Educational Television 1959
- Program
- Educational Television 1959
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/516-542j679q4j
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- Description
- Program Description
- 15-minute piece initially distributed by NET in 1959. It was originally shot on kinescope.
- Program Description
- A warning against stricter control of the broadcasting industry either through Federal legislation or through an all-powerful czar, was sounded last night (Monday, November 23, 1959) by John F. White, president of the National Educational Television and Radio Center. In a special report carried by the nations educational television stations, Mr. White said, Those of us at the Center cannot honestly believe that the American public is about to let itself be told what it can or cannot see. Every thinking American will want to make sure that the broadcasting air is kept entirely free. He also pointed out that the alternative, public service network, unfettered by advertisers programming demands called for by columnist Walter Lippmann and others already exists in the Center and the forty-five stations reaching from coast to coast. He outlined the growth of the Center and underscored its theme of service to the people in its continuing development as the fourth network. We abhor the idea of an all-powerful regulatory czar, he said. But how do we attain a television which keeps integrity and upholds its responsibility to the people? He cited the answer to the same question provided by Mr. Lippmann in his column on October 27 in which Mr. Lippmann called for a subsidized network to be run as a public service with its criterion not what will be the most popular but what is good. Mr. White continued, With all due respect to Mr. Lippmann, there is such a network of stations operating for the good of the people. It is this one. The National Educational Television Network is non-profit, receives no Federal support, and has been in business since 1952. Thanks to grants from the Ford Foundation as well as outside support from business organizations, NET has developed into the alternative network which provides programs for that growing and articulate minority which constantly seeks and deserves a new kind of television broadcasting. The special television program illustrated services provided by stations affiliated with the Center as well as present and future programs available from the Center. The 15-minute kinescope report was filmed in New York where the Center maintains its network headquarters. Mr. Whites report mentioned the in-school and community service programs provided by many stations, the variety of cultural programs offered by the Center ranging from music to science, and the numerous awards given the Center and its stations. Future programs for 1960 release mentioned were A Time to Dance, produced by WGBH-TV in Boston, which features Maria Tallchief, Andre Eglevsky, Jose Limon, and others; That Free Men May Live, produced by KCTA, St. Paul-Minneapolis, and featuring distinguished individuals dedicated to this principal; a special series on the census; and the Centers pioneering childrens program designed to find the best combination of information and entertainment. Mr. White concluded, Your fourth network, with its guiding principle of service to the people, has come of age. We can continue to grow only as you wish us to do. I am confident that with your active support, educational television in your community and nationally will become a more potent force in our way of life. The Center, a non-profit corporation with is main offices in New York City and distribution offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is the headquarters for the nations educational TV stations. The Center provides each station with programs in the humanities, the sciences, the arts, public affairs, and childrens programs. Center series have won Peabody and Sylvania awards and acclaim from critics and educators. It should be no surprise that the man leading educational televisions rapid movement toward the establishment of a fourth national network has had remarkable success as an executive in education and television. John F. White, president of the National Educational Television and Radio Center, rose rapidly in a nine-year career in education to become vice-president of Western Reserve University in Cleveland in 1950. He left the position in 1955 to become general manager of the educational station in Pittsburgh. In September 1958, the NETRCs board of directors elected him to the presidency. While at Western Reserve University, Mr. White played a prominent part in putting the first college course for credit on commercial television. This was in 1951. He continued developing television as an educational medium and, in the spring of 1955, he was asked by the educational station in Pittsburgh, WQED, to serve as consultant on a survey of the stations relationships with universities in the area. The trustees of the station were so impressed with the report that Mr. White was offered the job of station manager. With assurance of success in the academic field, he was undecided about the offer. He cites as the deciding factor advice given him by a long-time friend, Henry T. Heald, then Chancellor of New York University, now president of the Ford Foundation, who said, Jack, weve been talking about the great potentialities of educational television, but how is it ever really going to get rolling unless one of us gets into it full time? During his three ears at WQED, the station won a Peabody Award for distinguished programming. Its programs were so well received that it became necessary to operate a second channel to telecast in-school programs in order to provide adult programs during the day for its viewers. In announcing Mr. Whites election as Center president, the chairman of the Centers board of directors, Ralph Lowell, president of the Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company, commented, John White has proved, during his years of educational administration and in his energetic direction of Pittsburghs WQED, that he possesses imagination, vision, and a clear understanding of what is needed to ensure the continued growth of educational television. Of medium height, and weighing only five pounds more than he did when he played outfield for Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisconsin, Mr. White moves at a pace just short of a trot through a day filled with constant contact with stations, program specialists, and leaders in broadcasting and education. During his first year, he made a point of getting to the Centers affiliated stations -- there are more than forty -- and learning their problems. This year, he plans to concentrate on solving them. Mr. White was born in Wukegan, Illinois, the son of the Reverend ES White, DD and Mrs. White. He received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Chicago. A member of the Board of Directors of the Joint Council on Educational Television and the Learning Resources Institute, Mr. White also belongs to the Radiation Television Executives Society, and the American Association of School Administrators. In addition, he was formerly director of the American Service Institute, the McKinley Settlement House, and International House of Chicago. He resides in Tuxedo Park, New York with his wife, the former Joan Glasow, a daughter and two sons. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Broadcast Date
- 1959-11-23
- Asset type
- Program
- Media type
- other
- Credits
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Speaker: White, John F.
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
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- Citations
- Chicago: “Educational Television 1959,” 1959-11-23, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed June 20, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-542j679q4j.
- MLA: “Educational Television 1959.” 1959-11-23. American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. June 20, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-542j679q4j>.
- APA: Educational Television 1959. Boston, MA: American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-542j679q4j