2007 Fall Television Quarterly

THE JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS AND SCIENCES VOLUME XXXIX NUMBER 1 FALL 2007 TV Pro Pat Mitchell Runs Paley Media Center by Fritz Jacobi Digital Video Chávez Supports He Does Goes Press in No Such Wireless Venezuela Thing By John V. Pavlik By Andrés Izarra By Carlos Lauria VOLUME XXXIX NUMBER 1 • FALL 2007 THE JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES 3 The Paley Media Center: A TV Professional is in Charge By Fritz Jacobi. An exclusive interview with CEO Pat Mitchell. 7 Broadband Mobile Media: Digital Video Goes Wireless By John V. Pavlik. a new-media expert who dramatizes the surging use of hand-held devices. 15 Chávez Promotes Robust, Uncensored News Media in Venezuela By Andrés Izarra, a former independent broadcaster now defending the administration. 18 Chávez Does No Such Thing By Carlos Lauria of the Committee to Protect Journalists, who shows that press freedom conditions have seriously deteriorated under President Hugo Chávez. 22 So You Won’t Have Nixon to Kick Around Any More? By Greg Vitiello, who compares the Broadway play “Frost/Nixon” with the real-life interviews and ascertains that the villain of the play is television! 29 Bob and Ray: Their Rocky Start on Network Radio and Television in 1951 By David Pollock, an award-winning TV comedy writer, who traces the duo’s early difficulties. 36 Sitcoms? Wrong Name By David Horowitz, who believes that situations are not funny: It’s what the people in those situations say and do that make them funny. VOLUME TELEVISIONXXXIX NUMBER QUARTERLY 1 • FALL 2007 42 REVIEW AND COMMENT A Shadow of Red: Communism and the Blacklist in Radio and Television By David Everitt - Reviewed by Bernard S. Redmont Dimensions Behind The Twilight Zone By Stewart T. Stanyard - Reviewed by John V. Pavlik Television Tightrope: How I Escaped Hitler, Survived CBS and Fathered Viacom By Ralph Baruch, with Lee Broderick h - Reviewed by by Fritz Jacobi Not Remotely Controlled: Notes on Television By Lee Siegel - Reviewed by Earl Pomerantz The Sopranos: The Book By Brett Martin - Reviewed by Ron Simon Same Time, Same Station By James L. Baughman - Reviewed by Norman Felsenthal Something on My Own: Gertrude Berg and American Broadcasting, 1929-1956 By Glenn D. Smith, Jr. - Reviewed by David Marc 62 TELEVISION REVIEW Student Emmy Winners: Saluting the new generation of broadcast journalists By Greg Vitiello Members Rhoda L. Lipton TOM ASCHEIM David Marc Richard Campbell Howard A. MYricK JANE D. coleman Peter O. Price EDITORIAL BOARD Jannette L. Dates RON Simon Editor FRITZ Jacobi Michael M. Epstein GREG Vitiello Norman Felsenthal Chair Graphics Consultant John V. PavliK Melvin A. Goldberg don demaio Chair Emerita Kenneth Harwood Editorial Assistant MARY ANN Watson Lawrence LAURENT LAUREN Saverine © Copyright 2007 by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT: www.tvquarterly.com COVER: Paley Center CEO Pat Mitchell with film director George Lucas. Photo by Kevin Parry / The Paley Center for Media 2 TELEVISION QUARTERLY The Paley Media Center: A TV Professional is in Charge By Fritz Jacobi ast June the Museum of “To better reflect its evolution to a Television and Radio– center that convenes media leaders established by CBS Chairman and enthusiasts for programs that L William S. Paley in 1975 explore and illuminate the immense as the Museum of Broadcasting– and growing impact of all media on changed its name once again: to the our lives, culture and society.” Paley Center for Media. The reason, In an exclusive interview with according to an official announcement: Television Quarterly, Paley Center Kevin Parry / The Paley Center for Media Paley Media Center CEO Pat Mitchell 3 TELEVISION QUARTERLY president Pat Mitchell, who had served Ms. Mitchell noted, citing appearances as PBS president for six years before by such figures as Madeleine Albright joining the MTR as chief executive in and Henry Kissinger in public forums 2006, explained that MTR Chairman at the Center. Frank A. Bennack, Jr., the former “We have a dual mission,” she added, head of the Hearst Corporation, had “media-industry people and public discussed with her the need for a name programs.” She conducts many of the change. interviews herself. Having worked as “Frank noted that our board a reporter for all three broadcasting reflected a much broader spectrum of networks from 1972 to 1992, she brings media than just radio and television,” to the job an invaluable diversity of she said. “Now cable and the Internet experience. are involved. Ed Ney, a distinguished recent example of a well- advertising man, brought in a world- attended public program class naming organization, Landor, spotlighted Ms. Mitchell’s who donated their services. The A interview of Queen Noor of change took six months. They landed Jordan, the daughter of a distinguished on ‘Center’ because this is not an actual Arab-American family who in 1978 museum. Some visitors had actually married King Hussein, the father of asked for their money back when they Jordan‘s present king. Taking place the discovered that we didn’t display such very day the Museum changed its name artifacts as old television and radio sets to the Paley Center, the conversation or Archie Bunker’s chair. Even though covered Queen Noor’s devotion to such many young people never heard of causes as women and children’s welfare, Bill Paley, when they learned that he conservation and human rights, and was a great innovator the response also featured television clips focusing to the proposed new name was very on these aspects of her life. positive.” Ms. Mitchell attributes her facility s. Mitchell said that while as an interviewer not only to her both the Manhattan extensive television-news experience facility, on West 52nd but also to her previous work as a M Street, and the Beverly teacher. “Teaching prepared me best Hills branch in California–established for my entire career in television,” she in 1996–will continue to make their said. “Because in teaching, whether identical collections of radio and you were teaching sixth graders of television programs available to the college sophomores”–and she has done general public, the West Coast Center both–”you had to impart information will reflect the area’s greater interest in away that was engaging enough to in entertainment while the New York be remembered and impactful.” Center often spotlights public affairs. A major Paley Center project very For example, the Los Angeles Center close to Ms. Mitchell’s heart is “She features the Paley Festival of ten days Made It: Women Creating Television of current and classic television, with and Radio,” a tribute to the visionary participation by casts and directors, women pioneers and contemporary while in New York “we use the collection innovators who have had a major impact to show how a program may have had on the artistic growth and financial a role in influencing foreign policy,” success of radio and television. For 4 TELEVISION QUARTERLY Jimi Celeste/The Paley Center for Media Pat Mitchell (left) with Jordan’s American-born Queen Noor each of the past two years the Center of The Christian Science Monitor. has saluted 50 women–from Gertrude Unger asked her how, with so many Berg and Pauline Frederick to Rosanne competing cable channels, like the Barr and Judy Woodruff–who have History Channel, A&E and Discovery, been responsible for the development she thought PBS could survive. of the industry. “By being different,” she replied. “These contributions have been “They’ve stolen our genres but not largely ignored in standard textbooks,” our thunder…They don’t do what Ron Simon, the Center’s television we do. The History Channel is not curator, wrote last winter in Television doing history the way The American Quarterly. He added that “She Made Experience does. We have the purpose It” spotlights the accomplishments of of education in mind as well. So we “exemplary women in four distinct don’t just put a program on television realms: entertainment, news, sports for entertainment. We make sure it and the executive suite. The project has educational components that are focuses on women’s contributions translated immediately into classroom as producers, writers and directors curriculum materials.” as well as heads of networks.” Simon oday she adds that PBS noted that the Center, in consultation is drawing two and a half with an advisory committee of women times the audience for in the industry, is currently compiling T A&E, the History Channel, a third list of distinguished women as CNN and Fox. “There is still a 2007 honorees. Ms. Mitchell was so substantial audience for PBS based honored when she headed PBS. on its reputation,” she says. As to In 2001, shortly after assuming the the increasing commercialization residency of PBS, Pat Mitchell was of PBS programs, she notes that “the interviewed in these pages by the late underwriters demand it and PBS has Arthur Unger, former television critic no choice because it’s so underfunded.” 5 TELEVISION QUARTERLY She added, however, that corporate environmentalist working, among underwriting messages do not interrupt other projects, on a massive waste- PBS programs as they do on commercial management project for New York television and that when Exxon/Mobil City–have six children, ranging in age asked to place real commercials in the from 21 to 42. They include a lawyer, narrative flow of Masterpiece Theater two MBA’s, two real-estate executives she turned them down. and a filmmaker. And there are 10 During her tenure at PBS she found grandchildren, ranging in age from six government pressure “very tough and months–a pair of twins, whose photo distracting.,” as exemplified by former she proudly displays–to 16.

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