Evening star., 1950-05-07
TelevisiOn-RodiO 7
A Pair of Those Peabody Citations
Sound Like Sordonic Hun1or
By Harry Macarthur

Awards in the entertainment
world have had good year. No
one has complained about the
Academy Oscars given to "All the
Kings Men," Broderick Crawford,
Olivia De Havilland and others.
No one found fault with the
Pulitzer Prize Committee for its
choice of South Pacific" though
this was unexpected since the
book already had been honored a
couple of years ago.
Now come the Peabody awards
in radio and television, which
seem eminently fair and bestowed
upon the worthy. You should
know, though. that some in the
broadcasting industry feel that
some one with a sardonic sense
of humor was at work while the
committee was making its deci-
sions Those special citations to
Cartoonist H. T. Webster and the
New Yorker magazine look a lot
funnier from here than they do
from, say, Radio City.
Mr.. Webster was cited by the
Peabody committee for his series
titled, THE Unseen Audience" in
which radio has been seen in a
less than favorable light most OF
the time. The New Yorker was
honored for its successful cam
paign against aiming loudspeak-
ers at captive audiences, in this
case in Grand Central Station,
though in Capital Transit buses
the principal is the same.
The most notable step taken
this year by the Peabody commit
tee was its recognition that tele-
vision and radio are distinctly
separate forms of broadcasting.
Last year note was taken of only
two television programs-"Actors'
Studio" and "Howdy Doody." This
year comparable awards were
made in radio and television in
three different categories.
BY considering television along
side of radio instead of as part
of it, the committee could honor
Ed Wynn (CBS-TV and Jack,
Benny (CBS-radio) for comedy;
Crusade in Europe" (ABC-TV
and Author Meets the Critics"
(CBS-radio) in the field OF edu-
cation, and United Nations in
Action" (CBS-TV) and Eric Sew
areid (CBS-radiO for reporting
and Interpretation of the news"
There are a couple of small
ironies to be found here, incl
dentally. Radio listeners to AL
thor Meets the Critics." for in
stance, are hearing the sound
track of the program as it was
previously televised. No note was
taken of the TV version. This
may or may not prove anything,
but it does seem to indicate that
pure television will win over a
blend of TV and radio any day
In the week. The other irony is
in the Peabody award to Eric
Sevareid, not that he doesn't
hugely deserve it. The bitter joke
in radio circles is that Mr.. Seva-
reid recently was removed from a
lucrative sponsored show at a pre-
MUM time. 6 pm, and installed
in the II o'clock spot as salaried
CHS worker offered for coop
sponsorship in individual cities.
Speaking of awards, local sta
ton is rightfully proud Of one
bestowed upon it at the meeting
of the Ohio State University In
stitute for Education by Radio.
The station is WCFM and the pro-
gram It's Music of the Nations"
series, which won second place to
the "NBC Theater" in the cultural
class, for literature, art, science
or music, but not straight music
programs.
Music of the Nations" was pre-
sented last summer by Louis
Brown, musical director and pro-
ducer at WCFM. 1t traced the
development of music, by record
ings and commentary. from early
times to the present day.
X X X
Telenotes: That Joe Graydon
of Washington. D. c., who is cut
ting such a figure on Hollywood