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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1982)
of gov, Amer; ;rgeno ve been will izationv providf ]1 y^|0< utbacks ■(continued from page 1) show still can be shown if Land' |' station cannot afford the e estal l°F ram t ^ iat y ear > he said. A at e( j t ition buys the rights to a prog- „ m j D in for more than one year, so tafffi ‘ € P r °g rams can he rerun, ing ra. l astain said - apedtt r tic ^ budget cuts as these r "site f° rced public broadcasters 1 ‘ j consider advertising as a ourceof revenue. KAMI) is in fested in advertising experi ments being conducted by pub- ■broadcast stations around the country, Chastain said. ICongress approved an 18- ronth experiment in 1981 to low 10 public television sta- fjns to try advertising; National cento! ublic Radio decided not to par- tead cipate in the experiment. IChastain said the New rseninf )rleans public broadcasting ser- fice, WYES, made $200,000 in w matlfour and a half months by run- 82.Jii niug advertisements from such ng, tilt istitutions as banks and savings jd loan companies. ^Advertising experiments in d mos ogress at various PBS stations carefully regulated, he said, ograms aren’t interrupted, d advertisements are sand- tics in died between station identifi- :ions and promotional nouncements. “I find 30 seconds of institu- nal commercials less offensive in having a good program in- upted by seven or eight mi- I tes of begging for money,” he d. “We do it three times a r; some do it every month.” ■After the advertising experi- Ifent has ended, the Federal Rmmunications Commission ¥ a temporary commission Ill make recommendations on le use of advertising in public loadcasting. J “I think after the 18-month periment, even if the powers Jat be say it’s OK to advertise, s will see a very, very gradual ansition,” he said. “Public broadcasting is ex- emely sensitive to the wants id will of viewers. If there’s a rk, had ;s semoi led bortagi ematio big negative reaction, we would quit. The only product we have is what’s on the air. “We’ll have to wait and see. If we’re free to pursue it, we’ll pur sue it — pending University approval, since we’re licensed by the University.” Some stations are afraid to use commercials, Chastain said. He cited two reasons for the re luctance to use commercials. “Public broadcasting belongs to the public and shouldn’t look commercial,” he said. “Also, there is a fear among some that if they run commercials, com mercial entities will influence programming.” Public broadcasting stations must maintain their integrity and continue with programs for minorities, despite small audi ences, he said. Audience size dictates rates for commercials, he said. This is contrary to what public broad casting is all about, Chastain said. The objective of public broad casting is to be an alternative broadcast source that can offer such programs as “Over Easy,” Chastain said. The primary au dience for this show is composed of retired people. Statistically speaking, retired people are not big buyers, he said. On a commercial basis, the program probably wouldn’t sell. Groups that aren’t statistically big buyers don’t get special programming on commercial stations. Public broadcasting is the place for special group prog ramming, he said. Audience surveys of public broadcasting match the general population breakdown of the United States almost perfectly, Chastain said. In the last two or three years, public broadcasting has made across- the-board gains, he said. According to United Press In ternational, public television’s viewership, which is now at 90 million, has more than doubled in the last five years. Its image as a service for the elite is crumb ling. Nationally, the three com mercial networks have lost 10 percent of their viewers. PBS gained 7 percent of these; the other 3 percent of the viewers have gone to cable or have quit watching television, Chastain said. So PBS needs to maintain its program strategy — broadcast ing shows viewers can’t see else where, he said. This should help solve funding problems, he said. “I think it’s in many ways a more energetic environment if public broadcasting seeks money from a variety of areas,” he said. “We can’t sit back wait ing for money — that’s not re sponsive. “Ask for support and viewers will give it to us. That’s the way it ought to be — a marketplace.” H-E-B There will be a meeting of the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Hometown Club on Wednesday, September 22 at 8:30 p.m. in Room #302 Rudder. The meeting will last about 40 minutes and will be followed by a get-together at Bennigan’s. txaaexxsexxxxxxxxxsasxxxxxxxxxsexxsa&saaaexsaa ALFREDOS Happy Hour: 2-6 p.m. everyday Pitcher of BEER NACHOS • Lowenbrau • Miller & Lite 990 1 Order 990 QUICKIE COURSE IN TAROT READING Speakers: Bets and Kay of The Unicorn & Which Witch? Date: September 26, 1982 (Sunday) Time: 2:00-4:00 P.M. Place: Rudder Tower - Room #510 Sponsored by the Metaphysical Society Organizational Meeting and Officer Election MEMBERS-FREE OTHERS - $1.00 TUESDAY NIGHT: LEGS CONTEST $ 300 1st Place $ 100 2nd Place (Contestants must sign up before 10 p.m.) Plus A *0 251 BEER 501 BAR DRINKS A N ° cover v ^ ^ S ^ for Ladys TEXAS STYLE ROCK A ROLL SKAGGS CENTER HAVE YOU EVER... — wanted to work on Improving services to students at Texas A&M? — wanted your voice heard by the administration? — wondered why your mouth opens when you scratch your eye? Well Come to the First *STUDElPr SERVICES COMMITTEE* MEETING 8:30 p.m. 401 Rudder Tuesday Sept. 21 GET YOUR s> The Laredo A&M Hometown Club 1st Organizational Meeting and election of officers Thursday, Sept. 23 1982 50t Rudder 7:00 p.m. REFRESHMENTS PROVIDED , BOOH TOKEN, COUPONS and SPECIALS ONLY IN THURSDAYS BATTALION FUIM • FOOD • DRUM K> CULPEPPER PLAZA