p ABC PICTURES INTERNATIONAL IS MAKING THE WHOLE WORLD A BETTER PLACE TO LAUGH,CRY,TREMBLE, SMILE AND LOVE. We're doing it with Premiere Package 1,exciting made-for-television movies being made available to the international market for the first time- and exclusively through ABC Pictures International. Now, your prime time programming can include hits like "Young Joe,The Forgotten KennedY;"'The Great Houdini:' "Curse of the Black Widow;' "Telethon;' "Thursday's Game;' "Kansas City Massacre" and lots more. We're doing it with outstanding programs for children, like the unique Children's Novels for Television. They're, the poignant, captivating, thrilling, marvelous kind of children's shows that even parents can enjoy. Premiere Package 1 and Children's Novels for Television. Just two of the new ideas from the entertainment people at ABC Pictures International. ABC PICTURES INTERNATIONAL In Any Language, Everything Starts With ABC. For further infonnation contact ABC Pictures International: Art Schimmel at Los Angeles Headquarters, 2040 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, California 90067, Telephone: (213) 553-2000, Bob Dinsmore at New York Headquarters, 1 Lincoln Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10023, Telephone: (212) LT 1-7777. Doug Brunger at London Headquarters, Ambro Distributing Corp., 31 Soho Square,London,WIV, 6 Ap, Telephone: 01-439-8083. Cable: AMBROCAST NEW YORK-AMBROTEL LONDON. This Issue• Vol. 1. No. 8 JULY 1978 Network News page 9 Eurovision page 16 RCA TK-76 page 38 lJ~llrE:[)!)lr~lrE:!) !J Network news - more than a pretty face? Top 100 TV advertisers Top 50 US Shows - chart lrtiE: \nI()FlI.[) ....................................•............................................•.....•.......1ES Exchanging news worldwide Will union demands make ENG cost effective? Extreme caution - why French TV passed up Thomson's new ENG camera E:lJFI()FJE: :!ES Scandinavia - A difference in style: Nordic screenings. Holland - The claim system Britain - Buying power of independent TV ~FFlIC~ ' 34 Nigeria - Problems of development FI~~~CE: 3ES Restless Viacom: television by proxy lrE:CH~()I.()GY 38 Quick response - RCA's TK-76 ENG camera A camera's view of a camera - photo story of the TK-76 assembly line Not just another camera: Jean-Pierre Beauviala's Aaton 16mm B&W camera ()TtiE:FI[)E:FJ~FllrME:~T!) World round-up 4 Tu betalk 6 World program me rati ngs 25 Station Report 33 Newsbri efs 46 WaiterI~TE:FlVIE:\nI Cronkite . 48 TV WORLD, JULY, 1978 r~"----------------------------------- Published by Alain-Charles Publishing Lld. JULY 1978 Co-pub!ishers Geoffrey A. R. Sweat man and Derek C. Fordham Letter from the Editor Editor Sam Passow Correspondents NEWSpact onthat the happens viewer. closer According to home toRobert generally Kearsley, tends toEditor-in-Chief have a greater im• of London - Chris Dunkley, Visnews, Hmost news editors operate a rule of thumb law by which one John Chittock, Jenny Nibbs, Judah Passow; man knocked down by a bus a mile away equates to five people shot two Paris - Jim Hodgetts, thousand miles away, which equates to 5,000 people killed in a typhoon BillDowell; 10,000 miles away." Amsterdam - Bill Third; Our issue this month is largely devoted to the changing face of TV news Madrid - George Hills; Dublin - Kevin O'Connor; - changes in format, content and technology. "Television news in the Lagos - John Chiahemen; United States," writes correspondent John Abrams in New York (page 9) Johannesburg - Don Briscoe; His in the midst of a remodelling which may in the long run, alter the form Tokyo - James Bailey; and presentation of network news forever." Sydney - John Hanrahan; In our search for a cover, we wanted to convey in the single dimension of New York - John Abrams. print the instant nature of the two-dimensional electronic image of TV Layout and Design news. We chose the ABC newsroom in London, because it is now part of a Jack Stockdale unique Evening News format which is clearly the first born child ofthe new Cover Designer Michael Carter broadcast journalism technology. It represents the first attempt by a US network to build a newscast specifically around the whole gamut of Elec• Advertisement Director Hattie Pond tronic News Gathering (ENG) facilities - cameras, recorders, editing Sales Executive techniques and satellite feeds. John Clutten There are many in the industry who dismiss ABC's new format as a Administrative Assistant gimmick, or even worse, as entertainment. There are also those who claim June Chamarette that the widespread use of the new ENG technology merely confirms that Circulation Manager we are more fascinated by events themselves than by their causes. We are Belinda Oliver more likely to cover those dramatic events which catch the electronic Sales Office: 27 Wilfred Street. camera's subjective eye, than the more sober issues of the day which London SW1 E 6PR perhaps have a greater effect on our lives, but are less interesting visually. England This is a problem which has plauged any medium trying to present news. © 01-8286107 Telex 28905 1978 TV World. All rights reserved. no part of this As Richard Salant, President of CBS News says, "the major professional publication may be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the publishers. issue facing journalism today, is to determine if the primary responsibility TV World is published monthly for executives in ofjournalistic news organisations is to give people what they want to know, TV organisations and affiliated industries around the world. or what they ought to know." In this issue we also look at the Eurovision news exchange (page 16), CONTROLLED CIRCULATION PAID AT NEW which occurs twice daily, and is the major swap shop of news and infor• VORK, N.V. USA MAILING AGENT mation in the world. We not only look at a typical day in the life of the news Expediters of the Printed Word Ltd. exchange, but also offer a statistical breakdown showing where the world's 527 Madison Ave. Suite 1217. New Vork, N.V 10017 news originated, and who received it. ENG's problems include not only how it will be used, but who will use it, Subscription rate - one year and in an article by Anthony Davis (page 22) we examine whether or not SUBSCRtPTION RATES union demands on pay and manning scales will make the new technology Austria Sch. 450 Australia A$20 cost-affective. Airmail A$48 Because many of our readers may find all this talk about the new Belgium Fr.850 Canada C$24 technology mind-boggling, we sent correspondent and photographer Judah Denmark Kr.130.00 Pas sow to the RCA plant in Camden, New Jersey, to get an insiders' view France Fr. 110.00 Germany DM.65.00 (page 38) on the marketing and construction of their TK-76 ENG camera. Holland G. 70.00 But readers shouldn't stop there. The following article (page 44) by cor• Hong Kong HK$100.00 Airmail HK$200.00 respondent Jim Hodgetts in Paris looks at the controvertial Aaton 16mm Italy Lr. 15,000 camera which while not a pure ENG unit may fill a need for many broad• Japan Ven 6,000 New Zealand NZ$22.00 casters who aren't yet in a position to follow the American hardware lead. Airmail NZ$50.00 It also shows that not all trail-blazing developments come from large Norway Kr. 130.00 Portugal Esc. 750.00 organisations .. Singapore S$55.00 Airmail S$110.00 These are just a few of the more than 25 stories which make up this issue. Spain Pes. 1.500 But perhaps this letter itself is a good example of the problem I outlined Sweden Kr. 110.00 Switzerland Fr. 72.00 earlier: trying to decide for your audience what they ought to know, from United Kingdom £12.00 the wealth of information available, given limitations of time and space. UM $~.OO Airmail $48.00 All other countries $24.00 surface mail Airmail add $24.00 TV World is printed in the UK by H. E. Warne Ltd, Sf. Austell. 4~Q~~ 2 TV WORLD, JULY, 1978 TV Camera Report '78 Flexible Camera Systems for Studio Use and ENG/EFP A complete product line distin• picture sharpness is enhanced with Camera guished by four basic features: Quality, horizontal and vertical aperture correc• VTR versatility, mobility, systems concept tion utilizing a Today's manufacturers of pro• dual delay line ~ fessional TV cameras are required to system with comb K~A~CA :; 4 b BatteIYSystem . BCN 5120 design their camera range for all ima• filter and coring. ginable applications. Bosch Femseh Easily interchan• meets this demand with highly versatile geable coaxial or camera SYSTEMS which cover the multi-wire kit op• whole spectrum of applications: from tions are available sophisticated studio cameras through News broadcast as required. mobile versions for electronic journa• with the KCK lism to modestly priced simpler models for economic productions. A light-weight alternative Bosch cameras allow a produc• KCK/R camera head is integrated into tion team to work as a complete crea• the KCK system tive unit in any conditions. The shoulder-mounted KCK/R Of considerable advantage for allows a cameraman the freedom of ENG use are the various power supply movement necessary for dynamic pro• KCK/KCK-R/KCN System options: battery belt, car battery and ductions. The KCK/R reporter camera mains power. head can be connected to the standard The entire electronics are pack• ~-fI--ll CCU via an interface electronics pack. ed into the light-weight camera head. Iris, white balance and black level are KCK ccu t automatically controlled. The portable, battery-operated BCN 5 (cassette) and ~~~7 ccuj BCN 20 (reel to reel) VTRs are ideally KCK-R Electronics suitable for full broadcast quality recor• ding of the K CA 90 output signals.