A Novice for Public TV

For most of its five-year history, public television has been caught up in controversy and confusion. On one side have been those--in control until now --who have wanted something like the BBC, a vigorous national alternative to the commercial networks. On the other have been those--mostly in the Nixon Administration--who have wanted to spread federal money to strengthen local public stations as a "complement" rather than an alternative to commercial TV. With last week's installation of Nixon stalwart Henry Loomis as president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the localists appear to have won the battle--at least for the moment.

Though the ostensible issue is centralization v. decentralization, ideology is the major consideration. Conservatives in both the Administration and Congress have strenuously opposed what they consider the liberal tone of public broadcasting news shows, like one that features former NBC Commentator Sander Vanocur. They have also protested segments of the Great American Dream Machine, a hip magazine of the air, which they thought expressed radical viewpoints. "Despite its supposed educational purpose," complained Republican Congressman Clarence Brown, "public TV is showing more and more strictly one-sided programs: antiEstablishment, antiwar, antiGovernment, anti-this and anti-that."

Fourth Network. Clay Whitehead, policy director of Nixon's Office of Telecommunications Policy, warned public broadcasters against trying to become a fourth network. To put bite in those words, the President last June vetoed a bill that would have raised federal spending for public TV to $65 million this year and $90 million next year (compared with the current $35 million).* There would have to be, Nixon declared, a much more careful look at the direction public TV was taking. Discouraged, former CPB President John W. Macy resigned. Through presidential appointments, Nixon's men gained a majority of the 15-member governing board of the corporation, an independent body that actually determines how Government funds will be spent.

The change in direction at CPB should be almost immediate, since Loomis seems to agree with Nixon on every major point. Like the President, he believes in decentralization of the public broadcasting system. "The ultimate program choices," he says, "must be made by the stations, and they should have a considerable voice in national programming." Last year only 13% of CPB'S funds went to local TV stations; Loomis would give them at least 30%.

News broadcasts of national affairs, which seem to have been a particular irritant to the White House, will be minimized under Loomis' guidelines. In a near-perfect echo of Vice President Agnew, he is particularly opposed to a newsman's coming on after a televised speech to offer his commentary on what has just been said. "Frankly," he says, "I think 'instant analysis' is lousy because the commentator who is sitting there hasn't had a chance to think." He is not opposed, however, to local stations airing local controversies.

What, then, should public TV do?

"We should be trying to meet the specialized needs of a specialized audience," Loomis says. He would emphasize educational and cultural shows like Sesame Street and Masterpiece Theater, which this month began showing a British-made five-part serialization of Vanity Fair. Indeed, if funds become any tighter, many more shows will have an English accent since it is cheaper to import a show than produce it. "Public broadcasting," Loomis asserts, "is complementary to the basic system in this country--which is commercial." He has no intention of asking for long-range financing of public TV for a while, a move that would mean greater freedom from political control. He adds: "One thing I feel pretty confident about is that this activity is going to have to be accountable to the Congress and to the Administration, any Administration. These are public funds."

With 19 years' experience in top-level civil service positions, including almost seven years as director of the Voice of America, Loomis, 53, is regarded as an excellent administrator. He admits to having had no previous knowledge of public TV. Until his appointment, he had never even watched Washington's public station, WETA. When he was approached to become president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, his answer was simple: "What the hell is it?" Democratic Representative Lionel Van Deerlin, a longtime advocate of strong public TV, last week greeted CPB'S new boss with understandable sarcasm: "It seems about the same as selecting to coach the Washington Redskins someone who detests football. Let us hope for some avid on-the-job training." Other critics saw Loomis' appointment as a victory for the commercial stations, which presumably will now have less worry about popular public broadcasting shows stealing their Nielsen ratings--and their profits.

Both Loomis and the Administration must now make good their own ideas for public TV, however. Although decentralization would give greater attention to local concerns and local talents, it is far from certain that this attractive concept can be made to work. Various experiments with local programming in the early '60s were notably disappointing. Viewers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, are as accustomed as viewers in Manhattan to glossy, big-budget shows from the networks. They are not likely to tune in to less professional shows on the public channel, even if they do come from their area.

* For economic reasons. Dream Machine will not be aired this year, and The Advocates, which airs opposing viewpoints of major issues, probably will have a shorter season. Julia Child had been told to close her kitchen until Polaroid, which had supported her in the past, last week came through with an $80,000 contract.

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