiterate that it is the number one concern voiced by the 207
community leaders interview ed throughout the Philadelphia M etropolitan
Area. The schools and education item was first on both the list of
"most serious" and "most frequently mentioned" needs and interests.
The majority of the concern was centered in the urban communities,
especially Philadelphia.
Race Relations
Community leaders and the general public throughout the
Philadelphia Metropolitan Area gave a high ranking to the problem of
race relations. It was viewed more seriously in the large urban
areas of Philadelphia and Camden than it was in the suburbs.
A closer analysis of the U.S. Census data presented in
Appendix B provides insight into this area of concer. The black
population in Philadelphia is 653,791 out of a total population of
1,948,609, or 33.6 percent; in Camden, 40,132 of 102,551, or 39.1 percent; in Burlington City, 2,748 of 11,991, or 22.9 percent; and in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, 894,102 of 5,121,882, or 17.5 percent. The most significant percentage comes from considering
18 Interview with William Rosenberg, Senior Student, Burlington City High School, December 22, 1971. 37
the number of blacks who live in Philadelphia out of the total
number of blacks who reside in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area --
653,791 of 894,102, or 73.1 percent.
It is quite obvious that the black population in the
Philadelphia Metropolitan Area is concentrated in Philadelphia. The
ou tlyin g suburbs have become what is curren tly called the "white
noose" around the city. An interpretation of the present situation
was given in an interview with Bertram Zumeta, Senior Vice President
and Economist of the First Pennsylvania Bank of Philadelphia.
Zumeta says the ra cia l com position of P h ilad elp h ia's population
is at the heart of all of the area's problems. He attributes the
area's racial difficulties to the technological revolution in
southern agriculture which set off a migration of blacks from the
South to the North and to the attitudes and ignorance which were
in h erited in the North and created the "white noose" in the form
of suburbs around the city. Zumeta says such things as crime and hopelessness are a result of this. He sums it up as a fence of a lie n a tio n and re je c tio n f e l t by gh ettoized people as they grow up
in ignorance.
Interviews, surveys and year-round observations indicate people are gen erally aware that large numbers o f w hites are fle e in g to the suburbs as described by U.S. Census data and Zumeta's comments,
Many businesses and industries have followed close on the heels of the whites which, in addition to causing racial problems, has created serious revenue difficulties. The Federal Reserve Bank study of 1971 put it this way: "While n ation al and Delaware V alley
19 Interview with Bertram Zumeta, Senior Vice President and Economist, F ir st Pennsylvania Bank o f P hiladelph ia, November 3, 1971. 38
economies were signaling strong growth. Philadelphia was
faced with continued out-migration of firms and middle- and 20 high-income families" since the early I960's.
In short, a growing percentage of blacks has been left to
live and deal with a growing number of problems. The Federal
Reserve Bank study further explained: "As the demand for residential,
commercial, and industrial properties softened (because of the
out-migration), growth in the value of real property began to fall 21 behind expansion in spending on education and municipal services."
The c it y has had to levy taxes on wages and sa la r ie s to r e lie v e the
burden of the sagging real property base. These growing financial
difficulties have aggravated conditions for blacks in the areas of
education, employment and housing. Many community leaders echoed
the sentiments of the Bank study.
The education situation has already been discussed at
length. However, this is a good place to point out the struggle of blacks to play a larger role in developing school policies. In
Philadelphia, the mayor appoints a nine-member board of education.
The present board includes three black members. The black community generally was not pleased with recent appointments because the
Reverend Henry Nichols failed to get another term on the board.
When School Board President Richardson Dilworth resigned. Reverend
20 "City and School District Revenues," The Financial Future of City and School Government in P hiladelph ia, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, March 25, 1971, p. 85.
21 "City and School District Revenues," The Financial Future of City and School Government in P hiladelph ia. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, March 25, 1971, p. 85. 39
Nichols assumed the Presidency as the first black to hold the post.
A number of demonstrations followed Mayor Rizzo's announced appointments
but the climate has since cooled.
A Black Education Forum has been organized as a sort of
"watchdog" of developments in the schools. Most high level school
administrators throughout the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area continue
to be white. In Burlington City, the President of the Teachers'
Association, Otis Fields, is black.
While the unemployment rate is high in most communities,
it is particularly high in black ghetto areas. Estimates consistently
received from community leaders place the range of unemployment in
the ghettoes at between 20 and 40 percent. They describe this as
comparable to the Depression. For example, Andrew Freeman, Executive
Director of the Philadelphia Urban League, says 20 percent of all blacks in the city are unemployed; and for young blacks age 18 to 25,
the rate is as high as 35 percent. He is concerned that the situation w ill get even worse as our society moves toward more service-oriented
industries. The reason, he says, is blacks are not being trained to achieve skills in service areas. He believes employers can help shape public opinion toward solving the problem by saying publicly that graduates of Philadelphia schools are not equipped to hold jo b s. 22
Wilson Goode, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Council for Community Advancement, says poor blacks cannot get to new employment
22 Interview with Andrew Freeman, Executive D irector, Urban League o f Philadelphia, November 9, 1971. 40
opportunities in outlying areas because of a lack of transportation
facilities.
The Director of Welfare in Burlington City, Daniel Keegan,
revealed that Burlington gets more welfare money than any of the
other 40 municipalities in Burlington County. He blames this on
the high unemployment rate estimated to be about 10 percent in
Burlington. When workmen's compensation runs out for many laid off
workers, the welfare roles will swell even more. Keegan points out
that most welfare recipients in Burlington are black and he says
this creates some animousity from the whites.
In Camden, City Administrator Joseph Dorris says that
city's unemployment rate is at least twice as high as other areas.
He estim ates unemployment in Camden ghettoes is as high as 30 or 25 40 percent.
The crux of the problem in housing, as it pertains to race relations, is restrictive zoning in suburban areas. Community
Leaders most frequently say zoning ordinances prohibit construction of low-income and certain other kinds of moderate income housing.
Mario Rodriquez, a member of the New Jersey Civil Rights Commission,
23 Interview with Wilson Goode, Executive Director, Philadelphia Council for Community Advancement, November 5, 1971.
24 Interview with Daniel Keegan, Director, Burlington City Welfare Department, October 5, 1971.
25 Interview with Joseph Dorris, Administrator, City of Camden, December 1, 1971. 41
charges that zoning procedures are used to discriminate against
the poor and minority groups. More will be said about housing
later in this chapter but this singles out the area of chief
frustration for minority groups.
In the political arena, blacks have recently had some
representation in Philadelphia City Council holding an average of
three of the 17 seats. Blacks presently hold four Council posts.
For the first time, a black. State Representative Hardy Williams,
made a substantial showing in a bid for the Democratic mayoral
nomination even though he came in third. Large numbers of black
voters also split their tickets in the November mayoral election
to cast their votes for the Republican candidate in opposition
to the Democratic standard-bearer Frank Rizzo. Rizzo went on to
win the election but many blacks interpreted the ticket splitting
as a kind of victory for them. For the first time, blacks shifted
their votes as a black and voted against their normal Democratic
Party a f f i l i a t i o n in Philadelphia. Black community leaders view th is
kind of block voting as emerging political power.
A number o f black Camden community leaders stated that the black councilman in that city do not represent them. The founder of the Black People's Unity Movement in Camden, Poppy Sharpe, says
Camden's current elected black leaders, except for Sheriff Jersey
Joe Walcott, do not do much or say much. He wants to see blacks and
26 Interview with Mario Rodriquez, Member, New Jersey Civil Rights Commission, October 26, 1971. 42
27 poor people form their own political machine in Camden.
In Burlington City and County, black community leaders
are concerned over a lack of political representation. Reverend
Ernest Lyght, a member of the Burlington City Community Development
Corporation and Pastor of the United Methodist Church of Good
Shepherd in Willingboro, New Jersey, summed it up by saying the
lack of representation may be the result of a lack of significant
black leadership. There is only one black councilman in Burlington
City and no high-ranking elected black official at the county
l e v e l.
While there is a definite move to increase black power
in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, most of it is moving in a
constructive manner. Many are hopeful the races will not be further
polarized. Wilma Stringfellow, Executive Director of the Philadelphia
YWCA, says racism is the root of all problems and people of all races 29 must make a concentrated effort to better understand each other.
Melvin Hardy, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Anti-Poverty
Action Commission, states that the only way to improve the
27 Interview with Poppy Sharpe, Founder, Black People's Unity Movement, December 1, 1971.
28 Interview with Reverend Ernest Lyght, Member, Burlington City Community Development Corporation, December 21, 1971.
29 Interview with Mrs. Wilma Stringfellow, Executive Director, YWCA of P hiladelph ia, November 3, 1971. 43
deteriorating relations between the races is to utilize the schools 30 and alter housing patterns. They think it can be done.
Cr ime
Crime is considered to be the most serious problem in
Philadelphia by one-third of the general public. The next closest problem area is drugs at 13.7 percent which is far below the 33.3 percent figure for crime. It is significant that the drug problem is a form of criminal activity. (Drugs will be discussed later.)
After crime and drugs, the next most serious problem area gets a less than seven percent acknowledgement from the general public.
The community leaders in Philadelphia view the drug problem with alarm but did not voice as much concern about the crime category.
Philadelphia residents are uptight about a skyrocketing crime rate. During 1970, there were 45,734 major crimes in
Philadelphia compared to 37,060 in 1969. This represents a 23.4 percent increase. The Police Department cleared 17,695 of these o ffen ses compared to 15,151 in 1969.
In the f i r s t six months of 1971, there were 28,037 major crimes compared to 20,838 during the same period in 1970, or a 34.5 percent increase. The number of major crimes cleared by arrest was 10,312 compared to 8,399 in 1970.
30 Interview with Melvin Hardy, Executive Director, Philadelphia A nti-Poverty A ction Commission, November 12, 1971. 44
SERIOUS CRIMES, 1970 AND 1971
First 6 mos. 1970 1971
Crimes Solved Crimes Solvec
Murder 352 307 235 214
Rape 452 304 261 196
Robbery 6,377 2,114 4,139 1,400
Aggravated Assault 3,947 2,828 2,309 1,744
Burglary 15,163 5,697 9,533 3,396
Larceny (over $50) 5,263 1,324 3,444 1,047
Auto Theft 14,180 5,121 8,116 2,315
TOTAL 45,734 17,629 28,037 10,312
Across the nation the total number of serious crimes during
1970 was 5,568,200, according to the FBI's annual Uniform Crime
Reports. This was an increase of 11 percent over 1969. For the
first six months of 1971, major crimes increased seven percent
compared to an 11 percent increase during the same period in 1970.
Philadelphia's crime rate increases of 23.4 percent and 34.5 percent r e sp e c tiv e ly reveal a much fa ste r growing rate in the c ity compared 31 to the rest of the nation.
A number of community leaders expressed their views on the rapidly rising crime rate. John R. McConnell, Chancellor of the
Philadelphia Bar Association, talked about a study by his organization to determine why there are so many crim inal cases compared to c i v i l cases. They started by going to the prisons to see the inmates.
31 "Adult and Juvenile Crime," B u lletin Almanac 1972, (Philadelphia: The Evening and Sunday B u lle tin , 1972), p. 437. 45
Ninety percent were black, uneducated and without sk ills. The Bar
Association next took a look at the Philadelphia school system
from grades two to eight where they round a 40 percent i llit e r a c y
rate. The Bar believes there is a correlation between legal problems
and the educational level of a person. In further discussing
Philadelphia schools, McConnell criticized the lack of discipline
in the classrooms and pointed out that there is a 100 percent 32 promotion rate in Philadelphia. No one fails or is held back.
Judge D. Donald Jamieson, President Judge of the Philadelphia
Common Pleas Court, believes there is a misunderstanding of the
judicial function as it relates to crime. Courts are blamed for
increases in the crime rate because of light sentences. The Judge
called these attacks incomprehensible because heavy sentences have
not proved a deterrant to criminal activity. He said the present
system is not working because it frequently is lax in two areas: 33 discipline and rehabilitation.
The great concern Philadelphian's have over the mounting
crime rate in the city probably played a major part in the election of Mayor Frank Rizzo. Rizzo has the image of a tough, no-nonsense
former police commissioner. He has been a strong critic of the courts and the judges for being too le n ie n t. At a news conference and at state hearings. Mayor Rizzo said he thinks Pennsylvania should start using the electric chair again as a deterrent to crime.
32 Interview with John McConnell, Chancellor, Philadelphia Bar Association, November 12, 1971.
33 Interview with D. Donald Jamieson, President Judge, Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, November 5, 1971. 46
The general public in Camden, as in Philadelphia, lists
crime as the most serious problem. Of the community leaders interviewed
in Camden, however, not one considered crime "most serious." The same
thing happened in the Philadelphia survey.
Records show the Camden crime rate is growing but not
dramatically as in . Philadelphia.
SERIOUS CRIMES , 1970 AND 1971
F ir st 6 mos. 1969 1970 1970 1971
Murder 23 27 10 8
Rape 35 40 14 26
Robbery 345 684 304 322
Aggravated Assault 203 261 104 182
Burglary 2,101 2,626 1,337 1,291
Larceny (over $50) 682 1,046 434 456
Auto Theft 1,726 2,214 1,019 1,163
TOTAL 5,115 6,898 3,222 3,448
Major crimes in Camden in 1970 increased by 34.9 percent over 1969. This substantially is more than the 11 percent national increase reported by the FBI. For the first half of 1971, major crime continued to climb in Camden but at a slackened rate of seven percent. That is equal to the national average for that period, according to FBI figures.
34 "Camden Crime Record," B u lle tin Almanac 1972, (Philadelphia: The Evening and Sunday B u lletin , 1972, p. 115. 47
Community leaders and the general public in Burlington
City do not seem to be worried at all about crime. Not one community
leader considered it to be the most serious problem. Police Chief
George Clayton did not even mention crime during an interview
except for his concern about parental reaction to police arrests 35 of young pranksters and drug users. Only one general public
interviewee (0.6 percent) of the 205 sampled listed crime as
"most serious" and only three (1.5 percent) even mentioned crime
as a problem.
R ecreation
The general public of Burlington City considers the lack of
recreation and entertainment the most serious problem. This concern
transcends racial lines and is viewed as a most critical need by
both whites and blacks in Burlington. Thirteen percent of the whites
and 23.4 percent of the blacks put it at the top of the list. Recreation
was not considered a problem in Burlington or elsewhere in the
Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. It generated moderate concern in
Camden.
In te r e stin g ly enough, only one community leader in the
Burlington City survey and none in Burlington County consider recreation most serious. William Burgess, Post Commander of
American Legion Post #79 in Burlington City, says there is no
35 Interview with George Clayton, Chief, Burlington City Police, October 5, 1971. 48
place for the kids to go. The closest movie theaters are in Willing
boro. He displayed newspaper ads indicating the availability of little
more than X-rated films. Burgess says school dances frequently end
in fights and laments the difficulty of getting parents to volunteer
to supervise the dances.
Although they did not rate recreation as the top priority
problem facing the community, a number of community leaders in
Burlington commented on the problem. Daniel Keegan, who in addition
to being City Welfare Director also runs the city's recreation
program, told us he has no problem getting money for projects. His
major problem is getting parents to participate as coaches or
0 7 supervisors. '
Lee Thorton, Deputy Director of the Burlington County
Community Action Program based in Burlington City, discussed the lack
of a movie theater and swimming facilities. He says there are basket
ball courts and organized baseball but this doesn't reach a majority
of the youth. He believes youngsters need a place to meet, especially
00 in Burlington where there is none.
Otis Fields, President of the Burlington City Teachers'
A sso cia tio n , says he has made a personal commitment to see what can
be done about getting a swimming pool and a movie theater for Burlington.
36 Interview with William Burgess, Post Commander, American Legion Post #79 of Burlington, October 19, 1971.
37 Interview with Daniel Keegan, Director, Burlington City Welfare Department, October 5, 1971.
38 Interview with Lee Thorton, Deputy Director, Burlington County Community A ction Program, October 19, 1971. 49
Organized sports are popular in Burlington but Fields believes that
kind of sports activity leaves out a lot of youngsters.
William Rosenberg, a senior at Burlington High School, is
concerned about a lack of recreation. He says if a student does
not participate in varsity athletics, there is not much for him to
do. He would like to see the school gym opened for indoor basketball
and the construction of an indoor and outdoor swimming f a c ilit y .
In Camden, the major complaint about recreation was a lack
of facilities. Stuart Alperin, Director of the Jewish Community
Center of Camden County, says the recreation sites in Camden are in
poor condition and there are very few sites even developed in the
suburbs. He ways there is also a lack of qualified recreation
personnel.
Mrs. Carol Brooks, Director of the Camden County Office of
Consumer Affairs bases in Camden, believes there is a lack of
recreational facilities for the young in Camden. Mrs. Brooks feels
the youth are left to fend for themselves with very few places to
congregate. The places usually turn ou to be street corners which
leave the youth wide open for the undesirable element in the community, 42
39 Interview with Otis Fields, President, Burlington City Teachers' Association, October 19, 1971.
40 Interview with William Rosenberg, Senior Student, Burlington City High School, December 22, 1971.
41 Interview with Stuart Alperin, Director, Jewish Community Center of Camden County, December 1, 1971.
42 Interview with Mrs. Carol Brooks, Director, Camden County Office of Community A ffa ir s, December 1, 1971. 50
Recreation needs are negligible in the minds of the
Philadelphia general public and community lea d ers. None o f the 300
general public interview ees nor any of the 81 community leaders
interviewed in Philadelphia mentioned recreation as the most serious
problem. The city certainly has some very critical youth problems
in the form of gang killings but apparently it is not considered to
result from a lack of recreation facilities. Philadelphia does have
a very active and extensive recreation program.
Housing
The need for housing can be labeled as one of the consensus
problems. All areas are very much concerned about it.
Burlington City Mayor Herman Costello describes housing as the most serious problem facing Burlington.Many other community
leaders agree with Mayor Costello.
Henry Haines, a co-owner of Haines and Haines Real E state
in Burlington City, is firmly convinced that a solution to the housing problem would minimize the other social problems. He told how Burlington created a public housing authority in the 1940's and almost immediately constructed 90 units. He says the authority has not done a thing since then and has failed to take advantage of available state and federal f u n d s . ^4
43 Interview with Herman Costello, Mayor, City of Burlington, October 19, 1971.
44 Interview with Henry Haines, R ealtor, Haines and Haines Real Estate, October 5, 1971. 51
Manuel Polsky, the owner of Polsky's Clothing Store in
Burlington City, says the city has lost population primarily because
of a lack of new housing.
Charles Wheatley, the owner of a number of Burlington City
B u sinesses, including an o r th o tic s plant and store and a drug sto r e ,
thinks a concerted effort must be organized to promote Burlington
as an area where big builders will want to construct housing. He
says efforts such as these are hindered because the major's job in
Burlington is part-time while the demands are really full-time.
Mayor Costello sees a solution in the city's urban renewal
program. He praises the state and federal governments for contributing
more than expected. Burlington is now about to step off on phase
two of the project which the Mayor hopes w ill create the needed housing
and revitalize the downtown business d istrict.H a in es, the realtor,
however, describes the urban renewal program as only a token of what
is actually needed in Burlington. ^8
45 Interview with Manuel Polsky, Owner, Polsky's Clothing Store, October 19, 1971.
46 Interview with Charles Wheatley, Owner, Burlington City Orthotics Plant and Store, October 19, 1971.
47 Interview with Herman Costello, Mayor, City of Burlington, October 19, 1971.
48 Interview with Henry H aines, R ealtor, Haines and Haines Real Estate, October 5, 1971. 52
In Burlington County, there Is concern over the rapid
development of many areas but nonetheless a housing need exists.
While a great deal of new construction has been completed, James
Miller, Director of the Burlington County Freeholders, cites a
desperate need in the county for middle and low-income housing.
Much of the building in the county involves homes prices above
$35,000. He says many working men are unable to get mortgage money for these high-priced dwellings. A government subsidy may
be required.
Robert Gallagher, Director of the Burlington County Welfare
Department, blames the shortage of low-cost housing on restrictive zoning ordinances in the county's municipalities. He says the only answer is to spread low-cost housing projects around so everyone shares the burden of increased school taxes.
A major effort to revitalize Camden is having a very difficult time getting off the ground while two powerful groups are locked in a serious dispute. Camden City officials estimate that
$50 million in projects are waiting in the wingsThey include new housing, a r e h a b ilita tio n program, a community center and some commercial b u ild in g. A community group known as the C o a litio n , represented by the Legal Services of the Office of Economic Oppor tunity, has filed suit against the city to block these projects until
49 Interview w ith James M iller, D irector, Board o f Burlington County Freeholders, November 10, 1971.
50 Interview with Robert Gaiiagner, uireccur, Burlington County W elfare Department, November 10, 1971. 53
assurances are given that low-cost housing will be provided. The case
has been tied up in court while representatives of the city and the
Coalition have engaged in some discussions to try to clear away the
road blocks. It had done little good to date.
On the other sid e o f the issu e, Mrs. Ruth Coleman, Executive
Director of the Camden County Office of Economic Opportunity, supports
the Coalition's suit. She says low-income housing is direly needed
in Camden. In her view, if it were not for the Coalition's suit
demanding low-income housing first, the city would go ahead with 52 construction of high-priced dwellings. Meanwhile, housing construc
tion in Camden is at a virtual standstill.
Housing emerged as one of the major issues in the recent mayoral campaign in Philadelphia. Both major party candidates generally
agreed there are some 20,000 vacant houses in the city that could be rehabilitated.
Mayor Rizzo has taken the Housing Authority to task and has
threatened to get rid of many of the top administrators in an effort to get something done. Miles Mahoney, former Deputy Executive Director of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, says the problem facing Phila delphia is that many more poor people now live in the city and the city has failed to respond to their needs. His figures show that one out of six people in the city is on welfare. The public, he says, must become much more aware of th eir su fferin g .
52 Interview with Mrs, Ruth Coleman, Executive D irector, Camden County O ffice of Economic Opportunity, December 6, 1971. 54
The Housing Authority has been trying to implement a plan
to scatter certain public housing projects in different areas of the
city to avoid a concentration in any one place. These projects have run into severe citizen opposition. For example, the Whitman Housing
Project was stopped by a court injunction. If any construction is done, it is destroyed by residents before the next morning. Injunc tions have followed in other areas of the city such as Germantown where construction of 220 units for the aged was stopped. Mahoney says a large part of the problem is racial.
Michael Strong, President of the Housing Association of the
Delaware Valley, believes abandoned housing is a major problem in the city. He does not agree with some of the campaign statements that the units can be easily rehabilitated, primarily because of the 54 exorbitant costs involved.
Another person who does not think the answer lies in rehabilitation is City Controller Thomas Cola. Cola provided one of the more novel suggestions for dealing with the housing problem.
He suggests that private industry should move into a several block area, knock down all existing structures at one time, rebuild them.
53 Interview with Miles Phoney, Deputy Executive Director, Philadelphia Housing Authority, November 4, 1971.
54 Interview with Michael Strong, President, Housing Association of the Delaware Valley, November 4, 1971. 5 5
and sell the dwellings to the city. The city would then sell the
houses to people at very low mortgage rates. The displaced people
could be temporarily housed in mobile units until the construction
is completed.
Philadelphia Councilman Isadora Beilis agrees that
Philadelphia and other large cities along the Eastern Seaboard are
faced with the problem of having a very large population that is not getting adequate housing and not getting employment opportunities and not producing tax-w ise. The remainder of the community has to pick up the tab. As a possible solution to the problem, he suggests less restrictive zoning laws in outlying communities so minority groups could move to where the jobs are located. If the outlying areas are not willing to help in that way, then they should at least contribute their tax dollars to help solve the problem.
This, of course, raises the concept of regionalization of certa in government fu n ction s. Many community leaders b e lie v e i t is the solution to the many problems but are not very hopeful of bringing it about any time soon.
Taxes
Taxes cause moderate concern throughout the Philadelphia
M etropolitan Area w ith a l l sectio n s expressing about the same amount of emotion on the subject.
55 Interview with Thomas Gola, Controller, City of Philadelphia, November 5, 1971.
56 Interview with Isadora Beilis, Councilman, City of Philadelphia, November 8, 1971. 56
Burlington City government has minimal financial difficulties because of taxes paid by the Public Service plant located in the city.
Burlington City Treasurer James Ayrer says the city's real estate tax is very low compared to other municipalities. However, Ayrer believes it is all relative and that the real estate tax has, in fact, increased by 50 percent in recent years.
Hie concern throughout Burlington County and other parts of
New Jersey is summed up in a statement by New Jersey State Senator
John Miller of Camden County. He says "the real estate tax problem has reached critical proportions."^® Extremely high rates, some of the highest in the country, are causing hardships for many residents, especially those on fixed incomes. Many proposals have been made to resolve the situation including a state income tax and off-tract betting. However, the state legislature is bogged down in debate over the report of the blue-ribbon, bi-partisan commission appointed by Governor Cahill in 1971 to study the entire tax structure and state needs.
During the recent mayoral campaign in Philadelphia, the
Republican candidate said he could not promise that he would be able to avoid hiking taxes to help pay the bills for operating the massive city government. The man who won the election. Mayor Frank Rizzo,
57 Interview with James Ayrer, Treasurer, City of Burlington, October 5, 1971.
58 Interview with John Miller, New Jersey State Senator, District #3-C, Camden County, September 10, 1971. 57
unequivocally promised time and time again there w ill be no new taxes
in Philadelphia. In office now for several months, Rizzo maintains
he w ill keep his promise no matter how much the city is forced to
curtail its operations. The Mayor says the city will live within
its means. This w ill have to be done or the city faces complete
d is a ste r .
The Federal Reserve Bank study states that a large low-
income population and dilapidated physical plant have made Philadelphia's
role in the war on poverty, slums and crime especially large. Costs
of bearing these expanded responsibilities have been boosted by
accelerating inflation in the private sector and by substantial
increments in paychecks of public employees.
So, as spending has intensified, taxpayers have witnessed a larger chunk o f th e ir earnings eaten away by new taxes and increased
tax rates. But most of the new taxes have produced less revenue than expected, have been expensive to collect, and one has been rescinded by the courts. More important, new tax structures and rate increases have, at best, filled only one year's deficit.
"Hie crush of new spending has left little time for develop ing more reliable and longer term solutions. The outlook, based on
Federal Reserve Bank projections, is for greatly increased fiscal deficits for the city government and schools in Philadelphia — reaching a half-billion dollars for the year 1975, even if payments from the state and federal governments continue increasing as they have recently. This half-billion deficit may be preceded by smaller 58
but growing shortages. Without early fiscal action, the deficits
for a l l years between now and 1975 could to ta l nearly one-and-a-
quarter-billion dollars. Higher tax rates, new intergovernmental
aid, and some budget cutting are the options that must be relied upon to close these deficits. This is the problem to be faced and 59 not necessarily a forecast of what will happen.
Pennsylvania began collecting a state income tax in 1971
to meet its financial problems. The tax is based on a 2.3 percent flat rate. Governor Milton Shapp is urging the state legislators to approve enabling legislation which will change this levy to a graduated tax. He believes this action will create a more equitable tax structure.
New Jersey residents who work in Pennsylvania are upset because they have to pay the tax. State legislators in New Jersey retaliated by placing an income tax on Pennsylvanians working in
New Jersey. This problem may reach a better solution if New Jersey decides to collect a statewide income tax.
Industry -- Business: Economic Development
Community leaders and the general public in Burlington
City find unanimity on the need for more business, industry and economic development. The biggest problem is described as a decaying
59 "Introduction," The Financial Future of City and School Government in Philadelphia. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, March 25, 1971, pp. 3-4. 59
downtown business d i s t r i c t .
Charles Wheatley, o^mer of an orthotics plant and store
and drug sto re in B urlington, is disturbed by the many stores and
properties that have been allowed to run down. He blames part of
the problem on shopping centers which he says caused an exodus of
general public from small communities.
Peter Volpe, President of the Employees of the City of
Burlington Council #6, was sharp in his criticism of the city.
In his words, "we are almost a ghost town."
Burlington City Mayor Herman Costello also grasps the urgency of the crisis. He expressed the opinion that the decaying business district must be corrected in the next five years or it will be too late. The Mayor thinks the city needs a chamber of commerce to provide healthy leadership for the merchants and has drafted a 62 number of people to make another effort to form such an organization.
Burlington City's unemployment rate stands at an estimated
10 percent. This was reduced somewhat by the temporary reopening of the Chamberlain Ammunition Plant in early 1972. It means jobs for about 250 people. These jobs are expected to be short-lived, and the need for economic development w ill continue to be a very pressing problem.
60 Interview with Charles Wheatley, Otfner, Burlington City Orthotics Plant and Store, October 19, 1971.
61 Interview with Peter Volpe, President, Employees of the City of Burlington Council #6, October 19, 1971.
62 Interview with Herman Costello, Mayor, City of Burlington, October 19, 1971. 60
Other efforts have been launched to try to revitalize
the city such as promoting the historical significance of Burlington.
Dr. Henry Bisbee, Chairman of the City Planning Board, dentist,
and author of several historical books on Burlington, organized a
flea market on Saturday, September 25, 1971, which drew 3,000
people. He says this was accomplished primarily by selling ginger bread and history. A pamphlet entitled "The Burlington Story" was prepared and distributed. It included a map of the various historic sites in the city and a brief description of the significance of each.
Dr. Bisbee sees this success as a sign of what could be done if an effort were put forth in this direction.
While not many of those included in the general public survey in Camden (four percent) consider the need for business, industry and economic development the most serious problem, a significant portion (24 percent) believe it to be one of the more important areas of concern. Eight-point-six percent of the community leaders think this area represents the most serious problem in Camden.
William Baughman, Industrial Representative of the Camden
County Economic Development Committee, describes Camden as decaying, with people leaving. Remaining in the city are several large manufacturers that have a tremendous investment and find it very hard to abandon th eir f a c i l i t i e s . These include RCA, Campbell Soup and 64 the Hollingshead Company.
63 Interview with Dr. Henry Bisbee, M.D., Chairman, Planning Board, City of Burlington, October 5, 1971.
64 Interview with William Baughman, Industrial Representative, Camden County Economic Development Committee, November 5, 1971. 61
The gloom of the situation permeating Camden may best be
summed up in opening statements in the publication Progress Report
and Economic Action Program for 1971 prepared by the Camden Economic
Development Advisory Committee. The report states "that mainly
those who could afford to move left the city."
Arnold Weber, Camden City D irector of Economic Development,
also lays some of the blame on the August 1971 riots. During that
time, a Puerto Rican protest of a case of police brutality got out
of hand causing damage to some businesses. Weber says he had a number of industrial commitments cancel shortly afterward.
Two suggestions offered by the above interviewees include the need for a 300 acre industrial park and the need to provide more security to businesses.
Poppy Sharpe, founder of the Black People's Unity Movement in Camden, says his organization is trying to establish a black economic base in the city. BPUM is involved in day care centers, a corrugated box company, a gas sta tio n and an Afro-American g if t shop. He estimated these businesses have created some 300 to 400 . . 67 new jobs.
In Philadelphia, none of the 300 general public interviewees listed the lack of industry and business as a major problem and only
65 "Effect of 1970 Census of Evaluation of Area,” Progress Report and Economic Action Program for 1971, Camden Economic Development Advisory Committee, March 1971, p. 4.
66 Interview with Arnold Weber, Director of Economic Development, City o f Camden, December 1, 1971.
67 Interview w ith Poppy Sharpe, Founder, Black People's Unity Movement, December 1, 1971. 62
three of the 300 (one percent) even considered it an important problem. Community leaders in Philadelphia also placed it low on their list with only three of 81 (3.7 percent) thinking it a most serious issue.
While the concern may not be there, the problem is.
As was reported earlier in this chapter, the Federal Reserve Bank study reports an out-migration of firms resulting in a softening of the demand for commercial and industrial properties.
Bertram Zumeta, Senior Vice President and Economist of the First Pennsylvania Bank of Philadelphia, explains that the eight counties of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area are adding people at the national growth rate. However, the area is not adding jobs at the same rate. In other words, the area is experiencing a lagging economic growth. He isolated a number of reasons why
Philadelphia has trouble attracting industry: (1) market growth is to the south, southwest and west, (2) a heavy manufacturing orientation hurts but it can be restructured, and (3) the city’s image h u r ts .
68 "City and School District Revenues," The Financial Future of City and School Government in Philadelphia, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, March 25, 1971, p. 85.
69 Interview with Bertram Zumeta, Senior Vice President and Economist, First Pennsylvania Bank of Philadelphia, November 3 , 1971. 63
Many community leaders were convinced a so lu tio n would
be found by staging the country's bicentennial celebration in
Philadelphia in 1975, Burlington and Camden City officials were
ready and willing to share in part of the celebration. They
thought it would provide the necessary stimulant for their local
economies. However, efforts to plan the celebration have hit roadblocks at every turn. The initial problem was agreeing on a site acceptable to the people. The latest difficulty, and perhaps
the end of any hope for a big celebration, was the federal government's refusal to fund the project.
Alcoholism and Drugs
Alcoholism and drugs were considered serious problems by both the community leaders and the general public.
Our best statistics on the scope of the alcohol problem were presented by Maurice Davenport, the Executive Director of the
Delaware V alley Branch of the N ational Council on Alcoholism . He says about 125,000 people in this area have serious drinking problems.
About 97 percent of them are everyday c itiz e n s compared to about three percent who are alcoholics on skid row. Davenport further states that about 50 percent of the traffic fatalities in the city are related to drinking. He says 3,500 drinking drivers were arrested as a result of breathalizer tests but only about 1,900 of them were convicted and lost their licenses. Davenport described a number of major efforts undertaken to curb the problem, such as seminars for church groups, inner-city programs under the auspices of GEO and heavy 64
involvement in industrial environments.
A large number of responses compiled in this category reflect
a concern over the drug problem. Estimates of marijuana usage always
run high. A typical comment is the drug problem is no worse than
anywhere else but, of course, we are concerned.
Maurice Davenport, who gave the comprehensive statistics
on alcoholism, also estimates there are about 20,000 heroin addicts
in this area. Other authorities estimate 30,000 to 40,000 heavy
users of other drugs. The problem is serious but nowhere near the
statistics involving alcoholism.
The B u lletin Almanac 1972 published a breakdown of important
statistics relating to the drug problem. The Medical Examiner's
Office in Philadelphia reported 12 drug-related deaths in 1965.
The f a ta lit y figure in 1970 was 187 and in 1971 was over 250.
Narcotics arrests by the Philadelphia Police Department in 1971
ran slightly ahead of 1970. Total arrests in 1970 were 7,218 and
topped 7000 by mid-November of 1971.
The New Jersey state legislators took action in 1971 to
lighten the penalties for possession or use of marijuana and stiffen
those for use, possession and sale of other drugs. This is seen as a modernization of the law in this area. Pennsylvania legislators have a sim ila r b i l l before them but have been unable to move i t out of committee.
70 Interview with Paurice Davenport, Executive Director, National Council on Alcoholism -- Delaware Valley, November 12, 1971. 65
Schools in Philadelphia and throughout New Jersey have
drug education programs. It is hard to evaluate how well they are
doing. However, an effort is being made to inform the youth of
the dangers of abuse.
Burlington City School Superintenden Robert Dotti
explained that Burlington schools have a drug problem but it is not as bad as it is in other nearby areas and schools. Nonetheless,
Burlington did not escape the tragedy of drug abuse. Three former
Burlington City High School students, including an outstanding athlete, recently suffered drug-related deaths. Dotti pointed out that the fatalities did not occur while they were in school; 72 the tragic deaths occured after they got involved elsewhere.
A ll kinds of community based groups have emerged to try to stem the tide of drug abuse. Sometimes they work; more often they fail. The battle to find the necessary answers will have to be intensified over the foreseeable future.
Harry McConnell, Chief of Detectives in Burlington County, is also concerned about other drug-related problems such as robberies, strong armed robberies, violent physical crimes, increased numbers of purse-snatchings — all to get money to satisfy the habit.
Broken homes r e su lt when persons get hooked on drugs and lo se
71 " O fficia ls Fight Growing Use of N arcotics," B u lletin Almanac 1972, (Philadelphia; The Evening and Sunday B u lletin , 1972), p. 14.
72 Interview with Robert Dotti, Superintendent of Burlington Schools, October 5, 1971. 66
their jobs. Rehabilitation centers, he says, are a very expensive 73 proposition.
Government Organization: Local/State/Federal
Earlier in this chapter, the subject of regionalization was raised while discussing the tax problem. Regionalization is the key concept exposed under government organization. The astronomical
costs of financing local governments is forcing this kind of
thinking. Many small municipalities cannot afford to provide the numerous se r v ic e s demanded by r e sid e n ts. For example, many interviewees believe the duplication of police and fire departments in every little municipality is extremely expensive and unnecessary.
One official who would like to see some fast movement in this direction is James Alloway, President of the New Jersey Civil
Service Commission. He wants the 557 municipalities in New Jersey's
21 counties to regionalize some of their services at the county level. He believes that if county government does not meet the challenge it could spell the end of county operations as they are 74 known today.
Damon Childs, Executive Director of the Philadelphia
Planning Commission, says unrealistic boundaries pose the major problem facing large urban areas in the Philadelphia Metropolitan
73 Interview with Harry McConnell, Chief, Burlington County Detective Bureau, November 10, 1971.
74 Interview with James Alloway, President, Civil Service Commission. State of New Jersey, September 24, 1971. 67
Area. He refers to such divisions as city, suburbs, county, state,
etc. Childs believes the structure should be more metropolitan so
people are not so concerned with who pays for what benefits. ^5
Lennox Moak, the Former Director of the Pennsylvania
Economy League who became City Finance Director in the Rizzo
Administration, is vitally concerned about the current structure
of the local government. In 1853, there were 32 municipalities
in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. The same area now includes
242 municipalities. He feels it is absolutely necessary to move
toward regionalization and a revision of the Philadelphia City
Charter in the very near future.
Richard Betres, Director of Development for the
Philadelphia Archdiocese, thinks regionalization is the most
serious problem facing Philadelphia. However, he adds that only
the most farsighted and courageous people who do anything about it.
He said he can spell out 15 to 20 other problems such as crime and drugs but it is his opinion that we must use the regional concept i f those problems are to be solved. His comments probably provide the best summary of the situation.
75 Interview with Damon Childs, Executive Director, Philadelphia Planning Commission, November 12, 1971.
76 Interview with Lennox Moak, Director, Pennsylvania Economy League, November 4, 1971.
77 Interview with Richard Betres, Director of Development, Archdiocese of Philadelphia Schools, November 5, 1971. 68
While many farsighted community leaders discuss the regional
concept, most do not think it can happen any time soon because of entrenched local jealousies and pride. Some offered the opinion
that regionalization will occur on a piecemeal basis. They predict that the initial areas that will give way to pressure will be water, sewage systems and transportation.
There are a number of less frequently mentioned problem areas that deserve explanation.
Health and Medical
In Burlington City, Lee Thornton, Deputy Director of the
Community Action Program, says there is almost a complete lack of health care facilities for low-income people. His major concern is the absence of preventive treatment. Many youngsters' health problems 78 go undetected until it is too late.
Summing up the health care problem for low-income groups in P hiladelphia, Earl P erlo ff, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of
Philadelphia General Hospital, says PGW's major problem is not as much financial as it is establishing the ability to deliver health care services. He pointed out that health care is not available to a large segment of the community. He also expressed the view that
78 Interview with Lee Thorton, Deputy D irector, Burlington County Community Action Program, October 19, 1971. 69
it is the function of a government to see that all people can receive 79 health care with dignity.
Persons in the moderate income category are also faced with
health care problems. They are primarily financial. Bruce Taylor,
President of Blue Cross of Greater Philadelphia, says the major
problem is that health care costs are accelerating faster than people's
earnings. He predicts people could be priced out of treatment.
This, he says, could be a major issue in the upcoming presidential
electro1 n . 80
Traffic and Transportation
James Miller, Director of the Burlington County Freeholders,
says there is a need for public transportation in the county. It
is very difficult for people to get to various welfare departments,
health centers and hospitals. This is particularly critical for low-
income groups. There is virtually no transportation available from
O 1 the river area to the interior of the county. Freeholder Fred
Norcross, Jr., explains there are over 600 miles of roadway and
2700 bridges and culverts to be maintained by the county. The
79 Interview with Earl P e r lo ff, Chairman, Board of Trustees, P hila delphia General Hospital, November 9, 1971.
80 Interview with Bruce Taylor, President, Blue Cross of Greater Philadelphia, November 12, 1971.
81 Interview with James M iller, D irector, Board of Burlington County Freeholders, November 10, 1971. 70
county is engaged in resurfacing over half of this system. So far,
only 60 miles have been completed with another 250 miles to go. 82 Norcross says the county must quit dragging its feet in this area.
One person particularly bothered by all the traffic is Reverend
William Allen, Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Burlington
City. Reverend Allen says it is really bad in the summer and thinks 83 i t could be regulated b etter.
James McConnon, Chairman of the Southeastern Pennsylvania
Transportation Association, says the transportation systems in
Philadelphia must be restructured to enable residents to get from
one side of the city to the other. Presently, the transportation
system simply makes it easier for people to live outside the city
limits. His figures indicate only five percent of the city residents
a c tu a lly use mass tr a n sit. Most o f the one-m illion passengers who
travel daily on SEPTA live in the outlying eight-county area.
McConnon says existing freight lines which are not used very much
anymore could be pressed into service for rapid transit without
costing a fortune. He estimates it would cost about $830 million
to get the lines in shape. Two-thirds of this money could be gotten
from the federal government. The problem is getting the other third 84 from the lo ca l and sta te governments.
82 Interview with Fred Norcross Jr., Member, Board of Burlington County Freeholders, November 10, 1971.
83 Interview with Reverend William Allen, Pastor, First Baptist Church of Burlington, October 19, 1971.
84 Interview with James McConnon, Chairman, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, November 12, 1971. 71
Youth
Yough oriented problems can be found in all parts of the
Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. Adults are primarily concerned about
the drug problem as it relates to youth. They have every reason to
feel that way as the discussion of that problem area points out. Most youth included in the survey also consider drugs a serious problem.
However, Diane Tarpey, a junior at JFK High School in Willingboro,
New Jersey, is bothered because the drug question is so frequently raised with young people. She believes young people should also be 85 asked about other major issues. Other things that concern youth are apathy in their schools and elsewhere, the need for new schools, jobs, taxes, the draft, pollution, lack of recreation, housing, community control of police and schools, worker participation in corporation decisions and the need to provide more higher education opportunities for minority groups in such fields as medicine.
Probably the second most troublesome thing to adults in the
Philadelphia Metropolitan Area in dealing with youth is what is generally described as a lack of respect.
There is no doubt that the most serious youth problem in all of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area is Philadelphia's gang warfare. It has claimed hundreds of lives over the years — 43 in 1971 and fiv e during the f i r s t two weeks of 1972 alone. Best
85 Interview with Diane Tarpey, Junior Student, JFK High School of W illingboro, December 22, 1971. 72
estimates indicate there are about 125 recognized gangs in the city,
about 100 of which are volatile. There are fewer than 100 gang workers,
The situation got so tense at the beginning of the 1971-72 school
year that certain adults had to be designated to walk children to
and from school to assure they would make i t w ithout in ju ry.
Latest available Philadelphia Police Department statistics
involving juveniles (17 years and under) show how horrible the
juvenile crime problem is in Philadelphia. In 1970, juveniles ac
counted for 53 percent of all arrests for auto theft; 50 percent of all burglary arrests; 52 percent of all robbery arrests; 36 percent
of all larceny arrests; 34 percent of all rape arrests; 35 percent
of all aggravated assault and battery arrests; 32 percent of all murder a r r e sts; and seven percent of a l l a rrests for involuntary manslaughter. Juveniles comprised 44 percent of all arrests for major crimes in 1970. And things are getting worse. In the first six months of 1971, there were 23 percent more juvenile arrests for major crimes than for the same period of time in 1970.^^
Most experts in this area believe it will take massive doses of better education, meaningful jobs and improved living con ditions to solve the gang problem. Some say more parental concern is a large part of the answer.
86 "Adult and Juvenile Crime," B u lletin Almanac 1972, (P hiladelphia: The Evening and Sunday B u lle tin , 1972), p. 437. 73
In all areas, it vas generally felt youth vould benefit
from a return to a strong and loving family relationship. Many
believe family life is deteriorating badly,
Apathy
Most complaints of apathy are centered in Burlington City
and County, T hirteen-point-one percent of the 46 community leaders
interviewed in that area consider it to be the most serious problem.
They say residents are apathetic about the problems of their city
and county. It is interesting to observe that none of the 315 gen
eral public interviewees indicated any agreement on that issue.
They did not even mention apathy as a problem.
Dr. Henry Bisbee, who might well be called the town historian says the thing that bothers him most in Burlington is what he senses to be an air of lethargy. Everybody seems to be down 87 in the dumps. He does not know the reason.
Charles Wheatley, the Burlington City businessman pre viously quoted, expressed a similar concern. He is bothered most by the apathy. He says people are talking down the community.
David Hedlan, Business Representative of Carpenters Local
1489 in Burlington, describes his major concern as moral decay and 89 apathy. He says most people do not care about the other guy.
87 Interview with Dr. Henry Bisbee M.D., Chairman, Planning Board, City of Burlington, October 5, 1971.
88 Interview with Charles Wheatley, Owner, Burlington City Orthotics Plant and Store, October 19, 1971.
89 Interview with David Hedlam, Business Representative, Carpenters Local 1489 of Burlington, October 19, 1971. 74
Frank Lockhart, a Burlington County Freeholder, feels the most
important problem facing the county is the lack of individual re sponsibility on the part of citizens. People are interested in seeing 90 a lot of things done as lone as someone else does it.
Diane Tarpey, a junior at JFK High School in Willingboro, also believes people are willing to let small groups of other people do all the work. This is her major concern. She sees it in her school as well as everywhere else. She does not think it will ever 91 be corrected.
These are the needs and problems facing the Philadelphia
Metropolitan Area that must concern Philadelphia television stations.
An informed public may be the only thing that w ill save Philadelphia and other large urban areas from complete collapse. Television air time and the programs that fill it are extremely valuable re sources that cannot be squandered.
Television Stations
Although it is possible in some parts of the Philadelphia
Metropolitan Area to pickup secondary television signals from New
York and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the market's primary service comes from nine lo ca l s ta tio n s .
90 Interview with Frank Lockhart, Member, Board o f Burlington County Freeholders, November 10, 1971.
91 Interview with Diane Tarpey, Junior Student, JFK High School of W illingboro, December 22, 1971. 75
Four of these nine stations broadcast on the VHP band —
KYW TV, WCAU TV, WPVI TV AND VJHYY TV.
KYW TV, Channel 3, is licensed to the Westinghouse Broad
casting Company, a group broadcaster with substantial radio and
television properties in other major cities. KYW TV is an NBC affiliate.
WCAU TV, Channel 10, is owned and operated by CBS which
has major radio and television holdings as well as networks for both media.
WPVI TV, Channel 6, was purchased by Capitol C ities Broadcasting
Corporation in 1971 from Triangle Publications Incorporated. Tri angle was a large group broadcaster until it divested itself of its
facilities and, of course, Capitol Cities is still a major broad c a ste r . WPVI TV, formerly known as WFIL TV, is an ABC a f f i l i a t e .
WHYY TV, Channel 12, is an educational station licensed to
WHYY Incorporated of Wilmington, Delaware. However, Philadelphia is very much a part of its prime coverage area. The station has regularly televised Philadelphia School Board meetings. WHYY TV is affiliated with PBS, EEN and PPTN.
The remaining five television stations are assigned to the
UHF band -- WPHL TV, WTAF TV, WKBS TV, WUHY TV and m jT TV.
WPHL TV, Channel 17, is licensed to U.S. Communications which, because of severe financial difficulties, was forced to sell or close down their stations in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Atlanta in 1971. All were UHF operations. 76
WTAF TV, Channel 29, is licensed to the Taft Broadcasting
Company. Taft is a group broadcaster with both radio and television stations, mostly in medium-sized markets.
WKBS TV, Channel 48, is owned and operated by K aiser. As has been previously pointed out, Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation is concentrating its efforts on an attempt to establish UHF stations in six of the top 10 markets.
WHîL TV, WTAF TV and WKBS TV are independent broadcasters that originate almost all of their own programming.
WUHY TV, Channel 35, is licensed to WHYY Incorporated as a supplemental service to the area's other educational station. It has network affiliation with PBS and EEN.
WNJT TV, Channel 52, is the most recent addition to the
Philadelphia market. Located in Trenton, New Jersey, the station is run and financed by the State of New Jersey as an educational outlet.
These are the nine television stations individually charges with the responsibility of serving the "public interest, convenience and necessity" of the Hiiladelphia Metropolitan Area. Naturally, a television station cannot hope to reach at any one time the entire
5.1 million people in the eight-county area reported by the U.S.
Census Bureau or the even large 8.9 million people who make up the 92 potential audience in the ARB "total survey area." WKBS TV must compete with the other television stations and a multitude of other
92 "Demographic Sample Characteristics," Philadelphia ARB Television Market, May 1972, p. 5. 77
diversions for the public's attention. That notwithstanding, the
responsibility to serve the public's needs still exists under the
law.
Are the licensees of the Philadelphia television stations
meeting this responsibility? According to the FCC yardstick, they
have measured up to the task satisfactorily because the Commission has
historically renewed all of the stations' licenses over the years.
Perhaps, then, the issue is one of degree. Should a
television station do just enough to get by or should it make a
serious commitment to do much more at a time when i t s community is
on the brink of disaster?
This researcher made a painstaking effort earlier in this
chapter to point out that the problems of the highly populated
Philadelphia Metropolitan Area are very serious and complex. The high urban area and rapidly growing suburbs are flirting with economic and social chaos unless something is done to answer the many problems and needs.
What is necessary is a clearing house of ideas readily available to the general public and massive amounts of understanding if anything meaningful is to be accomplished. Television is a natural. Certainly, however, television should not and cannot be looked upon as a scapegoat or a cure-all for all of society's ills, many of which had their beginning long before television. But television should and can provide a tremendous input into the problem solving and need-meeting processes of the Philadelphia Metropolitan
Area. 78
The television effort in Philadelphia to date has been
superficial. It is possible to write license renewal applications
for the FCC that create every appearance on paper that the job is being done and will continue to be done in the future. A closer examination is required.
An analysis of the audience ratings of most locally originated public affairs programs offered in the Philadelphia market reveals that the total viewership is small with an average of fewer than 15,000 homes. These programs are generally scheduled in off times (early morning hours) without a great deal of thought, effort, 93 talent, promotion or money invested in them.
Newscasts attract much larger audiences. The 11:00 P.M. news programs average at le a st twenty times more viewers than the 94 public affairs programs. Large audiences, however, do not necessarily mean the newscasts are meeting the licensees' responsibility.
Television newscasts in Philadelphia are aired primarily on the city's VHP stations. The money-losing UHF stations are not yet financially healthy enough to absorb the additional heavy losses that r e s u lt from sta rtin g up major news operations and seeing them through the lengthy audience building phase.
The dollar problems of the city's independent television stations are unfortunate because Philadelphia's television newscasts fall far short of what they could and should be. They use the headline
93 Based on information contained in "3 Week Time Period Averages," Philadelphia ARB Television Market, May 1972.
94 I b i d . 79
hopping technique of placing before the viewer a series of short,
fast-paced stories that barely scratch the surface of a news develop
ment. Frequently a news story gets no more than one sentence before a
newscaster is off to another part of the world in another sentence.
Rarely is any perspective or interpretation added. This goes on and
on — all for the sake of pacing.
During the longer early evening hour newscasts, the valuable
extra minutes are often squandered on inane "filler" features of
little meaning and consequence which the newscasters apparently
b e lie v e are en terta in in g and h elp fu l in building audiences. They have
never been challenged.
This leads to an extremely unhealthy trend in Philadelphia
television news — what works for one operation is picked up and used by the others. It's the old story of "tweedle dee" and "tweedle dum."
If a station cuts its stories real short and its ratings go up, all stations w ill soon be featuring short stories in their newscasts. All use news, sports and weather men. All cover the same stories in almost the same way and present them on the air in almost the same order. There is a very sterile sameness in Philadelphia television news. Formats designed to meet network time demands are r e s t r ic t iv e and local television station managements apparently are afraid to in o v a te .
The purpose of this study is not to issue wholesale indict ments against the news efforts of the Philadelphia "V's." The point to be made and understood i s , given the c r it ic a l and mamouth problems and needs of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is vital to do 80
more than o ffer su p e r fic ia l newscasts and public a ffa ir s programs
that are not watched. In fa c t, some news sto r ie s may even be dangerous
with misleading impressions created by statements and events taken
out of context and presented without the necessary perspective.
While this is a case study of WKBS TV, it is important to understand
the total atmosphere within which the station exists.
WKBS TV, which w ill lose approximately another million
dollars in 1972, does not have a prime-time newscast and its major
public affairs programs, "F.Y.I.", "Delaware Valley Today," "Black
America: What Now?" and the "Lou Gordan Program," reach only
35,000 homes a week according to May 1972 audience ratings. Edi
torials, kids' newsbreaks and public service announcements reach
substantially larger numbers because they are scheduled in and
around high rated programs.
Should a station in the poor financial position of WKBS TV
do more? The FCC renewed the station's license for three more years
in June 1972 in effect ruling that WKBS TV is meeting the "public
interest, convenience and necessity" of the Philadelphia Metropolitan
Area.
The guests and subject matter on the news and public a ffa ir s
programs the station does have, are generally good and deal with the
problems and needs surveyed in preparing the license renewal. But the harsh facts of reality are the audience is minimal and the programs are probably not having much of an impact. 81
This study includes recommendations to make WKBS TV's (and other s ta t io n s ') news and public a ffa ir s programming more m eaningful.
The recommendations follow a detailed examination of what the station has done in the past and is presently doing in the news and public affairs area. CHAPTER III
ORGANIZATION
Station--Corporation
The direct responsibility for providing news and public
a ffa ir s programming acceptable to the corporation belongs to the
station's General Manager, G. Nilliam Ryan. He reports directly to
the corporation's Vice President and General Manager, Richard C.
Block, who is charged with the overall operation of Kaiser Broadcasting.
Since this study pertains only to the station's news and public affairs programming, no attempt w ill be made to define everyone's position in the station or corporation. However, when a particular job has some bearing on either news or public affairs programming, it will be related at the appropriate time.
The chart on the following page indicates the organization o f the s ta tio n 's management team.^ Chart #1 shows that the news director is not only under the direct supervision of the station's general manager but has also been under the direct supervision of the corporation's vice president and general manager. This practice is s ig n ific a n t because i t means the news d irector has frequently had to go through both company officers to clarify corporation policies as they r e la te to news. The vice president and general manager a t one point made the news effort a personal project when he eliminated the corporate position of director of news. He also gave certain advisory responsibilities to the corporate Vice President of Programming,
1 Chart #1 was determined through interviews with the station's management sin ce no w ritten chart was a v a ila b le.
82 8 3
Chart i?l
Station Organization
Kaiser Industries- Bo. of Dir.
V % President Kaiser Industries
Kaiser Broadcasting
V.P. of Prgms. Kaiser Broadcasting General Manager 1VKBS IV
Adm. Asst. Kaiser Broadcasting
\/
ProductionProgramming Promotion Business Sales 84
Barry Thurston.
. , .We did not feel that there was enough work for a full-time corporate director of news. . . U n til some other arrangements are made, I am taking over the staff function of director of news. I shall be looking at your tapes each week as much as possible. Most of the critiques w ill come from Barry Thurston who w ill be working with me on this project. The most important thing I ask of you is to keep me informed of anything that you think may be important. Rather than worry about what is important and what is not, i f you think i t might be important, le t me know. I am easy to g et by telephone.
This procedure has been modified somewhat since the reduction of the news staff and the appointment of a corporate Administrative
Assistant, Frank Philpot. There is not as much involvement now between the news director and the corporate vice president and general manager. Most news and public a ffa ir s programming proposals are considered thoroughly at the station level and subsequently cleared with appropriate corporate officers by the station's general manager. Also, the news director carries on a good deal of communication with the corporate administrative assistant who has 3 been assigned to handle all public affairs problems.
At the station level the persons in charge of news, programming, production, promotion, sales and the business office are given virtually equal department head status. The interraction among the department heads is depicted in Chart #1. All report directly to the station's
2 Richard C. Block, Director of News, Kaiser Broadcasting. A Memo to News Directors at Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Television Stations from the C orporation's Vice President and General Manager, March 23, 1970, Pg. 1.
3 Richard C. Block, General Manager Various 13-71, A Memo to General Managers at Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Television Stations from the Corporation's Vice President and General Manager, November 30, 1971, Item 41. 85
general manager. It is important to note that the news director
g en era lly does not have to go through the program manager as is the
case at many other television stations. ^ Programming and production
p ra ctices as they r e la te to news are worked out among the three
department heads with the advice and consent of the station's
general manager, corporate v ice president o f programming and the
corporate vice president and general manager. The news budget is
prepared by the news director who must consult with the sta tio n 's
business manager to determine g u id e lin e s. The fin a l document
has to be approved by the s ta tio n 's general manager and the
corporation's vice president and general manager.
Responsibilities at the station level for individual public affairs programs traditionally have been widely divided. The news director develops most locally originated "special" news and public affairs broadcasts. He also was instrumental in launching "Black
America: IVhat Now?" in conjunction with the program's Producer and
Host, Jim Smith. The production manager is d ir e c tly responsible for "F.Y.I,," For Your Information. Before the news cutback, one reporter was in charge of "Impact New Jersey," and the production manager handled several others. ^ However, the sta tio n 's program
4 Westinghouse Broadcasting Corporation, which incidentally owns and operates KYW TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as well as a number of other major broadcasting facilities, is one of those corporations which has i t s news d irectors report d ir e c tly to i t s program directors,
5 S p e c ific s on a l l public a ffa ir s programs before and a fter the news hiatus announcement w ill appear later in this study. 86
manager has the overall responsibility for these programs. He
e sta b lish e s th eir budgets which must a lso gain the same stamp of
approval as news.
As part of its public affairs effort, the station makes
a conscientious attempt to determine the needs and interests of
the area it is licensed to serve. Luncheons are held at least
once-a-week with community lead ers. Interviews are conducted along
the lines of "ascertainment of community needs" procedures to be
followed in applying for a renewal of license with the FCC. ^
This committment was outlined by the corporation's Vice President
and General Manager, Richard C. Block.
The important thing is what goes on at the meetings. In attendance must be the general manager, program manager, and news d irecto r. (At some sta tio n s, the public a ffa ir s director, if such a function exists, should also attend.) A general manager may be excused for vacation or illn e s s only. Community leaders should be chosen from the areas of: (1) Civic, (2) Commerce, (3) Education, (4) Ethnic, (5) Labor, (6) Political, (7) Religious.
Generally, one or two persons are the maximum that should come to these luncheons. These are not large affairs. The attentions is to focus on the individual(s) who are th ere, and th is would become unmanageable with too many people. Immediately after the luncheon a letter is to be sent to the guest(s) outlining what issues you thought came forth from the meeting (with copies to Barry Thurston for television. . .) and this should be followed within a short period by a d isp o sitio n report, so that the community leader(s) can see how the issues they have brought up were treated by the station. Also, be sure to include all salient facts in your status report.
6 "Ascertainment of Community Needs," Application for Renewal of Broadcast Station License, Statement of Television Program Service, FCC Form 303, Section IV-B, Part I. 87
To put your guests at ease, and to assure the best p o ssib le rapport, you should ask them at the o u tset, "How can we be of help to you?" Be clear that we are not asking them for a programming c r itiq u e --th a t's our job. Theirs is to tell us of the problems of the community as they see them. While a record w ill be made of the luncheon, and the aforementioned communications w ill come from the station, there is nothing against having much of the discussion "off the record." Just be sure you have agreement on the conclusions,^
Editorials delivered on the air by the station's general manager were previously researched and written by certain designated reporters under the supervision of the news director. Now, the preparation of editorials is the sole responsibility of the news d irecto r although the s ta tio n 's general manager may rew rite an
g editorial to put it in his words and to suit his delivery.
All editorials must be approved by the corporation's vice president and general manager before they are broadcast.^ The s ta tio n 's general manager normally gains clearance of e d ito r ia ls by telephone as opposed to submitting them in writing to the corporate offices in Oakland, California. This eliminates the possibility of a very serious time lag in getting the editorial approved, recorded
Richard C. Block, General Manager Various 9-7 0 , A Memo to General Managers at Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Television Stations from the Corporation's Vice President and General Manager, August 25, 1970, Item 1.
g Richard C. Block, General Manager Various 1-71, A Memo to General Managers at Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Television Stations from the Corporation's Vice President and General Manager, January 13, 1971, Item 4.
9 Richard C. Block, General Manager Various 23-69, A Memo to General Managers at Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Television Stations from the C orporation's Vice President and General Manager, December 1, 1969, Item 8. 88
and programmed.
News
WKBS TV, as it is now organized, has what is generally
referred to in broadcasting as a "one man news operation." However,
to let it go at that would be very misleading.
The s ta tio n 's news e ffo r t involves a 45-minute news program
each weekday, a children's newsbreak every afternoon, and prime time
news supplements (an indepth examination of a major news development) when events warrant. The news director is a lso heavily involved in
the s ta t io n 's public a ffa ir s programming e ffo r t along with other
d u ties pertaining to the s ta tio n 's o v era ll community involvement.^^
It is also important to note that news programs frequently become a cooperative effort. A news supplement may draw on the
talents of many station employees. Since opportunities for this kind of news programming develop on r e la tiv e ly short n o tic e , resp onsi b ilities have been assigned to various department heads and others to facilitate the necessary preparation.
1. Programming w ill help evaluate the importance of proposed news specials, help obtain such ingredients for the program as outside film and video tape, and clear preemptions. 2. Production will assist in constructing a suitable set for each news special, make sure telephone capabilities into the studio are available and working, schedule the necessary studio crews, and coordinate the preparation of necessary and pertinent artwork and booth announcements.
10 The station's current news and public affairs effort will be detailed in Chapter VII. 89
3. Promotion w ill prepare, schedule and deliver all promotional material. These materials will be made up as far in advance as is possible, realizing that there is a two-day, 6:00 P.M. deadline for newspapers, a 24-hour deadline for radio, and the need for the production manager to have sufficient notice to clear studio time for preparation of our own on-air "news sp ecial" promotions. 4. Engineering, when given s u ffic ie n t n o tic e and when i t is possible, will allow us to borrow a technician to run audio for the art department's photo technician, enabling us to shoot sound film. We will have the capability to get sound film of a news event we feel is vital in the presentation of a "news sp e c ia l." 5. Sales will attempt to get a regular sponsor for our "news sp e c ia ls." It is thought that one or two su c c essfu l "news specials" recorded and kept on tape as a "pilot" w ill be very helpful in this project. 6. Guest reporters and experts will be logged in our contact f i l e . The f i l e includes telephone numbers and an explanation of the person's areas of expertise. The "Delaware Valley Today" is an excellent proving ground for determining who should be kept on file and called upon again. It is the news director's responsibility to inform all of the above when planning a "news special." He must coordinate the overall effort with the approval of the station's general manager.
Before the cutback, the news department was under the direct
supervision of the station's News Director and Anchorman, Carl Grant.
The news department included 15 other persons as depicted in Chart #2
1 O on the following page.
The news director was in constant communication with the managing editor and the chief photographer throughout the day on matters concerning news coverage. In the area of presentation the
11 Carl Grant, WKBS TV News, A Memo to the General Manager at WKBS TV from the News Director, February 5, 1971, p. 2.
12 Chart #2 was determined through my affiliation with WKBS TV which was explained at the beginning of this study. 9 0
Chart #2
News Department Organization
News Director & Anchorman
Co-anchorman Managing Editor Chief Photographer
Assignment Reporter
3 News Reporters 6 Cameramen Film Editor Graphics Editor
7 \ 7\ 91
13 news director conferred with Co-anchorman Joe Grady. The news
director also played a very active role in writing copy and selecting
visual materials for the newscast in addition to occasionally
covering major stories. The prime responsibility of the entire
s t a f f was the preparation of the best p o ssib le "Grant and Grady
Ten o'clock Report." There were other assignments but th is was
considered to be the major one.^^
The managing e d ito r 's job was to guide reporters and film
crews during the day-to-day news gathering effort. It was up to
him to find, select, assign, write, gather, produce and present
film and live reports for the newscast. He worked with the news
director in developing and selecting news reports and assigning
personnel. The managing editor supervised an assignment reporter
in the office and three complete crews who worked in the field
producing news film stories. Complete crews normally consisted of a reporter and two technicians who did the filming. He also supervised
13 Joe Grady began co-anchoring WKBS T\^'s 10:00 P.M. news on September 28, 1970. Grady, one of the Philadelphia area's most respected radio and television personalities for 25 years, was a lso Chairman of the Department o f Communications at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. The idea behind the move was to add an older person to the newscast to give it an age balance between young adult and middle age and up.
14 The s ta tio n 's news programs prior to the news hiatus announcement w ill be detailed in Chapter V. 92
a film editor and a graphics editor.
There were four news reporters,one of whom manned the assignment
deak. The assignment reporter helped the managing editor coordinate
the daily news coverage. The best description would probably be to
liken the assignment reporter to a "traffic cop." The other news reporters supervised the camera crews on lo ca tio n in the production of newsfilm stories. The camera crews normally consisted of two persons as required under a union contract.
The chief photographer, the six men on the camera crews, the film editor and the graphics editor were members of the
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, IBEW. A contract between IBEWf and the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation was signed to define certain employer--employee relationships such as the duties to be performed under each technician category.
The union-company agreement established a supervision technician who was to be paid 15 percent above his technician--
1 *7 engineer rate. In the news department the supervision technician was commonly referred to as the chief photographer. He was responsible for maintaining the highest possible newsfilm standards.
15 WKBS TV, Salaried P o sitio n D escription - - News Managing E d ito r, August 1970, p. 1.
16 WKBS TV, Salaried Position Description -- News Reporters, August 1970, p. 1. ,
17 Agreement between Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation and International Brotherhood of E le c tr ic a l Workers AFL-CIO-CLC, June 1, 1968, Appendix B, pp. 26-27. 93
The newsfilm crews were composed of a soundman (technician- engineer) and a cameraman (technician--photographic). The contract required both positions filled when sound-on-film is shot. The scope of their duties was spelled out in the union--company contract.
Classification, Technician—Engineer
(1) The operation, installation and maintenance of video film- projectors, television lighting equipment, facsimile apparatus, re-broadcast apparatus and recording or trans scribing apparatus of all kinds for video and/or sound including video tape. (2) The installation, operation and maintenance of any control devices wherever located, the output of which is used to start, stop, or adjust the apparatus of this classification. (3) No one other than engineering technicians may set up or operate any mechanical, optical, or electronic device or devices mounted on or attached to any equipment operated by engineering technicians or operated from the control room, except that cueing mechanisms shall be operated by floorman technicians. (4) Field operation of audio tape recorders commonly referred to as Minitape or Nomad Recorders which may be used instead of recording sound on film when used for other than non-scheduled on-the-spot or spontaneous recording.
Classification, Technician—Photographic
(1) Operation of all film cameras. (2) Simple maintenance of film cameras with or without sound. (3) Operation of necessary photographic lighting equipment. (4) The developing and processing of film. (5) The shooting and processing of still pictures and the mounting of all slides.
The Union agrees that photographic technicians and film cameras may be used in the studio. Employer retains the right to purchase film processing from outside commercial film processing firms.^
18 Agreement between Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation and International Brotherhood o f E le c tr ic a l Workers AFL-CIO-CLC, June 1, 1968, Appendix B, pp. 26-27. 94
The graphics editor was also categorized as a technician—
photographic. He prepared all still pictures and other art work
that was used in the newscast.
The film editor, however, was in a different classification.
Classification, Technician--Film Editor
(1) The operation of film projectors for the previewing and visual auditioning of film necessary in the cutting, splicing and ed itin g of film . (2) The cutting, splicing, cleaning, cueing, timing, building and restoration of all film normally associated with television programming. (3) The receiving, storage, shipment of program and library film . (4) The editing, splicing and cueing of newsfilm. (5) The editing, splicing and cueing of commercial and public service film.
For the purpose of th is c la s s if ic a t io n , program film s shall be that film which is shipped to the station on a per play basis and then returned to the distributor. Library film shall be that film produced by the station or others which is or becomes the property of the station and is retained by the station as long as it desires.
The contract, in addition to specifying the duties of each technician category, also establishes the "modus operandi" for dealing with almost everything affecting members of the technical staff.
This includes such items as hours of work, wage scales and raises, overtime pay, job security, disciplinary procedures, vacations and other benefits.
The reporters were not unionized which allowed for more flexibility in all aspects of their employer—employee relationship.
At le a st one person from the news department was required by the news d irector to be on duty in the newsroom from 8:30 A.M. through 10:30 P.M. to handle telephone calls, monitor police radios.
19 Agreement between Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation and International Brotherhood of E le c tr ic a l Workers AFL-CIO-CLC, June 1, 1968, Appendix B, p. 27. 95
check the wire machines, work on developing news stories and dispatch
the crews. Generally, the assignment reporter did the job early in
the day w h ile the managing editor had the r e sp o n s ib ility during the
later hours. The other reporters and technicians, with the exception
of the film editor and the graphics editor, were sent out to cover
scheduled news assignments or other s to r ie s that just happened to
occur in the course of the day.
There was no such thing as a permanent assignment as far
as news coverage was concerned. However, once a reporter started a
story, he or she normally saw it to its conclusion even if it
spanned several days or weeks. The reporter was expected to become
somewhat of an expert on that p articu lar news development. It is
also important to point out that the reporters and technicians
were responsible for covering several stories daily.
Definite assignments did exist in connection with the
on-air delivery of certain newscasts. Carl Grant and Joe Grady were
the regular anchormen for the "Grant and Grady Ten O'Clock Report"
while the managing editor was designated backup man when either
Grant or Grady was absent. The managing ed itor was a lso sp ecified
as the anchorman of a ten-minute afternoon newscast while the
assignment reporter gave a morning report.^ The other reporters
20 The s ta tio n 's news programs prior to the news hiatus announcement will be detailed in Chapter V. 96
served as the backup for these newscasts. In th is way a l l the
reporters got some added exposure, and it always kept someone
in practice to step in for on-the-air service whenever and wherever
needed.
If a technician was absent, the chief photographer served
as the backup and filled the vacant position.
An example of how the news department personnel were scheduled
is presented in Table #1 on the following page. It should be noted
that the station only scheduled regular newscasts on weekdays
necessitating no more than a five-day news operation.
The cost of operating the news department amounted to some
$24,300 a month. About 77 percent of this total monthly figure went
for salaries with the remainder going toward film and processing,
office and production supplies, wire and slide services, and equipment
o 1 maintenance.
Public Affairs
No specific department has ever existed for public affairs programming per se; hence, i t is im possible to defin e i t s organization in rigid terms. However, the public affairs effort is the r e sp o n s ib ility of the s ta tio n 's management. As was pointed out
21 Figures based on News General budget expenditures from January through September 1970 as provided by Robert Johnson, former WKBS TV Business Manager, October 1970, p. 1. Further detailed information on the news department budget is available in Appendix B, pp. 97
Table #2
NEWS DEPARTMENT WORK SCHEDULE
Staff Position Time
News D irector & Anchorman 1:30 PM - 10:30 m Co-anchorman 8:30 PM - 10:30 PM Assignment reporter 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM Managing editor 2:00 PM - 10:30 PM Chief photographer 8:45AM - 4:45 PM Reporter #1 9:15 AM - 5:15 m Crew #1 (2 men) 9:15 AM- 5:15 PM* Reporter #2 10:00 AM - 6:30 PM Crew #2 (2 men) 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM Reporter #3 11:15 AM- 7:45 PM Crew #3 (2 men) 11:15 AM - 7:15 PM Film editor 2:00 PM - 10:00 PM Graphics editor 2:00 PM - 10:00 PM
*There was a half-hour difference in the work schedules of reporters and technicians. Unionized technical people normally worked an eight-hour day which included a half-hour for lunch as specified under the contract. Reporters worked an eight-hour day plus an additional half-hour for lunch. 98
at the beginning of this chapter, the program manager is responsible
in the end for the public affairs programs along with the corporate administrative assistant. The news director is involved in much of
the direct supervision in the public affairs areas, researches and w rites the e d ito r ia ls , and s e ts up and follow s through on community leaders' luncheons. The production manager schedules "F.Y.I."
P ractices and p o lic ie s concerning public a ffa ir s programming w ill be clarified as the study progresses. CHAPTER TV
NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS — PRIOR TO THE HIATUS
Schedules
A station's program schedule tells much about its attitude toward news and public a ffa ir s programming. WKBS TV's program schedule, as it stood immediately before the November 11, 1970, news hiatus announcements, is reporduced on the following page. A program memo written four months after the cutback, spelled ou the difference in time alotted to news.
. . .Regularly-scheduled news programs (now) to ta l three hours and eight minutes of news or 3.12% news programming based on a 100-hour broadcast week. This is somewhat over the percentage committed in our last amendment filed with the FCC — 3.00%. In October 1970, before the cancellation of the 10:00 P.M. news, we were running at about 5.40% news.^
Prior to the hiatus the news department was responsible for gathering and presenting almost all local, state, national and international news aired by the station. Exceptions came only when the station picked up a pool broadcast such as a presidential news conference or a gubernatorial speech.
1 S. Mort Rosenman, WKBS TV News. A memo to the K aiser Broadcasting Corporation Vice President o f Programming from the former WKBS TV Program Manager, March 12, 1971, p. 1.
99 100
raœii/W schedule
WKBS TV
EFFECrn^E OCTOBER 1, 1970^
TIME SUNDAY MONDAY--raIDAY SATURDAY TIME
8:25 FYI 8:25 8:30 Kathryn Kuhlman 8:30 8:55 FYI 8:55 9:00 Gigantor Environs 9:00 9:30 Cool McCool L e t's Talk 9:30 10:00 Kimba Impact: N.J. 10:00 10:30 Skippy Senators' Report 10:30 11:00 Superman Tlie Bowery Boys 11:00 11:20 FYI 11:20 11:25 Morning Report 11:25 11:30 Tlie F lints tones Beetle Bail.y 11:30 12:00 Movie at Noon Dickory Doc Family Classics 12:00 12:30 12:30 1:00 Today a t Movies 1:00 1:30 Chan, 48 Presents 1:30 2:00 Metro. Movie 2:00 2:30 2:30 2:50 Afternoon Report 2:50 3:00 Kimba 77 Sunset Strip 3:00 3:30 Banana S p lits 3:30 4:00 Wagon Train Alfred Hitchcock 4:00 4:30 The Flints tones 4:30 5:00 Muns ters Chair.p. Wrestling 5:00 5:30 The Flints tones Get Smart 5:30 6:00 McHalc's Kavy Star Trek Munsters 6:00 6:30 Dick Van Dyke Hazel 6:30 7:00 The Avengers Dick Van Dj’ke Dick Van Dyke 7:00 7:30 I t Takes A Thief Chiller Theater 7:30 8:00 Roller Game 8:00 8:30 Candid Camera 8:30 9:00 Perry Mason 9:00 9:30 9:30 10:00 Candid Camera Grant & Grady Tlio Prisoner 10:00 10:30 Point of View Alfred Hitclicock 10:30 11:00 Ben Casey Sherlock Holmes 11:00 11:30 World of Movies 11:30 12:00 FYI FYI 12:00 12:05 Sign Off Sign Off 12:05 12:30 12:30 1:00 Kaiser News 48 1:00 1:25 FYI 1:25 1:30 Sign Off 1:30
2 17KBS TV, Prop ram Scliedul e, Se])Ler,'.bcr 15, 1970 101
The bulk of the s ta tio n 's pub lic a ffa ir s programming a lso
vas lo c a lly produced by various s t a f f members. The main reason for
stressing the local aspect is to point out that networking or other
outside origination factors seldom play any role at all in the
station's scheduling of programs.
The station's weekday program schedule included four
newscasts - - "Morning Report," "Afternoon Report," "The Grant and
Grady Ten O'clock Report," and "Kaiser News 48." No live newscasts were scheduled over the weekends. At one time, however, there was
a "Ten O'clock Report" on Sunday n igh ts.^ It subsequently was
replaced by a public affairs program, "Point of View," which was video-tape recorded on Friday afternoons for broadcast on Sundays
from 10:30 P.M. to 11:00 P.M.
"Morning Report" was broadcast from 11:25 A.M. sh o rtly after Sign On each weekday. It was prepared by the assignment reporter who also read it from the announcer's booth. Slides were used to provide video content.
"Afternoon Report" was programmed from 2:50 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. a t the conclusion of "Today at the Movies." The managing ed itor prepared the newscast and delivered it on camera utilizing slides and the la te s t newsfilm .
3 The "Ten O'clock News' underwent a number of schedule changes sin ce March 1968 when i t started out as a half-hour program each weeknight. It was expanded to an hour in June 1968. In June 1969 it was returned to a half-hour program but an additional half- hour was added to the Sunday night schedule. The Sunday night news was a lso removed from the schedule reverting the "Ten O'clock News" back to where it started. On November 11, 1970, the entire newscast was dropped. See Appendix C, pp.264 - 266. 102
such as election results, would undergo a major change between
10:00 P.M. and 1:00 A.M., "Kaiser News 48" was cancelled for that
particular airing. However, such an action seldom had to be taken.
One public affairs program, "F.Y.I." or For Your Information, was regularly scheduled twice each weekday as well as Saturdays and
Sundays, I t was and s t i l l is a five-m inute interview program scheduled at sign on and again at sign off. The series creates a television vehicle to explore subject material in greater depth than offered by a straight public service announcement.
"Spotlight" was another public affairs program broadcast by the station. It was a short program of 1:15 to 2:00 minutes in length scheduled throughout the broadcast day and, whenever possible, in prime time. "Spotlight," which was not an interview program, permitted persons most intimately involved with the subject material to present the message personally. Its somewhat extended length gave a spokesman an opportunity to expound a point while at the same time it remained short enough to be fit into the schedule with a frequency and varied placement that reaches more people cumulatively than is achieved by a longer program in fringe time.
Four public affairs programs, in addition of "F.Y.I.," were regularly scheduled on Saturday mornings — "Environs," "Let's
Talk About It," "Impact: New Jersey," and "Senators' Report." All were a half-hour long and were broadcast in the above order between
9:00 A.M. and 11:00 A.M. 103
"Environs" was an agricu ltu re program produced by the
College of Agriculture and Environmental Services of Rutgers, the
State University of New Jersey, until May 1969, at which time the station began using program material supplied by the United States
Department of Agriculture, the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, and the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.
"Let’s Talk About It" was an interview program with most o f i t s emphasis on black community problems in the Delaware V alley.
It was hosted by a staff announcer.
"Impact: New Jersey" concentrated entirely on what was happening in the State of New Jersey. The program was produced and moderated by a member of the news staff who also happened to be the managing ed ito r.
"Senators' Report" was another Washington handout film furnished by Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senators Hugh Scott and Richard
Schweiker. They normally appeared on the program together.
The Sunday public affairs schedule was composed again of
"F.Y .I." and "Point o f View." "Point o f View" was an interview program that featured top guests who frequently made news during their appearances that was printed in the Monday morning paper.
It was programmed in prime time from 10:30 P.M. to 11:00 P.M.
E d ito ria ls also became a regular part of the program schedule with at least one aired each week. A formula was devised for programming an e d ito r ia l a t a rate of four a irin g s per su b ject. 104
"The Grant and Grady Ten O'Clock Report" respresented the
station's main news effort. It was scheduled each weeknight from
10:00 P.M. to 10:30 P.M.^ The station explained in a promotion
brochure why the ten o'clock starting time was picked when the other major television stations in Philadelphia began their news at 11:00 P.M.
In April 1967, lacking a prior reputation and track record in television news, I'TMEIV TV introduced a ten o'clock news in New York. Of the nine weeknight news programs ons the three network stations, "The Ten O'clock News" leads or ties five o f them. (Nov. 67 ARB). The success o f KTTV and KTIA Los Angeles and WTTG TV Washington a lso point to a w aitin g market for news at 10 P.M. in Philadelphia.
The ten o 'clo ck news se rv ic e was intended to reach persons who had to get up early in the morning and/or those who wanted something different from the entertainment fare normally offered on the other television channels at that hour.
"The Grant and Grady Ten O'Clock Report," of course, was the major casualty of the hiatus.
"Kaiser News 48" was the name given to a rebroadcast of "The
Grant and Grady Ten O'clock Report" from approximately 1:00 A.M. to
1:25 A.M. follow ing the "Wonderful World of Movies." The replay featured the first 25 minutes of the newscast eliminating sports and weather because the 10:00 P.M. material was frequently outdated by the ea rly morning hours. I f i t was obvious that a major news sto ry .
4 See Footnote 3.
5 I'TKBS TV, The Ten O'Clock News with Dough Johnson, March 1968, p. 9. 105
F irst Airing — Between 7:00 P.M. and 9:00 P.M. Second Airing, Next Day -- Between 9:00 P.M. and 11:00 P.M. Third Airing, Next Day — Following "Delaware Valley Today" Fourth A iring, Next Day - - Following "Today at the Movies"®
There also were a number of irregular activities that
frequently supplemented the s ta tio n 's news and public a ffa ir s
programming. Included in this list were interviews with police,
firemen and public officials in children's shows; films furnished by outside sources to fill out feature film time periods; and specials dealing with religion, politics and current events.^
6 S. Mort Rosenman, E d ito r ia ls , A Memo to the WKBS TV General Manager from the former WKBS TV Program Manager, March 23, 1971, p. 1.
7 Much of the information in this Chapter is based on an interview with S. Mort Rosenman, former WKBS TV Program Manager, February 16, 1971. Mr. Rosenman died June 3, 1971. 106
Formats
There vas nothing unusual about the formats of the station's
news and public a ffa ir s programs.
"Morning Report" and "Afternoon Report" were structured
simply with an open, newscast, and close. No commercials were
scheduled in these two news programs.
"The Grant and Grady Ten O'clock Report" had a much more
rigid format. However, even though it may sound contradictory, the
format did allow for a great deal of flexibility. For example, news
stories that were considered to be the most important were placed at
the beginning of the newscast regardless of where they occured.
Local and world news were not separated by location but were instead
related and interwoven throughout the news program. The rigidity
came from attempting to place commercials at relatively equal
intervals during the broadcast and from slotting the stocks, sports
and weather forecast at the end of the newscast. The format for
the "Grant and Grady Ten 0*Clock Report" is reproduced on the
following page,
"Kaiser News 48," as was previously pointed out, was a rebroadcast of the "Grant and Grady Ten O'clock Report." Therefore,
it is obvious the format was the same. An examination of the format on the follow ing page shows that the "Grant and Grady Ten O'clock
Report" was backtimed to the stocks. Besides assuring that the alloted amount of time was devoted to sports and weather, it also assured the inclusion of a very important cue. The stocks was always 107
8 GRANT AND GRADY TEN O'CLOCK REPORT
FIRST SEGMENT
NEIVS APPRX 5:00 TIME
------commercials ------APPRX 1:00 TIME
SECOND SEGMENT
NEÏJS APPRX 5:00 TIME
------commercials---- APPRX 1:00 TIME
THIRD SEGMENT
NEl\!S APPRX 5:00 TIME
------commercials ------APPRX 1:00 TIME
FOURTH SEGMENT
NEWS APPRX 5:00 TIME
STOCKS (BACKTIME TO HERE ) APPRX : 15 TIME
SPORTS APPRX 1:30 TIME
------commercials ------APPRX 1:00 TIME
WEATHER APPRX 1:15 TIME
KICKER, COMMENTARY, OR FINAL STORY APPRX 1:00 TDIE
------close & credits ------APPRX :40 TIME
TOTAL 28:40
8 Carl Grant, Grant and Grady Ten O'clock Report, A Memo to the WKBS TV News S ta ff from the WKBS TV News D irector, September 28, 1970, p. 1. 108
the final story in the replay and signaled the engineering staff to end the program. This was the procedure to avoid airing outdated sports and weather information.
The station's public affairs programs, "F.Y.I.,"
"Spotlight," "Environs," "Let's Talk About It," "Senators' Report,"
"Impact: New Jersey," and "Point of View," were all structured with an open, content, and close without commercial interruption. The content part of the format for "F.Y.I." consisted of an interview
"Spotlight," a statement; "Environs," a film; "Let's Talk About
It," an interview; "Senators' Report," a discussion; "Impact:
New Jersey," film and interview; and "Point of View," an interview.
Equipment
For any te le v is io n news department to do i t s job properly and well, reporters must have good equipment and the ability to use it. A wide variety of equipment is necessary for covering news for television accurately, interestingly and competively. Equipment, for the purpose of this study, is meant to be an all-inclusive term embracing the many and varied tools of the news trade. The equipment is classified under the headings of Non-photographic
Equipment, Photographic Equipment, and Production Equipment.
Non-photographic Equipment
Communications
Television journalism by its very nature deals in large part with that which is immediate. Reporters and camera crews strive 109
to get to a news event while it is still happening or at the very
least shortly thereafter. In the case of an important scheduled
meeting the task is a fa ir ly easy one. But when a story suddenly
breaks, it is vital to have fast and dependable communications
equipment to pass pertinent information and instructions on
to reporting teams in the field.
The news department was equipped w ith fiv e telephones with
three separate extension numbers which were routed through the
s ta tio n 's switchboard. Another number, however, provided a d ir ec t
line into the newsroom. This unlisted number enabled reporters
and camera crews to quickly relay inform ation or messages without
the delay of going through the switchboard. The news director also
had a private lin e which was used by him and other department
heads at other Kaiser stations and corporation officials to call
each other directly. No one but the news director was permitted to
answer that number.
There also was a General Electric mobile telephone in the
newsroom to provide a communications link between the news office
and staff members in the news cars. The base station operator, normally
the assignment reporter or the managing editor, was required to maintain 9 d a ily logs of c a lls made.
To keep this vital communications link established and alive at a l l times even when away from the car, each crew in the fie ld
9 Eugene R. H ill, Remote Pickup, A Memo to Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Station General Managers, Engineering Managers, and News Directors from the Corporation's Vice President of Engineering, June 23, 1970, p. 1. 110
carried a pager. A c a ll from the newsroom would r e su lt in a beeping
sound being sent over the tiny pager normally attached to the reporter's
belt. It meant that the reporter was to call the office as soon as
p o ssib le .
The managing editor and assignment reporter kept and organized
another important communications tool. An up-to-date listing of
numbers for local and area fire departments, law enforcement agencies,
hospitals, and city, county, state and federal officials provided
an extremely valuable way to eliminate the time-consuming task of
looking up the numbers in the telephone book everytime a call was
to be made. The circu lar f i l e was placed on the assignment desk for
the b e n e fit of a l l news department s t a f f members.
Police Radios
A police radio, which carried nearly all Philadelphia police
transmissions, allowed the news department to hear reports on police and fire activities. This kind of information helps reporters get
to the scene for on-the-spot coverage.
The monitor, located in the center of the reporters' working area, was capable of picking up eight of the police department's nine frequencies.^^ The radio scanned the different frequencies stopping when there was a transmission. On completion of the transmission, the scanning started again.
10 Since the news department's police radios could only monitor eight of Philadelphia's nine police departments frequencies, the frequency eliminated was the city's lowest crime district. If a major crime or fire occured in that district, it was thought it would not be missed because all major happenings of this kind are broadcast on the police department's "J" band which was one of the monitored frequencies. I l l
News Cars
Three cars were provided by the station to transport
the news crews. Each car was equipped with a mobile telephone to
allow fro constant and instant communication with the newsroom.
As was previously pointed out, one of the cars also carried a
police radio. The trunks of the news cars, where the photographic
gear always was packed, were equipped with specially installed
locks and alarm systems to protect against possible theft.
T eletypes
The station subscribed to several different wire services to
cover its major broadcast signal area in Southeastern Pennsylvania
and South Jersey. They included an Associated Press Pennsylvania
Broadcast Wire, a United Press International New Jersey Broadcast
Wire, and a United Press International Philadelphia Broadcast Wire.
Each broadcast wire ran 24 hours a day and supplied accounts o f news
developments from the international, national, state and local scenes.
Incidentally, the local wire primarily presents Philadelphia city
news but also transmits other major Pennsylvania and New Jersey
reports. It does not, however, carry international and national
stories. An additional wire service, a United Press International
Unifax machine which transmits pictures, w ill be discussed shortly.
Wire Copy Pegs
Wire copy gathered throughout each day was f ile d on pegs mounted behind the teletypes and divided into five categories-- 112
international and national, Pennsylvania and local, New Jersey,
business and weather, and sp o rts. G enerally, the l a t e s t wire
copy was filed on top. The pegs were not cleared and the wire
copy not thrown away until 10:30 P.M. after the last major
newscast of the day. The teletypes remained on throughout the
night to give the assignment reporter material necessary to get a
good start on setting up coverage the next morning.
News Background Files
The news director and individual reporters maintained
th eir own personal background inform ation f i l e s . Old news sc r ip ts
also served as an excellent source of background information.
In addition, a large collection of reference books which were purchased or sent to the news department by the government and various private organizations and magazines and newspapers were kept on f i l e sh elves in the newsroom and made a v a ila b le to the news s t a f f .
Future Story File
A file on future stories was kept by the managing editor and the assignment reporter. Material on future possibilities, such as news releases, newspaper clippings, wire copy and notes concerning upcoming stories, were placed in a large file drawer divided into daily slots.
Still another great aid for setting up the days news coverage was supplied by the UPI Philadelphia Wire S ervice. Each night UPI 1 1 3
transmits a calendar of scheduled major news events for the next
day which includes the gist of the story, the time, the location
and the participants.
News Script File
News scripts were filed by date for at least six months
in a large filing cabinet in the newsroom. The Kaiser Broadcasting
Policy and Procedure book states that "scripts of news programs must
be retained for six months. However, if news programs are recorded
it w ill be unnecessary to retain scripts for any longer time than
immediate reference needs would indicate." The newscasts were
recorded on a soundscriber as is all the station's other on-air
programming so the news scripts were kept in the newsroom chiefly
for reference.
Typewriters
The newsroom was equipped with six extra-large print typewriters on which the reporters, managing editor and news director composed the stories to be presented in the newscasts.
Copy was written on what amounted to the right half of each page.
Every two lines equaled three seconds for the purpose of script tim in g.
Tape Recorders
The news department had three Norelco portable tape recorders with one assigned to each crew. As was pointed out previously, the
11 "Script/Tape/Log Retention Requirements," Kaiser Broadcasting Policy and Procedure. April 1, 1969, Number 4.14, p. 1 of 1. 114
union contract specifies that technician-engineers are responsible
for the field operation of audio tape recorders. Once back in the
newsroom, however, the reporters were free to use the recorders
to listen to news conferences and interviews shot simultaneously
on sound film. The tapes normally were used to determine what
segments of the sound film would be edited for inclusion in the
newscasts. This technique greatly expedited the entire editing
p ro cess.
Photographic Equipment
S lid e Camera
Slides were taken with a 35-mm Nikormatt camera equipped with a flash unit. The 35-mm slides provided pictures of local
people and locations that frequently appear in the news.
S ile n t M otion P ictu re Cameras
The news department has four 16-mm silent motion picture cameras—three Bell and Howells, one Bolex. All the silent cameras have 100-foot capacities and are spring wound to run about 40 continuous seconds. The cameras have turrets capable of holding three lenses which range from 10-mm to 100-mm and are interchangeable.
Twenty-four frames per second is the standard speed of shooting film.
A rtificial lighting is sometimes required when shooting newsfilm. The silent motion picture cameras may be used with any of four portable Frezzolini lights. They operate off rechargeable batteries capable of providing 30 minutes of continuous light at full charge. 115
The cameramen also were equipped with several light
meters to measure light intensities.
The small size and light weight of the silent cameras
make them extremely versatile for shooting action footage. Silent
newsfilm was often preferred when i t was combined with a w ell-w ritten
script to relate a more complete story. Another feature of silent
newsfilm was the brevity with which a story could be covered when
it was not told through sound statements and interviews. Also to
be considered was that inarticulate persons have a tendency to
become boring.
Sound Motion Picture Cameras
Certain news stories, however, seem to require sound, such
as action where background sound is an important and vital part of
what is happening, some speeches, opinions of people in the news,
specific announcements, interviews to bring out the personality of
someone or which attempt to bring out viewpoints held by persons
involved in the events. The story dictates the type of coverage.
Sound film was shot with five SS III General Cameras
equipped with Angenieux 12/120 zoom lens and Aurican sound equipment
to record magnetic sound. Sixteen electrovoice microphones were
divided up for use by the crews. Film was loaded into 400-foot
magazines which permitted approximately 11 minutes of continuous
running (36 feet of film equal one minute of time). Each set of
camera equipment a lso had a tripod and shoulder brace on which to mount the camera depending on the desired m ob ility. A r t if ic ia l lig h tin g was furnished when needed by three Colortron Quartz Lights 116
packed with each unit.
Processing Room
The station has a fully equipped photographic laboratory
to process 16-mm black and white motion picture film. It was
constructed away from the newsroom in another part of the building
because of the availability of plumbing. Chemicals for the processing
procedure were mixed in the same room that houses the A llen Processor.
A lab man, normally the film editor, was able to run 100 feet of
black and white film through the processor and have it ready for
airing in about 15 minutes.
Dark Room
A complete dark room is located adjacent to the processing
room. It was primarily used by the graphics editor to process 12 s lid e s and make "supers."
Art Room
The a rt room, situ a ted on the second floor above the processing and dark room area, a lso was used by the graphics ed itor who shared it with the station's art staff. There, he prepared certain art work and pictures and, using the art department's photographic equipment, filmed them to be developed into slides.
12 A "super" is an electronic technique carried out by the switcher which places printed information over the television picture. It supplements what is being said by the newscaster. 117
Film E diting Equipment
Two fully-equipped editing benches for preparing both sound
and silent film were located within the main newsroom area along
one of the walls. The close proximity of the editing and writing
areas facilitated communications between the editors and reporters.
The news film ed itin g was supervised by the managing e d ito r and ch ief
photographer. Cue marks are placed on all newsfilm clips for the
benefit of the television director. These cue marks usually go
unnoticed by the viewer, but they enable the director to make a smooth
switch from newsfilm to the studio and vice versa.
Newsfilm File
Newsfilm was f ile d by the week on cores in the order i t was
shown on the newscasts. The news department kept all its newsfilm
since 1969 for use in year-end special reports, obituaries, and for
other times when footage from the past helped background a particular
story. Each film clip was given a title and it was logged accordingly by date along with a brief description in a special file book maintained by the film ed itor and kept in the newsroom.
S lid e F ile
The slide file consisted of color slides from the United
Press International Slide Service of national and international news figures, news locations, sports personalities, and local slides produced by the news department. The local slides that were taken with the news department's 35-mm camera were in color. However, pictures from 118
the UPI Unifax service, which were converted into slides, were black and white with color added by filming them on a variety of colored backgrounds. Several slides were often made of each individual to avoid the monotony of showing the same picture and to allow for
"keying.It is important to note that slides of individuals were not used everytime they appeared in the news. Slides were only used when they added to the story or the o v era ll production of the newscast.
Each slide was given a number before being placed in a filing cabinet.
The number then was added to an index card which was filed alphabetically in a drawer according to last names or subject matter.
Production Equipment
Studio
A 48 by 32 foot television broadcasting studio is located next door to the newsroom. The same set was used on all newscasts.
It consisted of one large desk for two talents. A gray backdrop was directly behind the set with a light blue surface to either side for "keying" slides and/or film. A huge 48 was hung on the wall between the two talents to remind viewers of the channel they were watching.
Director's Room
A director's platform is located in front of a bank of television monitors in the director's room. Between the platform
13 "Keying," or chroma-key, is an electronic technique carried out by a switcher which places a picture, art work, or film behind the talent while he or she is reading the neWs. 119
and the monitors is a row of equipment including an RCA switcher and
audio board, two audio tape recorders and two cartridge machines.
It should be noted that the switcher has "keying" capabilities as
well as numerous other special effects. The director's room is next
to the studio at the end opposite the newsroom.
Video Tape Room
Next to the director's room is the video tape room. It
contains three RCA low-band machines and two Ampex high-hand recorders,
Most public affairs programs were pre-tapes and frequently an excerpt was used in a newscast. Other significant broadcasts, such as
Presidential speeches or news conferences and school board meetings, also were recorded for the news department.
Film Room
Tlie film room is located on the second floor above the video tape room. It has a great deal of equipment but of particular interest to news was the three film islands consisting of three slide drums and fiv e p rojectors. This i s the equipment from which the news department aired its newsfilm and slides.
Content
The general manager, of course, is responsible for the overall operation of the station including the news and public affairs programs. However, the day-to-day responsibility of judging the content of the newscasts belonged to the news director. Corporate 1 2 0
officers also regularly screened the newscasts, and their critiques
exerted a major influence on the news effort.
The news directors at all Kaiser television stations were
required to view each others tapes and to answer the screening
memos. The practice was established by Barry Thurston, the corporate
Vice President of Programming.
S ta rtin g next week we w ill go to a new sch ed u le o f news screenings. I have attached an instruction sheet outlining the procedures. Basically, stations w ill now be taping every Thursday night's news instead of Friday's. . . . Screenings w ill still take place on Thursday at KBHK. Under the new system, over a period of three weeks each station w ill be able to screen the other three newscasts. Using the attached sheet you w ill note that on Friday, June 19, KBHK w ill ship Boston's news tape to Cleveland, Cleveland's news tape to Detroit, Detroit's news tape to Philadelphia, and Philadelphia's news tape to Boston. These tapes should arrive on Monday in plenty of time to be screened by station personnel. By having two tapes in the pool, we are always assured of having a tape available for recording the news. As a halp to the news directors in answering the news screening memos, why not simply write on the margins of these memos and return. That is certainly the quickest way if time is a problem.
The corporate critiques covered all aspects of the 10:00 P.M. newscasts at all Kaiser stations. They were generally written by
Barry Thurston although other corporate officers frequently participated
in the screening sessions. Following are the news memos from the iniation of the practice to the hiatus announcement, as they specifically
14 Barry H. Thurston, News Screenings, A Memo to the News Directors at the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Television Stations from the Corporation's Vice President of Programming, June 11, 1970, p. 1. 121
refer to WKBS TV. The screenings did not occur as regularly as
originally intended. WKBS TV's replies are in parenthesis.^^
WKBS TV NEWS SCREENING - 6 /1 8 /7 0 (SHOW 6 /1 1 /7 0 )^ ^
I was the only person in attendance at this week's screening.
1. Carl headlines a story before going to a break by saying "Another massacre in Viet Nam today." My immediate reaction was that American and South Vietnamese forces had staged another so-called massacre. To my surprise, when we came back from the break, the rep ort was th a t Communist troops had k ille d many c i v ili a n s . Would it have been better to refer to this as a Communist massacre to avoid confusion?
(My philosophy on a tease preceding a commercial break is that it tells just enough to wet the viewer's interest to cause him to sit through the message and wait for the continuation of the newscast. I believe "Another Massacre in Vietnam Today" does that without misleading the audience. There have been previous massacres carried out by both sides and reported accordingly. The viewer comes back to find out what the story is all about. I suppose sometimes he w ill be surprised, but more than likely he w ill be there to hear what it's all about. This is how I feel about it; however, I do understand the point you are making.)
2. I notice the 48 is not on the supers. Have we taken it off? Why?
(You are right. There were no 48's on the supers of the people in the news, but there were 48's on the supers of our reporters' names, In your memo to Matt Quinn, WKBD TV, dated June 5, 1970, you stated that this should be done so all stations would be consistent. WKBS TV's Production Director, Jack Lease, took immediate action on this item and we phased out our people supers with the Siamese channel number. Would you please advise as to what course you think we should follow on this matter.)
15 Not a ll items were answered. When they were, they were authored by Carl Grant, the station's News Director.
16 Barry H. Thurston, WKBS TV News Screenings - 6/18/70 (Show 6/11/70), A Memo to the News Director at WKBS TV from the Corporation's Vice President of Programming, June 19, 1970, p. 1. 122
3. Audio levels on commercials were very low throughout newscast.
4. WCAU news spot seems confusing in our news. Did WCAU request this position? I understand that spot was produced at WCAU buy pro duction is very bad.
5. When we report scores, I think we should be consistent in having some video information next to each game. For instance, there were three night games and in the column for scores, there was no information. Even if we put a small n, this would look much better and indicate a night game.
(I will see if some video information can be placed along side the scores such as what inning it is or whether it is a night game. The problem is that we post the scores as late as possible and that means the information w ill have to be in earlier. I'll see what I can work out, possibly indicating whether the game was played at night or during the day.)
PHILADELPHIA NEWS (6 -1 8 -7 0 ) - SCREENING 6-26-70^ ^
I was the only person in attendance at this week's screening.
1. I like the way this newscast is formated. I get the feeling that I am getting all the news and it seems to be in order of importance by sto r y .
2. Schuykill Expressway story (cattle loose after accident) - excellent use of pics when no film available.
3. Newscast got off to an excellent start with two strong local stories on Boy Scout murder and four-year-old girl beaten.
4. lîie Philadelphia Inquirer spot was scheduled back-to-back with WCAU news.
5. Thacher Longstreth - if we can't put Sports on the background, what about underneath his name super?
(Sports has been added on the background. You w ill see it on future tapes. Longstreth w ill be on a five-week vacation beginning July 2, 1970, through August 13, 1 9 7 0 .)1 8
17 Barry H. Thurston, Philadelphia News (6-18-70 - Screening 6-26-70, A Memo to the News Director at WKBS TV from the Corporation's Vice President of Programming, June 30, 1970, p. 1.
18 Thacher L ongstreth did the sp o rts on the "10:00 P.M. News" u n t il he was replaced by Joe Grady and the newscast became the "Grant and Grady Ten O'clock Report." 123
6. Father’s Day story to close out newscast very timely and humorous.
PHILADELPHIA NEWS (6 -2 5 -7 0 ) - SCREENING 7-2-70^^
Richard Block and I were in attendance at this week's screening.
1. We like the unusual effect of the capped lens on the Dick Stark sto r y on SEPTA.
2. Good reinforcement of the Carl Grant super throughout newscast.
3. Ladder World commercial - booth announcer says "visit our newest location." Copy should be "visit their newest location." This is a policy matter.
4. "Courtesy Temple University" super up too long on film.
NEWS SCREENINGS/WKBS TV (7 /2 /7 0 TELECASTS)
1. We start off with three separate murder stories, none of which seem to be that sensational. Was the opener late breaking? I couldn't seem to find any of these in the newspapers for that day.
(The opening story broke that night and was carried on the national news splits. He is thought to have commited four others bringing his total to 11 murders — that's sensational in Philadelphia.)
2. The "Dick Stark Reporting" super has too much space between the first and the last name of Mr. Stark. The same thing goes for John North.
(This has been checked.)
3. I think all newscasts — including this one — should be very careful about using teasers. Weak ones are an invitation for the audience to tune away. My assessment . . . is that all the teasers were weak. Nothing is better than a weak one. And nothing is acceptable.
(Are trying it now without teasers.)
19 Barry H. Thurston, Philadelphia News (6-25-70) - Screening 7-2-70, A Memo to the News Director at WKBS TV from the Corporation's Vice President of Programming, July 2, 1970, p. 1.
20 Richard C. Block, News Screenings/WKBS TV (7-2-70 Telecasts), A Memo to the News Director at WKBS TV from the Corporation's Vice President and General Manager, July 13, 1970, p. 2. 124
4. Where did you get that awful looking flag, Carl? It really looks terrible. I'm sure you can get a better looking American flag somewhere.
(It came from one of our Flag Day logos. It won't be used again.)
5. I think you're right to put in the stock market.
6. During sports, I think it would be a good idea to say that Thacher Longstreth is on vacation, that is, if you're planning to have him come back.
(This is under study.)
7. I think you're a little fast on the ESSA satellite map. Give people a chance to orient themselves first. Then show the second one. . .
(Will give it a couple more seconds.)
Summary; Awfully heavy start with all that murder. It didn't seem like the heaviest cf news days, but the news was good as it moved along. While it's certainly a question of judgment, I do not think it was formatted (or made up) as well as usual. Also, I still feel a little uncomfortable when Carl gets "cute." And he got that way a little more than usual. . .
PHILADELPHIA NEWS (8 /2 7 /7 0 ) - SCREENING (9 /3 /7 0 ^ ^
I was the only person in attendance at this week's screening.
1. There was no identification on the Vietnam map. It was confusing to s e e a blank colored map w ith the number 52 on i t .
2. Thacher Longstreth seems to talk too much over the baseball scores. Why not just read the scores and leave out the extraneous?
3. Generally, this was a solid local newscast.
21 Barry H. Thurston, Philadelphia News (8/27/70) - Screening (9/3/70), A Memo to the News Director at WKBS TV from the Corporation's Vice President of Programming, September 8, 1970, p. 1. 1 2 5
PHILADELPHIA NEWS 9 /1 0 /7 0 - (SCREENING 9 /1 7 /7 0 )^ ^
I was the only person in attendance at this week's screening.
1. Maps of Vietnam and Mideast used by WKBS are very clear and colorful.
2. Thacher Longstreth is still doing sports. What is the story on th is one?
3. Overall, this was a good newscast.
NEWS SCREENING 9/25/70^ ^
Due to lack of machine time at KBHK, Dick Block and I were only able to screen B oston's and P h ila d elp h ia 's news ta p es.
1. Film quality and overall technical quality of newscast was e x c e lle n t.
2. Good use of visuals throughout the entire newscast.
3. Carl, any chance of reactivating a workable film exchange with Metromedia out of New York or Washington?
(It is my understanding that this is possible. I w ill explore it fu rth er and l e t you know how I make ou t. They have c a lle d us several times recently.)
NEWS 9/29/7p24
I was the only person in attendance at this week's screening.
1 . F ir s t week o f GRANT AND GRADY REPORT looks g r e a t.
22 Barry H. Thurston, Philadelphia News 9/10/70 - Screening 9/17/70, A Memo to the News Director at WKBS TV from the Corporation's Vice President of Programming, September 22, 1970, p. 1.
23 Barry H. Thurston, News Screening 9/25/70, A Memo to the News Director at WKBS TV from the Corporation's Vice President of Pro gramming, September 28, 1970, p. 1.
24 Barry H. Thurston, News 9/29/70, A Memo to the News Director at WKBS TV from the Corporation's Vice President of Programming, October 5, 1970, p. 1. 126
2. News tease at the end of PERRY MASON very creative and effective. I would like a dub of this sent to the other stations at your earliest convenience.
(Production Director Terry Lionberger w ill take care of this immediately.)
3. GRANT AND GRADY REPORT s lid e at 10 P.M. - Although th is is a good visual, I think it is the wrong place to use this shared I.D. The late movie would be a better shared I.D.
(S lid e was wrong. Normally i t is WONDERFUL WORLD OF MOVIES - CATV s lid e .)
4. We need to g et some two-shots of Grant and Grady at the open, clo se and throughout the show. We should attempt to develop an inter change between the two new scasters. The program was very w ell paced but lacked a ce rta in degree of warmth that could be achieved by showing the fact that both newscasters really are in the same stu d io.
(Started doing this two nights after this newscast. We were simply walking before we started to run since we didn't have time for any "dry runs.")
PHILADELPHIA NEWS 10/1/7Q25
Gene Hill (corporate Vice President of Engineering) and I attended this screening.
1. We have not been receiving newspapers the last few weeks. Please start sending again.
(I have informed those involved to send papers.)
2. There is a lack of identification of Carl Grant and Joe Grady throughout the newscast. We especially need super identification at the opening of the newscast and in the first stories each newscaster presents.
(You have only seen earlier newscasts. Later ones reflect much more id e n tif ic a t io n .)
25 Barry H. Thurston, Philadelphia News 10/1/70, A Memo to the News D irector a t WKBS TV from the Corporation's Vice President of Program ming, October 12, 1970, p. 1. 127
3. Pacing of the newscast is very good.
4. Film q u a lity is e x c e lle n t. Gene H ill commented that the image enhancer really seems to work.
5. Carl Grant and Joe Grady are being shot differently. Carl appears to be shot head-on while I think we should pedestal up on Joe Grady.
(We added a new half desk for Joe Grady which should help. It was added 10/19/70.)
6. There is a good interchange between Carl and Joe at the close of the newscast. New two shot looks good except space in the middle of the two desks looks sloppy. Is there any way to make the two desks look lik e one?
(See item and answer #5.)
7. Connie Mack Stadium story well done, but why not show footage of new stadium? Good use of old newspapers. Closing credits are done over color footage of Philadelphia landmarks with music. This is very well done and I would suggest that all other stations take a look at i t .
(Possibly you are right about the new stadium film. However, we have carried so many reports on it that I don't think the film would have added anything. The most important thing in this story was Connie Mack Stadium passing into history.)
In connection with its public affairs programming, WKBS TV has regularly made time available for the presentation of views re lating to significant public issues. The station's allocation of time to such purposes has depended partly on its assessment of the importance of the issue in question and partly on the amount of interest expressed by members of the general public and by community lea d ers. When i t was determined that a special issue should receive special attention a t a p articu lar tim e, and when spokesmen for a l l reasonable view points relating to that issue have not been readily available, the station 128
has regularly attempted to seek out spokesmen for all sides of the
issue to insure that the public be fully informed.
By and large, the s ta tio n 's public a ffa ir s programming has
been developed around the problem areas identified in discussions
with community leaders. As those discussions have progressed, specific
problems have been analyzed for their importance, timeliness, and
possible future handling under the supervision of the general manager and program manager. In addition, the station has an established public affairs group consisting of the station's general manager, its program manager, and its news director. The recommendations of this group were given to program producers to guide them in the selection of guests who discussed the topics of greatest concern to the community.
Individual program producers were responsible for the subject and participants for the programs they produced. Their decisions were reviewed periodically by the public affairs group, and more specifically by the station's program manager. HIATUS
CHAPTER V
The la s t h a lf of 1970 and the f ir s t h a lf o f 1971 was a bad
time for the broadcasting industry. The FCC issued a gloomy report
entitled "TV Broadcast Financial Data -- 1970." It stated that:
Stagnated revenues and rising costs combined to reduce television profits in 1970. The industry reported revenues of $2.81 billion in 1970, up only four tenths of one percent from 1969. Industry expenses rose at a modest rate of 5.0 percent over 1969, apparently reflecting industry efforts at curtailment. Nevertheless, the industry suffered an 18.0 percent decline in profits to $454 million.^
A complete summary of broadcast revenues, expenses and
income of the te le v is io n netnvorks and sta tio n s during 1969 and 1970
is found in Table I on the following page. Table I shows networks,
network owned and operated stations, and all other VHF and UHF
sta tio n s making su b sta n tia lly le s s money in 1970 when compared to
1971. For UHF television, the losses only grew worse. It was
pointed out in Chapter I that less than one-third of the UHF
stations were profitable.
In February 1971, The Wall Street Journal described 1971 as
the year of the ax.
. . .1971 i s turning into the Year of the Ax in te le v is io n land. Reeling from the loss of cigaret advertising, a sluggish economy, soaring production costs and a new Federal Communications Commission rule reducing the amount of netn^ork programming, the industry is up against the most severe recession it has ever faced.^
Washington, D.C., Federal Communications Commission, TV Broadcast Financial Data -- 1970, Public Notice No. 71434, September 7, 1971, p. 1.
2 W. Stewart Pinkerton, Jr., "Year of the Ax," The Wall Street Journal, February 16, 1971, p. 1. 130 TABLE I
BROADCAST REVENUES, EXPENSES AND INCOME OF TELEVISION NETWORKS AND STATIONS, 1969-1970^ (In Millions of Dollars)
% Change 1970 1969 1969-1970
BROADCAST REVENUES 3 Networks $1,144.6 $1,144.1 0.0
15 Network Owned & Operated Stations 312.5 323.3 -3.4
A ll Other Stations 491 VHF 1,226.6 1,214.9 1.0 180 UHF 124.5 114.0 9.2 Subtotal 1,351.1 1,328.9 1.7 INDUSTRY TOTAL $2,808.2 $2,796.2 0.4
BROADCAST EXPENSES 3 Netnrorks $1,094.5 $1,051.3 • 4.1
15 Network Owned & Operated Stations 195.1 189.9 2.7
A ll Other Stations 491 VHF 894.7 844.2 6.0 180 UHF 170.0 157.2 8.1 Subtotal 1,064.7 1,001.3 6.3 INDUSTRY TOTAL $2,354.4 $2,242.6 5.0
BROADCAST INCOME (Before Federal Income Tax) 3 Networks $ 50.1 $ 92.7 -46.0
15 Network Oivned & Operated Stations 117.3 133.4 -12.1
A ll Other Stations 491 VHF 331.9 370.7 -10.5 180 UHF (45.5) (43.2) - - Subtotal 286.4 327.5 -12.5 INDUSTRY TOTAL $ 453.8 $ 553.6 -18.0
Note: Data for 1969 are for 3 networks and 673 sta tio n s (504 VHF including 16 satellites that files a combination report with their parent station, and 169 UHF including 6 satellites that files a combined report with their parent station). Data for 1970 are for 3 networks and 686 stations (506 VHF including 19 satellites that filed combination reports with their parent station, and 180 UHF included 8 s a t e l li t e s that file d combined r e p o r ts). Last digits may not add to totals because of rounding.
3, Washington, D.C., Federal Communications Commission, TV Broadcast Financial Data -- 1970, Public Notice No. 71434, September 7, 1^71, p. T~. 131
With the industry facing serious economic problems, news
and p ub lic a ffa ir s programming became one o f the major c a su a lties
across the country. Not only were news staffs reduced but the quality
of the broadcasts also suffered. The "Survey of Broadcast Journalism
1970-1971" reported:
The economy, blamed in some instances for the lo ca l station's failure to take advantage of its newly available prime-time hours for important local programming, also took its toll in existing news and public affairs broadcasting. Only 33 percent of the news d irectors reported an increase in this area; last year 65 percent did so. Five stations reported they had abolished their news departments completely. Eleven percent reported they had cut back time commitments to news and public a f fa ir s . Twenty-seven percent reported their staffs had been reduced; 24 percent had suffered budget cutbacks. The assumption was that in those markets where staff and budget were cut, but not time commitments, a commensurate loss of quality of coverage would result.^
On November 11, 1970, Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation
announced that it was eliminating its news staffs at the four stations
where i t had extensive news operations. V ariety said:
The news operations of the Kaiser UHF stations have become casualties of the current economic crunch. The group, which had tried for 2% years to strengthen the position of its U stations in Cleveland, Boston, Fhiladelphia, and D etro it, has folded i t s news departments at a l l four s ta tio n s , retaining most of the news d irecto rs and such a ir ta le n t as Arch MacDonald in Boston, Carl Grant in P h illy . who w ill have other assignments. But more than 50 other news employees — photographers, writers, producers and reporters -- have been cut from the payrolls, along with the technical and clerical support personnel. Dick Block, head of Kaiser Broadcasting, called it "a hiatus" sta tin g that he hoped to rev iv e news operations when conditions permitted.^
^Marvin Barrett (ed.). Survey of Broadcast Journalism 1970-1971, (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1971) pp. 16-17.
^"News A Casualty of Economic Austerity in Kaiser UHF Group," Variety, November 18, 1970, p. 49. 132
In an amendment to i t s pending lic e n s e a p p lic a tio n for
WKBS TV, Burlington, New Jersey, filed with the FCC on November 12,
1970, Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation informed the Commission that:
. . .the station's news and public affairs format currently centers upon a half-hour prime time newscast on weeknights, a weekly half-hour news and news-interview program on New Jersey topics (Impact New Jersey), and two weekly interview/discussion programs (Point of View and Let's Talk About It). Through these and associated programs, the station has sought to match and outperform the informational services of its network-affiliated VHF competitors in scope, depth and production quality. As the Commission is also aware, the cost of such an effort is substantial.6
Kaiser also stated that it had spent over $1.5 million
dollars on the news and public affairs effort at WKBS TV over a
three-year period. At the same time the Kaiser stations as a group
expended over $6 m illion dollars on such programming.^ A review of the news costs at WKBS TV from 1968 through 1970 is found in
Table II on the following page.
This expenditure is significant when considering the fact that Kaiser Broadcasting has recorded substantial losses over the past six years. Business Week reported:
Kaiser Broadcasting . . . has lost around $25-million in the past six years, but Roy Hughes, to whom the wholly owned divisions report, is undismayed. "You have to spend money to catch an audience," he says. "I think we'll have fix or six stations in viable form for much less than the cost of buying successful VHF stations."®
6 Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation, Amendment (to the pending application of Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation before the FCC for license to cover construction permit for WKBS TV, Burlington, New Jersey (BLCT-1615), November 12, 1970, p. 1.
7 Ib id .
8 "Kaiser Industries Searches for a New Mix," Business Week, April 10, 1971., p. 78. 133
TABLE I I
NEWS COSTS AT WKBS TV 1968-1970: *
1968 1969 1970 T otal (10 mos. actual; 2 mos. est.)
Direct News Department Costs 403,000 344,000 295,000 1,0 4 2 ,0 0 0
Related Produc tio n Costs 50.000 55.000 60,000 165.000
Promotion Expense 76.000 92.000 87,000 255.000
Total 529,000 491,000 442,000 1,462,000
Capital Expendi tures, 1968-70 (News Equipment) 82,000
Comparable costs for Kaiser stations as a group have been as fo llo w s:
D irec t News De partment Costs $1,246,000 1,315,000 1,320,000 3,881,000
Related Pro duction Costs 200,000 210,000 250.000 660,000
Promotion Expense 422,000 360,000 350.000 1,132,000
T otal 1,868,000 1,885,000 1,920,000 5,673,000
Capital Expendi tures, 1968-70 (News Equipment) 334,000
Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation, Amendment (to the pending application of Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation before the FCC for license to cover construction permit for WKBS TV, Burlington, New Jersey (BLCT-1615), November 12, 1970, p. 2. 134
That story was carried in A pril 10, 1971. By November
30th of the same year, the incurred accumulative losses of WKBS TV
reached $9 million.
Again, in its November 1970 amendment informing the FCC
of its hiatus decision, Kaiser explained:
Up to this point, Kaiser has been willing to invest substantial amounts in broadcast journalism without hope of immediate reward, both as a matter of long-range business judgment and as a means of fulfilling its license obligations. Two factors, however, have caused us to reconsider this decision. First, it now appears that the initial period of loss operation for independent UHF stations w ill be longer than had been anticipated — no matter how aggressively the sta tio n s are programmed and promoted. There are a number of causes for this delay in commercial maturation, but we are inclined to attribute primary responsibility to the remaining problems in UHF tuning and receiver antennas. It now appears that even the partial steps the Commission has taken to meet problems in this sphere w ill not be fully effective as to receivers shipped in interstate commerce until the middle of 1974. The effect on receivers in the hands of the public will be even slower. Second, the national economy is not currently growing at a substantial rate (if at all), experiencing both inflation and unemployment. The effects of even small changes in the general economic climate are felt most sharply by media which (like independent UHF stations) are not yet fully established as primary advertising vehicles. At the same time, general economic conditions make it extraordinarily costly to invest substantial liquid resources in uses which neither produce a present return nor move the Kaiser stations perceptibly towards a self-sustaining status. While we look for changes in this situation within the next few years, it would not be prudent to anticipate a sharp reversal of current trends in the near future. Considering all of these factors, we have reluctantly concluded that we cannot afford to su sta in a news and public affairs effort at IVKBS TV and other Kaiser stations of the kind which has been made for the last three years.
10 Interview with James Lawless, ITKBS TV Business Manager, December 6, 1971.
11 Ib id . , pp. 3-4. 135
The Kaiser amendment made i t clear to the FCC that i t did
not view this as a permanent action. And, as has been previously-
pointed out, Kaiser corporate officers were careful to describe the
move as only a h ia tu s. The amendment said:
This does not mean that we intend to abandon the field now or refrain from any full-fledged effort permanently. It does mean that we propose to cut back expenditures sharply for the time being, so as to concentrate resources on the task of making the stations viable enterprises. Thus, we have sought and are implementing permits at WKBS and the other Kaiser stations authorizing substantial increases in effective radiated power. The costs associated with this program are s ig n ific a n t, but they co n stitu te a burden we think necessary if the stations are to achieve fully competitive status in their markets. Similarly, we hope and plan to retain at least one highly trained and experienced newsman at each station, including WKBS TV, who can serve both as a center of production effort in the informational field during the hiatus, in fuller production which we envision and as the nucleus for a larger s t a f f when the hiatus has come to an end.^^
12 Ibid., pp. 4-5 CHAPTER VI
NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS - - DURING THE HIATUS
Schedules
At present the station's news effort is concentrated in
three areas -- "Delaware Valley Today," "A Minute of News," and
"Supplement."
"Delaware Valley Today" is a 45-minute program broadcast
Monday through Friday from 11:15 A.M. to 12:00 Noon. Prior to
January 3, 1972, "Delaware Valley Today" was a half-hour program.
Shortly before that date, it was decided to merge it with the
10-minute "Afternoon Report," which was being aired at 2:50 P.M.
each weekday. The combination of the tnvo programs, resulting in a
single 45-minute program, permits the exploration of news in greater
depth than the typical newscast. More time can be devoted to the
d iscu ssio n of a s in g le news item.
"A Minute of News" is broadcast once daily between 3:00 P.M.
and 6:00 P.M. The minute-long news feature is specially edited for
viewing by children and scheduled in the ch ild ren 's programming where
it is able to reach large numbers of youngsters attracted by the entertainment programming. "A Minute of News" was added to the WKBS TV schedule on April 5, 1971. It is not indicated in the program schedule reproduced on the following page because the news feature's placement varies from day to day. (The schedule on the next page is the latest listing available since the start of the news hiatus.)
136 137
PRCGPAM SCHEDULE
WKBS W
EFFECTIVE lURCil 13, 1972^
TIME SUNDAY MONDAY--FRIDAY SATURDAY TIME
7:55 FYI 7:55 8:00 Rex Humbard 8:00 8:30 8:30 9:00 Huck & Yogi 9:00 9:25 Fl'I 9:25 9:30 Kiinba Kathryn Kuhlman 9:30 10:00 Ibe Banana S p lits Speed Racer 10:00 10:30 Tlie Flintstoncs Die Flintstoncs 10:30 11:00 Speed Racer Champ. W restling 11:00 11:05 Prayer for Today 11:05 11:10 FYI 11:10 11:15 Del. Val. Today 11:15 11:30 Munsters 11:30 12:00 Metro. Movie New Zoo Revue Chan. 48 Presents 12:00 12:30 Tlie Banana S plits 12:30 1:00 Today a t Movies 1:00 1:30 Sat. Matinee 1:30 2:00 2:00 2:30 2:30 3:00 The Banana S plits 3:00 3:30 Huck & Yogi Chiller Theater 3:30 4:00 Roller Game Speed Racer 4:00 4:30 Ttic Flints tones 4:30 5:00 Soul Train 5:00 5:30 Gillipan's Island 5:30 6:00 Perry Mason Star Trek Wild Wild West 6:00 6:30 6:30 7:00 Lawrence Welk Dick Van Dyke Dick Van Dyke 7:00 7:30 Wild Wild V.'est Mcllale's Navy 7:30 8:00 Hollywood Years Die Avengers 8:00 8:30 Merv G riffin 8:30 9:00 Wagon Train 9:00 9:30 9:30 10:00 Lou Gordon Perry Mason 10:00 10:30 Black America 10:30 11:00 'Die Outer Limits Sherlock Holmes 11:00 11:30 Rex Humbard 11:30 12:00 FYI FYI 12:00 12:05 Sign Off Sign Off 12:05 12:30 FYI 12:30 12:35 Sign Off 12:35
1 WKBS TV, Program Scliediile , February 25, 1972 138
"Supplement" is designed to supplement news programs seen and
heard on other local radio and television stations by elaborating and
expanding on news stories being reported on a current basis. The
program is scheduled on a "special" basis in prime viewing hours.
The minimum program length of "Supplement" is a h a lf hour with many of
the programs loner, based on the complexity of the program content.
Five programs in the "Supplement" series were broadcast in 1971; one so far in 1972.
In the public affairs area, the station continues to program
"F.Y.I." and schedule it at the beginning and end of each broadcast day.
"Spotlight" is on a temporary hiatus because of the lack of production time.
Editorials are still a regular part of the station's public affairs effort.
While the remainder of the public affairs programs carried by the station prior to the hiatus have been dropped, a new program,
"Black America: What Now?", has been added to the schedule. The program is a half-hour long and is scheduled in prime-time, 10:30 P.M. every Saturday night. "Black America; What Now?" is locally produced by the s ta tio n .
A 90-minute weekly pu b lic a ffa ir s program, "The Lou Gordon
Program," is produced by a Kaiser sister station, WKBD TV in Detroit, and broadcast by WKBS TV on Sunday nights from 10:00 P.M. to 11:30 P.M.
This is another new program added to the station's schedule since the hiatus announcement. 139
Formats
The format for "Delaware Valley Today," which is detailed
on the following page, is designed with flexibility in mind. It can
be changed on short notice to take advantage of the availability of
newsworthy persons and breaking developments. Many guests are
booked on short n o tice as news d ic ta te s. At the same tim e, other
guests are booked in advance to allow for the indepth examination of
c r it ic a l and tim ely to p ics. The number of guests for any one program
ranges from one to as many as four. It is also possible for viewers
to call in their questions over a "Feedback" phone line located in
the studio. A production assistant writes do\m the viewers' questions
and passes them along to the moderator.
"A Minute of News" consists of a five-second open and a minute of news content.
The "Supplement" format varies from program to program.
It is in its most basic form: an opening statement; an extended interview with a guest(s); and a closing summation. Each "Supplement"
is a variation of this theme utilizing whatever production techniques might add to the understanding sought by the program.
The "F.Y.I." and "Spotlight" (when used) formats were not changed by the hiatus. Editorials also continue to be delivered by the s ta t io n 's general manager and run between 1:15 and 2:00 minutes in length. There is a short open and close.
"Black America: What Now?" is simply formated with an open, content and close. The content part of the format is an interview involving from one to four guests. 140
"Delaware Valley Today" ^
VTR OPEN :30
STUDIO OPEN Moderator introduces guest(s) and asks a question to set the stage for a later, detailed interview. (apprx 2:00)
BREAK #1 1:00
STUDIO NE1VS Local and n ation al, sp o rts, sto ck s, and other items of interest, (apprx 10:00)
BREAK #2 1:00
STUDIO INTERVIETJ Moderator asks questions and also may invite viewers to call in questions on "Feedback" line.
BREAK #3 1:00
STUDIO INTERVm Continues
BREAK #4 1:00
STUDIO INTERVIE-J Continues
BREAK #5 1:00
STUDIO WEATHER Local orientation, (apprx :45)
VTR CLOSE :30
TOTAL 45:00
Carl Grant, Delaware Valley Today, A Memo to the WKBS TV General Manager and Program Manager from the WKBS TV News D irector, December 10, 1971, pp. 1-2. 141
Equipment
When the station's news staff was eliminated, most of
the equipment was put into storage for use at the conclusion of the
h ia tu s .
Presently the news is compiled from news releases, news
sources and the United Press International Philadelphia-Pennsylvania
and New Jersey-National wire services. The station's news director
also continues to maintain the large slide file of locally and
nationally prominent persons, places and maps. These visuals are
collected from pictures taken by a station photographer, news
releases and the United Press International slide service.
One complete set of newsfilm gear has been kept out of storage and is used when needed to produce film for the station's
"Supplement" series. It is not used for any of the regularly scheduled daily news or public affairs programs.
Content
The station's news director and individual program producers continue to have the day-to-day responsibility for determining the content of newscasts and public affairs programs. Corporate officers continue to screen video tapes of the various programs but not with the same frequency they practiced prior to the hiatus. Their critiques, now delivered orally over the phone about once a month, still exert a major Influence on the news effort.
"Delaware Valley Today" Involves news reporting and talk that pertains directly to a news subject or an interview with a person or persons who in turn are news subjects. Guests have included and are expected to include a wide variety of people. 142 ranging from persons in the daily headlines to leaders in particular
fields. In all cases the subjects dealt with are pertinent to
developments having an effect on the Delaware Valley. The program
has a marked local orientation. Also, the fact that the audience at
11:15 A.M. is preponderantly women is given utmost consideration in
determining the subject areas given greatest emphasis.
Following is a complete listing of the guests and subjects
covered on the "Delaware Valley Today" during the entire month of
February 1972. 3 "Delaware Valley Today" Date Aired Subject & Guest(s)
2/1/72 Pollution & Ecology (Philadelphia) Norman Childs, Chairman, Delaware Valley Citizen's Council for Clean Air. 2/2 New Jersey Real Estate Tax Declared Unconstitutional (1) Robert Martinez, Legal Counsel, N. J. School Boards Assoc. (2) Harold B ills, Director of Finance & Auditing, N. J. Dept, of Education. (3) Maurice Shier, Research Director, N. J. Taxpayer's Assoc. 2/3 Future of Black Colleges (1) Arthur Fletcher, Exec. Director, United Negro College Fund. (2) Oscar Prey, Co-Chairman, National Conference of Alumni C ouncil. 2 /4 Anger Dr. Leo Madow, M.D., Prof. & Chairman, Department of Psychiatry & Neurology, Medical College of Penna. 2/7 Women Alcoholics (1) Mrs. Charles Greenwood, Founder & Board Member, N ation al Council on Alcoholism, Delaware Valley, (2) Mrs. Lenore Wright, Board ffember. National Council on Alcoholism, Delaware Valley. 2/8 Philadelphia Business Thacher Longstreth, President, Greater Phila. Chamber of Commerce.
3 Carl Grant, Public Affairs Report. A Memo to the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Vice President of Programming from the WKBS TV News Director, February 29, 1972, pp. 2-4. 143
Date Aired Subject & Guest(s)
2/9 Boxing (and Youth Work) (1) Jersey Joe Walcott, Former Heavyweight Champ; Camden County (New Jersey) Sheriff, (2) Joey Giardello, Former Middleweight Champ, (3) Albert Teti, 2nd Vice President, Philadelphia Association for Retarded Children.
2/10 Marital Difficulties Dr. David Reed, Pli.D., Assistant Director, Marriage Council of Philadelphia, Division of Family Study, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
2/11 Sex Counseling Dr. William Stayton, Hi.D., Marriage Council of Philadelphia, Division of Family Study, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
2/14 Engineering Developments (Future & Women) (1) Charles Watson, Vice President and General Administration, Philadelphia Electric Company, (2) Samuel T. Hudson, President, J.E. Brenneman Company, General Chairman, 1972 Engineers Week.
2/15 Philadelphia School Discipline Reverend Melvin Floyd, Philadelphia Policeman & Director of Neighborhood Crusades, Inc.
2/16 Films: "The Involved Ones" (re: Nursing) "Camping the Rio Grande" (re: Recreation)
2/17 Philadelphia School Drug Program Daniel Falco, Assistant Director of Health Education, Philadelphia Schools.
2/18 Crime Thomas H. Cox, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Law/Justice Studies, Glassboro State College, New Jersey.
2/21 Drugs and Gangs Reverend Melvin Floyd, Philadelphia Policeman & Director of Neighborhood Crusades, Inc.
2/22 World's Strongest Man Jack Walsh, Trenton (New Jersey)
2/23 Cancer (1) Dr. Lewis Coriell, M.D., Director, Institute for Medical Research, Camden, New Jersey, (2) Dr, Chester M. Southan, M.D., Division of Medical Oncology, Jefferson Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 144 Date Aired Subject & Guest(s)
2/24 Public Defenders (1) Stanley Van Ness, Director of Public Defenders, State of New Jersey. (2) Judith Yaskin, Deputy Public Defender for Camden/ Gloucester/Salem Counties, New Jersey.
2/25 New Jersey Tax Study Report (1) Martin Dike, Project Manager, Governor's Tax Policy Commission. (2) Ann Klein (D), Assemblywoman, Morris County, New Jersey. (3) Frank Reiche, Attorney, Tax Study Commission, New Jersey.
2/28 Philadelphia Schools Matthew Costanzo, Superintendent, Philadelphia Public Schools.
2/29 Teachers & Schools (1) Velma Hill, Vice President, United Federation of Teachers. (2) Frank Sullivan, President, Philadelphia Federation of T eachers.
"A Minute o f News" i s a sh ort news fe a tu r e th a t in terp re ts news items in a way that is understandable to youngsters. Props, slides, art work, film and other visuals are used in an effort to help the youngsters relate the news to something familiar to them.
"A Minute of News" informs the youngsters about educational develop ments, problems and accomplishments of their schools, undesirable aspects of alcohol and drug abuse, undesirable aspects of gang warfare and juvenile crime, scientific progress, and major governmental developments such as elections.
"Supplement" represents community-oriented programming which is scheduled in prime viewing hours when audience potential is at its maximum. This series deals with major community issues. Guests and content are developed through the ascertainment process and other research methods.
Descriptions of the six "Supplement" programs produced and aired to date by the station are on the following pages. 145
TITLE SUPPLEMENT: CAN YOU GET THERE FROM HERE: A CRISIS IN TRANSPORTATION^
SOURCE Local
TYPE News
DESCRIPTION A half-hour news special dealing with the Transportation Worker's Union strike against the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, operator of most major surface transportation systems serving Philadelphia. The strike affected over one million commuters.
Earlier in the day of broadcast, a court injunction was issued against the strikers. At 8:05 P.M., the Transportation Workers Executive Board voted to defy the injunction and continue the strike, At 8:30 P.M., the applicant broadcast the news sp ecia l breaking the story of the vote to defy, and bringing the viewers up to date on the issu es of the str ik e . Guests on the program were two principals in the dispute, with the President of the Union and a management representative of SEPTA. In addition, the head of urban research for the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia, and a University of Pennsylvania transportation expert analyzed the dispute.
TIME OF BROADCAST 8:30 P.M. - 9:00 P.M. A pril 14, 1971, 30 minutes
NUMBER OF TIMES BROADCAST Once
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Representatives of the disputing parties, and transportation experts appeared on the program.
WKBS TV, Application for Renewal of Broadcast Station License, Statement of Television Program Service, FCC Form 303, Section IV-B, Part II, February 7, 1972, Exhibit 10, pp. 10-11. 146
TITLE SUPPLEMENT: SCHOOLS: FIRST DOWN AND NOWHERE TO C05
SOURCE Local
TYPE News
DESCRIPTION The news special dealt with the financial crisis facing the Philadelphia School System and their cut of extra-curricular activities from the budget. Faced with a $110 million deficit in its operating budget, the school board decided to drop varsity athletics and other extra-curricular activities, eliminating 1100 teacher positions and other jobs, and curtail main tenance services.
Working from a tip . News Manager Carl Grant arranged a taping for the afternoon of the Board's press conference. The cuts were announced at 11:15 A.M. By 3:30, the participants had gathered at the station's studios for the program.
Included in the program were Dr. Mark Shedd, School Superintendent; Frank Sullivan, President of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers; Overbrook High School basketball star Andre McCarter; Central High School fo o tb a ll sta r Warren M cCallister; Edward Veith, Central High School coach; Roy Belford, drug worker at George Washington High School; Paul Ward, President of the City Public League Coaches Association; David Lyon, Federal Reserve Bank; and George Frend, of the Black Educational Forum. The guests, first the students and coaches, then the others discussed the cuts and the repercussions.
News Manager Carl Grant moderated the program, and was joined by Philadelphia Daily News Education Reporter Fred Hamilton and Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Education Reporter Katrina Dyke in questioning the participants.
WKBS TV, Application for Renewal of Broadcast Station License, Statement of Television Program Service, FCC Form 303, Section IV-B, Part II, February 7, 1972, Exhibit 10, pp. 12-13. 147
DESCRIPTION (Continued) Although the school board in their press conference indicated the cuts were irrevocable. Superintendent Shedd indicated an outcry from the public would result in sports being kept. Shedd's statement made headlines in Philadelphia papers the next day. A cry did come from the public, and sports were returned to the schools.
TIME OF BROADCAST 7:30 P.M. - 8:30 P.M. June 18, 1971, 1 hour
NUMBER OF TIMES BROADCAST Once
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT See description.
TITLE SUPPLEMENT: PRICE FREEZE®
SOURCE Local
TYPE News
DESCRIPTION The half-hour news supplement d ea lt with the problems and functions of the new Philadelphia region O ffice o f Emergency Preparedness, charged with enforcing the President's Price Freeze.
To better serve the five-state region, the OEP O ffice was moved from Olney, Maryland, to Philadelphia, resulting in a great deal of confusion and lack of information on the part of the public.
At 4:15 P.M. on the day the o ffic e opened, the OEP Director in Philadelphia agreed to appear live to help alleviate the lack of inform ation. The program was broadcast liv e at 8:30 P.M. Only five hours passed from the realization of the need for the program until i t was broadcast.
WKBS TV, Application for Renewal of Broadcast Station License, Statement of Television Program Service, FCC Form 303, Section IV-B, Part II, February 7, 1972, Exhibit 10, pp. 14-13. 148
TIME OF BROADCAST 8:30 P.M. - 9 P.M. August 18, 1971, 30 minutes
DUMBER OF TIMES BROADCAST O n c e
COM>ÎUNITY INVOLFEMEMT Philadelphia region CEP Director Robert C. Stevens
TITLE SUPPLEMENT: SCHOOL SITUATION REPORT'
SOURCE Local
TYPE News
DESCRIPTION With the upheval in school financing reported in the applicant's special on June 18, 1971, (see Exhibit 10, Page 11 and 12, Ref. Section IV-B, Part II, Paragraph 4.), the station attempted to clear up the tremendous confusion about various school programs. Broadcast during the week preceding the opening of Dr. Mark Shedd. News Manager Carl Grant moderated the program, and was joined by education reporters from tlie Philadelphia Inquirer and the Evening Bulletin, in questionning Dr. Shedd in c la r ify in g the actual situation which students would encounter the following week.
TIME OF BROADCAST 8:30 P.M. - 9:00 P.M. September 2, 1971 - 30 minutes
NUMBER OF TIMES BROADCAST Once
COMMUNITY IN\?OLVEMENT Superintendent of Schools Shedd
WKBS TY'’, Application for Renewal of Broadcast Station License, Statement of Television Program Service, FCC Form 303, Section IV-B, Part II, February 7, 1972, Exhibit 10, p. 16. 149
TITLE MARK DONAUUE - THE MAN AITD HIS MACHINE^
SOURCE Local
TYPE News
DESCRIPTION An unusual sports figure living in Media, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb, is Mark Donahue. One of the few c o lla g e - educated d rivers, Donahue has combined his engineering knowhow with quick r eflex es to become the 1971 Driver of the Year. As the 1971 racing season came to a c lo se , the a p p lica n t's News Manager sought Donahue out at the Trenton International Speedway for a background interview on what makes Mark run. In addition, the program showed the engineering graduate- driver testing tires and setting his car up for a race the following weekend.
TIME OF BROADCAST 5:30 P.M. - 6:00 P.M. September 5, 1971 - 30 minutes
NUMBER OF TIMES BROADCAST Once
COMMUNITY INl'OLVEMENT Brought a member of the community w ell known to one segment of fans to the attention of non-racing fans.
WKBS TV, Application for Renewal of Broadcast Station License, Statement of Television Program Service, FCC Form 303, Section IV-B, Part II, February 7, 1972, Exhibit 10, p. 20. 150
TITLE JUVENILE CRIME^ (SPECIAL ATTENTION ON GANGS) ! SOURCE Local i TYPE News
DESCRIPTION Hie following guests discussed the Juvenile Crime and gang problems in P h ilad elp h ia:
(1) Jim Brody, Human Service Aid, Penna. Probation and Parole Board (2) Thomas Cox, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Law/Justice Studies, Glassboro State College, New Jersey. (3) Ephraim Gomberg, Executive Vice President, Crime Commission of P h ila d elp h ia . (4) Martin Haines, President, New Jersey Bar Association (5) D. Donald Jamieson, President Judge, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas (6) Harry McConnell, Chief, Burlington County Detective Bureau (7) Edna Thomas, Deputy Commissioner Youth Conservation Corps., Philadelphia Department of Welfare
TIME OF BROADCAST 8:30P.M. - 9:30P.M. February 10, 1972
NUMBER OF TIMES BROADCAST Once
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT See description.
Carl Grant, Public Affairs Report, A Memo to the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Vice President of Programming from the WKBS TV News Director, February 29, 1972, p. 6. 1 5 1
"F,Y.I." Is produced in the station's studio and is devoted
to locally-oriented community problems and interests. Following is a
complete listing of the guests who appeared on "F.Y.I." during
February 1972.
.,10 "F.Y.I.
Date(s) Aired Guest
2 /1 /7 2 Louis G riffith, Chairman - Cape-Atlantic Chapter of the Association for Children with Learning D isabilities.
2/2 Jack Sharp, Director/Actor, Woodbury Sketch Club Players, Woodbury, New Jersey.
2 /3 James Bailey, President - Term Paper Researchers, Inc., Philadelphia
2 /4 Michael lannelli - Walden School Parent Association.
2 /5 Maurice J. Kelly, Vice President of Delawareans United for Education.
2/ 6 , 2/10 Morton Shultz - Author of "How to Fix It."
2 /7 , 2/11 Milton Washington, Associate Administrative Director of Y.M.C.A. of Philadelphia.
2/ 8 , 2/12 Gamine DeSopo - Coordinator of Special Needs Program, Burlington, New Jersey
2 /9 John Poserina, Esq. - PAL Alumni
2 /1 3 , 2/20 Linda Evans, Actress - Manning Street Theatre
2 /1 4 , 2/21 Albert Murray, Author of "South to a Very Old Place."
2 /1 5 , 2/22 Paul Zito, Assistant Director of Public Relations at Monmouth C o lle g e ,
2 /1 6 , 2/23 Dr. Joseph T. Skehan, Secretary of the National Association of Laity.
10 Carl Grant, Public Affairs Report, A Memo to the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Vice President of Programming from the WKBS TV News Director, February 29, 1972, p. 1. 152
Dates(s) Aired Guest
2/17, 2/24 Mrs. Selma Honesty, Executive Director, East Frankford Day Care Center.
2/18, 2/25 Mrs. Jeanne D. Armstrong, Administrator, Children's Heart Hospital.
2/19, 2/26 Dr. Sol Schoenbach, Executive Director, Settlement Music School.
2/27 Dr. Harry H. Pote, Vice President, Heart Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
2/28 Ruth Pearlman, Author of "Feeding Your Baby."
2/29 Rufus Lynch, Director of the Pennsylvania Black Political Congress.
"Black America: What Now?" is designed to provide what might be described as "ghettoized" thinking, i.e ., the habit many
people have of viewing the typical black as a person in the ghetto.
In addition to covering the problems of the ghetto and the poor, the program features interviews with successful, middle class blacks in the business and professional worlds. This positive coverage seeks to provide inspiration in areas where it is sorely needed.
Here are the subjects and guests who appeared on "Black
America: What Now?" during Februairy 1972.
"Black America: What Now?"
Date Aired Subject Guest(s)
2/5/72 Negro Progress (1) Edward Robinson, President, Providence Home (2) Dr. R. Johnson Smith, Professor, St. Joseph's College, Philadelphia (3) Maury Fagan, E xecutive D irec to r, Fellowship Commission, Philadelphia
11 Carl Grant, Public Affairs Report. A Memo to the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Vice President of Programming from the WKBS TV News Director, February 29, 1972, p. 5. 153
Date Aired S ubject G u est(s)
2/12 The J u d ic ia l System Honorable Robert N. C. N ix, in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Judge, Supreme Court
2 /19 M edicine (1) Dr. James B a tts, Temple University Medical Center (2) Gilbert Parks
2 /2 6 Small Black Business (1) Wallie Stevens, Secretary, Industrial Dynamic Corp. (2) Robert E llis, Treasurer, Industrial Dynamic Corp. (3) Sam Rymer, P ro p rietor, Toy Store
The "Lou Gordon Program" covers a wide range o f su b ject m atter.
The following description gives examples of what has happened on this program since it was added to the WKBS TV schedule September 1971.
TITLE LOU GORDON PROGRAM
SOURCE Recorded
TYPE Public Affairs
DESCRIPTION A 90-minute weekly public affairs program produced by WKBD TV, Detroit, a sister K aiser s t a t io n . Guests on th e "Lou Gordon Program" are s e le c te d for th e ir e x p e r tise in presentation material of local, national and local scope covering broad areas of religion, politics, civil rights, ecology and variou s forms o f c u ltu r a l endeavor, among others. In addition, Mr. Gordon answers questions submitted by the viewing audience.
12 WKBS TV, Application for Renewal of Broadcast Station License, Statement of Television Program Service, FCC Form 303, Section IV-B, Part II, February 7, 1972, Exhibit 10, pp. 17-19. 154
DESCRIPTION (C ontinued) The following is a partial list of guests and subjective matter appearing on the program is typical and illustrative of the series:
Dr. Wilbur Cohen -Former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare and now Chairman of the Department of Education at the University of Michigan
Abraham E l l i s -New York A ttorn ey - discussed Social S ecu rity and Old Age Assistance
James Laferty -Detroit Attorney - discussed his recent visit to Hanoi
Jacqueline Suzanne -Author
Joan Bennett -Film Actress
Rabbi M. Robert Syme & Cantor Jacob Sonenklar -Discussed the history of the feast of Rosh Hoshana
Arthur Haley -Author of "Wheels," discussed the auto industry and Ralph Nader's criticism s of the industry.
Angus Campbell -Institute for Social Research - University of Michigan, dis cussed the report entitled, WHITE ATTITUDE TOWARD BLACK PEOPLE—A REPORT OF THE RACIST ATTITUDES OF WHITE PEOPLE TOWARDS BLACKS BASED ON RELIGION, ETHNIC DERIVATION, EDUCATION AND SOCIO ECONOMIC BACKGROUND 155
DESCRIPTION (Continued) Senator Philip Hart -Discussed the ad vantages no-fault auto insurance
Lt. Governor Lester Maddox -Discussed his period in office as Governor of the state of Georgia
Mrs. Shirley O'Dell -Wife of a prisoner of war in North Vietnam
Walter Nickel -Former Secretary of the Interior, Hickel talked about his experience as a member of the Nixon Cabinet and his great concern toward our natural resources
Henry Ford, II -Chairman of the Board - Ford Motor Company, discussed his experience with the Ford Motor Company and the role that major business must play in the development of the country
TIME OF BROADCAST 10:00 P.M. - 11:30 P.M. Sunday evenings - 90 minutes
NUMBER OF TIMES BROADCAST Once Weekly
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Viewers questions are answered by the host and cover a broad range of social, political and cultural matters. CHAPÏEII VII
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOHUNDATIONS
Summary
Tlie Philadelphia Television Market is basically composed of
the eight counties vhich surround the City of Philadelphia --
Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware in Pennsylvania;
and Burlington, Camden and Gloucester in New Jersey. This area is
defined as the Philadelphia Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) by
the U.S. government’s Office of Management and Budget and is estimated
by the Census Bureau to have a population of 5.1 million people.
The American Research Bureau, a major television audience
rating service more comm.only known as ARB, also considers this eight
county area in compiling its most important Metro (or home county)
rating for Philadelphia stations.
This study is primarily concerned with the Philadelphia SMSA
or Metro Area where Philadelphia television stations are licensed to
operate.
The Philadelphia Metropolitan Area is faced with many very
severe problems and needs which at times seem almost insurmountable.
Philadelphia is in need of inspired leadership that can mobilize the huge population to meet the challenge. This leadership must come from many sources including television.
Television stations are licensed to serve the "public’s interest, convenience and necessity." This researcher contends this is not happening in Philadelphia. Ihere is a definate and unmet need
156 157
for lo c a l te le v is io n news and public a ffa ir s programming to provide the
Philadelphia Metropolitan Area with indepth, meaningful treatment of the
many critical problems and vital issues facing all residents. Occasionally,
a worthwhile, bold, innovative program does appear on the air. Tliese are
isolated, infrequent cases and never scheduled on a regular basis.
No one is doing a really good job.
While a television station accrues a lot of benefits from being
affiliated with a powerful network, it also suffers some very limiting
restrictions as the lack of freedom to utilize large amounts of prime time
for lo c a l news and public a ffa ir s programming of the kind th is researcher has in mind. The alternative is for non-network, independent television
stations with their tremendous scheduling flexibility to step in and
fill the void.
In Philadelphia, independent means UHF, which opens up a whole new series of problems. It's not bad enough that the area's many needs and problems are going unmet by broadcasters, but the job of rendering outstanding public service apparently w ill fall to UHF stations.
One of the biggest problems facing UHF broadcasters is their struggle to rid themselves of the second class citizenship forced on them by inadequate tuning devices which have helped create a disastrous public image over the years. Hopefully this will be corrected in the foreseeable future and the UHF designation will become irrelevant. The public will be able to view the UHF's as simply independent stations.
A large part of any change in public image will have to be earned by the stations themselves by doing the kind of meaningful news and p ub lic a ffa ir s programming that is presen tly m issing in P hiladelphia, 158
WKBS T\' has the capability of filling the void in the
Philadelphia Television Market, However, it cannot be overlooked
that the station failed in its previous attempts to launch a major
news and public affairs service. That is why it is important now to
assess the past and present in preparation for the future. Projections
are that Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation will begin rebuilding its news
departments in 1973 following a three year hiatus in this area.
Til is researcher does not agree with those critics who would
say television news has gone about as far as it can. A whole new course
should be charted to make television news much more meaningful. It can be done.
Since the Congressional action that created our system of broadcasting with the overriding philosophy that the channels are a public trust, broadcasters have from time to time been criticized for not living up to their responsibilities. IVo major speeches have touched s e n s it iv e nerves. Newton F. Minow, on May 9, 1961, sh o rtly a fter being named Chairman of the FCC, delivered h is highly publicized "Vast Wasteland" speech before the 39th Annual Convention of the National Association of
Broadcasters meeting in Washington, D.C. On November 13, 1969, an even more dramatic challenge came from Vice President Spiro Agnew is a speech before the Midwest Regional Republican Committee meeting in Des Moines,
Iowa. Agnew set off wide-spread, heated debate when he questioned whether the television news medium was meeting its responsibilities.
Despite these attacks on television, a major survey in
September 1970 shows the public still is turning in greater numbers to television as its primary source of news and is placing more confidence 159
in television than any other medium. The study by R. H. Bruskin and
Associates shows a continuation of trends discovered earlier by the
research firm of Elmo Roper and Associates which released findings in
1959, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1967 and 1968.
In addition, the Nielsen Television Index figures reveal
television viewing by tlie American public hit an all-time high in
1970.
With so much in te r e st and dependence on te le v is io n news and public affairs programs, a growing number of employees were giving more emphasis to producing such programs. Ihere also was a substantial growth in the amount of time devoted to news broadcasts. A disquieting trend, however, did appear between 1969 and 1971. Household ratings for early evening local news went down in 14 of the country's top 20 markets and up in only six. Some of the changes in ratings were slight, others were sizeable.
Over the years much of the country's television viewing has been concentrated on network-affiliated stations. But in recent years, independent stations, including those outlets on the UHF band, have been making inroads. Tlie American Research Bureau reported in
May 1972 that the UHF penetration fig u re in Philadelphia had reached
93 percent.
WKBS TV is an independent UHF station owned and operated by
Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation as are the five other Kaiser television properties. After five years of trying, Kaiser recorded its first profit in 1969. One year later, the picture changed drastically in the midst of the economic recession. 160
The gloomy forecasts for the television market in 1971
forced Kaiser to disband the four extensive news operations it had
at its stations. Tlie action of November 11, 1970, was viewed by
corporate officers as a "hiatus” with the intention of reviving the
departments when conditions permit. Kaiser lost an estimated $6 million
attempting to establish a major news and public affairs service.
FCC statistics show that only 47 of the nation's 146
commercial UHF television stations, or 32.2 percent, made a profit
(before federal income taxes) in 1970. Only five of the 48
independent UHF, or 10.4 percent, were profitable. At the same
time, a National Association of Broadcaster's survey indicates that
the UHF industry's profit margin losses were reduced from 34 percent
to 5.9 percent when 1970 is compared to 1969.
IThile independent UHF stations are obviously having a
tough time financially, some encouragement is being taken in the
narrowing losses and in independent rating inroads against network
affiliates at 7:30 P.M. ARB statistics reveal independent stations
are getting a greater share of prime time audiences since the FCC
ruling cut a half-hour nightly from the network schedules. Kaiser
Broadcasting also displayed a show of strong faith in the future of
UHF television during the latter part of 1970 by embarking on a
$2.6 million capital program to increase signal power and coverage of four of its six stations. Still another vote of confidence and what may well be the biggest boost so far toward the survival of independent UHF broadcasting was the announcement on May 26, 1972, that a partnership would be formed between Kaiser Broadcasting 161
Corporation and Field Enterprises Incorporated. Under terms of
the agreement, Kaiser would have 77.5 percent of the partnership;
Field 22.5 percent. The resulting broadcasting group will have UIIF
independent stations in Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit,
Chicago and San Francisco.
Barry Thurston, the corporate Vice President of Programming,
recently concluded a thorough rating review which showed that all
independent television stations are still having major problems in
prime time regard less of what types of programming are being used.
He asked for thoughts and suggestions of new and maybe radical ways
to break the barrier.
This study provides a radical and meaningful way to break
that barrier.
In view of Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation's decision to take
what it calls a "hiatus" from staffing large news operations with
the hope of reviving them when conditions permit, it is important
that an attempt be made now during this respite to analyze the past
and present to aid in preparing for the future resumption of a major
news and public affairs service at WKBS TV. The station's need for
such an evaluation along with the benefits it may have for other UHF
independent television stations in the Kaiser group and elsewhere and
CATV operations which w ill stru ggle to provide meaningful programming
plus the desirable condition of having as many different voices as
possible interpreting and disseminating news constitute justification
for making a case study of how a major news and public a ffa ir s serv ice at WKBS TV, an independent UHF station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 162
can be established to better serve the "public interest, convenience and n ecessity ."
T-JKBS TV is one of nine television stations in the Philadelphia
Metropolitan Area. These stations arc licensed to serve the "public interest, convenience and necessity." To fully understand this responsibility and whether it is being met in a meaningful way in
Philadelphia, the area's problems and needs must first be reviewed.
In the process of identifying these problems and needs, th is researcher found that community leaders and members of the general public disagreed somewhat on the s p e c if ic s . N everth eless, i t was possible to identify what are considered to be the major problems facing the area. The problems and needs determined to be of the most immediate significance are:
1. Schools and Education
2. Race Relations
3. Crime
4. Recreation
5. Hous ing
6. Taxes
7. Industry -- Business: Economic Development
8. Alcoholism and Drugs
9. Government Organization: L ocal/S tate/F ed eral
10. Health and Medical
11. T ra ffic and Transportation
12. Youth
13. Apathy 163
It is clear that there are some sharp differences between
the community leaders and the general public in the way they view certa in
problem areas. The community leaders place the schools, education and
race relations high on their list while the general public voices a
stronger concern about crime. Tlie need for more recreation facilities
is also given more prominence by the public than the leaders. Both
groups consider housing, taxes, the need for business, industry and
economic development, and drugs with about equal weiglit.
A number of other trends become apparent in analyzing the
data. The community leaders are gen erally more concerned about
areas relating to the processes of government organization and its
functions at the local, state and federal level, finances and public
apathy. The leaders also gave more mention to health and medical care.
In contrast the public seems to be more concerned about the
things that touch their everyday lives such as traffic, youth and pollution. These areas generally scored high on the public's list.
Although it is possible in some parts of the Philadelphia
Metropolitan Area to pick up secondary television signals from New
York and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the market's primary service comes
from nine local stations. Four of these nine stations broadcast on the VHP band; the remaining five are assigned to UHF. These nine television stations are individually charged with the responsibility of serving the "public interest, convenience and necessity" of the
Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. Naturally, a television station cannot hope to reach at any one time the entire 5.1 million people in the 1 6 4
eight-county area reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. WKBS TV must
compete with the other television stations and a multitude of other
diversions for the public's attention. That notwithstanding, the
responsibility to serve the public's needs still exists under the law.
Are the licensees of the Philadelphia television stations meeting this responsibility? According to the FCC yardstick, they have measured up to the task satisfactorily because the Commission has historically renewed all of the stations' licenses over the y e a r s .
Perhaps, then, the issue is one of degree. Should a television station do just enough to get by or should it make a serious commitment to do much more at a time when its community is on the brink of disaster?
This researcher made a painstaking effort earlier in this study to point out that the problems of the highly populated
Philadelphia Metropolitan Area are very serious and complex. The huge urban area and rapidly growing suburbs are flirting with economic and social choas unless something is done to answer the many problems and needs.
What is necessary is a clearing house of ideas readily available to the general public and massive amounts of understanding if anything meaningful is to be accomplished. Television is a natural. Certainly, however, television should not and cannot be looked upon as a scapegoat or a cure-all for all of society's ills, many of which had their beginning long before television. But 1 6 5
television should and can provide a tremendous input into the
problem-solving and need-meeting processes of the Philadelphia
Metropolitan Area.
The television effort in Hiiladelphia to date has been superficial. It is possible to write license renewal applications
for the FCC that create every appearance on paper that the job is being done and w ill continue to be done in the future. A closer examination is required.
An analysis of the audience ratings of most locally originated public affairs programs offered in the Philadelphia market reveals that the total viewership is small with an average of fewer than 15,000 homes. These programs are generally scheduled in off times (early morning hours) without a great deal of thought, effort, ta le n t, promotion or money in v ested in them.
Newscasts a ttr a c t much la rg er au d ien ces. The 11:00 P.M. news programs average at least twenty times more viewers than the public affairs programs. Large audiences, however, do not necessarily mean the newscasts are meeting the licensees' responsibility.
Television newscasts in Philadelphia are aired primarily on the City's VHP stations. The money-losing UHF stations are not yet financially healthy enough to absorb the additional heavy losses that result from starting up major news operations and seeing them through the lengthy audience building phase.
The dollar problems of the City's independent television stations are unfortunate because Philadelphia's television newscasts 166
fall far short of what they could and should be. They use the headline
hopping technique of placing before the viewer a series of short,
fast-paced stories that barely scratch the surface of a news
development. Frequently a news story gets no more than one sentence
before a newscaster is off to another part of the world in another
sentence. Rarely is any perspective or interpretation added. This
goes on and on -- all for the sake of pacing.
During the longer early evening hour newscasts, the valuable
extra minutes are often squandered on inane "filler" features of
little meaning and consequence which the newscasters apparently
believe are entertaining and helpful in building audiences. They have
never been challenged.
This leads to an extremely unhealthy trend in Philadelphia
television news -- what works for one operation is picked up and used
by the others. It's the old story of "tweedle dee" and "tweedle dum."
If a station cuts its stories real short and its ratings go up, all
stations will soon be featuring short stories in their newscasts.
A ll use news, sports and weather men. A ll cover the same s to r ie s in almost the same way and present them on the a ir in alm ost the same order. There is a very sterile sameness in Philadelphia television news. Formats designed to meet network time demands are restrictive and local television station managements apparently are afraid to innovate.
The purpose of this study is not to issue wholesale indictments against the news efforts of the Philadelphia "V's." Tlie point to be 167
made and understood is, given the critical and mamouth problems and
needs of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is vital to do more
than offer supperficial newscasts and public affairs programs that
aren't watched. In fact, some news stories may even be dangerous
with misleading impressions created by statements and events taken
out of context and presented without the necessary perspective. While
this is a case study of WOS W, it is important to understand the
total atmosphere within which the station exists.
WKBS TV, which w ill lose approximately another m illion
dollars in 1972, does not have a prime time newscast and its major
public affairs programs, "F.Y.I.," "Delaware Valley Today," "Black Ameri
ca: What Now?" and the "Lou Gordan Program," reach only 35,000 homes
a week according to May 1972 audience ratings. Editorials, kids'
newsbreaks and public service announcements reach substantially
larger numbers because they are scheduled in and around high rated
programs.
Should a station in the poor financial position of WKBS TV
do more? The FCC renewed the station's license for three more years
in June 1972 in effect ruling that WKBS T\^ is meeting the "public
interest, convenience and necessity" of the Philadelphia Metropolitan
Area.
The guests and subject matter on the news and public a ffa ir s programs the station does have, are generally good and deal with the problems and needs surveyed in preparing the license renewal. But the harsh facts of reality are the audience is minimal. Tlie question follows -- are the programs doing any good? 'ike answer -- probably not that much. 158
The direct responsibility for providing news and public
a ffa ir s programming acceptable to the corporation belongs to the
s ta tio n 's General Manager, G. William Ryan. He reports d ir e c tly
to the corporation's Vice President and General Manager, Richard C.
Block, vho is charged with the overall operation of Kaiser Broadcasting,
The news director is not only under the direst supervision
of the station's general manager but has also been under the direct
supervision of the corporation's vice president and general manager.
This practice is significant because it means the news director has
frequently had to go through both company officers to clarify
corporation policies as they relate to news. The vice president and
general manager at one point made the news e ffo r t a personal project
when he eliminated the corporate position of director of news. He
also gave advisory responsibilities to the corporate Vice President
o f Programming, Barry Thurston.
Til is procedure has been modified somewhat sin ce the
reduction of the new’s staff and the appointment of a corporate
Administrative Assistant, Frank Philpot. There is not as much
involvement now between the news director and the corporate
v ic e president and general manager. Most news and public a ffa ir s
proposals are considered thoroughly at the station level and
subsequently cleared with appropriate corporate officers by the
station's general manager. Also, the news director carries on a good deal of communication with the corporate administrative assistant 169
who has been assigned to handle all public affairs problems.
At the station level the persons in charge of news, programming,
production, promotion, sales and the business office are given virtually
equal department head status. All report directly to the station's
general manager. Most d ecision s re la tin g to ncv/s programming are
worked out among the appropriate department heads with the advice and
consent of the station's general manager, corporate vice president of
programming and the corporate v ic e president and general manager.
Responsibilities at the station level for individual public
affairs programs traditionally have been widely divided. However,
the s ta tio n 's program manager has the o v era ll r e sp o n sib ility for these
programs. As part of its public affairs effort, the station makes
a conscientious attempt to determine the needs and interests of the
area it is licensed to serve. Luncheons are held at least once-a-week
with community leaders. Interviews are conducted along the lines of
the "ascertainment of community needs" procedures to be followed in
applying for a renewal of license with the FCC.
Editorials written by the news director are delivered on the
air by the station's general manager. All editorials must be approved
by the corporation's vice president and general manager before they
are broadcast..
VJKBS TV, as it is now organized, has what is generally
referred to in broadcasting as a "one man news operation." However,
to let it go at that would be very misleading.
Tlie station's news effort involves-a 45-minute news program each weekday, a children's newsbreak every afternoon, and prime-time 170
news supplements (an indepth examination of a major nows development)
when events warrant. A news supplement may draw on the ta len ts of
many station employees. Since opportunities for this kind of news
programming develop on r e la tiv e ly short n o tic e , r e s p o n s ib ilitie s have
been assigned to various department heads and others to facilitate the
necessary preparations.
Before the cutback the news department was under the direct
supervision of the s ta tio n 's New Director and Anchorman, Carl Grant.
The news department included 15 other persons who were assigned specific
duties some of which were defined by a union contract. The cost of
operating the news department amounted to some $24,300 a month. About
77 percent of this total monthly figure went for salaries with the
remainder going toward film and processing, office and production
supplies, wire and slide services, and equipment maintenance.
No specific department has ever existed for public affairs
programming per se; hence, i t is im possible to define i t s organization
in regid terms. However, the s ta tio n 's program manager is responsible
in the end for the public affairs programs along with the corporate administrative assistant. 171
Regularly-scheduled news programs now total three hours and
eight minutes of news, or 3.12 percent of the 100-hour broadcast week.
This exceeds the percentage committed in the station's last amendment
filed with tlie FCC -- 3.00 percent. In October 1970, before the
cancellation of the 10:00 P.FI. News, the station was broadcasting
about 5.40 percent of its schedule with news.
Prior to the "hiatus" the news department was responsible
for gathering and presenting almost all local, state, national and
international news aired by the station. Exceptions came only when
the station picked up a pool broadcast such as a presidential news
conference or a gubernatorial speech.
The bulk of the station's public affairs programming also
was locally produced by various staff members. Networking and/or
other outside origination factors seldom play any role in the
station's scheduling of programs.
The station's weekday program schedule included four newscasts -- "Morning Report," "Afternoon Report, " "The Grant and
Grady Ten O'clock Report," and "Kaiser News 48." No live newscasts were scheduled over the weekend. "The Grant and Grady Ten O'clock
Report" represented the station's main news effort and, of course, was the major casualty of the "hiatus."
One public affairs program, "F.Y.I.," was regularly scheduled twice each weekday as well as Saturdays and Sundays. It was and still is a five-minute program scheduled at sign on and again at sign off.
"Spotlight" was a short public affairs program of less than two minutes scheduled throughout the broadcast day and, whenever possible, in 172
prime time. Four public affairs programs were regularly scheduled
on Saturday mornings — "Environs," "Let's Talk About It,"
"Impact: New Jersey," and "Senators' Report." The Sunday public
affairs schedule was composed again of "F.Y.I." and "Point of View."
Editorials also became a regular part of the program
schedule and were aired at least once a week.
There also were a number of irregular activities that
frequently supplemented the station's news and public affairs
programming. Included in this list were interviews with police,
firemen and public officials in children's shows; films furnished
by outside sources to fill out feature film time periods; and specials
dealing with religion, politics and current events.
There was nothing unusual about the formats of the station's
news and public affairs programs. They were generally designed to present the program content in the most effective manner.
For any television news department to do its job properly and well, reporters must have good equipment and the ability to use it.
A wide variety of equipment is necessary for covering news for television accurately, interestingly and competitively. Station equipment was classified under headings of Non-photographic Equipment, Photographic
Equipment, and Production Equipment.
The Non-photographic Equipment included communications devices such as telephones, police radios, maps, news cars, teletypes, wire copy pegs, news background files, future story file, news script file, typewriters, and tape recorders. 173
Photographie Equipment included a slide camera, silent motion
picture cameras, sound motion picture cameras, processing room, dark
room, art room, film editing, newsfilm file, and slide file.
Production Equipment included a studio, director's room, video tape room, and film room.
The general manager, of course, is responsible for the overall operation of the station including the news and public affairs programs. However, the day-to-day responsibility of judging the content of the newscasts belonged to the news director. Corporate officers also regularly screened the newscasts, and their critiques exerted a major influence on the news effort.
In connection with its public affairs programming, WKBS TV has regularly made time available for the presentation of views relating to significant public issues. The station's allocation of time to such purposes has depended partly on the amount of interest expressed by members of the general public and by community leaders. The station has an established public affairs group consisting of the station's general manager, program manager, and news director. The recommendations of this group were given to program producers to guide them in the selection of guests who discussed the topics of greatest concern to the community. Individual program producers were responsible for the subject and the participants for the programs they produced. Their decisions were reviewed periodically by the public affairs group, and more specifically by the station's program manager. 174
Tlie last half of 1970 and the first half of 1971 was a bad
time for the broadcasting industry. The FCC issued a gloomy report
entitled "T\^ Broadcast Financial Data -- 1970."
Stagnating revenues and rising costs combined to reduce television
profits in 1970. Tlie industry reported revenues of $2.8 billion in 1970,
up only four tenths of one percent from 1969. Industry expenses rose
at a modest rate of 5.0 percent over 1969, apparently reflecting industry
efforts at curtailment. Nevertheless, the industry suffered an 18.0
percent decline in profits to $454 million. ,
With the industry faeing serious economic problems from the
loss of cigarette advertising, a sluggish economy and soaring production
costs, news and public affairs programming became one of the major
casualties in broadcasting across the country. Not only wore news
staffs reduced but the quality of the programs also suffered.
On November 11, 1970, Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation announced
that it was eliminating its news staffs at the four stations where it
had extensive news operations. The group, which had tried for two-and-a-half years to strengthen the position of its UHF stations in Cleveland, Boston,
Philadelphia and Detroit, laid off over 50 news employees and retained only news directors. Richard Block, Vice President and General Manager of Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation, called it a "hiatus" stating that he hoped to revive the news operations when conditions permit.
Kaiser also stated that it had spent over $1.5 million on the news and public affairs effort at WKBS TV over a three-year period.
At the same time the Kaiser stations as a group expended over $6 million on such programming. This expenditure is significant when considering 175
the fact that Kaiser Broadcasting has recorded substantial losses over
the past six years — recently estimated to total around $25 million.
WKBS TV had incurred accumulative losses of $9 m illion by November 1971.
In i t s November 1970 amendment inform ing the FCC o f i t s
"hiatus" decision, Kaiser explained two factors leading to the announce
ment. First, it appears the initial period of loss operation of
independent UHF stations w ill be longer than anticipated — no matter
how a g g r e ssiv e ly programmed and promoted. There are a number o f
causes for this delay in commercial maturation, but Kaiser is inclined
to attribute primary responsibility to the remaining problems in UHF
tuning and receiver antennas. Second, Kaiser stated the national
economy was not growing at a substantial rate (if at a ll), experiencing
both inflation and unemployment. The effects of even small changes
in the general economic climate are felt most sharply by media which
(like independent UHF stations) are not yet fully established as
primary advertising vehicles.
The K aiser amendment made i t c le a r to the FCC th at i t did not
view this as a permanent action.
At present the station's news effort is concentrated in
three areas — "Delaware Valley Today," "A Minute of News," and
"Supplement." "Delaware Valley Today" is a 45-minute news and interview
program broadcast Monday through Friday from 11:15 A.M. to 12:00 Noon.
"A Minute of News" is aired once daily between 3:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M. and is a news feature specially edited for viewing by children.
"Supplement" is a program scheduled on a special basis in prime viewing
hours to elaborate on a major news development. 176
In the public affairs area, the station continues to program
"F.Y.I." and schedule It at the beginning and end of each broadcast
day. "Spotlight" is on a temporary hiatus because of the lack of
production time. Editorials are still a regular part of the station's
public affairs effort. While the remainder of the public affairs programs
carried by the station prior to the "hiatus" have been dropped, a new
program, "Black America: What Now?", has been added to th e sch ed u le.
The program is a half-hour long and Is scheduled In prime time,
10:30 P.M. every Saturday night. Also, a 90-minute weekly public
affairs program, the "Lou Gordon Program," is produced by a Kaiser
sister station, WKBD TV In Detroit, and broadcast by WKBS TV on Sunday
n ig h ts from 10:00 P.M. to 11:30 P.M.
The format for "Delaware V alley Today" Is designed w ith
flexibility In mind. It consists of news and interviews which can be
arranged on short notice to take advantage of the availability of
newsworthy persons and breaking developments. At the same time,
other guests are booked In advance to allow for the Indepth examination
of critical and timely topics. It Is also possible for viewers to
call In their questions over a "Feedback" phone line located In the
s tu d io .
The other news and public affairs programs have standard
formats designed to present the content In the most effective manner.
When the station's news staff was eliminated, most of the equipment was put Into storage for use at the conclusion of the
"hiatus." Presently the news is compiled from news releases, news sources and the United Press International Ihlladelphla-Pennsylvania and New Jersey-National wire services. The station's news director 177
and individual program producers continue to have the day-to-day
responsibility for determining the content of newscasts and public
affairs programs. Corporate officers continue to screen video tapes
of the various programs but not with the same frequency they practiced
prior to the hiatus. Their critiques, now delivered orally over the phone about once a month, s till exert a major influence on the news e f f o r t .
Conclusions
WKBS TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has faced a number of very serious problems in trying to establish a major news and public affairs service. The station's so far unsuccessful effort to achieve this vital and significant goal was summarized at the beginning of the chapter. The purpose of the conclusions of this study is to isolate the problems confronting the station.
The most serious problem is the nature of the animal itself.
UHF television is saddled with a second-class citizenship in broadcasting primarily because of the remaining problems in UHF tuning. It is separate and unequal. Even the partial steps the FCC has taken to meet problems in this sphere w ill not be fully effective as to receivers shipped in in t e r s t a t e commerce u n t il the m iddle o f 1974. The e f f e c t on rec eiv er s in the hands of the public w ill be even slower.
The national economy has proven to be another major stumbling block. The effects of the recent recession are being felt most sharply by independent UHF stations and other media which are not yet fully established as primary advertising vehicles. General economic conditions 178
make it extraordinarily costly to invest substantial liquid resources
in uses which neither produce a present return nor move the Kaiser
stations perceptibly towards a self-sustaining status. This makes it
extremely difficult, if not impossible, to sustain a full-fledged
news and public affairs service when it results in severe losses
and contributes a substantial amount of the station's crippling
loss position.
Compounding these problems is the fact that the independent broadcaster has to build his own schedule by competitively bidding
for many programs and by creating others. There is no big network
feeding large quantities of material down the line. Independent
television is an exciting challenge and can be done successfully.
However, here again the VHF — UHF controversy rears its ugly head.
FCC statistics for 1970 show that only 5 of 48, or 10.4 percent, of the independent UHF stations were profitable — none of which made over $200,000. At the same time, 18 or 29, or 62.1 percent, of the independent VHF stations recorded a profit which in all cases amounted to more than $100,000 with one station exceeding $5 m illion.
By further comparison, 355 of 424, or 83.7 percent, of the network- affiliated VHF stations made a profit — 18 of them reporting earnings of over $5 million. Only 42 of the 98, or 42.9 percent, of the network- affiliated UHF stations were in the profit column with the four biggest moneymakers falling in the $400,000 to $600,000 range.^ The financial
Washington, D.C., Federal Communications Commission, TV Broadcast Financial Data — 1970, Public Notice No. 71434, September 7, 1971, Table 7, p. 10. Also, see Table I, Chapter I, p. 179
evidence clearly points out the end result of the UHF disadvantage which is most serious for an independent UHF station like WKBS TV.
Despite the present serious handicaps, UHF broadcasters are attracting audiences through aggressive programming and promotion.
The October 1971 ARB rating book of the Philadelphia market reported that WKBS TV had reached a new high in cumulative audience — 1,080,000 homes during the average week.^ This means that more than one-million different TV sets were tuned to WKBS TV at some time during the week.
The philosophy that has helped the station achieve these results is "supplemental" and/or "counter programming." For example, if the network-affiliated VHF stations are scheduling adult programs on Sunday mornings. WKBS TV w ill skew its offerings toward the children's audience. When the "V's" are carrying their early evening newscasts, WKBS TV presents entertainment alternatives which according to the October 1971 ARB ratings attracted more of the 18-34 audience than all the news programs except one.^ While successes have been scored, they have never occured on WKBS TV after 9:00 P.M. Solid o ld reruns o f "Perry Mason" and "A lfred H itchcock Presents" and some late movies have attracted viewers and sponsors but nothing as yet has provided a major breakthrough in these prime-time hours for WKBS TV.
2 Peters, G riffin and Woodward Inc., PGW Television Research — WKBS TV/ Philadelphia, November 30, 1971, p. 1.
^WKBS TV, WKBS TV Beats KYW and WCAU in Early Fringe Adults 18-34, November 1971, p. 1. 180
It was hoped the 10:00 P.M. news would turn the trick.
The concept failed because there was never a substantial lead in or
tune in to the program. However, when "The Grant and Grady Ten O'clock
Report" went off the air in November 1970, the program was getting its
strongest ratings.4 The problem was the ratings were not yet high
enough to generate the necessary revenue to cover the costs of the
news operation. In fact, the revenue fell far short as indicated
by the following financial statement issued shortly before the
cu tb ack .5
September
1970 1969
News Department Costs $23,837 $19,974 Net Revenues 3,560 1,500
Nine Months
1970 1969
News Department Costs $219,068 $265,075 Net Revenues 24,930 13,550
4 S. Mort Rosenman, WKBS News, A Memo to the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Vice President from the former WKBS TV Program Manager, June 30, 1970, p . 1.
Carlo Anneke, News Revenue Report for September, A Memo to the WKBS TV News Director from the former WKBS TV General Manager, October 15, 1970, p. 1. 181
1968
ARB NSI METRO RIG SU IIH ADULTS METRO RTG SH HH ADULTS MAY 10-llPM, M-F 1 1 14 21 1 1 14 21 JULY lO-llRI, M-F 1 3 21 31 N0 RATI NG OCTOBER __ 1 0 -1 0 :3 0 PM, M-SUN 13 20 1 2 18 29 NOVEMBER 1 0 -1 0 :3 0 E l, M-SUN 1 1 20 27 1 2 13 23 DECEMBER 1 0 -1 0 :3 0 E l, M-SUN 1 2 22 47
-
1969
A R B N S I METRO RIG SH HH ADULTS METRO RTG SH HH ADULTS JANUARY 1 0 -1 0 :3 0 E l, M-SUN 2 3 25 37 1 1 12 20 FEBRUARY-M.YRCH 1 0 -1 0 :3 0 E l, M-SUN 1 2 25 35 1 2 21 32 APRIL 1 0 -1 0 :3 0 E l, M-SUN N 0 R A T I N G 1 2 22 31 MAY 10-10:30 El, M-F 1 1 15 16 1 2 23 38 JULY-AUGUST _ 10-10:30 El, M-F 2 4 29 40 1 11 18 OCTOBER 10-10:30 El, M-F 1 1 14 17 1 2 24 40 NOVEMBER _ 10-10:30 El, M-F 1 2 9 13 2 3 DECEMBER 10-10:30 El, M-F 1 2 15 22
1970
ARB NSI METRO RTG SH HH ADULTS METRO RTG SH HH ADULTS JANUARY 1 0 -1 0 :3 0 E l, M-F 1 2 19 27 1 1 15 21 FEBRUARY--MrYRCH 1 0 -1 0 :3 0 ET, M-F 1 1 19 29 1 2 20 29 APRIL 1 0 -1 0 :3 0 E l, M-F N 0 R A T I N G 2 3 33 56 MAY 10-10:30 El, M-F 2 3 29 37 2 4 39 58 JULY 1 0 -1 0 :3 0 E l. M-F 2 3 28 38 2 3 37 57 182
News costs w ill continue to be a problem and a very important
consideration in any future plans concerning news and public affairs
programming. Tlic expenditures were reduced sharply to the bare minimum
to allow for the concentration of resources on the task of making the
stations viable enterprises. Tlie station's target budget for news for
the entire year of 1972 has been set at only $48,000.^ While the
reasons for paring the news budget are understandable and justifiable,
the lack of money imposes tremendous lim itations in covering the news
for television. Tlie most serious shortcomings are the absence of
reporters, technical staff and newsfilm to cover stories. Very
careful planning will be required before a decision is made to end
the "hiatus."
While the "supplemental" and/or "counter programming"
philosophy has been and is being used successfully in much of the
station's schedule, it was unsuccessfully attempted in connection with
the 10:00 P.M. news effort. The newscast was scheduled at 10:00 P.M.
opposite the network-affiliated "v's" major entertainment programs.
While that certainly qualifies as "counter programming," it was not
"supplemental." "The Grant and Grady Ten O'clock Report" developed
into a program with a format similar to the newscasts on the "v's"
and basically covered the same stories in the same way without the
advantages of network news feeds. Perhaps if "The Grant and Grady
Ten o'clock Report" had been different, i.e. "supplemental," it may have attracted a larger audience. Another major problem will be to
6 WKBS TV, WKBS TV Target 1972 -- New General, March 9, 1972 p. 1. See Appendix F. pp. 183
design a news program that is different from the standard fare in
Philadelphia. It w ill have to be important and meaningful enought to
cause of large number of viewers to turn it on regardless of what is
being programmed on the other channels.
Public affairs prograiiuring will continue to suffer until
the station's news staff is built up again. Without sufficient
personnel, public affairs programming will necessarily continue to
be limited. Audience levels of current public affairs programs are
very low. Ibe public affairs effort will only be viable as an adjunct
to a successful news department.
The station now provides only a minimal news and public
affairs service. However, despite its financial and personnel
limitations, the station is attempting to do a rather extensive job.
The "Supplement" series in prime time is a good example of the extra
effort under the present dire circumstances.
The extensive examination of Philadelphia and the surrounding
Delaware Valley in Chapter II clearly points out that the problems of this highly populated region are very serious and complex. The huge urban areas and suburbs are flirting with disaster and chaos unless something is done to answer the many needs. Philadelphia television is only superficially attempting to serve the "public interest, convenience and necessity" of the large Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. Much more could and should be done.
Also, it cannot be overlooked that a station's news and public affairs programming has a lot to do with creating a strong local image 184
of maturity for a broadcaster, a very important consideration for a young and struggling television station.
Given all the existing circumstances, WKBS IV is capable of stepping in and filling the void in television service to the Phila delphia Metropolitan Area. Based on the material presented in this study, it is now possible to make workable recommendations; recommendations that avoid cluttering the issue with "pie in the sky" ideas. ITiis researcher w ill present a plan of how WKBS TV, and independent UHF television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, can establish a major news and public affairs service to better serve the "public interest, convenience and necessity." 185
Recommendations
This researcher envisions a news program with a tried and true
format similar to the NBC television network's "Today" show. Despite
the fa c t th at is is scheduled from 7:00 A.M. to 9:00 A.M., "Today"
reaches some seven-million viewers daily.^ In Philadelphia, the May
1972 ARB ra tin g book estim a tes th at "Today" reaches an average
131,000 households w ith 171,000 view ers midway throught the program
each morning.8
The Wall Street Journal reported the program is sold out
four months in advance at $11,000 per commercial minute, and that:
"Today" generates some $23 m illion in revenues each year. And although NBC won't discuss its profitability, it's known that the show is one of the three top moneymakers at the network. ("Tonight" and "NBC Nightly News" are the other two. But NBC declines to say which of the three brings in the greatest revenues.)
The average "Today" view er. . .tends to be m id d le-ages, middle-class, middle-income, and very involved in local p olitics.9
The potential immediate audience, therefore, can be expected to
include the area's "influence leaders," perhaps the most important
group of people who watch newscasts. An early concession w ill have
to be made on the part of management not to go after the lowest common
denominator to bring in the highest rating or the endeavor w ill be
^W. Stewart Pinkerton Jr., "TV's Eye-Opener." The Wall Street Journal, March 9 , 1971, p. 1.
g American Research Bureau Inc., Audience Estimates in the Philadelphia ARB Television Market, May 1972. ^W. Stewart Pinkerton Jr., "TV's Eye-Opener." The Wall Street Journal, March 9 , 1971, p“. 1.
1 0 Ib id . 186
lost. The station should specifically go after the "influence leaders"
in promotion. If the program is good enough and veil done, others
will soon join the audience. Tlie key is to think up, not down.
Tlie "Today" show is a tremendous success story, especially in
view of its early morning hours. Even though "Today" has been on the
air for 20 years, its formate continues to have the flexibility that
is needed to present a wide range of news and cultural material.
A similar program carried in prime time would have the opportunity to
attract a much larger audience and have a much greater impact. The
evidence is clear there is an audience for this kind of program.
The WKBS T\^ news program, perhaps entitled "M egalopolis," would at first be scheduled from 10:00 P.M. to 11:30 P.M. <^n M nday through
Friday, Eventually, it might be expanded to midnight and/or extended to cover Sunday and maybe even Saturday night. Sunday night is more important because there are no evening newspapers while Saturday is traditionally a night for entertainment and for going out. The basic format of "Megalopolis" would be similar to a 90-minute "Today" show.
However, this researcher would add numerous innovations which w ill be discussed shortly.
Although this study established the need for this kind of locally originated program in Philadelphia, none of the television stations is doing one. "Megalopolis" would provide the time necessary to adequately supplement the present news sources in Philadelphia with meaningful, indepth treatment of the news. Here's an example of how the "Today" show makes it work. 187
Each one-hour segment of "Today" contains about 12 minutes of news and weather, an average of three interviews, perhaps a film interview by Judith Crist, a news feature by reporter-at-large Paul Cunningham, or a tour through an art museum by Aline Saarinen. Entertainment is limited to performers not regularly seen on television.
(Viewers) get the news and weather from Frank Blair, thoughtful topical discussions by host (Frank McGee who has replaced Hugh Downs since this article v;as written), and often-provocative interviews by Barbara Walters and Joe Garagiola. "Today's" varied guests have included Dean Ruck, Pablo Casals, Willy Brandt, Mickey Mantle and Prince Philip.
The station's commitment would have to allow "Megalopolis"
the time, perhaps a couple of years, to grow and build its reputation
as an important clearinghouse of political and cultural ideas. With
the proper commitment, "Megalopolis" could develop into the most
influential weeknight program in Philadelphia.
Tlie UHF tuning problem cannot stand in the way. Building an audience now is vital to the survival of the station and UHF television.
Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation, generally considered UHF's m ain benefactor, must continue to pressure for UHF tuning improvements.
There are some strong signs the national economy is imporving so that possibly it may be lessened as a serious problem in the foreseeable future.
Since WKBS TV is an independent station, it has the freedom to place the program in prime time. A network affiliation would be a handicap in this instance. 188
Tlie successful development of this kind of program would not
only better serve the "public interest, convenience and necessity," it
would also be an answer in the long run to the station's prime-time
problems. Tue success of a "Merv G riffin" program, which was added to
the schedule in April 1972 and is enjoying modest ratings in prime time
(8:30 P.M. to 10:00 P.M.) as of May 1972, represents a short term
benefit because it lasts only as long as the show is popular, A news
program would have greater staying power once developed. However, a
successful "Merv G riffin" program would provide an excellent leadin
to a news program because of their similar demographics.
On the the most crucial considerations in ending the "hiatus"
and launching another major news and public affairs service at IfKBS TV
would necessarily have to be budgetary matters.
Tlie costs could be held dowm because a large portion of the
program would be done in the studio. There would be no need for numerous
film crews roaming the area shooting everything that happens or is said.
During the previous newjs effort, the station attempted to cover far too many news stories on film. It is a costly practice that leads to airing
a lost of short, superficially covered news developments. Since
"Megalopolis" would have only three five-minute newscasts within the
90-minute format, it would be sufficient in launching the program to restrict coverage of major spot news to silent film. Tîto p h o to
technicians in separate cars could handle the job. 189
National visual material for the newscasts could be supplied
by either UPI or AP facsimile machines which send still pictures of major
stories from all over the world with less delay than network film
crews. A series of pictures can often be used to create motion.
A two-man crew would do the filming for investigative and
indepth reports. An investigative reporter would be responsible for
turning out the best possible mini-documentaries.
A combination graphics/film editor would be needed to prepare
the visual material for the boradcast.
An executive producer and an assistant producer would
coordinate the booking and scheduling of guests and would plan
the program.
There would be three main on-air people, preferable two men and a woman. The talent must do their own research to make the interviews and studio presentation as interesting and meaningful as possible, contribute their ideas for the program's content, cover news and other events which they w ill be discussing, and help gather pictorial material about their subjects.
Another on-air persons would write and anchor the newscasts.
Earlier in the day he would double as a producer and assignment editor.
The investigative reporter could from time-to-time join the panel on the air. Special talent arrangements might also be made with outside film and art critics and other authorities to occasionally participate on the program. 190
Since the proposal includes a 12 member staff, only 75
percent as large as the previous news department, the basic budget
should not be higher than it was for the "Grant and Grady Ten O'clock
Report." And the service would also provide 90 minutes of local
programming which would eliminate the cost of buying programming for
that time from outside sources. The proposed department of 12 is
sufficient to launch the "Megalopolis" program but it certainly should
be considered the absolute minimum number of personnel needed and
under no circumstances the maximum.
This researcher further recommends that "Megalopolis"
should become, at least initially, the entire local news and public
affairs service of WKBS T\h It would amount to 90 minutes each
weeknight or seven-and-a-half hours a week. While this constitutes
a drastic action, it permits the limited staff to concentrate on the
major service. It was pointed out earlier in the study that most public
affairs programs on WKBS TV, as well as the other stations, attract
a very small or negligible audience. Rather than diffuse the effort into
a lot of relatively meaningless programs, the station would be able
to maximize its resources to better serve the "public interest, con
venience and necessity." Both the station and the audience should greatly benefit from such a move.
Many lessons can be learned from the past efforts and mistakes.
Tliat, in part, is the rason for this study which is designed to provide a record and analysis of the past and present to aid in construction a meaningful model for the future. 191
A serious shortcoming of the previous news attempt was the
failure of the individual Kaiser stations to capitalize on the
advantage of belonging to a large group of stations. Very seldom
were major newsfilm stories exchanged among the stations. Tliis is
inexcusable. Probably a large part of the problem stemmed from the
lack of a corporate news director; the remainder of the problem was
the lack of local initiative and cooperation.
This researcher strongly recommends the appointment of a
corporate news director to oversee any new news and public affairs
service. KTiile the corporate vice president and general manager
displayed a great deal of understanding of news and public affairs
programs, concepts and problems, it is impossible for a person with
overall corporate responsibilities to devote the proper time and attention to the news effort. The corporate news director should report directly to the corporate vice president and general manager and should be empowered to make decisions concerning the various stations’ news operations. He should be based at one of the eastern stations where five of the Kaiser properties are located instead of
Oakland at the Kaiser Broadcasting headquarters there there is only one station.
It is further recommended that the "Megalopolis" concept be adopted by all Kaiser stations and that a corporate news staff be formed comprised of a national assignment editor, a secretary, two national film crews and two national reporters. The assignment editor should be based at the same station as the corporate news director and 192
would supervise the activities of the two national crews as well as
the exchange of newsfilm stories among the stations. Newsfilm stories
would range from spot news to indepth studies of major problems which
need universal understanding. The national editor would also seek
to obtain film of other important developments from stations and/or
sources outside the Kaiser group. Tlie secretary's responsibilities would include coordination of film and tape distribution.
Tlie national crews should be based at different stations --
one in Philadelphia, the other in Chicago. From these locations,
the crews would be dispatched by the national editor to cover specific assignments including major spot stories with national implications and/or, more importantly, investigative, interpretive, indepth studies about facets of our life that need explanation and understanding. The national assignments should be of interest, importance and relevance to all markets.
The corporate news director would critique the "Megalopolis" programs at all Kaiser stations. Theses reviews should be done by visiting the stations where the programs are produced. This researcher belives the technique employed in conducting past critiques, some of which are reporduced in Chapter IV, was ineffective and could be detrimental. The critiques were carried out in an office across country by watching video tapes of newscasts far removed from the context in which the programs were developed. The newscasts were also measured by what the local newspapers were carrying and reporting.
It was policy to send the papers along with the tapes. Tliat is 193
an unhealthy comparison, Tlie "Megalopolis" concept is to develop the
coverage and stories as WKBS TV and tlie other Kaiser stations view the
needs and interests of their areas, not as they are seen by the
newspapers or other stations. Certainly, there are stories each day
that all media report. But, again, the "Megalopolis" concept is to do
much more than simply tell the news. "Megalopolis" cannot be hindered
and held back by comparisons with w'hat others are doing. Tliose
constant comparisons are breeding the sterile, sameness in Philadelphia
television news.
With the large amount of "in studio" discussion and interview
that is a vital part of the "Megalopolis" concept, talent selection is
extremely important. The on-air people must be personable, intelligent
and communicative. Past critiques put too much stress on such things as
ties and hairstyles. While these are concerns, they are not nearly as
crucial for this kind of program, as the other qualities. Ties and
hairstyles can be changed, the other attributes cannot.
All that has been discussed in this section up to this point
is necessary to provide a strong backbone for the kTCBS TV news and
public affairs service, i.e., "Megalopolis." It undoubtedly would
represent a major effort; it would be scheduled in prime time when it
is convenient for a large audience to watch; and it would provide a
format with the freedom to better serve the "public interest, convenience,
and necessity."
Tliis researcher has maintained throughout the study, and in
particular in Chapter II, that the public's interests and needs are not being met in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, or at best only 194
superficially, llie Communications Act of 1934 requires that this be
done. "Megalopolis" is geared to lead the way to better service and in
the process should earn WKBS TV a strong, local identity.
The discussion and interview segments of "Megalopolis"
should feature live guests who are making news, debates, explanations
and demonstrations, ethnic and cultural groups that are frequently
ignored, commentaries and interpretation, audience participation
through on-air appearances, phone calls and mail.
"Megalopolis" could feature a problem of the night, perhaps called HELP. A brief interview at the beginning of the program would set the stage. ITie experts and/or public officials would then move
"off camera" to another part of the studio to take viewer phone calls.
Tlie activity could be shov.’n periodically "on air," the problem mentioned, the number flashed. "Megalopolis" would make it easier for the viewer to get in contact with the experts and cut the red tape to officialdom.
It would be possible to summarize what has been discussed with the viewers from time to time. HELP problems could range from those as serious as health and housing to golf or movies.
"Megalopolis" could conduct public affairs or current events tests on forms available to viewers by writing the station or picking them up at a sponsoring bank or other business establishment. The viewer must know the key word mentioned each night and, of course, the answers to the questions. TEST might help stimulate the audience to pay more attention to what is going on. Prizes could be given to the person or persons with the most correct answers and the earliest post mark. Or, TEST answers could be called in. 195
"Megalopolis" could feature its o \m POLL. The s t a t i o n w ould
enter into an agreement with a professional pollster who would conduct
a survey each night on a major issue confronting the Philadelphia
Metropolitan Area. POLL would become a newsmaker itself, Tlie issue
would be discussed at the beginning of the program and occasionally
repeated. A random phone sample would be made and by the end of
the program the findings would be reported and interpreted. This is
an alternative to instant analysis. The nightly POLL could be
summarized, printed and distributed to help promote the service.
Additionally, WKBS TV could consider publishing a weekly
m ailer summarizing the "Megalopolis" POLL, HELP, TEST and any major
investigative reports. Sponsors might help defray the costs and want
to send the material to their customers or prospective customers.
"Megalopolis" could include T\^ reviews, which few television stations seem to do, along with book and movie reviews.
The audience should be able to pick guests. Tliey would be encouraged to write and/or the station could periodically open a phone line during the program for this purpose.
In fact, a SUGGESTION BOX could become a regular part of
"Megalopolis." Again, a phone number would be set up for the viewers to call. Tliis service would be performed "off camera" but occasionally show n.
The "Megalopolis" concept is to get the viewers directly involved and to feel apart of the program. Secretarial help would be required.
A segment of "Megalopolis" could also be set aside to honor 196
positive action. Credit is not often enough passed out to the deserving;
a lot of good deeds go unnoticed. Positive contributions can be
every bit as interesting and exciting as the depraved behavior that
frequently makes the news.
It is recommended that a promotion person be assigned full
time to handle "Megalopolis." He or she would be faced with a tremendous
challenge to tell the story of all that would be done on that program.
The program's importance and the time, effort and money invested in it
would justify the action.
Implementing these recommendations will not be an easy task
and should not be done all at once. Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation w ill have to determine when and in what order the stations would adopt
the "Megalopolis" program. A schedule of implementation whould be
drawn up and the formation of the corporate news staff begun. Full
consideration should be given to inaugerating "Megalopolis" by the
Fall of 1973. That allows one year for further planning and time for
the stations to improve their economic health. This is how WKBS T\^ can establish a major news and public affairs service to better serve
the "public interest, convenience and necessity. APPENDIX A
197 1 9 8
Addrc<:s bv Vlr.c PrrniHont: Spiro At',new, Mitlvr'.qt riotrionnl RopiiMi.c.in Conii-ii.L L c;c Meet In;; :i
Tonl;;lil; I want to discuss the importance of the television news medium to the American people, ho nation depends more on the intelligent judgment of its citixcns. ho medium has a more profound influence over public opinion. Nowhere in our system arc there fewer checks on vast power. So, nowhere should there be more conscientious respon sibility exercised than by the news media. Ihe question is...arc wc demanding enough of our television news presentations? ...And, arc the men of this medium demanding enough of themselves?
Monday night, a week ago. President Nixon delivered the most important address of liis Administration, one of the most important of our decade. His subject v;as Vietnam. His hope was to rally the American people to see the conflict through to a lasting and just peace in the Pacific. For thirty-two minutes, he reasoned with a nation that has suffered almost a third of a million casualties in the longest war in its history.
l.Ticn the President completed his address -- an address that he spent weeks in preparing -- his v.’ords and policies were subjected to instant analysis and querulous criticism. The audience of seventy million Americans — gathered to liear the President of the United States -- was inherited by a small band of network commentators and self-appointed analysts, the majority of whom expressed, in one way or another, their hostility to what he had to say.
It was obvious that their minds were made up in advance. Tliose who recall the fumbling and groping that followed President Johnson's dramatic disclosure of his intention not to seek reelection have seen these men in a genuine state on non-preparedness. 'Iliis was not it.
One commentator twice contradicted the President's statement about the exchange of correspondence with Ho Ci Minh. Another challenged the President's abilities as a politician. A third asserted that the President was now "following the Pentagon line." Others, by the expressions on their faces, the tone of their questions, and the sarcasm of their responses, made clear their sharp disapproval.
To guarantee in advance that the President's plea for national unity would be challenged, one network trotted out Averall Harriman for the occasion. Throughout the President's address he waited in the wings. Wlien the President concluded, Mr. Harriman recited perfectly. He attacked
U.S. Congressional Record. Vol. 115, November 13, 1959, No. 187. 199
tlic Tliicii Government as unrepresentative; he criticized the President's speecli for various deficiencies; he twice issued a call to the Senate: Foreign Relations Committee to debate Vietnam once a;.; a in ; lie stated his belief that the Viet Cong or '■îorth Vietnamese, did not really want a military take-over of South Vietnam; he told a little anecdote about a "very, very responsible" fellow he had met in the h'orth Vietnamese dclei;ation.
All in a ll, Mr. Harriman offered a broad range of gratuitieus advice -- challenging and contradicting the policies outlined by the President of the United States. Where tiie President had issued a call for unity, Mr. Harrim.an was encouraging the country not to listen to him.
A W’ord about Mr. Harriman. For ton montlis he was America's chief negotiator at the Paris Peace Tall;s -- a period in whicli the United States swapped some of the greatest military concessions in the history of warfare for an enemy agreement on the shape of a bargaining table. Like Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, Mr. Harrir.:an seems to be under some heavy compulsion to justify his failures to anyone who will listen. Tlie networks have shown themselves willing to give him all the air time he desires.
Every American has a right to disagree with the President of the United States, and to express publicly that disagreement.
But the President of the United States has a right to communicate directly witli the people who elected him, and the people of this country have the right to make up their own minds and form their oivn opinions about a Presidential address i.’ithout having the President's words and thoughts characterized through the prejudices of Iiostilo critics before they can even be digested. When Winston Churchill rallied public opinion to stay the course against H itler's Germany, he did not have to contend with a gaggle of commentators raising doubts about whether he was reading public opinion right, or whether Britain had the stamina to see the war tlirougb. Wlien President Kennedy rallied the Nation in the Cuban Missile Crisis, his address to the people was not chewed over by a round-table of critics v.’ho disparaged the course of action he had asked America to follow.
The purpose of my remarks tonight is to focus your attention on this little group of men who not only enjoy a right of instant rebuttal to every Presidential address, but more importantly, wield a free hand in selecting, presenting and interpreting the great issues of our Nation.
First, let us define that power. At least forty million Americans eacli night, it is estimated, watch the netn;ork news. Seven million of them view ABC; the remainder being divided between NBC and CBS. According to Harris polls and other studies, for millions of Americans tlie networks are the sole source of national and world news. 2 0 0
In Will Horrors' obyervation, v.'lint you knew was what you read in the iiev.'spaper. 'J'oday, for f;rov;inr; millions of Americans, it is what they see and hear on their television sets.
llov; is the network news determined? A small group of men, numbering perliaps no more than a doacn "anchormen," commentators and executive jiroJucers, settle u|)on the 20 minutes or so of film and commentary that is to reacli the public. Ibis selection is made from the 90 to 100 minutes that r,ay be available, llicj.r powers of choice are broad. 'Jhey decide what forty to fifty million .Vnericans will learn of the day's events in the Nation and the world.
We cannot measure this power and influence by traditional democratic standards for these men can create national issues over night. They can make or break -- by their coverage and commentary — a Moratorium on the war. lliey can elevate men from local obscurity to national projninence within a week. Tliey can reward some politicans with national exposure and ignore others. For millions of Americans, the network reporter who covers a continuing issue, like A I'M or Civil Rights, becomes in effect, the presiding judge in a national trial by jury.
It must be recognixed that the networks have made important contributions to the national knowledge. Through news, documentaries and specials, they liavc often used their power constructively and creatively to awaken the public conscience to critical problems.
Tlie networks made "hunger" and "black lung" disease national issues overnight. The IT netv;orks have done what no other medium could liave done in terms of dramatizing the horrors of war. The networks have tackled our most difficult social problems i/ith a directness and immediacy that is tlie gift of their medium. Tliey have focused the nation's attention on its environmental abuses.... on pollution in the Great Lakes and the tlu'catcucd ecology of the Everglades.
But it was also the networks that elevated Stokcly Carmichael and George Lincoln Roclewel] from obscurity to national prominence.. .nor is their power confined to the substantive.
A raised eyebrow, an inflection of the voice, a caustic remark dropped in the middle of a broadcast can raise doubts in a million minds about the veracity of a public official or the wisdom of a government policy.
One Federal Communications Commissioner considers the power of the networks to equal that of local, state and federal governments combined. Certainly, it represents a concentration of power over American public opinion unknown in history. 2 0 1
Of the men vlio produce and direct the network news -- tiie nation knows practically no ill in;;. Of the commentators, most Americans know little , other than that they reflect an urbane and assured presence, seemingly well informed on every important matter.
Ne do know that, to a man, these commentators and producers live and work nr tlie geographical and intellectual confines of Washington, b.C. or New Yorl; City -- the latter of vdiich James Res ton terms the "most unrepreac-ntative community in the entire United States." Both communities bask in tlieir on provincialism, their own parochialism We can deduce that these men thus read the same newspapers, and draw their political and social views from the same sources. Worse, they talk constantly to one anotlier, thereby providing a rtificial reinforcement to their shared viewpoints.
Do they allow their biases to influence the selection and presentation of the news? David Brinkley states,"objectivity is impossible to normal human benavior." Rather, he says, we should strive for "fairness."
Another anchorman on a network news shows contends: "You can't expunge all your private convictions just because you sit in a scat like this and a camera starts to stare at you... I thirl; your program has to reflect what your basic feelings arc. I'll plead guilty to that."
Less than a week before the 1968 election, this same commentator charged that President Nixon's campaign commitments were no more durable than campaign balloons. Ke claimed that, v;ere it not for fear of a hostile reaction, Richard Nixon would bo giving into, and I quote the commentator, "His natural instinct to smash the enemy vjith a club cr go after him with a meat axe."
Had this slander been made by one political candidate about another, it would have been dismissed by most commentators as a partisan assault. But this attack emanated from the privilcgcc sanctuary of a network studio and therefore had the apparent dignity of an objective statement.
The American people would rightly not tolerate this kind of concentration of power in government. Is it not fair and relevant to question its concentration in the hands of a tiny and closed fraternity of privileged men, elected by no one, and enjoying a nonopoly sanctioned and licensed by government?
'flic views of this fraternity do not represent the views of America. That is why such a great gulf existed between how the nation received the President's address — and how the networks reviewed it. 2 0 2
As vjîth other American institutions, perhaps it is time that the networks were mnclc more responsive to the views of the nation and more responsible to the people tlicy servo,
I am not asking for government censorship or any other kind of censors! I ip. 7. am asking whether a form of censorship already exists when the news that forty million Americans receive each night is dctoriiiine.d by a hantlful of men responsible only to their corporate employers and filtered tlirough a handful of commentators who admit to their own set of biases.
Tlie questions I am raising here tonight should have been raised by otlicrs long ago. They should have been raised by those Americans who have traditionally considered the preservation of freedom of speech and freedom of the press their special provinces of responsiliility and concern. Tliey should have been raised by those Americans who share the view of the late Justice Learned Hand that "right conclusions are more likely to be gathered out of a multitude of tongues than through any kind of authoritative selection."
Advocates for the networks have claimed a first amendment right to the same unlimited freedoms held by the great newspapers of America.
Tlie situations are not identical. Mi ere the Keiv York Times reaches 800,000 people, NBC reaches twenty times that number with its evening news. Nor can the tremendous impact of seeing television film and hearing commentary be compared with reading the printed pnge.
A decade ago, before the network news acquired such dominance over public opinion, Walter Lippman spoke to the issue: "Ihere is an essential and radical difference," he stated, "bcti.ccn television and printing... the three or four competing television stations control virtually all that can be received over tlio air by ordinary television sets. But besides the mass circulation dailies, tliere are the wecUies, the monthlies, the out-of-towm newspapers, and books. If a man does not like his newspaper, he can read anotlier from out of town, or wait for a weekly news magazine. It is not ideal. But it is infinitely better than the situation in television. Tliere, if a man does not like what the networks offer him, all he can do is turn them off, and listen to a phonograph."
"Networks," he stated," which are few in number, have a virtual monopoly of a whole medium of communication." The newspapers of mass circulation have no monopoly of the medium of print.
"A virtual monopoly of a whole medium of communication" is not something a democratic people should blithely ignore. 203
And v.’c are not Roi.nr, to cut off our tclevicion sets and listen to the ptionograpii because Liic air waves do not belong to the netvjorks; they belong to the people.
As Justice Eyron b'liite wrote in his landmark opinion six inontlis ago, "It is the riglit of the viewers and listeners, not the riglit of the broadcasters, which is paramout."
It is argued that this power presents no danger in the hands of those who have used it responsibly.
But as to wliether or not the networks have abused the power (hoy enjoy, let us call as our firs t witnesses, former Vice President Humidirey and the City of CIvicngo.
According to Tlieodore H. kdiite,television's intercutting of the film from the streets of Chicago with the "current proceed ings on the floor of the convention created the most striking and false political picture of 1968 - the nomination of a man for the American Presidency by the brutality and violence of merciless police,"
If wc are to believe a recent report of the House Commerce Committee, then television's presentation of the violence in the streets worked an injustice on the reputation of the Chicago police.
According to the Committee findings, one network in parti cular presented "a one-sided picture which in large measure exonerates the demonstrators and protestors." Film of provocations of police tliat was available never saw the light of day, wiiile the film of the police response which the protestors provoked was shown to millions.
Another network showed virtually the same scene of violence - from three separate angles - without making clear it was the same scene.
While the full report is reticent in drawing conclusions, it is not a document to inspire confidence in the fairness of the network news.
Our knowledge of the impact of network news on the national mind is far from complete. But some early returns are available. Again, we have enough information to raise serious questions about its effect on a democratic society. 204
Several years ago, Fred Friendly, one of the pioneers of network news, wrote tlint its r.issing ingredients were "conviction, controversy and a point of view." 'Ihe networks have compensated witli a vengeance.
And in the networks' endless pnrsuit of controversy, we should ask what is the end value...to enlighten or to profit? hliat is the end re su lt...to inform or to confuse? How does the on-going exploration for more action, more excitement, more drama, serve our national search for internal peace and stability?
Gresham's law seems to be operating the network news.
Bad news drives out good news. Tlie. irrational is more controversial than the rational. Concurrence can no longer compete with dissent. One minute of Fldridge Cleaver is worth ten minutes of Roy Wilkins. Trie labor crisis settled at the negotiating table is nothing compared to the confrontation that results in a strike - or, better yet, violence along the picket line. Normality has become the nemesis of the evening news.
Tlie upshot of all this controversy is that a narrow and distorted picture of America single dramatic piece of the mosaic becomes, in the minds of millions, the whole picture. Ihe American wlio relics upon television for his noi7s might conclude that the majority of American students are embittered radicals, that the majority of black Americans feel ho regard for their country ; that violence and lawlessness are the rule, rather than the exception, on the /unerican campus. None of these conclusions is true.
Television may have destroyed the olds stereotypes - but has it not created new ones in their place?
Wliat has this passionate pursuit of "controversy" done to the politics of progress through logical compromise, essential to the functioning of a democratic society?
The members of Congress or the Senate who follow their principles and p]iilosop!iy quietly in a spirit of compromise are unknown to many Americans - while the loudest and most extreme dissenters on every issue are known to every man in the street.
How many marches and demonstrations would wc have if the marchers did not know that the cvcr-faithful TV cameras would be there to record their antics for the next news show.
We have, heard demands that Senators and Congressmen and Judges make known all tlieir financial connections - so that the public \;ill know who and what influences their decisions or votes. Strong arguments can be made for that view. But when e single 205
coimnentnüor or producer, iiigliL alter night, determines for millions of pcojîlc hov; nuicli of eacli side of a great issue they are going to see and hear; sliould he not first disclose his personal views on the issue as well?
In this search for excitement and controversy, has more tlian equal time gone to that minority of Americans who specialise in at(:ac!:ing the United States, its institutions and its citisens?
Tonight, I have raised questions. I Iiavc made no attempt to suggest answers. These answers must come from the media men. They arc challenged to turn their critical powers on themselves. They are challenged to direct their energy, talent and conviction toward improving the quality and objectivity of news presentation. They arc challenged to structure their own civic ethics to relate their great freedom witli their great responsibility.
And the people of America are challenged too.. . challenged to press for responsible new’s presentations. The people can let the networks know that they want their ncv.’s straight and objective. Tlic people can register their complaints on bias through mail to the networks and phone calls to local stations. This is one case where the people must defend themselves.. .where the citizen - not government - must be the reformer. . .where the consumer can be the most effective crusader.
By way of conclusion, let me say that every elected leader in the United States depends on these men of the media, khether what I have said to you tonight will be heard and seen at all by the nation is not jw decision; it is not your decision; it is their decis ion.
In tomorrow's edition of the Dos Moines Register you will be able to read a news story detailing what I said tonight; editorial comment will be reserved for the editorial page, where it belongs. Should not the same wall of separation exist between news and confient on the nation's networks.
We would never trust such power over public opinion in the hands of an elected government - it is time we questioned it in the hands of a small and un-elccted elite. Tiie great networks have dominated America's ain/avcs for decides; the people are en titled to a full accounting of stewardship. 2 0 6
A EC : Leonard H. Golclon a on
In our jiidr.nicnt, the performanco of ADC nows lins always been and will continue to bo fair and objective. In the final analysis, it is always tlie public \.iio decides on the reliability of any individual or organisation. Ve v.’ill continue to report the news accurately and fully, confident in the ultimate judgment of the American public.
CBS : Dr. Frank Stanton
No American institution, including network news organi zations, should be immune to public criticism or to public discussion of its performance. In a democracy this is entirely proper. Wc do not believe, however, that this unprecedented attempt by the Vice President of the United States to intimidate a news medium which depends for its existence upon government licenses represents legitimate criticism. Tlie public, according to opinion polls, has indicated again and again that it has more confidence in the credibility of television news than in that of any other news medium.
Our newsmen have many times earned commendations for their enterprise and for their adherence to the highest professional standards. Since human beings are not infallible, there are bound to be occasions when their judgment is questioned.
Wliatever their deficiencies, they are minor compared to those of a press which would be subservient to the executive power of government.
NBC : Julian Goodman
Vice President Agnew's attack on television nows is an appeal to prejudice. More importantly, Mr. Agnew uses the influence of his high office to criticize the way a government-licensed news medium covers the activities of government itself. Any fair-minded viewer knows that the television netiv-orks are not devoted to putting across a single point of view but present all significant views on issues of importance.
It is regrettable that the Vice President of the United States would deny to television freedom of the press.
Evidently, he would prefer a différend kind of television 207
reporting - one tliat would be subservient to vjhatevor political group was in autliority at the time.
Til ose who might feel momentary agreement with his remarks should think carefully whether that kind of television news is what they want.
2 Survey of Broadcast Journalism 1969-1970 p. 139. APPENDIX B
208 209
PHILADELPHL\ AREA AUDIENCE SURVEY
Composition
E’KBS T\' Is licensed to Burlington, Burlington County, New
Jersey, but it is physically located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In addition to serving its city of license, WKBS TV provides service
generally to the Philadelphia Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area
(SMSA). Ihe area consists of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Mongtomery
and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; and Burlington, Camden
an d G lo u c e s t e r C o u n tie s i n New J e r s e y . ^
In setting out to identify the problems, needs and interests
of the station's service area, this researcher developed the plan and
directed WKBS T\^ management personnel who interviewed selected community
leaders. A sample survey of the general public was also commissioned
to be carried out by a private research firm.
Community Leaders' Survey
To identify community leaders for the purpose of conducting
interviews, this researcher first determined the demographic and economic
composition of Burlington and the Philadelphia SMSA. The purpose of
this analysis was to identify significant interests and population subgroups within the general population.
1 "Forward," Greater Philadelphia Facts, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, 1959, p. 3. 210
In determining significant interests and population subgroups,
this researcher gathered available demographic information on the City
of Burlington; on the area known generally as South Jersey, comprising
Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties; on the City of
Philadelphia, and its surrounding suburban area including the counties
of Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Cloucester, and Montgomery.
Attention was also given to the City of Wilmington, Delaware, as
well as New Castle County, Delaware, in which Wilmington is located.
Sources consulted in compiling this demographic information
in c lu d e d :
1970 C ensus of Population, G en er al Population Characteristics of Pennsylvania
1970 C ensus o f Population, General Ponulation Characteristics of Delaware;
1970 C ensus of Population, F in a l Population Counts of New Jersey;
1970 C ensus o f Population, Final Population Counts of Pennsylvania;
1970 C ensus o f Population, F in a l Population Counts of Delaware.2
This researcher also obtained demographic and economic information from
the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce; the Burlington County,
Camden County and Philadelphia County voter registration offices;
the Council of Churches of Greater Camden; the 1972 Bulletin Almanac;
the offices of the mayors of Burlington and Camden; the Philadelphia
Spanish Speaking Organization; the Camden Movement to Improve and
2 U.S. Department of Commerce publications. 211
Rehabilitate Areas (Spanish speaking organization); and the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Having determined the demographic and economic composition
of its service area, this researcher identified various organizations
and associations representing or otherwise being able to speak for
the interests and population subgroups so identified.
The final step in the identification of community ' leaders
was to identify the leaders of the organizations and associations
identified in the immediately preceding step in the analysis. And,
as a group, those persons composed the community leaders interviewed.^
The community leaders interviewed were interviewed during
September, October, November, and December of 1971. WKBS T\^ personnel
participating in those interviews included; Carl Grant - News Director,
Robert D. Johnson - Business Manager, Lon C. Lee - Program Manager,
Terry L. Lionberger - Production Manager, G. William Ryan - General
Manager, James C. Warner - General Sales Manager.
3 The complete list of community leaders interviewed is available in Appendix , pp. 2 1 2
TABLE # 15
Camden General Public Evaluation "As A Place T.lve"
Results of the following question: Men WoT.cn Teens "Wliat do you think of Camden as a Total 12+ 18+ 18+ 12-17 place to live?" Fku % Mo. Eo ■ AO.
Fine...... 10 10.0 2 6 2 Good...... 17 17.0 9 3 5 Nice...... 8 8.0 2 4 2 Fair...... 14 14.0 6 ' 8 - Poor...... 37 37.0 13 19 5 Very bad ...... 12 12.0 7- 4 1
Don't know...... 2 2.0 1 1 -
Totals...... 100 100.0 40 45 15
BASE CASES (Total San-plc)
TABLE v20
Camclon General Bnblic SAMPLE SEX-AG): c;:cups
Men 18-34 ...... 13 Men 35-49 ...... 4 Men 50+...... 23 Women 18-34 ...... 6 Women 35-49 ...... 11 Women 50+...... 28 Teens 12-17...... 15 Total...... 100 213
All of these named individuals are persons in management
positions at WKBS TV and, as such, have significant responsibility
in the day-to-day operations of the station.
Altogether, 207 community leaders were interviewed by
WKBS IV in attempting to determine community problems, needs, and
interests. Of the 207 community leaders interviewed, 90 were
interviewed individually by the following WKBS TV personnel: Carl
Grant - News Director, Lon C. Lee - Program Manager, Terry L. Lion
berger - Production Manager, and G. William Ryan - General Manager.
The remaining 117 interviews were conducted in cooperation with other Greater Philadelphia area broadcasters also engaged in
efforts aimed at ascertaining community problems, needs, and interests,
These 117 joint interviews, set up as a result of a series of meetings
involving Greater Philadelphia broadcasters and representatives of
Temple U niversity's Communication Department, concentrated mainly on
Philadelphia and its Pennsylvania suburbs and Camden, New Jersey.
The joint interview program was implemented because of concern for the amount of time important community leaders would otherside be asked to devote to ascertainment interviews. 214
Tlie chart immediately below lists the number of community
leaders surveyed by location. In addition, it indicates how many
interviews were carried out by WKBS TV personnel on an individual
basis and how many on a joint basis. In only six cases was more than
one community leader interviewed at a time. In all other cases,
no more than one community leader was interviewed at one time.
Area Total Individually Group
New J e r s e y
Burlington City 25 25 0
Burlington County 21 20 1
Camden City & County 35 8 27
S o u th J e r s e y R eg io n 14 11 3
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia 81 12 69
Southeastern Pennsylvania Region 27 10 17
D ela w a re
Wilmington and New Castle County 4 4 0
207 90 ÏÏ7 215
The community leaders selected for joint interviews were
those whose names appeared most frequently on the lists of community
leaders prepared by each of the individual broadcast stations
participating.
In the letter inviting community leaders to participate
in the joint interview project, the community leaders involved were
told of the purpose underlying the interviews and were requested to
comment at length on what each individually perceived as the most serious
problem or need facing the local community. Community leaders were
requested, when commenting on area problems, needs,, and interests,
to give special thought to the interests of the population subgroup
he was representing.
The joint interviews were completed over an 11 day period:
November 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12 and 18 for communifj leaders from
Philadelphia; and December 1, 3 and 6 for community leaders from
Camden. The interviews were conducted in tn;o separate conference rooms at the Holiday Inn in Center City Philadelphia and the Cherry
H ill Inn in Camden County. HTCBS TV personnel participating in the
joint interviews were: Carl Grant - News Director,, Robert D. Johnson -
Business Manager, Lon C. Lee - Program Manager, Terry L. Lionberger -
Production Manager, G. William Ryan - General Manager, and James C.
Warner - General Sales Manager. One of the six station representatives participated in each of the joint interviews and prepared individual 216
reports of the joint interviews without consultation with other
participating stations. Each took full advantage of the interview
situation by comprehensively questionning the interviewees and by
frequently serving as chairman for the interview sessions.
While interview sessions were scheduled for one hour, the
60 minute period was not considered a firm cut off time for any one
s e s s i o n .
General Public Survey
WKBS TV commissioned Media Statistics, Incorporated, to conduct
a random sample survey of the general public in the cities of Burlington
and Camden, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As was the
case with the interviews of community leaders, the purpose of this
sample survey was to ascertain community attitudes toward problems,
needs, and interests facing the local community.
Media Statistics, Incorporated, made its assessment of community attitudes toward community problems, needs, and interests by a random sample telephone survey. This survey consisted of 205 telephone interviews in Burlington; an additional 110 telephone in terviews in that portion of Burlington County outside the city of
Burlington; 100 telephone interviews in the city of Camden; and 300 telephone interviews in Philadelphia. 217
Considerable emphasis was given in conducting this survey to
reinforce the fact that answers were to be obtained without any
suggested aids regarding any problem whatsoever. Instructions to
interviewers stressed that the interviewer was not at any time to
influence a respondent's answers by helping with answers and also
cautioned the interviewer against betraying any personal feelings
about the questions or answers through voice and manner.
The demographic standards for this survey were based on the most recent U.S. Census data. This telephone sample of interviews with persons 12 years of age and older was obtained by systematic
interval selection of residential numbers from the appropriate
telephone exchanges beginning from a random-number start. Within each sampled home, only one person aged 12 or over was interviewed, and up to five call-backs were made to obtain interviews with persons not at home on the first call.
The survey material is meant to estimate community problems, needs and interests and is, of course, subject to the normal statistical variations inherent in any survey employing sampling techniques.^
4 "Forward," Special Survey Report, Media Statistics, Incorporated, December 1971, p. 1. 218
DEMOGRACTÎIC ANALYSIS (1970 Census Figures)
I. City of Burlington (Burlington County)
A. Ethnic Characteristics City County
Total population 1 1 ,9 9 1 3 2 3 ,1 3 2
White population^ 9,217 292,461
Negro population 2,748 28,162
Other 26 2,509
The City of Burlington has lost 5.57, of i t s 1960 population which was 12,687 while Burlington County has gainef 43.97 of its
1960 population which was 224,499.
B. Sex Characteristics City County
Female population 6,371 152,418
Male population 5,620 170,714
5 The U.S. Census Bureau figures include the Spanish - s peaking population figures here and in some instances unSer "other" depending on the resident's preference. The office of the Mayor of Burlington estimated the Spanish-speaking population to be negligible. The Census Bureau figures have not yet been broken down to isolate the current Spanish-speaking population in Burlington or other areas in this analysis. 219
C. Age C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s C ity C ounty
Below 5 years 942 2 8 ,1 8 0
5 to 19 years 3 ,3 2 1 1 0 1 ,3 2 7
20 to 34 years 2 ,2 5 7 7 5 ,6 9 1
35 to 54 years 3,070 37,332
55 to 64 years 1,216 19,995
65 years and over 1,375 1 9 ,2 7 9
D. R e li g io u s A f f i l i a t i o n C ountyf
P r o t e s t a n t 23%
C a th o l ic 23%
J e w is h 4%
No r e l i g i o u s a f f i l i a t i o n 50%
E. Political Characteristics C ity C ounty
Democratic 1,075 16,136
Republican 810 22,812
Total Registered? 5,465 119,123
The percentage religious statistics were given by Samuel A. Jeanes, Executive Secretary, Council of Churches of Greater Camden, Verified 1 2 /1 4 /7 1 .
Voter registration figures made available by the Burlington County Board of Elections are based on 1971 figures. Board officials explained the only time New Jersey voters declare a political party is when they vote in a primary. That explains the large difference between the Democratic and Republican statistics and the total registered. 2 2 0
I I . C ity o f Camden (Camden County)
Ethnic Characteristics City. County
Total population 102,551 456,291
White population^ 61,305 401,553
Negro population 40,132 52,318
Other 1,114 2,420
Ihe City of Camden has lost 12.5% of its 1960 population which was 117,159 while Camden County has gained 16.4% of its 1960
population which was 392,035.
B. Sex Characteristics City County
Female population 54,375 237,008
Male population 48,176 219,283
8 The U.S. Census Bureau includes the Spanish-speaking population figures here and in some Instances under "other" depending on the respondent's preference. The office of the Mayor of Camden estimated the Spanish-speaking population as 10 percent of the total Camden population, or slightly more than 10,000. The Census Bureau figures have not yet been broken down to isolate the current Spanish-speaking population in Camden or other areas in this a n a ly s is . 2 2 1
Age C h a ra cteristics Cit% County
Below 5 years 10,182 39,682
5 to 19 years 29,613 122,357
20 to 34 years 19,608 85,045
35 to 54 years 22,147 114,361
55 to 64 years 10,343 42,655
65 years and over 10,656 4 1,161
Religious Affiliation County^
P rotestan t 21%
C ath olic 21%
Jewish 5%
No religious affiliation 41%
Political Characteristics City County
Democratic 3,521 10,468
Republican 903 10,478
Total Registered^® 42,612 222,490
The percentage religious statistics were given by Samuel A. Jeanes, Executive Secretary, Council of Churches of Greater Camden, Verified 1 2 /1 4 /7 1 .
1 0 Voter registration figures made available by the Camden County Board of Elections are based on 1971 figures. Board officials explained the only time New Jersey voters declare a political party is when they vote in a primary. That explains the large difference between the Democratic and Republican statistics and the total registered. 2 2 2
III. City of Philadelphia (Philadelphia County statistics are the same)
A. Ethnic Characteristics City
Total population 1,948,609
White population^! 1,278,717
Negro population 653,791
Other 16,101
Ihe City of Philadelphia has lost 2.7% of its 1960 population which was 2,002,512.
B. Sex Characteristics City
Female population 1,030,436
Male population 918,173
11 Ihe U. S. Census Bureau includes the Spanish-speaking population figures here and in some instances under "other" depending on the respondent's preference. A representative of the Council of Spanish speaking population as about 35,000 in the city. The Census Bureau figures have not yet been broken down to isolate the current Spanish-speaking population in Philadelphia and other areas in this analysis. 223
Age Characteristics C ity
Below 5 years 158,520
5 to 19 years 511,909
20 to 34 years 387,471
35 to 54 years 451,882
55 to 64 years 210,679
65 years and over 228,148
Religious A ffiliation CitylZ
P rotestan t 454,875 Membership 1,213 churches
Catholic 739,708 membership 152 p a rish es
Jewish 16,073 fa m ilie s 34 synagogues
12 the latest religious statistics available for Philadelphia were taken in 1966 by the Greater Philadelphia Council of Churches which has since changed its name to the Metropolitan Christian Council of Philadelphia. The new Council said that it presently has no intention of completing an updated religious statistical survey. It can also be pointed out that the former Greater Philadelphia Council of Churches estimated the five-county Philadelphia Metro politan Area was composed of a Protestant constituency of 60 percent; Catholic, 30 percent; Jewish, 7 percent; Orthodox, 1 percent, with the remaining 2 percent scattered. There are about 100 denominations, sects and cults. This information was published in the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce 1969 "Greater Philadelphia Facts" book and the "Bulletin Almanac 1972." 224
E. Political Characteristics Cigr
Democratic 600.398
R epublican 339.398
Constitutional Party 180
Other Parties 25,512 (18,823 of this figures was non-partisan)
F. Sex Characteristics C ity
Female 516.925
Male 449.925
Total Registered 1 3 966,084
13 Voter registration figures made available by the Hiiladelphia Voter Registration Office are based on 1971 figures. Officials also pointed out that of the 966,084 registered voters, 745,356 or about 77 percent voted in the mayoral election in November 1971. 225
IV. Region
It was pointed out at the beginning of this exhibit that the eight-county
Greater Philadelphia area covered by the WKBS TV signal coincides with the Philadelphia standard metropolitan statistical area as defined by the Federal Bureau of the Budget. Greater Philadelphia is also known as the Delaware Valley region encompassed by the Delaware Valley Regional
Planning Commission. The Commission, in its September 1971 DELAWARE
VALLEY DATA publication, compiled population and housing information for the region based on data derived from the FIRST COUNTY SUMMARY
TAPE o f the 1970 CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING.
REGIONAL POPULATION TOTALS14
People People People Total Population Negro Population under 18 18 to 34 35 to 64
5 ,1 2 1 ,8 8 2 894,102 1,713,629 1,172,419 1,737,056
People Number Male Head Persons in Persons per 65 and over of Households of Households all Household Households
498,778 1,5 7 3 ,6 7 7 1,215,938 4,976,434 3.16
REGIONAL HOUSING TOTALS
Total Units Owner Negro Owner T otal Negro Occupies Occupied Renters Renters
1,633,302 1,0 5 4 ,0 1 3 125,072 519,658 132,764
Average Occupied Average Contract Overcrowded Average Vacant for Value Rent Housing Rooms In Sale or Rent U nits U nits
16,244 98 86,361 5.55 34,352
14 "1970 Population and Housing Characteristics for Municipalities in the Delaware Valley Region," Delaware Valley Data. Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, September 1971, No. 3, p. 1. 226
The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics used the same eight-county Greater
P h ilad elp h ia area to d e t a il EMPLOYMENT BY OCCUPATION - 1970. The data was broken down into eight-county totals, Philadelphia City totals, and totals for the seven counties surrounding Philadelphia. EMPLOYMENT BY OCCUPATION - 1970 PHILADELPHIA STANDARD METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA (ANNUAL AVERAGES)
OCCUPATION METROPOLITAN PHILADELPHIA SURROUNDING GROUP AREA CITY COUNTIES (1)
NUMBER PERCENT NUMBER PERCENT NUMBER PERCENT OF TOTAL OF TOTAL OF TOTAL
Total Employed 1,876,000 100.0% 777,000 100.0% 1,099,000 100.0%
White-Collar Workers 986,800 52.6 363,600 46.8 622,000 56.6 Professional & Technical 294,500 15.7 83,900 10.8 209,900 19.1 Managers, Officials & Proprietors 183,900 9.8 55,200 7.1 129,700 11.8 Clerical 373,300 19.9 179,500 23.1 192,300 17.5 Sales 135,100 7.2 44,300 5.7 90,100 8.2
Blue-Collar Workers 675,400 36.0 309,200 39.8 367,100 33.4 Craftsmen & Foremen 245,800 13.1 95,500 12.3 149,500 13.6 Operatives 354,600 18.9 172,500 22.2 182,400 . 16.6 Non-Farm Laborers 75,000 4.0 41,200 5.3 35,200 3.2
Service Workers 202,600 10.8 104,100 13.4 98,900 9.0 Private Household 28,100 1.5 13,200 1.7 16,500 1.5 Other Service 174,500 9.3 90,900 11.7 82,400 7.5
Farm Workers 11,200 0.6 (2) (2) 9,900 1.0 NO IE: Data relates to place of residence of worker rather than place of work. Figures do not add up to totals because of estimating. (1) Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania and Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties in New Jersey (2) Percent not shown where employment estimate is less than 5,000 SOURCE: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS to to 228
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported unemployment for Greater
Philadelphia during October 1971 at 105,500, or a 5.0% unadjusted rate.
Using the same eight-county area, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported the average personal income for Greater Philadelphia as
$4,028 in 1969. 229
L is t o f Comnmnitv Leaders Interview ed
I. City of Burlington
A. C ivic
William Burgess - Post Commander - American Legion Post #79
Robert Richards - President - Burlington City Rotary Club
B. Commerce
Dr. Henry H. Bisbee - Chairman, Planning Board - City of Burlington
Henry Haines - Realtor - Haines & Haines Real Estate
Manuel Polsky - Retailer - Polsky's Clothing Store
Charles Wheatley - Owner-Operator - Othotics Plant, Store and Drug Store
C. Culture
Charles Bishop - Acting Chairman - Colonial Crossroads Bicentennial Corporation
D. Education
Robert F. Dotti - Superintendent of Schools - Burlington City Schools
Otis Fields - President - Burlington City Teachers' Association (Union)
E. Ethnic
W illie James - Director - Burlington County NAACP
Reverend Ernest Lyght - Member and Pastor - Burlington City Community Development Corporation
Lee Thornton - Deputy Director - Burlington County Community A ctio n Program
F. Health & Welfare
D aniel A. Keegan - Director of Welfare - City of Burlington 2 3 0
Labor & Employment
David Hedlam - Business Representative - Carpenters Local 1489
Eleanor Stephen - Employee and President Steelworkers Local
Peter Volpe - President - Employees of the City of Burlington Council #6
H. Law Enforcement & Legal
George L. Clayton - Police Chief - City of Burlington
John P. Filippine - Clerk of Courts - City of Burlington
I. Political
James C. Ayrer - Treasurer - City of Burlington
Herman C o ste llo - Mayor - C ity o f B urlington
Elmer Gares - City Clerk - City of Burlington
Tony M a lillo - Urban Renewal Director - City of Burlington
J. Religious
Reverend W illiam R. A llen - Pastor - F ir s t B a p tist Church
Dr. Andrew C. Braun - Pastor - Broad S tr e e t M ethodist Church
K. Youth
William Rosenberg - Senior - Student - Burlington City High School
II. Burlington County
A. Commerce
George M. Rogers - Director - Economic Development
H. L eighton W illiam s - Executive Vice President - Chamber of Commerce of South Jersey
B. Education
Dr. Dean Evans - President - Burlington County Community C ollege 231
c . Ethnie
Carol Snell and Intergroup Relations Council of Walter Meeklns of Willingboro, New Jersey
D. Health & Welfare
Robert F. Gallagher Director - County Welfare Department
Evan K line Fire Marshall - Burlington County
W alter Trommelen Acting Health Coordinator - Burlington County
E. Labor & Employment
John Buccigrossi President - Burlington County Industrial Union Council
John Miyo President - Steelworkers Local 2110
F. Law Enforcement & Legal
Dominick Ferrelli - County Prosecutor - Burlington County, New Jersey
Harry E. McConnell - Chief - Burlington County Detective Bureau
G. Military
Col. James Love, Chief of Staff - Fort Dix, New Jersey Lt. Col. Wm. Stallings," Chief of Information - Fort Dix, New Jersey and SP/5 Harold Miksch ■ Col. Love's Driver - Fort Dix, New Jersey
H. P o lit ic a l
John F. Brown New Jersey Assemblyman - D istrict 4-A Ocean-Burlington Counties
Charles H. E hrlich Freeholder - Burlington County
Edwin Forsythe U. S. Congressman - 6th District (Burlington, Ocean, Camden Counties, New Jersey)
Frank Lockhart Freeholder - Burlington County
Bruce A. Mahon Freeholder - Burlington County
James A. Miller Director - Board of Burlington County Freeholders
Fred C. Norcross, Jr. - Freeholder - Burlington County 232
I . Youth
Anne McCabe - Senior - Student - Holy Cross High School
Diane Tarpey - Junior - Student - John F. Kennedy High School
III. Camden City and County
A. Agriculture
Robert Ruzzio Agricultural Agent Camden County, New Jersey
B. C iv ic
Peter Saxton - Executive Director - South Camden YMCA
Mrs. Mabel Sutman - President - League of Women Voters - Camden County
Anson Wager and - Assistant Executive Director - Camden County U nited Fund Eaton Cromwell - Public Relations Director - Camden County United Fund
C. Commerce
W illiam Baughman Industrial Representative - Camden County Economic Development Committee
Kenneth N. J o lly Vice President - Corporate Relations - Campbell Soup Company
Luther Wallace D irector - Community A f f a ir s , Community Development Center of Camden
Arnold Weber Director of Economic Development - C ity o f Camden
D. Education
Leon Benson Supervisor o f School Community R elation s Camden, New J ersey C ity Schools
Dr. Charles Smerin Superintendent Camden, New Jersey Ph.D. Public Schools 233
E. Ethnic
Dr. John W. Robinson - (Dentist) President - Camden County Branch NAACP
Jesus Rodriguez - D irector - Movement to Improve and Rehabilitate Mira Areas
Mario R. Rodriguez - Member (Puerto Rican) - New Jersey C iv il R ights Commission, Former Camden Councilman
Poppy Sharpe - Founder - Black P eo p le's U nity Movement
Jose Antono Vasquez - C onstruction S u pervisor - Movement to Improve and Rehabilitate Areas, Mira
F. Health & Welfare
Dr. Nathan Asbell (MD) - Medical Director - Camden County General H o sp ita l
Jack B e lf i - Executive Director - Camden County Office o f Aging
Mrs. Ruth Coleman - Executive Director - Camden County Office of Economic Opportunity
Ronald Evans - Community O rganizer - H&W C ouncil
G. Labor & Employment
Tyron Gilliams - Owner and President - Careers, Inc.
H. Law Enforcement & Legal
Mrs. Carol J. Brooks Director - Camden County Office of and Consumer A ffa ir s Gordon Heidt Assistant Investigator - Camden County Office of Consumer Affairs
W illiam Thompson Para Professional (Investigator) Legal Services - Legal Services Office
I. Political
Paul Anapol Freeholder - Camden County
Joseph Dorris City Administrator - City of Camden
William Jenkins Director - Action Now - State Department o f Community A ffa ir s based in Camden 234
John M iller - New Jersey State Senator - D istrict #3-C (Camden County)
H illia r d T. Moore - Mayor - LawnsIde, New Jersey
Joseph Nardi - Mayor - C ity o f Camden
J. Religious
Monsignor Salvadore J. Adamo - Executive Editor - Catholic Star Herald and Pastor of the Immaculate Conception Church
Larry Black, Team M inisters (Presbyterian) Camden Dick Whitman, and Metropolitan Ministry Sam Appel
Canon Fergus M. Fulford- Pastor - S t. A u gu stin e's E piscopal Church
Samuel A. Jeanes - Pastor - First Baptist Church
K. Youth
Stuart Alperin - D irector - Jewish Community Center - Camden County
Charles E. Brimra, M.D. - Medical Director - Concept House, Inc. o f Camden
Richard Riggs - Director - Neighborhood Youth Corps., Camden County
IV. South Jersey Region
A. Commerce
William Bennington Economist for the Delaware River Port Authority - Delaware River Port Authority
Herman C. Simonse Director - Division of Economic Development, State of New Jersey
B. Education
Clayton Brower - President - Trenton State College
Harry Morris - Principal - Manasquan High School - President, New Jersey Association of Secondary School Principals 235
Barry Sample Assistant Director, General Adult Education - New Jersey Department of Education
C. Health & Welfare
Irving Engleman Director - Department of Welfare, State of New Jersey
D. Labor & Employment
James A. Alloway President - Civil Service Commission - State of New Jersey
David Ritter Manager Student S ervices - O pportunities Industrialization Center of South Jersey
E. Law Enforcement & Legal
Martin L. Haines President-Elect - New Jersey Bar Association
Kenneth Peel Manager - South Jersey Branch, New Jersey Civil Rights Division
F. Military
Anthony Volpe New Jersey State Director - Division of Veterans' Services
G. Political
Robert Fust - Executive Director - New Jersey League of Municipalities
Lewis B. Thurston III - Executive ’'irector - New Jersey Senate
H. R elig io u s
George H. Guilfoyle - Bishop - Roman Catholic Office of Camden
Philadelphia
A. Agriculture
Mrs. Ernesta Ballard - Director - Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
W illiam H. White - Agriculture Agent - State Extension Service o f Penn S ta te U n iv ersity
B. C ivic
Michael von Moschzisher- Executive Secretary - Committee of 70 (Election Watchdogs) 236
Mrs. Charles Neu - First Vice President - League of Women Voters
Wilma S tr in g fe llo w - Executive Director YWCA. (Philadelphia)
Russell Urquhart - Administrative Director - Central Branch YWCA
Peter L. Weimer - Executive Director - West Branch YMCA
C. Commerce
Damon C hilds - Executive Director - Philadelphia Planning Commission
John Hildenbiddle - Executive Representative - Public Affairs Department, Penn Central Company
Lennox L. Mook - D irector - Pennsylvania Economy League
Wayne L. Owens - Public Affairs Office - General Electric Company
Dr. Josephat Plater-Zuberk - Manager of Environmental Conservation University City Sciences
Frederick Potts - President - Philadelphia Port Corporation
Bertram Zumeta - Senior Vice President and Economist, First Pennsylvania Bank
D. C ulture
Sandra Horrocks - Acting Manager for Public Relations, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Dr. I. Levitt - Vice President - Franklin Institute
James Alan Montgomery - President, Board of Trustees - The Free Library of Philadelphia
E lia s Wolf - P resid en t - P h ilad elp h ia Academy o f Music
E. Education
Mrs. Majorie Duckery - President - Citizen's Commission on Public Education
Mrs. Albert Greenfield - Recently retired member - Philadelphia School Board
Dr. Leonard Krivy,Ih.D.- Executive Director - Philadelphia Commission for Higher Education 237
Harvey Levitan Owner and Director - College Skills Center - An American Business Institute
Mrs. A. Sherwood P la tt President - Philadelphia Home and School Council
Dr. Mark Shedd, Ph.D. Superintendent of Schools - Philadelphia School System
Don Sheehan Director of Public Relations - University of Pennsylvania
Frank Sullivan President - Teachers' Federation (AFL-CIO)
Edward M. W illiam s Assistant to the President - Philadelphia Community C ollege
F. Ethnic
Lew A llen - Owner - Lew A lle n 's P rin tin g Nook
James Bolden - Representative - Council of Spanish Speaking Origin
Mrs. Bertha Brown - Director - Our Neighbors, Inc.
Wilburt Foster - President - Philadelphia Chapter of National Business League
Andrew G. Freeman - Executive Director - Philadelphia Urban League
Wilson Goode - Executive Director - Philadelphia Council for Community Advancement
Ralph H. Jones - Associate Editor - Philadelphia Tribune
Edward Robinson - President - Broad & Home Insurance Company and Black Studies Consultant to Philadelphia Public Schools
John F. White, Sr. - President - Black Political Forum
G. Health & W elfare
Louis Cappiella Executive Director - Commission on Services to the Aging
Melvin L. Hardy Executive Director - Philadelphia Anti- Poverty Action Commission 238
Dr. Norman Ingraham - Commissioner - Philadelphia Public Health Department
Harold Freeman - Analyst - Model Cities
Hobart Jackson - Administrator - Stephen Smith Home for the Aged,
Roxanne Jones - Chairman - Welfare Rights Organization
M iles Mahoney - Deputy Executive Director - Philadelphia Housing Authority
Earl Perloff - Chairman - Board of Trustees, Philadelphia General Hospital
John L. Steward - Director Adult Services Division - Philadelphia Department of Welfare
W. Park Woodrow - President - Health and Welfare Council
H. Labor & Employment
Anthony Cartegene President - Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union
Reverend Joseph DeBerry- Administrative Assistant - O.I.C. Opportunities Industrialization Center
Louis Evert Executive Director - Council for Equal Job Opportunity
James N. McGeehan Legislative Representative - U.S. Steelworkers
Earl Stout Business Manager - Local 427, Sanitation Workers Union
Edward Toohey P resident - AFL-CIO P h ilad elp h ia Council
I. Law Enforcement & Legal
Spencer L. Coxe Executive Director - American Civil Liberties Union
Joseph DeBerry President - Defenders Association of Philadelphia
Maurice B. Fagan - Executive Director - Fellowship Commission 2 3 9
D. Donald Jamieson - President Judge - Court of Common Pleas
John R. McConnell - Chancellor (President) Philadelphia Bar Association
Ray W. Nugent - (Inspector) Commanding Officer of P o lice Community R elation s - P o lice Department
Harvey N. Schmidt - E xecutive D irector - Community Legal S ervices
Juanita Kidd Stout - Judge - Common Pleas Court
J. Military
William F. Gormley Executive Director - Veterans' Advisory Commission
K. P o lit ic a l
Samuel S. Baxter - Commissioner of Water - Philadelphia
Isadore Bellls - Councilman - Philadelphia
Joseph E. Coleman - Councilman - Philadelphia
Thomas F o g lle tta - Councllman-At-Large - Philadelphia
Mrs. Fae Forman - Director - Mayor's Office of Information and Complaints
Thomas Cola - City Controller - Philadelphia
Harry Janottl - Councilman - Philadelphia
John B. K elly - Councllman-At-Large - Ihlladelphla City Council
James McPhllllps - Engineering Division - Department of Streets - Ihlladelphla
Francis D. O'Donnell - Councllman-At-Large - Philadelphia
George X. Schwartz - Councilman - Philadelphia
Joseph Zazyczny - Councilman - Philadelphia
L. R elig io u s
Robert L. DeWltt - Bishop - Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania
Reverend James Hall - Vice President - Philadelphia Baptist Ministers Conference
Reverend M arshall L. Sheppard - Junior President - Council of Black Clergy 240
M. Youth
Al Cohen - President - Student Senate, Also 1st Student Member Board of Trustees - Temple University
Kananzo Hyde - Deputy Commissioner of Public Welfare - City of Philadelphia (Director of Youth Corps - gang workers)
Eugene Montone - Executive Director - Youth Study Center
Ralph Smith - Second Year Medical Student - Temple U n iv e r sity
John Sturgis - C on troller - Young Greats S o cie ty
VI. Southeastern Pennsylvania Region
A. C ivic
Norman H. Childs Exeuctive Director - Delaware Valley Citizens Council for Clean Air
Peter P. Polloni Executive Director - Montgomery County Chapter of Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children, Inc.
Katherine Rahl Director of Public Relations - Planned Parenthood Association for Southeastern Pennsylvania
Robert W. Reifsnyder Executive Director - United Fund of Greater Philadelphia
B. Commerce
Gerald Riesenbach President - Philadelphia Junior Chamber o f Commerce
Myles Standish Executive Vice President - Greater P h ilad elp h ia Chamber of Commerce
James C. McConnon Chairman - Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
William F. Rafsky Executive Director - Greater Philadelphia Movement 241
C. Education
Richard F. Betres Director of Development - Philadelphia Archdiocese of Schools
Stephen J. Bravertnan Coordinator, Special Program Development - Pennsylvania M ilitary College, Chester, Pa.
Robert Hallman Principal - Springford School System, Spring City, Pa.
D. Ethnic
Diane Palm D irector - Community A ssista n c e P roject (CAP), C hester, Pa.
Dr. Felder Rouse, M.D. - Practicing Physician, Also Chairman - Robert Wade Neighborhood House, Chester, Pa.
Mrs. Ethel Smiley Director - Freedom House, Inc., Darby Borough, Pa.
E. Health & Welfare
Maurice Davenport Executive Director - National Council on Alcoholism, Delaware Valley Branch
William McLaughlin Deputy Secretary of Field Operations - State of Pennsylvania
Michael Strong President - Housing Association of the Delaware Valley
Bruce Taylor, President - Blue Cross of Philadelphia Jerome Lynch, Executive Vice President - Blue Cross and of Philadelphia John R e iff Associate Director Public Relations - Blue Cross of Philadelphia
F. Law Enforcement & Legal
Lewis Bechtle U.S. Attorney - Eastern District of Pennsylvania
G. R elig io u s
Rabbi Martin Berkowitz - Director of Commission of Radio and TV - Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia 242
Edward Devinney Director of Communications Office - Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Milton E. Owens Curriculum Sales Manager, Division of Publishing and Business - American Baptist Board of Education and Publication, Valley Forge, Pa.
Dr. F. Lewis Walley Program Director - East Pennsylvania Conference United Methodist Church
H. Youth
Mrs. B etty Freeman Executive Director - Girl Scouts of Greater Philadelphia
Gregory Landers President - Student Body - Villanova University, Villanova, Pa.
Ralph Sposato Public Relations Director - Philadelphia Council Boy Scouts of America
Richard Vanderpool Youth Worker - H-O-P-E, Chester County, Pa,
VII. Wilmington, Delaware
A. Education
Eldridge Waters - Principal - Shortridge School - Wilmington
B. Ethnie
Roosevelt Franklin - President - Wilmington Branch NAACP
Littleton Mitchell - President - Delaware State NAACP
C. Political
James S ills - Councilman-At-Large - Wilmington
I d e n tific a tio n o f Community Needs and I n te r e sts
Interviews with community leaders and the general public
have provided the applicant with an excellent barometer for measuring
the major concerns of Greater Philadelphia. A number of tables have
been prepared to display the findings. 243
We asked the community leaders to list the most critical
problem areas by priority. The interview structure also permitted the
le a d e rs ample opportunity for a d d itio n a l comment and ela b o ra tio n on
the issues about which they were particularly concerned.
In Burlington City, the most serious problems were considered by the leaders to be housing and the need for industry, business and economic development.
TABLE # 1
Burlington City Leaders -- Considered "Most Serious" Problem
AREA NUMBER PERCENTAGE*
Housing 6 24.0% Industry/business; economic 5 20. 0% development Apathy 3 12. 0% Jobs; unemployment 2 8 . 0% Alcoholism; drugs 4.0% Bicentennial 4.0% Government organization; 4.0% local/state/federal Police — community relations 4.0% Population decline 4.0% Poverty; welfare 4.0% R ecreation 4.0% Taxes 4.0% Traffic; transportation 4.0%
*Based on interview s with a to t a l o f 25 community lead ers. 244
Community lead ers in B urlington County sin g le d out apathy,
I drugs and rapid growth as their major concerns.
TABLE # 2
Burlington County Leaders — Considered "Most Serious" Problem
AREA NUMBER PERCENTAGE*
Apathy 3 14.3% Drugs 3 14.3% Rapid growth 3 14.3% Taxes 2 9.5% Youth 2 9.5% F ire tra in in g f a c i l i t y 1 4.8% Health; medical care 1 4.8% Housing 1 4.8% In d u str y /b u sin e ss; economic 1 4.8% development Government organization; 1 4.8% local/state/federal P o llu tio n 1 4.8% Poverty; w elfare 1 4.8% Jobs; unemployment 1 4.8%
*Based on interviews with a total of 21 community leaders. 245
When we combined our responses from the community leaders in Burlington
City and County, the most serious problems emerged as housing, apathy,
and the need for industry, business and economic development.
TABLE #3
Burlington City and County Leaders — Considered "Most Serious" Problem
AREA NUMBER PERCENTAGE*
Housing 7 15.2% Apathy 6 13.1% Industry/business ; economic 6 13.1% development Alcoholism; drugs 4 8.7% Rapid growth 3 6.5% Taxes 3 6.5% Job; unemployment 3 6.5% Government organization; 2 4.4% local/state/federal Poverty; welfare 2 2 4.4% Youth 2 4.4% Bicentennial 2 . 2% Fire training facility 2 . 2% Health; medical 2.2 Police — community relations 2 . 2% P o llu tio n 2 . 2% Population decline 2 .2% R ecreation 2 .2% Traffic; transportation 2 . 2%
*Based on interviews with a total of 46 community leaders. 246
In Camden City and County, jobs and unemployment and the need for housing headed the list of needs and interests identified by community leaders.
TABLE #4
Camden City and County leaders — Considered "Most Serious" Problem
AREA NUMBER RERCENTAt E'--
Jobs ; unemployment 8 22.9% Hous ing 8 22.9% Education; schools 3 8 . 6% Indus try/bus ines s ; economic 3 8 .6% development Finances 2.9% Land sp o ila g e 2.9% Government organization; 2.9% local/state/federal Moral responsibility 2.*T Police - community relations 2.9% Political candidate coverage 2.9% City images 2.9% Press 2.9% Race relations 2.9% R ecreation 2.9% Senior citizens 2.9% Socio-economic equalization 2.9% Taxes 2.9%
*Based on interviews with a total of 35 community leaders. 247
Community lea d ers who r e sid e in South Jersey communities other than
Burlington and Camden counties believe taxes and education are the most serious problem.
TABLE #5
Other South Jersey Leaders — Considered "Most Serious" Problem
AREA NUMBER PERCENTAGE*
Taxes 4 28.7% Education; schools 3 21.5% Transportation 2 14.3% Civil rights 1 . 7.2% Industry/business; economic 1 7.2% development Finances 1 7.2% Poverty; w elfare 1 7.2% Revolution in technology and 1 7.2% value systems
*Based on interviews with a total of 14 community leaders. 248
In considering the responses of all the connnnnity leaders detailed in
the five preceding tables, ve found that the leaders interviewed in
New Jersey are most concerned about housing. They placed unemployment
and the need for industry, business and economic development in close
second and third place.
TABLE #6
New Jersey Leaders -- Considered "Most Serious'* Problem
AREA* NUMBER PERCENTAGE**
Hous ing 15 15.8% Jobs; unemployment 11 11.6% Industry/business; economic 10 10.5% development Taxes 8 8.4% Apathy 6 6.3% Education; schools 6 6.3% Alcoholism; drugs 4 4.2% Government organization; 3 3.2% local/state/federal Poverty; welfare 3 3.2% Rapid growth 3 3.2% Traffic; transportation 3 3.2% Finances 2 2.1% Police - community relations 2 2.1% R ecreation 2 2.1% Youth 2 2.1%
*TABLE #6 details the top 15 problem areas listed by the New Jersey community leaders. Areas getting only one mention have been eliminated for the purposes of this table. **Based on interviews with a total of 95 community leaders even though not all of them are listed here. See Footnote*. 249
Community leaders in Philadelphia gave a very decisive margin t o r a c e
relations and to the schools and education when discussing the most urgent needs facing the city.
TABLE #7
Philadelphia Leaders — Considered "Most Serious** Problem
AREA NUMBER PERCENTAGE*
Race relations 18 2 2 . 2% Education; schools 13 16.0% Finances 6 7.4% Housing 5 6 . 2% Health; medical care 4 4.9% Crime 3 3.7% Alcoholism; drugs 3 3.7% Industry/business; economic 3 3.7% development Jobs; unemployment 3 3.7% Pollution 3 3.7% Taxes 3 3.7% Colleges and universities 2 2 . 1% Courts 2 2 . 1% Lack o f lea d ersh ip 2 2 . 1% Senior Citizens 2 2 .1% Abandoned Cars 1. 2% Interpret farm to urban community 1 . 2% Police - community relations 1. 2% Poverty; welfare 1 . 2% Prisons 1.2% Rules of council 1. 2% Self-deprecation of Hiiladelphians 1. 2% Trash collection 1. 2%
*Based on interviews with a total of 81 community leaders. 250
In the suburban areas of Philadelphia which make up Southeastern
Pennsylvania, race relations and the schools and education were again given prominent mention. The leaders also considered drugs a very significant problem in the outlying areas.
TABLE #8
Southeastern, Pa. Leaders — Considered "Most Serious" Problem
AREA NUMBER PERCENT/
Alcoholism; drugs 4 14.8% Race relations 4 14.8% Schools; education 3 11.1% Industry/business ; economic 2 7.4% development Government organization; 2 7.4% local/state/federal Health; medical 2 7.4% Hous ing 2 7.4% Black leadership 3.7% Lack of leadership 1 3.7% C ity 's poor image 1 3.7% P o llu tio n 1 3.7% Proliferation of services 1 3.7% R ecreation 3.7% R iots 1 3.7% Traffic; transportation 1 3.7%
*Based on interviews with a total of 27 community leaders. 25,1
When we combined our responses from all the community leaders surveyed in Pennsylvania, race relations and the schools and education were substantially ahead of all others.
TABLE #9
Pennsylvania Leaders -- Considered "Most Serious" Problem
AREA* NUMBER PERCENT/
Race Relations 22 20.4% Schools; education 16 14.8% Alcoholism; drugs 7 6.5% Housings 7 6.5% Finances 6 5.6% Health; medical care 6 5.6% Industry/business ; 5 5.6% economic development P o llu tio n 4 3.7% Crime 3 2.8% Lack of leadership 3 2.8% Jobs ; unemployment 3 ■ 2.8% Taxes 3 2.8% College and universities 2 1.9% Courts 2 1.9% Government organization; 2 1.9% local/state/federal Self-deprecation of Philadelphians 2 1.9% Senior Citizens 2 1.9%
*TA.BLE #9 details the top 17 problem areas listed by the Pennsylvania community leaders. Areas getting only one mention have been eliminated for the purposes of this table. **Based on interviews with a total of 108 community leaders. See fo o tn o te* . 252
The community leaders in Wilmington, Delaware, also listed education as a priority item when considering their major concerns about their a rea .
TABLE #10
Wilmington, Delaware Leaders — Considered "Most Serious" Problem
AREA NUMBER PERCENTAGE*
Schools; education 2 50.0% Industry/business; economic 1 25.0% Development Jobs; unemployment 1 25.0%
*Based on interviews with a total of 4 community leaders. 253
In order to determine what the community leaders of Greater Philadelphia
think are the most serious problems facing our predominant service area,
we tabulated the responses of the 297 leaders in our survey. The three
major areas that came to the front are the schools and education, race
relations, and housing. Close behind are the need for industry, business
and economic development, jobs and unemployment, alcoholism and drugs,
and taxes. Rounding out the list of the top 12 problems considered
most serious by the community leaders are finances, health and medical,
apathy, government organization and its functioning at the local, state
and federal levels, and pollution.
TABLE #11
Greater Philadelphia Area Leaders — Considered "Most Serious" Problem
AREA* NUMBER PERCENTAGE**
Schools; education 24 11.6% Race relations 23 11.1% Housing 22 10.6% In d u str y /b u sin e ss; economic 16 7.7% development Jbbs; unemployment 15 7.2% Alcoholism; drugs 11 5.3% Taxes 11 5.3% Finances 8 3.9% Health; medical 7 3.4% Apathy 6 2.9% Government organization; 6 2.9% local/state/federal Pollution 5 2.4%
*TABLE #11 details the top 12 problem areas listed by the Greater Ihiladelphia community leaders. Areas getting less than five mentions have been eliminated for the purposes of this table. **Based on interviews with a total of 207 community leaders even though not all of them are listed here. See footnote *. 254
We believe it is also significant to determine which problem areas were
most frequently mentioned by the community leaders throughout Greater
Philadelphia. This provides a fairly accurate determination of the
needs and interests that most often enter into the leaders' thinking
and concerns when reflecting on our predominant service area.
TABLE #12
Greater Philadelphia Leaders — "Most Frequently" Mentioned Problems
AREA* NUMBER PERCENTAGE**
Schools; education 101 48.8% H ousing 86 41.5% Alcoholism; drugs 78 37.7% Government organization; 58 28.0% local/state/federal Race relations 55 26.7% Jobs; unemployment 50 24.2% Industry/business; economic 50 24.2% development Crime 42 20.3% Poverty; welfare 41 18.8% Health; medical 38 18.4% Traffic; transportation 34 16.4% Taxes 32 15.5%
*TABLE #12 details the 12 problem areas most frequently mentioned by the Greater Philadelphia community leaders. Areas getting less than 30 mentions were eliminated for the purposes of this table. **Based on interviews with a total of 207 community leaders. Burlington. Hew Jersey Survey Dates - December 13-31, 1971 TABLE #13
Burlington City and Countv General Public — "Most Frequently" Mentioned Problems __ ~ ______CITY OF BURLINGTON SUBURBAN AREA Results of the following question: Refused "Thinking of all Che things which you, yourself. Race consider important, what would you say are the Answer most important problems, needs or interests of Total White Black and Others* Total Wiite Black the Burlington area at this time?" No. % No. V, No. % No. /, No. % No. No. Recreation; entertainment 42 20.5 28 18.2 13 27.7 1 25.0 24 21.8 18 5 Housing; urban development....'...... 24 11.7 12 7.8 12 25.5 - - 2 1.8 1 1 Lack of shopping areas; need for industry 22 10.7 17 11.0 4 8.5 1 25.0 2 1.8 2 Traffic; transportation; roads 18 8.8 17 11.0 1 2.1 - - 32 29.1 24 7 Taxes 16 7.8 14 9.1 1 2.1 1 25.0 15 13.6 13 2 Crowding; overpopulation... 11 5.4 8 5.2 3 6.4 - 2 1.8 2 Drugs...... 10 4.9 7 4.6 3 6.4 27 24.5 21 4 Pollution; ecology 8 3.9 6 3.9 1 2.1 1 25.0 13 11.8 10 3 Schools...... 8 3.9 8 5.2 - - 23 20.9 18 4 Jobs; unemployment 7 3.4 3 1.9 4 8.5 - - 9 8.2 8 1 City deterioration; need for rebuilding..,,. 7 3.4 6 3.9 1 2.1 - - - lack of area for growth/development 6 2.9 5 3.9 ------Sanitation; sewers; flood control...... 6 2.9 4 2.6 2 4.3 - - 6 5.4 3 3 Local and state government 5 2.4 5 3.3 ------Youth; parental concern...... 4 1.9 3 1.9 1 2.1 - 8 7.2 6 1 Crime; need for policemen 3 1.5 2 1.3 1 2.1 - - 8 7.2 7 1 Community relations 3 1.5 2 1.3 1 2.1 - 2 1.8 2 Racial problems; prejudices...... 3 1.5 3 1.9 - - - 3 2.7 3 Care for the elderly ------21.811 Welfare - - - - 4 4.2 3 1 Coordinated development ------6 5.4 6
Others (See page la)...... 8 3.9 7 4.6 1 2.1 - 11 10.0 8 3 None...... 27 13.2 22 14.3 5 lfo.7 - - Don’ t know ...... 35 17.1 26 16.9 9 19.2 16 14.5 10 6
T otals+ ...... 273 133.2 206 133.8 63 134.0 4 100.0 215 195.5 166 43
B/\SE CASES (Total Sample) 205 154 47 4 110 83 24 fV VI +ToCals which exceed base cases and percentages which equal more than 100% are due to multiple mentions. VI 256
The interviews with community leaders provided us with a substantial body of information. Surveys of the general public gave us additional data by which to ascertain community concern with various issues.
The geographical areas studied include Burlington City and County and the cities of Camden and Philadelphia. The three areas are detailed in the following tables.
15 Tables 13 through 24 were prepared as part of a "Special Survey Report" by Media Statistics, Incorporated, during December 1971. TABLE #14
Results of Che following question: CITY OF BURLT153TON SUBURBAN AREA "As of now, what do you consider the one most serious problem in the Burlington area?" Refused Refused Race Race Answer A.nswer Total White Black and Other* Total White Black and Other No. 7, No. -7, No. % No. % No. % No. No. No. Recreation; entertainment...... 31 15.1 20 13.0 11 23.4 3 2.7 2 1 - Housing; urban development...... 13 6.3 6 3.9 7 14.9 ------lack of shopping areas, need for industry...... 14 6.8 10 6.5 3 6.4 1 25.0 1 0.9 1 -- Traffic; transportation; roads...... 12 5.9 11 7.1 1 2.2 -- 15 13.7 11 4 - Taxes...... 9 4.4 7 4.6 1 2.1 1 25.0 8 7.3 6 2 - Crowding ; o v erpopulation...... 4 1.9 4 2.6 - - - - 1 0.9 1 -- Drugs...... 10 4.9 7 4.6 3 6.4 - - 22 20.0 17 3 2 Population; ecology...... 6 2.9 4 2.6 1 2.1 1 25.0 5 4.6 4 1 - Schools...... 6 2.9 6 3.9 - --- 10 9.1 7 2 1 Jobs; unemployment...... 1.0 1 0.6 1 2.1 - - 5 4.5 5 -- City deterioration; need for rebuilding ...... 2.9 5 3.3 1 2.1 ------Lack of area for growth/development...... 1.5 3 2.0 ------Sanitation; sewers; flood control...... 1.0 2 1.3 - - • - - 3 2.7 1 2 - local and state government...... 1.9 4 2.6 ------Youth; parental concern...... 1.9 3 2.0 1 2.1 - - 2 1.8 2 -- Crime; need for pollcement...... 0.6 1 0.6 --- - 5 4.6 4 1 - Community re la tio n s ...... 1.0 1 0.6 1 2.1 ------Racial problems; prejudices...... 0.6 1,, 0.6 - --- 1 0.9 1 -- Care for the elderly ...... - - - , -- -- 1 0.9 1 -- W elfare...... ------3 2.7 2 1 - Coordinated development...... ------2 1.8 2 - -
Others (See page 2a)...... 1.9 4 2.6 -- - - 3 2.7 2 1 -
None...... 12.2 19 12.3 6 12.8 ..--.. Don't know; no answer; re fu s a l ...... 22.4 35 22.7 10 21.3 1 25.0 20 18.2 14 6 -
T o ta ls...... 100.0 154 100.0 47 100.0 4 100.0 110 100.0 83 24 3
BASE CASES (Total Sample)
v$ TABLE #15
Burlington City and County General Public Evaluation "As Place To Live"
CITY OF BURLINGTON SUBURBjVN area Results of the following question: Refused "What do you think of the B urlington area Race as a place to live?" Answer Total White Black and Other* Total White Black Other No. % No. % No. 7. No. % No. . . J , .. No. No. No.
F in e...... 50.7 78 50.7 23 48.9 3 75.0 49 44.6 38 10 1 Good...... 32.2 47 30.5 18 38.3 1 25.0 39 35.5 27 10 2 N ice...... 6.3 10 6.5 3 6.4 - - 13 11.8 10 3 - F a ir ...... 2.0 4 2.6 - - - - 5 4.5 5 -- Poor...... 6 2 .9 4 2.6 2 4.3 - - 2 1.8 2 - - Very bad ...... 1.5 3 1.9 ------
Don't knoij...... 4.4 8 5.2 1 2.1 - - 2 1.8 1 1 -
T o ta ls...... 100.0 154 100.0 47 100.0 4 100.0 110 100.0 83 24 3
Bi\SC CASES (Total Sample)
TABLE #16
SAMPLE STATISTICS Sex-Age Groups Racial Composition of Sample ÇiÜ. Suburban
Men 18-34 ...... 33 9 W hite...... 154 Men 35-49 ...... 25 19 Black ...... 47 Ken 50+...... 20 11 Latin-American...... Women 18-34 ...... 24 19 O ther...... Women 35-49 ...... 36 19 W'omcn 50+...... 35 15 Refused Race Answer. Teens 12-17...... 32 17
No Answer...... 1 T o ta ls...... 205 ro T o ta ls...... 205 110 00 2 5 9
CAMDEN. Ntnj JERSEY Survey Dates - November 29 - December 13, 1971
TABLE #17
Camden General Public -- "Most Freouenlilv" Mentioned Problems
Results of the following question; "Thinking of all the things which you. yourself, consider important, what would you say are the most important Men Women Teens problems, needs or interests of Camden Total 12+ 18+ 18+ 12-17 at this time?" No. % No. No. No.
Housing; lack of housing; housing upkeep...... 43 43.0 22 15 6 Crime ; police p ro tectio n...... 4040.0 16 21 3 Need indus try/bus ines s ; stores moving ...... 24 24.0 9 13 2 Race re la tio n s ...... 14 14.0 8 3 3 Recreation; parks...... 12 12.0 4 3 5 Taxes...... 11 11.0 9 2 - Drugs...... 10 10.0 2 5 3 Traffic; transportation; State Street Bridge. 10 10.0 5 4 1 Local/state government...... 9 9.0 7 2 - Schools...... 8 8.0 3 2 3 Sanitation; sewerage; garbage; clean streets. 8 8.0 2 4 2 Poverty; welfare ...... 7 7 .a 1 4 2 Youth; juvenile delinquency ...... 6 6.0 2 3 1 Jobs; unemployment...... 6 6.0 1 2 3 Understanding; apathy; religion...... 5 5.0 2 2 1 Slums ; rebuild c ity ...... 5 5.0 4 1 - P o llu tio n...... 3 3.0 - 1 2 R iots...... 2 2.0 -- 2 Living costs ...... 1 1.0 1 --
Others (See page la)...... 11 11.0 4 3 4
None...... 1 1.0 _ 1 . Don't know ...... 2 2.0 1 1 -
T otals* ...... 238 238.0 103 92 43
BASE CASES (Total Sample) 100 40 45 15
♦Totals exceed base cases and percentages equal more than 100% due to multiple mentions. 2 6 0
TABLE #18
Camden General Public — Considered "Most Serious" Problems,
Results of the following question: "As of now, what do you consider the one most serious problem in Camden?" Men Women Teens Total 12+ 18+ 18+ 12-17 No. % No. No. No.
Housing; lack of housing; housing upkeep...... 18 18.0 9 7 2 Crime; police protection...... 21 21.0 7 13 1 Need industry/business; stores moving ...... 4 4.0 1 3 - Race re la tio n s ...... 7 7.0 4 1 2 Recreation; parks...... 1 1.0 1 -- Taxes...... 2 2.0 2 - - Drugs...... 10 10.0 2 5 3 Traffic; transportation; State Street Bridge. - - - - - Local/state government...... 3 3.0 2 1 - Schools...... 1 1.0 -- 1 Sanitation; sewerage; garbage, clean streets. 2 2.0 - 2 - Poverty; welfare ...... 1 1.0 -- 1 Youth; juvenile delinquency ...... 1 1.0 - 1 - Jobs ; unemployment...... ----- Understanding; apathy; religion...... 3 3.0 1 2 - Slums...... 1 1 .0 , 1 - - P o llu tio n...... 1 1.0 - - 1 R io ts...... - - -- - Living costs ...... 1 1.0 1 --
Others (See below) ...... 3 3.0 2 - 1
None...... 2 2.0 _ 2 Don't know; no answer; re fu s a l ...... 18 18.0 7 8 3
T o ta ls...... '...... 100 100.0 40 45 15
BASE CASES (Total Sample)
Additional types of problems grouped under "Others" above:
Men Wrong people Too many people foul up things and they don't get done
Teens Accidents 261
TABLE #21 PHILADELPHIA. PENNSYT,\'ANL'\
Survey Dates - November 26 - December 1, 1971
H iiladelphia General Public -- "Most Frequently" Mentioned Problems
Results of the following question: "Thinking of all the things which you, yourself, consider important, what would you say are the most important Teens problems, needs or intere'ts of Totial 12+ Men 18+ Women 18+ 12-17 Philadelphia at this time?" No. % No No. % No
Crime; law enforcement...... 178 59.4 77 64.2 89 65.9 12 26.7 Drugs; alcohol...... 78 26.0 21 17.5 41 30.3 16 35.6 Local/state government...... 69 23.0 41 34.2 22 16.3 6 13.3 Schools...... 61 20.4 18 15.0 34 25.2 9 20.0 Housing; redevelopment...... 47 15.7 28 23.3 14 10.4 5 11.1 Race relations ...... 43 14.3 20 16.7 14 10.4 9 20.0 Gangs; fights; riots ...... 37 12.3 8 6.7 12 8.9 17 37.8 Traffic; transportation...... 33 11.0 16 13.3 12 8.9 5 11.1 P o llu tio n...... 33 11.0 9 7.5 12 8.9 12 26.7 Jobs; unemployment; strikes ...... 31 10.3 19 15.8 10 7.4 2 4.4 Taxes...... 31 10.3 16 13.3 14 10.4 1 2.2 Recreation; bicentennial; entertainment 29 9.7 9 7.5 13 9.7 7 15.6 Sanitation; d irty s tr e e ts ...... 26 8.7 8 6.7 16 11.8 2 4.4 Youth; juvenile delinquency ...... 22 7.3 7 5.9 14 10.4 1 2.2 Living co sts; so cial economy ...... 6.3 9 7.5 7 5.2 3 6.7 Slums; g h etto s...... 16 5.3 3 2.5 8 5.9 5 11.1 Poverty; welfare ...... 15 5.0 4 3.3 8 5.9 3 6,7 Lack of understanding; community relations/religion ...... 2 4.0 9 7.5 3 2.2 -- Care for the elderly ...... 10 3.3 1 0.8 9 6.6 - - Graffiti on buildings ...... 6 2.0 2 1.7 2 1.5 2 4 .4 Industry; markets ...... 3 1.0 1 0.8 2 1.5 -- Health; medical care ...... 2 0.7 1 0.8 1 0.7 --
Others (See page la)...... 10 3.3 5 4.2 5 3.7 --
Totals* ...... 811 270.3 332 276.7 363 268.1 117 260.0
BASE CASES (Total Sample) 300 120 135 45
♦Totals exceed base cases and percentages equal more than 100% due to multiple mentions. 2 6 2
XABLE #22
Philadelphia General Public — Considered "Host Serious" Problem
Results of the following question: "As of now, what do you consider the Teens one most serious problem in Total 12 + Men 18+ Women 18+ 12-17 Philadelphia?" No. % No. 2L No. . 7,
Crime; law enforcement...... 100 33.3 43 35.9 52 38.5 11.1 Drugs; alcohol...... 41 13.7 13 10.8 20 14.8 17.8 local/state government...... 15 5.0 10 8.3 4 3.0 2.2 Schools...... 19 6.3 6 5.0 11 8.1 4.5 Housing; redevelopment...... 8 2.7 3 2.5 4 3.0 2.2 Race re la tio n s ...... 19 6.3 9 7.5 6 4.4 8.9 Gangs; fights; riots ...... 20 6.7 4 3.3 7 5.2 20.0 Traffic; transportation...... 5 1.7 4 3.3 1 0.7 P o llu tio n...... 11 3.7 4 3.3 2 1.5 11.1 Jobs; unemployment; s tr ik e s ...... 9 3.0 5 4.2 4 3.0 Taxes...... 6 2.0 2 1.7 4 3.0 Recreation; bicentennial; entertainment Sanitation; dirty streets ...... 6 2.0 2 1.7 3 2.2 2.2 Youth; juvenile delinquency ...... 5 1.7 1 0.8 3 2.2 2.2 Living costs; social economy ...... 7 2.3 2 1.7 4 3.0 2.2 Slums; g h etto s...... 4 1.3 2 1.5 4.5 Poverty; welfare ...... 1 0.3 1 0.7 Lack of understanding/community relations/religion ...... 3 1.0 2.5 Care for the elderly ...... Graffiti on buildings ...... Lack of indus try/m arkets ...... Health; medical care......
Others (See below) ...... 3 1.0 0.8 1.5
Don't know; no answer; refusal ...... 18 6.0 8 6.7 3.7 5 11.1
T o tals...... 300 110.0 120 100.0 135 100.0 45 100.0
BASE CASES (Total Sample) 263
TABLE #23
Hilladclphia General Public Evaluation "As A Place To Live"
Results of the following question: Teens "What do you think of the Ih ila d e l Total 12+ Men 18+ Women 18+ 12-17 phia area as a place to live?" No. % No. % No. No
Fine...... 106 35.3 32 26.7 61 45.2 13 28.9 Good...... 83 27.7 34 28.3 35 25.9 14 31.1 N ice...... 16 5.3 2 1.7 5 3.7 9 20.0 F a ir...... 41 13.7 21 17.5 16 11.9 4 8.9 Poor...... 36 12.0 20 16.7 11 8.1 5 11.1 Very bad ...... 17 5.7 10 8.3 7 5.2 - -
Don't know... 1 0.3 1 0.8 - - - -
T o ta ls...... 300 100.0 120 100.0 135 100.0 45 100.0
BASE CASES (Total Sample)
Hiiladelphia General Public TABLE #24
SAMPLE SEX-AGE GROUPS
Men 18-34 ...... 45 Men 35-49 ...... 19 Men 50+...... 51 Women 18-34 ...... 35 Women 35-49 ...... 31 Women 50+...... 68 Teens 12-17...... 45
No answer; refusal...... 6
T o ta l ...... 300 APPENDIX C
264 2 6 5
AMENDMENT
The pending application oE Station WKBS TV, Burlington,
New Jersey, for in itial license (BLCT-1615) is hereby amended
as follows:
During the first six months of 1969, the permittee has
been in the process of re-evaluating the station's overall
programming and particularly its local programming efforts. It
has regretfully concluded that WKBS TV's production efforts
have been overextended, particularly in the field of news, where
(in early 1969) it was producing five hour-long prime time
news programs on week nights plus substantial weekend and day
time news programs, at a direct monthly, out-of-pocket cost of
$38.8 thousand, excluding substantial indirect engineering,
production and other costs. While impressive in the scope of
the task undertaken, these efforts did not produce either audience or commercial success, or news programming of a professional quality satisfactory to the permittee — all during a period in which the station has continued to operate at a substantial loss. The permittee has not by any means concluded that there is no need for prime time news programming by an independent station operating in the Philadelphia television market. WKBS TV continues to produce five hald-hour prime time news programs on week nights, together with special New Jersey oriented news programs on Saturdays and Sundays as well as short news inserts in various portions of its schedule. We point out that the scope of this news effort is considerably larger than that 266
of the ordinary independent UHF station. The permittee is hopeful
that by concentrating its efforts on a more manageable task, it can produce results more satisfactory to the public and to itself.
Apart from news, cuts in the studio crews employed have made it necessary to curtail some of the local interviews which have been a feature of various WKBS TV daytime programs. In addition, considerable amounts of the syndicated public affairs programming of a discussion type which the station has telecast (for example, the Alan Burke Show and the Les Crane Show) either has become or w ill shortly become unavailable, as contracts expire and no new episodes are being produced. (It appears that programming of this type has largely run its cycle; considerably less of it is being produced now than in the past few years.)
Notwithstanding these cuts, the station's overall effort in news, public affairs and other non-entercainm^nt, mon-sports programming, as well as in local programming generally, remains a substantial one. We have analyzed programming for the week of
May 11 through May 17, 1969 in the terms prescribed by the
Commission's logging rules and application forms, with the following r e s u lts :
Program Types (excluding commercial time)
Hours Percentage of Operating Hours
News 3:32 3.6%
P.A. 4:12 4.3%
Other 5:38 5.7% (excluding Entertainment and Sports) 267
L ocal Frogramming (in clu d in g com m ercials)
8:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M. 8 hours, 45 m inutes
6:00 P.M. - 11:00 P.M. 5 hours, 30 m inutes
All other hours 1 hour, 15 minutes
We are now in the process of making final decisions as to the station's fall schedule. Ihe amounts of public affairs programming carried on a regular, weekly basis may decline from those shown by the analysis for May given above, as a result of further reductions in syndicated programming of this type.
However, on an overall basis, we believe that the May analysis fairly represents the rough statistical dimensions of the programming involved which WKBS TV w ill carry for some time to come.
KAISER BROADCASTING CORPORATION
Assistant Secretary
June 27, 1969 APPENDIX D
268 269
AMENDMENT
The pending application of Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation
for license to cover construction permit for WKBS TV, Burlington,
New Jersey (BLCT-1615), is amended hereby as follows:
Since the filing of the last statement concerning the program s e r v ic e o f WKBS TV (s e e th e amendment to th is a p p lic a tio n dated October 6, 1970), the permittee has re-evaluated generally the nature and prospects of the informational programming which WKBS TV provides. As the Commission is aware, the station’s news and public affairs format currently centers upon a half-hour prime time newscast on weeknights, a weekly half-hour news and news-interview program on New Jersey topics ("Impact: New Jersey"), and two weekly interview/discussion programs ("Point of View" and "Let’s Talk
About It"). Through these and associated programs, the station has sought to match and outperform the informational services of its network-affiliated VHP competitors in scope, depth and production q u a lity .
As the Commission is also aware, the cost of such an effort is substantial. Attached is a breakdown of those costs for the years
1968-1970 both for WKBS TV and for the Kaiser stations as a group.
As the breakdown shows, over the three-year period involved, WKBS TV has expended over $1.5 m illion on these functions and the company as a whole has expended over $6 m illion on the same functions. 270
News costs at WKBS TV 1968-1970:
1968 1969 1970 Total (10 mos. actual; 2 mos. e s t .)
Direct News Department Costs 403,000 344,000 295,000 1,042,000
Related Produc tion Costs 50,000 55,000 60,000 165,000
Promotion Expense 76,000 92,000 87,000 255,000
Total 529,000 491,000 442,000 1,462,000
Capital Expendi tures, 1968-70 (News Equipment) 82,000
Comparable costs for Kaiser stations as a group have been as fo llo w s :
Direct News Department Costs 1,246,000 1,315,000 1,320,000 3,881,000
Related Produc tion Costs 200,000 210,000 250,000 660,000
Promotion Expense 422,000 360,000 350,000 1,132,000
Total 1,868,000 1,885,000 1,920,000 5,673,000
Capital Expendi tures, 1968-70 (News Equipment) 334,000 2 7 1
Unlike most operators of independent stations (UHF or
VHF), Kaiser decided to undertake an informational effort of
this magnitude long before any of its stations could be expected
to be commercially self-sustaining. In our judgment, performance
in the nevs and public affairs sphere is a vital aspect of the
service which any mature independent station can provide. Our
decision to invest in independent UHF operation assumed from the
outset a substantial initial period of loss operation. We recognized
also that the building of an effective news staff and the creation
of a quality news and public affairs service is a process which takes
time. Up to this point, Kaiser has been willing to invest substantial amounts in broadcast journalism without hope of immediate reward, both as a matter of long-range business judgment and as a means of
fulfilling its license obligations.
Two factors, however, have caused us to reconsider this decision. First, it now appears that the initial period of loss operation for independent UHF stations w ill be longer than had been a n tic ip a te d — no m atter how a g g r e ssiv e ly the s ta tio n s are programmed and promoted. There are a number of causes for this delay in commercial maturation, but we are inclined to attribute primary responsibility to the remaining problems in UHF tuning and receiver antennas. (See our pleadings in Docket No. 18433.) It now appears that even the partial steps the Commission has taken to meet problems in this sphere w ill not be fully effective as to receivers shipped in interstate commerce until the middle of 1974. The effect on receivers in the hands of the public w ill be even slower. 272
Second, the national economy is not currently growing at a
substantial rate (if at all), experiencing both inflation and unemploy ment. Tlie effects of even small changes in th e general economic
climate are felt most sharply by media which (like independent UHF
stations) are not yet fully established as primary advertising vehicles. At the same time, general economic conditions make it extraordinarily costly to invest substantial liquid resources in uses which neither produce a present return nor move the Kaiser stations perceptibly towards a self-sustaining status. While we look for changes in this situation within the next few years, it would not be prudent to anticipate a sharp reversal of current trends in the near future.
Considering all these factors, we have reluctantly concluded that we cannot afford to sustain a news and public affairs effort at WKBS TV and the other Kaiser stations of the kind which has been made for th e la s t th ree y e a r s. This does n ot mean th a t we intend to abandon the field now or refrain from any full-fledged effort, permanently. It does mean that we propose to cut back expenditures sharply for the time being, so as to concentrate resources on the task of making the stations viable enterprises.
Thus, we have sought and are implementing permits at
WKBS TV and the other Kaiser stations authorizing substantial increases in effective radiated power (see BPCT-4332). The costs associated with this program are significant, but they constitute a burden we think necessary if the stations are to achieve fully competitive status in their markets. Similarly, we hope and plan to retain at 273
le a s t one h ig h ly train ed and exp erienced newsman a t each s t a t io n ,
including WKBS TV, who can serve both as a center of production
effort in the informational field during the hiatus in fuller
production which we envision and as the nucleus for a larger staff
when the h ia tu s has come to an end.
It w ill take some weeks before we are able to describe
with any reliability the dimensions of the news and public affairs
effort which we believe WKBS TV w ill be able to sustain during the
hiatus. Our present plans, however, call for a half-hour live
newscast and news interview program each weekday morning, as w ell
as a 10-minute newscast in mid-afternoon on weekdays. We plan also
to continue the five-minute "For Your Information" and the shorter
"Spotlight" interviews and discussions on community matters at various
times in the station's schedule, as well as the regular editorials now
carried. Over and above this schedule, the station w ill continue to
carry religious messages at sign-on and sign-off and a half-hour
syndicated religious program on Sundays. It may also be possible to
sustain the "Impact: New Jersey" program or "Let's Talk About It"
on a somewhat different schedule, or to obtain other informational
or instructional programming from appropriate local or national
institutions.
We stress that, whether or not a program such as "Impact:
New Jersey" is continued, the station w ill provide coverage for matters
of concern to Burlington and New Jersey in the projected news and news interview programs, as well as "For Your Information" and
"Spotlight." It w ill also utilize these vehicles to explore matters of special interest to black viewers and to the entire community which it serves-. 274
Projecting operation for the immediate future, we would
expect the station's 100-hour weekly format to produce the following
amounts of time in the categories which are significant in the
Commission’s application forms:
Program Types (excluding commercial time)
Hours & Minutes
News 3 :0 0
Public Affairs 1:45
Other (excluding Entertainment & Sports) 1:40
Local Programming (including commercial time)
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM 5:30
6:00 PM - 11:00 PM 2:00
All other hours 1:10
The Commission w ill, of course, be kept advised of any substantial changes in these plans which may occur as we gain additional experience.
KAISER BROADCASTING CORPORATION
Assistant Secretary
12 November 1970 APPENDIX E
275 X: Barry ]!. Thurston Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation S. More Roscnman C arl G rant Station WKBS TV Philadelphia
lEWS GENERAL Month 70 Year to Date
A B e tte r A ctu al T arget A ctual T arg et Worse -cr S a la rie s and Wages 10 184 300 116 97 961 102 200 239 Overtime 1 072 000 72 CR 582 Talent Fees 000 418 5 747 000 253 032 000 Payroll Taxes 968 207 100 107 CR 785 000 215 Iroup BcneClts 476 300 176 CR 265 700 665 CR Due side Pnrch Labor 200 200 800 766 Outside Purch Tient CR 163 Fils: Processing 188 CR 400 324 853 600 Filn Raostock 747 564 000 436 834 000 Line digs and Loops 166 k'irc Services 548 800 748 CR 20 307 200 Sets and Props 107 CR 269 269 CR Nev;s Prod Supplies 300 233 712 700 Pnrch Prdction Svcs 988 100 100 385 900 01fice Supplies 515 100 100 196 900 704 Print Dup Scat CR 328 CR Parts and Supplies 150 150 CR 578 CR Repairs and Maint 200 131 600 800 200 Freight Delivery 1 CR 20 Telcph And Telcgr 20 CR 272 400 128 726 600 Mo:; b Dues and Sub 874 44 44 CR 199 Encertaiivr.cnt 199 CR 100 318 900 582 Travel and Auto 233 500 733 CR 429 Equip Rent Lease 300 929 CR CR 377 377 CR Recruit and Reloc 166 166 CR 090 Employee Education 090 CR Prof Services O ther News
TOTAL ND'.’S GEN 837 800 963 219 068 231 800 732
to o> WKBS TV TARGET 1972 BUDGET
NEWS GENERAL______1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1972 S a la r ie s & Wages ______25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 300 O vertim e Talent Fees Payroll Taxes 2 2 2 6 Group Life Insurance 1 1______1 1 1 5 Group Medical Insurance Other Benefits Outside Purch Labor Film Processing Film Raw Stock Line Charges Loops Wire Service 777777777777 84 Sets and Props Production Supplies Office Supplies P r in t Pup S ta tr y Parts and Supplies Repairs & Maintenance Telephone & Telegraph ______323232323232 30 Member Dues Sub 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 E ntertainm ent Cash ______111111111111 _____12 T ravel-A uto Cash 1 1 ______1111 6 Entertainment Recip Travel-Auto Recip Equipment Rent/Lease Employee Education Professional Services Other News______1______1 2 3 2 3 1 3 4 1 4_____25 ______40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 480
N3
■vj BIBLIOGRAPHY
Articles and Periodicals
"Breaking the UHF Profit Barrier," Broadcasting, March 16, 1970, p. 64.
"A Huge Growth in the TV Audience," Broadcasting. February 1, 1971, p. 22.
"The Huge Radio TV News Staff, Broadcasting, November 9, 1964, p. 50.
"Indies Fattening Up on 3-Hr. Rule in Most Key Markets," Variety, October 13, 1971, p. 32
"Kaiser, Field Put Their U's Together," Broadcasting. May 29, 1972, p. 8.
"Kaiser Follows Its Script on FM Sales," Broadcasting. June 5, 1972, p. 5.
"Kaiser Industries Searches for a New Mix," Business Week. April 10, 1971, p. 78.
Minow, Newton F. "Program Control, The Broadcasters are Public Trustees," Vital Speeches of the Day. XXVII (June 15, 1961), pp. 534-537.
"Most Top Markets Air Extended TV News," Television/Radio Age, January 25, 1971, p . 3 4 .
"News a Casualty of Economic Austerity in Kaiser UHF Group," Variety, November 18, 1970, p. 49.
Philadelphia ARB Television Market, May 1972.
Pinkerton, Jr., W. Stewart. "Year of the Ax," The Wall Street Journal, February 16, 1971, p 1.
Saul, S.J. "Publisher's Letter," Television/Radio Age. September 20, 1971, p. 12.
"TV Viewing Hits New High," Broadcasting, July 18, 1971, p. 35.
"Typical U Can See Breakeven Point," Broadcasting. August 23, 1971, p. 49.
Ways, Max. "What's Wrong with News? It Isn't New Enough," Fortune, October 1969, p. 159.
"Where Are U Now," Sponsor, June 1967, p. 40.
"Where the UHF Equipped Homes Are," Broadcasting, July 5, 1971, p. 32.
278 Books
Barrett, Marvin (ed.). Survey of Broadcast Journalism 1970-1971, New York; Grosset & Dunlap, 1971.
Bluem, A. William, Cox, John F., and McPherson, Gene. Television in the Public Interest. New York: Hastings House, 1961.
Bulletin Almanac 1972, Philadelphia: The Evening and Sunday Bulletin, 1972.
Chester, Giraud, Garrison, Garnet R., and W illis Edgar E. Television and Radio. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1963.
Haley, Sir William. Survey of Broadcast Journalism 1968-1969, New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1970.
Personal Interviews
Personal Interview with Reverend William Allen, Pastor, First Baptist Church of Burlington, Burlington, New Jersey. October 19, 1971.
Personal interview with James Alloway, President, Civil Service Commission, State of New Jersey, Trenton, New Jersey. September 24, 1971.
Personal interview with Stuart Alperin, Director, Jewish Community Center of Camden County, Cherry H ill, New Jersey. December 1, 1971.
Personal interview with James Ayrer, Treasurer, City of Burlington, Burlington, New Jersey. October 5, 1971.
Personal interview with William Baughman, Industrial Representative, Camden County Economic Development Committee, Cherry H ill, New Jersey. November 5, 1971.
Personal interview with Isadora B eilis, Councilman, City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 8, 1971.
Personal interview with Richard Betres, Director of Development, Archdiocese of Philadelphia Schools, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 5, 1971.
Personal interview with Dr. Henry Bisbee, Chairman, Planning Board, City of Burlington, Burlington, New Jersey. October 5, 1971.
Personal interview with Mrs. Carol Brooks, Director, Camden County Office of Community A ffairs, Cherry H ill, New Jersey. December 1, 1971.
Personal interview with William Burgess, Post Commander, American Legion Post #79 of Burlington, Burlington, New Jersey. October 19, 1971.
279 Personal interview with Damon Childs, Executive Director, Philadelphia I Planning Commission. November 12, 1971.
Personal interview with George Clayton, Chief, Burlington City Police, Burlington, New Jersey. October 5, 1971.
Personal interview with Mrs. Ruth Coleman, Executive Director, Camden County Office of Economic Opportunity, Cherry H ill, New Jersey. December 6 , 1971.
Personal interview with Herman Costello, Mayor, City of Burlington, Burlington, New Jersey. October 19, 1971.
Personal interview with Maurice Davenport, Executive Director, National Council on Alcoholism — Delaware Valley, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 12, 1971.
Personal interview with Joseph Dorris, Administrator, City of Camden, Cherry H ill, New Jersey, December 1, 1971.
Personal interview with Robert Dotti, Superintendent of Burlington Schools, Burlington, New Jersey. October 5 , 1971.
Personal interview with Mrs. Marjorie Duckery, President, Philadelphia Citizen's Commission on Public Education, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 4, 1971.
Personal interview with Otis Fields, President, Burlington City Teachers' Association, Burlington, New Jersey. October 19, 1971.
Personal interview with Andrew Freeman, Executive Director, Urban League of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 9 , 1971.
Personal interview with Robert Gallagher, Director, Burlington County Welfare Department, Mount Holly, New Jersey. November 10, 1971.
Personal interview with Tyron Gilliams, President, Careers, Incorporated, of Camden, Cherry H ill, New Jersey. December 3, 1971.
Personal interview with Thomas Gola, Controller, City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 4, 1971.
Personal interview with Wilson Goode, Executive Director, Philadelphia Council for Community Advancement, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 5, 1971.
Personal interview with Henry Haines, Realtor, Haines and Haines Real Estate, Burlington, New Jersey. October 5, 1971.
Personal interview with Melvin Hardy, Executive Director, Philadelphia Anti-Poverty Action Commission, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 12, 1971.
280 Personal interview with David Hedlam, Business Representative, Carpenters Local 1489 of Burlington, Burlington, New Jersey. October 19, 1971.
Personal interview with D. Donald Jamieson, President Judge, Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 5, 1971.
Personal interview with Samuel A. Jeanes, Executive Secretary, Council of Churches of Greater Camden, Camden, New Jersey. December 14, 1971.
Personal interview with Robert Johnson, Business Manager, WKBS TV, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. October 15, 1970.
Personal interview with Daniel Keegan, Director, Burlington City Welfare Department Burlington, New Jersey. October 5, 1971.
Personal interview with James Lawless, Business Manager, WKBS TV, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. December 6, 1971.
Personal interview with Harvey Levitan, Director College Skills Center and American Business Institute of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, P ennsylvania. December 9 , 1971.
Personal interview with Frank Lockhart, Member, Board of Burlington County Freeholders, Mount Holly, New Jersey. November 10, 1971.
Personal interview with Reverend Ernest Fyght, Member, Burlington City Community Development Corporation, Burlington, New Jersey. December 21, 1971.
Personal interview with Miles Mahoney, Deputy Executive Director, Philadelphia Housing Authority, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 4, 1971.
Personal interview with Harry McConnell, Chief, Burlington County Detective Bureau, Mount Holly, New Jersey. November 10, 1971.
Personal interview with John McConnell, Chancellor, Philadelphia Bar Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 12, 1971.
Personal interview with James McConnon, Chairman, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 12, 1971.
Personal interview with James M iller, Director, Board of Burlington County Freeholders, Mount Holly, New Jersey. November 10, 1971.
Personal interview with John M iller, New Jersey State Senator, D istrict 3-C, Camden County, Cherry H ill, New Jersey. September 10, 1971.
Personal interview with Lennox Moak, Director, Pennsylvania Economy League, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 4, 1971.
281 Personal interview with Joseph Nardi, Mayor, City of Camden, Camden, New Jersey. November 22, 1971.
Personal interview with Fred Norcross, Jr., Member, Board of Burlington County Freeholders, Mount Holly, New Jersey. November 10, 1971.
Personal interview with Earl Perloff, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Philadelphia General Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 9, 1971.
Personal interview with Mrs. A. Sherwood Platt, President, Philadelphia Home and School Council, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 3, 1971.
Personal interview with Manuel Polsky, Owner, Polsky's Clothing Store, Burlington, New Jersey. October 19, 1971.
Personal interview with Mario Rodriguez, Member, New Jersey Civil Rights Commission, Camden, New Jersey. October 26, 1971.
Personal interview with Jesus Rodrigues, Director, Movement to Improve and Rehabilitate Areas of Camden, Cherry H ill, New Jersey. December 3 , 1971.
Personal interview with William Rosenberg, Senior Student, Burlington City High School, Burlington, New Jersey. December 22, 1971.
Personal interviews with Mort Rosenman, Program Manager, WKBS TV, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. February 16, 1971, and May 28, 1971.
Personal interview with George X. Schwartz, President, Philadelphia City Council, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 12, 1971.
Personal interview with Poppy Sharpe, Founder, Black People's Unity Movement, Camden, New J e r s e y . December 1, 1971.
Personal interview with Dr. Mark Shedd, Superintendent of Philadelphia Schools, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 4, 1971.
Personal interview with Dr. Charles Smerin, Superintendent of Camden Schools, Cherry H ill, New Jersey. December 3, 1971.
Personal interview with Mrs. Juanita Kidd Stout, Judge, Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 18, 1971.
Personal interview with Mrs. Wilma Stringfellow, Executive Director, YMCA of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 3, 1971.
Personal interview with Michael Strong, President, Housing Association of the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 4, 1971.
Personal interview with Frank Sullivan, President, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 3, 1971.
282 lersonal interview with Diana Tarpey, Junior Student, JFK High School of Willingboro, Willingboro, Hew Jersey. December 22, 1971.
Personal interview with Bruce Taylor, President, Blue Cross o f G rea ter Philadelphia, November 12, 1971.
Personal interview with Lee Thorton, Deputy Director, Burlington County Community Action Program, Burlington, New Jersey. October 19, 1971.
Personal interview with Peter Volpe, President, Employees of the City of Burlington Council #6, Burlington, New Jersey. October 19, 1971.
Personal interview with Arnold Weber, Director of Economic Development, City of Camden, Camden, New Jersey. December 1, 1971.
Personal interview with Charles Wheatley, Owner, Burlington City Orthotics Plant and Store, Burlington, New Jersey. October 19, 1971.
Personal interview with Bertram Zumeta, Senior Vice President and Economist, First Pennsylvania Bank of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 3, 1971.
Public Documents
Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation. Amendment (to the pending application of Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation before the Federal Communications Commission for license to cover construction permit for WKBS TV, Burlington, New Jersey, BLCT-1615), June 27, 1969.
Kaiser Broadcasting Corportation. Amendment (to the pending application of Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation before the Federal Communications Commission for license to cover construction permit for WKBS TV, Burlington, New Jersey, BLCT-1615), November 12, 1970.
U.S. Congressional Record. Vol. 115. November 13, 1969. No. 187.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Application for Renewal of Broadcast Station License, FCC Form 303, February 1969.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Broadcast Primer. INF Bulletin No. 2-B, July 1966.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission. TV Broadcast Financial Data — 1970, Public Notice No. 71434, September 7, 1971.
WKBS TV. Application for Renewal of Broadcast Station License, FCC Form 303, February 7, 1972.
283 R eports
Burlington County, New Jersey, Board of Elections. Voter Registration Figures for 1971. Mount Holly: Burlington County Board of Elections, 1971.
Camden C ounty, New J e r se y , Board o f E le c tio n s . V oter R e g is tr a tio n F ig u res fo r 1971. Camden: Camden County Board o f E le c tio n s , 1971.
Camden Economic Development A d visory Com m ittee. P rogress R eport and Economic A ctio n Program fo r 1971. Camden: Camden Economic Development Advisory Committee, 1971.
Camden, New Jersey, Office of the Mayor. Spanish-speaking Population Estimates. Camden: Office of the Mayor, 1971.
Council of Spanish-speaking Origin of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Spanish- speaking Population Estimates. Philadelphia: Council of Spanish speaking Origin, 1971.
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. Delaware Valley Data. Philadelphia: Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, 1971.
Federal Reserve Bank. The Financial Future of City and School Government in Philadelphia. Philadelphia: Federal Reserve Bank, 1971.
G rea ter P h ila d e lp h ia Chamber o f Commerce. G reater P h ila d e lp h ia F a c ts . Philadelphia: Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, 1969.
Greater Philadelphia Council of Churches. Religious Statistical Survey. Philadelphia: Greater Philadelphia Council of Churches, 1966.
Media Statistics, Incorporated. Special Survey Report. New York: Media Statistics, Incorporated, 1971.
National Association ofBroadcasters. Bruskin Study Indicates Television Extends Lead As Primary News Source, Most Believable; Roper Studies Confirmed. New York: National Association of Broadcasters, 1970.
Peters, G riffin and Woodward, Incorporated. PGW Television Research — WKBS TV Philadelphia. New York: Peters, G riffin and Woodward, Incorporated, 1971.
Philadelphia Voter Registration Office. Voter Registration Figures for 1971. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Voter Registration Office, 1971.
WKBS TV. Program Schedule. Philadelphia: WKBS TV, 1970.
WKBS TV. Program Schedule. Philadelphia: kTCBS TV, 1972.
284 WKBS TV. The Ten O'clock News with Doug Johnson. Philadelphia: WKBS TV, 1S68.
WKBS TV. WKBS TV Beats KYW and WCAU in Early Fringe Adults 18-34. Philadelphia: WKBS TV, 1971.
U.S. Bureau of Census publications.
U.S. Department of Commerce publications.
Unpublished Material
Anneke, Carlo. "News Revenue Report for September." A Memo to the WKBS TV News Director from the WKBS TV General Manager, October 15, 1971.
Block, Richard C. "Director of News, Kaiser Broadcasting." A Memo to News Directors at Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Television Stations from the Corporation's Vice President and General Manager, March 2 3 , 1970.
Block, Richard C. "General Manager Various 23-69.” A Memo to General Managers at Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Television Stations from the Corporation's Vice President and General Manager, December 1, 1969.
Block, Richard C. "General Manager Various 9-70." A Memo to General Managers at Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Television Stations from the Corporations Vice President and General Manager, August 25, 1971.
Block, Richard C. "General Manager Various 1-71." A Memo to General Managers at Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Television Stations from the Corporation's Vice President and General Manager^ January 13, 1971.
Block, Richard C. "General Manager Various 13-71." A Memo to General Managers at Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Television Stations from the Corporation's Vice President and General Manager, November 30, 1971.
Block, Richard C. "News Screenings/WKBS TV (7/2/70 Telecasts)." A Memo to the News Director at WKBS TV from the Corporation's Vice President and General Manager, July 13, 1972.
Grant, Carl. "Delaware Valley Today." A Memo to the WKBS TV General Manager and Program Manager from the WKBS TV News Director, December 10, 1971.
Grant, Carl. "Grant and Grady Ten O'clock Report." A Memo to the WKBS TV News Staff from the WKBS TV News Director, September 28, 1970.
Grant, Carl. "Public Affairs Report." A Memo to the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Vice President of Programming from the WKBS TV News Director, February 29, 1972.
285 ;rant, Carl. "WKBS TV News." A Memo to the General Manager at WKBS TV from the WKBS TV News Director, February 5, 1971.
H ill, Eugene R. "Remote Pickup." A Memo to General Managers, Engineering Managers and News Directors at Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Television Stations from the Corporation's Vice President of Engineering, June 23, 1970.
Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation. "Kaiser Broadcasting Policy and Procedure." Oakland, 1969.
Rosenman, S. Mort. "Editorials." A Memo to the General Manager at WKBS TV from the WKBS TV Program Manager, March 23, 1971.
Rosenman, S. Mort. "WKBS TV News." A Memo to the Vice President and General Manager of Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation from the WKBS TV Program Manager, June 30, 1970.
Rosenman, S. Mort. "WKBS TV News." A Memo to the Vice President of Programming of Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation from the WKBS TV Program Manager, March 12, 1971.
T hurston, Barry H. "News S c r e e n in g s." A Memo to the News D ir e c to r s a t th e Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation Television Stations from the Corporation's Vice President of Programming, June 11, 1970.
Thurston, Barry H. "WKBS TV News Screenings - 6/18/70 (Show 6/11/70)." A Memo th the News Director at WKBS TV from the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation's Vice President of Programming, June 19, 1970.
Thurston, Barry H. "Philadelphia News (6/18/70) - Screening 7/2/70." A Memo to the News Director at WKBS TV from the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation's Vice President of Programming, June 30, 1970.
Thurston, Barry H. "Philadelphia News (6/25/70) - Screening 7/2/70." A Memo to the News Director at WKBS TV from the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation's Vice President of Programming, July 2, 1970.
Thurston, Barry H. "Philadelphia News (8/27/70) - Screening (9/3/70)." A Memo to the News Director at WKBS TV from the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation's Vice President of Programming, September 8, 1970.
Thurston, Barry H. "Philadelphia News 9/10/70 - Screening 9/17/70." A Memo to the News Director at WKBS TV from the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation's Vice President of Programming, September 22, 1970.
T hurston, Barry H. "News S creen in g 9 /2 5 /7 0 ." A Memo to th e News D ir e c to r a t WKBS TV from the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation's Vice President of Programming, September 28, 1970.
286 Thurston, Barry H. "News 9/29/70." A Memo to the News Director at WKBS TV from the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation's Vice President of Programming, October 5, 1970.
Thurston, Barry H. "Philadelphia News 10/1/70." A Memo to the News Director at WKBS TV from the Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation's Vice President of Programming, October 12, 1970.
Thurston, Barry H. "Prime Time — Independent Markets (January 1972 ARB." A Memo to the Program Managers at the Raiser Broadcasting Corporation Television Stations from the Corporation's Vice President o f Programming, March 10, 1972.
WKBS TV. "Agreement Between Kaiser Broadcasting Corporation and International Brotherhood o f E le c tr ic a l Workers AFL-CIO-CLC." June 1, 1968.
WKBS TV. "Salaried Position Description — News Managing Editor." August 1970.
WKBS TV. "Salaried Position Description — News Reporters." August 1970.
WKBS TV. "WKBS TV Target 1972 — News G eneral." March 9 , 1972.
287