Globe-Gazette from Mason City, Iowa • 3

Channel fight a lengthy saga Our Jeie evidion i lewd Mason City, Iowa Friday, May 21, 1976 pi. OLOE'- GAZETTE By Stephen M. Aug Washington Star WASHINGTON Somewhere in New Zealand there's likely a chap driving about with a bumper sticker on his car boosting radio station WABC. one of the top contemporary music outlets in New York City. And therein bes the story of what is probably the oldest active case in the history of federal regulation.

It is. in fact a case the Federal Communications Commission tried half a dozen times to resolve a case that stands as a continuing embarrassment to the commission, practically a lifetime career for some lawyers, ae a costly battle to the two subjects of the dispute. WABC in New York and KOB in Albuquerque. M. The case centers around the fact that standard broadcast station signals, though limited to perhaps 100 miles during daylight hours, travel thousands of miles at night Thus a station that operates as the only station on its frequency at night can be heard across the country and.

in fact across the world-One result is that such stations known as "clear channel" stations have a built-in selling point for advertisers of nationally sold products. They also provide a service to truck drivers and residents of rural areas where there are no local all-night radio stations. In fact WABC officials point out that last year letters from listeners indicated the station was beard in 24 states from Maine to Texas, in eight Canadian provinces from Labrador to British Columbia, and II foreign countries from Sweden to New Zealand. Obviously, with a signal that can be heard around the world WABC is a valuable radio property valuable enough so that its ownership has continually prosecuted a case that has been before the FCC since 1941. The case has been practically a career in itself for one of the lawyers involved in it James A.

McKenna. As a young Navy lieutenant junior grade attached to the Judge Advocate General's Corps in 1945, McKenna began moonlighting shortly before his release from active duty. One of McKenna's first cases involved a dispute between WJC (now WABC) and KOB over the exclusive right to 770 kilocycles. McKenna. now 56 and among Washington's best known communications lawyers, is still on the case.

One of his partners, Vernon L. Wilkinson, has been dealing with it since 1948. And although lawyers are reluctant to discuss fees, Wilkinson said there is little doubt that the costs have gone "into six figures for each side" and that, he said, is a conservative estimate. It's not as if the cash registers at the lawyers' offices have been clangig continually over WABC-KOB. since the case has languished for years without action.

The KOB-WABC dispute was officially docketed at the FCC in 1941 (when WABC was WJZ), but the matter had its beginning in 1938 when, as a result of a new broadcasting treaty among North American nations, a few existing stations had to be shifted to other frequencies to avoid interfering with broadcasts in other countries. One such shift involved moving KOB off of its assigned frequency of 1180 kilocycles to avoid interference to a new station in Mexico. Eventually, the FCC temporarily settled KOB on 770. which was WJZ's frequency. Since 770 was a so-called "clear channel" and could be heard over, great distances at night to serve rural audiences, KOB began interfering with reception of WJZ.

The matter lost urgency at the FCC because of TV director is always on the go News shows seek specialists By Jay Sharbutt NEW YORK (AP) In the future, the folks anchoring the networks' evening news shows will do more on the air than read brief newsitems or lead-ins to stories covered bv others, predicts Richard C. Wald. head of NBC News. He says the anchor also will be an "interlocutor." which the dictionary defines as "one who takes part in a dialogue or conversation." What heU be doing. Wald adds, is taking time to discuss points of complex stories with the specialists who covered them, to clarify, to elaborate, to ask the specialists questions the viewer might ask.

With anchormen today, he says, network news shows in effect "tell the viewer, "See that fellow over there? He knows everything. Not only does he know everything, but he's going to tell it to "That is the traditional anchor person and the format is of great value. But it doesn't give World War II. but in 1944. KOB.

evidently satisfied with being on 770, asked the commission to make the new frequency assignment permanent and to authorize it to operate with 50.000 watts, the maximum legal power (rather than the 25.000 watts the FCC had ordered as its maximum nighttime power). Although the FCC held a hearing on the matter with WJZ objecting to the plan the commission didn't hand down a ruling. Instead, in 1945, it decided to study the entire matter of clear channels. The following year, it placed the KOB matter in a "pending status" until the clear channel matter could be completed. In 1950, what was by then WABC.

complained to the courts to remove KOB from its channel. A temporary situation had been allowed to drag on too long. WABC argued, and it was time for an end. In 1951, the court held the interference was improper. Eventually, the FCC held a hearing on WABC's complaint and.

four years later, denied its request to remove KOB from 770. WABC went back to court In 1956 the court directed the FCC to take immediate steps to eliminate the interference from KOB. As a way around the interference problem the FCC ordered KOB to adjust its antenna to minimize interference. KOB complied a year later. In 1958 the FCC considered the entire matter again.

And. again, it allowed KOB to remain on 770 but under certain antenna restrictions. But it also told WABC it bad to modify its antennae to protect KOB from interference WABC went to court again. This time. WABC argued that it was being treated differently from the other network-owned stations in New York City.

WNBC (National Broadcasting Co and WCBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) both occupied unimpeded channels, but WABC (American Broadcasting Companies Inc.) was relegated to a lesser status because its long-distance transmissions were subject to interference from KOB. In 1960 the court ordered yet another hearing on ABC's claim that its status as a network station was hampered by the FCC's action. In 1963 the commission adopted a new decision in which it said there were other ABC network stations elsewhere covering much of the nation at night and approved KOB continuing on 770. Back to court. In 1965 it was back to the FCC WABC had won again.

The matter was appealed by the commission to the Supreme Court, which declined to hear the matter. But before the FCC could reopen its seemingly endless hearings, the case was interrupted by the proposed acquisition of ABC by International Telephone Telegraph Corp. More hearings. The merger, however, fell apart in 1968. In 1969, the FCC thought it had found a way around the problem.

It would simply change its rules to downgrade the 770 channel to one that is allowed to have two stations rather than just one. There the matter rested until late last month. On April 30. the FCC ruled that KOB could remain on 770, but under such restrictions that it would offer substantially no interference to WABC. Finally, WABC had won a victory of sorts at least enough to satisfy McKenna.

But it appears all is not over yet. Said Frank U. Fletcher, who has represented KOB since the mid-1950s, "We ain't giving up fighting." He added, "I don't know whether I'm going to appeal or send up a rocket or what. But we ain't quitting." Whatever Fletcher does, however, will mean the 36-year-old KOB-WABC case is bound to last longer at least one or two years in the courts, by most estimates and. depending on who wins, the case can ind up back at the FCC once again.

BBC to produce a 4 v. V-'; y-u '''N i of bard's 37 plays enough explanation. As the world gets more complicated, you need a real expert to tell you what the heck is going on." For that reason, he says. NBC News next year may be hiring as many as 12 specialists in various fields to help make an increasingly complex world more understandable during the network's newscasts. The idea isn't new.

as he readily admits. Some local stations already are doing what he proposes to do. He says the reason NBC hasn't joined them is simple: It hasn't had the air time for it. Local evening newscasts now run an hour in the larger marketst but the networks still have to make do with 30 minutes for news, actually 25 minutes without commercials. "One hopes there will be a one-hour (network) news program in the future," says Wald.

"That's what's going to cause all of this to come true. Right now, I don't need the specialists. "I don't need all the additional information for a half-hour news program. I need it for an hour-long news program." The idea of expanding the networks' half -hour evening newscasts has been discussed at CBS. NBC and ABC for several years.

But it gained new emphasis recently when there were reports that ABC, the last network to go from 15 to 30 minutes of news each week night, was planning to start a 45-minute evening newscast in September. ABC News chief Bill Sheehan says no decision on such an expansion has been made yet. and that it's still in the talking stages. Wald. asked when NBC might adopt an long news format, said he didn't know.

But he added; "I can't imagine we would get it on the air without giving the affiliates something close to a year's notice." And while NBC supports his goal of an hour, news show, he says, there still are obstacles to be overcome, mainly opposition from many of NBC's 219 affiliated stations to the 30 minutes of local time they'd lose eachight. What happens if ABC suddenly adopts the hour news format? Will CBS and NBC have to follow suit? "That's probably correct" Wald said. "I think we would not want competitively to be left out if somebody else went to an hour." Staff photo by Eiwm ftmjsser By Paul Kindem Staff Writer Free-lance television directors in Hollywood are always headed through revolving doors. They find themselves on a studio lot setting up to shoot an episode, busily arranging actors and cameras in place. A few days of camera work and they're on their way again to somebody else's show on somebody else's lot.

That's life for Ralph Senensky. Mason City native and one-time director at the local Little Theater, who after a brief stint in Des Moines took off in 1954 for a career in Hollywood. He has been in pictures ever since at least his name has, in the film credits of 149 television shows. Among the programs he has directed are 16 episodes of "The FBI" starring Efrem Zimbalist six of "The Waltons," six "Star Treks." "The Courtship of Eddie's Father," "The Planet of the Apes" and a host of movies for television. Some of the films were "The Family that Nobody Wanted." "The Family Kovak," "A Dream for Christmas" and for public television.

Sherwood Anderson's "Winesburg. Ohio," which brought Jean Peters back to the screen after a 17-year absence. All the major studios have hired him at one time or another Paramount, MGM. Universal. Warner Brothers, and the competing independents like Quinn-Martin.

His most recent production was the Tuesday installment of "City of Angels" on NBC, which was not seen locally due to a pre-emption on KROC, Rochester, Minn. Upcoming is a pilot for a possible mid-season serial written by Peter Benchley called "Jeremiah of Jacob's Neck," and another sequence from Walton's Mountain. "Jeremiah" stars Keenan Wynn in the tale of a family moving to an isolated New England town in which the husband is to become the local constable. Their home, fortuitously it turns out, is inhabited by a ghost, the shade of an old seadog who leads the clan past calamities to sweet success. "It was a fun show," says Senensky.

"pure Disney." The networks haven't picked up the pilot yet. so he keeps on reading TV Guide listings in hopes it soon will appear. His Hollywood sojourn began in the studios of CBS as a production supervisor for the old live "Plavhouse 90" series. "In 1961. I left CBS by choice," said Senensky, who is in Mason City to visit his mother.

Jennie Senensky, and brother, Ervin, during the industry's hiatus. "I had been there 51 years and by that time live production had died." He had been assigned by the network to supervise the placement of commercials on TV game shows. The pace became routine, then tedious. "I ended up getting a job on the staff of Dr. Kildare," Senensky said.

He was a shot in the dark, a virtually untried talent, when an acquaintance. Norman Felton. started him doing free-lance direction for MGM. The skill Senensky employed came from moonlight experience. When a day's work was over at CBS, he would head for the Pasadena hills to give stage directions at the local repertoire theater.

He set aside his vacation time to iron out the final kinks when opening night drew near. "It was a very exciting time. I felt very fortunate about getting up and going to work doing what I wanted to do like a big Tinker Toy," he said. Following his first directing shot. Senensky made 10 more serial episodes.

Then the middle of 1963 the pace quickened sharply. He was signed to do "Route 66" "very fortuitous," he said. Then there were "Naked City" contracts. "They were the golden key. There were five Old Mason City days Mason City native Ralph Senensky, now a Hollywood television director, holds a scrapbook containing clippings of his productions while director of the Mason City Little Theater.

Senensky put on nine production? in two years ending in 1952 with Moss Hart "Light Up the Sky." sources said they will probably include such veteran actors as Sir Laurence Olivier and Sir John Gielgud, both major interpreters of Shakespeare's works. The plays to be televised range from "Macbeth," "Othello," and "A Midsummer Night's Dream." to such lesser-known plays as "Pericles" and "Tun on of Athens," written between 1606 and 1608. At the same time, Britain's other TV network. Independent Television, plans a Shakespeare blockbuster a $18 million series on the playwright's life. Shakespeare will be played by Tim Curry, a 30-ear-old British actor who starred in such un -Shakespearean theater as "Hair" and "The Rocky Horror Show." In those he romped around the stage in black lingerie, silk stockings and heavy makeup asa transvestite.

He recently returned to London from New York where he played in Tom Stoppard's Broadway hit. "Travesties." "He looks exactly like Shakespeare might have looked as a young man." said produr Cecil Clarke. By Ed Blanche LONDON (AP) The British Broadcasting Corp. has announced its most ambitious television project ever, the filming of all of William Shakespeare's 37 plays. "We plan to produce six of the plays each year for the next six years." said BBC director of programs Alasdair Milne.

"We hope they'll stand as definitive TV versions of the Shakespearean canon which will last until the end of the century Production is scheduled to start in about 18 months on the (3.6 million program. BBC. a sem-ipubtic corporation, hopes to hook up wi a production partner to finance the project. Officials declined to name possible partners, but the BBC has produced several series in recent years with Time-Life. Inc.

"This is a vast project the biggest we have ever undertaken and a tremendously exciting one." Milne said. "We think it ought to be doneand we think we're the only TV organization in the world that can do it" Casting is scheduled to begin soon. No stars have been lined up yet. but BBC Effects of busing studied don't know how any of them do it. Fortitude, ambition resilience.

There is not as much work per amount of talent out there as there should be," he said. "I think there is the greatest collection of talent in Hollywood there has ever been." Nonetheless, he believes that potential isn't always being put to best use. Mentioning the Emmy-award winning production. "Franklin and Eleanor," Senensky said, "I bemoan the fact that there isn't something on every night of the week like that." What causes mediocrity on commercial television? "It's not the script writing that does it," he replied. "It's the network control.

They are playing for the largest potential audience." He considers "The Waltons" a freak in that it is a sound offering that has mass appeal. In 1972, Senensky said, the national networks were feeling heat from Washington regarding the apparent large doses of TV violence. "It was a cosmetic to show they were not a violent network," he explained. "It was just a freak that it took off." The fate of other high-style programs hasn't been nearly as good lately, with the burial of "Beacon Hill," "Medical Story" and "The Family Holvak," lie said. "I just hope television itself will be willing to open its doors," Senensky said.

The directions television can take are myriad, along all conceivable paths. The only limit is good taste. "If you can do it tastefully, you can do anything," he said. the writers, "You spend most of the time in the first seven days in a car looking for locations," he. said.

Senesky places a high priority on reaching a rapport with his actors. While he is the commander of the set and responsible to the management for meeting the shooting deadlines and creating a quality product, he prefers to accomplish his ends with a carrot "Partner" describes his working relationships. "I start feeling that when I'm talking to an actor on a microphone (as is true when shows are videotaped instead of filmed) I feel like God," he said with a grimace. Once the cameras roll it's 12 hours a day on stage. Senensky can remember he once took 22 consecutive takes of the same scene before it jelled.

The director needn't see the developed celluloid to know whether the productirn will wash, he said. "You know what's there. I will go and see the rushes (yesterday's film) the following day," Senensky added, but it's a formality, with only the best takes having been selected for the lab. The work for an hour-long episode progresses at the rate of eight to nine pages of script per day, the entire dialogue running about 55-60 pages. By the time the filming is finished on the 14th day, all that's left is editing work by the producers.

Senensky, now 53, has high praise for Hollywood's talented actors and their pluck. "The whole business out there is chancy. Now day, they just have to scratch and scramble and I shows in 12 weeks. 1 was doing a show every other week." It has been that way ever since. "If there were gaps it was because I didn't want to work," Senensky said.

"Basically a director is a story teller." he said. "You're going tell your story in visual images." So there are camera angles to be worked out. props and actor positioning to consider. "I literally see the picture" with mind's eye before the shooting ever begins, he added. All the same.

"You've got to stay flexible to make improvements or whatever" on the set. A director spends his time leapfrogging. While the actors are on stage from week to week filming the segments, "it takes twice as long to work on an episode as it takes to shoot it," according to Senensky. During the first week Senensky peruses the script and calls recommended changes to the attention of the writing producers. "I go to the wardrobe, fittings mostly, to say hello so you don't have that awful thing of having to work with a total stranger" once the shooting finally begins, he said.

But the biggest chore is finding those locations that are just right for the requirements of the script. For a running series there are stock sites, of course, as is the case with "The Waltons." Many of the scenes are shot at a wide canyon smack in the middle of Beverly Hills. The indoor filming of the store and the dinner table come from a former Warner studio now rented by Lorimar, the independent producers of the show. But for those in-beween spots called for by If you re thinking of borrowing up to $15,000 and have questions concerning rates, payments, borrowing power of your home equity, or anything else, call us today for quick, direct answers sions which have caused busing throughout the country. Judge McMillan explains the background of his decision in an exclusive interview with CBS News correspondent Charles Collingwood, reporter on the broadcast Many people in this state still fervently believe that busing is wrong.

Judge McMillan says, and he himself had many doubts about it before the case was brought to his court. But the evidence, the judge says, left him no alternative but to issue an unpopular order in obedience to the dictates of the Constitution. How the district involved. Charlotte Mecklenberg. now conducts classes without disorder will be examined by Collingwood in interviews with school administrators, teachers and students.

Collingwood also will report on the decline in public -school enrollment. What busing of children has meant to two cities deeply affected by court-ordered integration of the public schools will be examined in CBS Reports: "Busing." at 9 m. Fridav. May 28. on CBS.

The two cities are Charlotte. N.C., where classes are operating relatively peacefully after five years of busing, and Boston. Mass where a number of schools and neighborhoods inv olved are still in a condition of tension and turmoil. The North Carolina district Charlotte 'Mecklenberg. began busing to achieve integration in 1970.

as a result of an order handed down by Federal District Judge James B. McMillan. That order, which was appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court became a landmark legal case when the Court upheld it in 1971. and thus created a precedent for similar court deci We won ask your name or talk shop unless you want us to Dial Finance We don't want you to like us just for our money. 29 First Street S.E.

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