Zoom

Television "is zooming like a V-2 rocket. . . . [It] is destined to become one of the leading industries of the United States; it will provide work for thousands and offer many new opportunities for creative talent." Thus RCA's David Sarnoff (in an American Magazine article).

Some of last week's zooming:

P: The Tele-tone Corp. marketed a new set. At $149.95, the price was right, but the screen (5 7/8 in. by 4 1/2 in.) was tiny.

P: Toscanini, having sweated through his first telecast (TIME, March 29), decided to call off the second one. It was too hot under those lights, he complained. Howls of dismay from disappointed televiewers (and NBC's promise to turn up the studio cooling system) changed the old maestro's mind. At concert time, he appeared with no vest, breezed through Beethoven's Ninth Symphony for a fitting finish to his tenth season with NBC.

P: In Los Angeles, W6XAO was the first West Coast station to telecast a symphony directly from a concert hall. From a balcony and a box, the cameras made sweeping goo-goo eyes at Yehudi Menuhin, the Los Angeles Symphony, and the audience. But the result was dull and fuzzy.

P: Lanny Ross, radio's perennial juvenile, fared no better with his ballyhooed NBC variety show. Without a microphone to cling to, Lanny faced trouble with his hands (this problem menaces all crooners).

P:In Washington, at the annual banquet of the Women's National Press Club, President Truman unwittingly delivered an "off-the-record" speech which television faithfully relayed over stations on Du Mont, CBS and NBC.

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