Evening star., 1951-10-05
On the Air
Snob Set
Is LoyoI
To BIC
By Joy Cormody

large circulation as much as any
institution that owns printing
presses, is not above meditating
on the virtues of small audiences.
It has come up this week with
q pleasantly readable report on
one of the smallest radio audi
ences to be found anywhere, that
for BBC's Third Programme (no
simplif1ed spelling for BBC).
The occasion for Times Third
Programme summary is the lat
ter's fifth birthday and Mr.. Luce's
reporter is pleased to recall that
when it began, the program was
jeered as "a pretentious. high ia
luting present for the esthete and
the intellectual snob."
Whatever their faults, the
estheteS and the intellectual Snobs
were more numerous than anyone
anticipated and more loyal than
their humber counterparts. The
Third Programmes audience is
listed as is million as compared
with the 43 million who listen to
the lower -browed BIC broadcasts.
What the famous Third has
proved. on its small select scale, is
that there are radio listeners who
were pining away for such pro-
grams as "An Ecologist Among
the Hopi," a Thomas Mann esti-
mate Of the literary worth Of
Bernard Shaw, and some Of the
more risque Of Chaucer's plays.
Time quotes Harman Grise-
wood, controller Of BIC, as con-
Ivinced that there is a fine, small
audience for the best in radio and
he thinks it should not be ig-
nored.
This is an admirable conviction.
Sports Confiict-An extra inning
game between the Yankees and
Giants tomorrow-or merely al
slow Ginning contest-could stir
a bit Of turmoil in the souls of
TV sports lovers.
1t will not be until the end of
this game that MICS video net
work will be available to the first
coaSt-to-coast 70 tba IL telecast,
that Of the game between Illinois
and Wisconsin from Champaign.
Ill. This means that the pigskin
fans will have to wait until the
Gotham air is cleared Of horse
hide, and while it is unlikely that
the lag will be nettlesome, it
could be. nevertheless.
Radio. having no such breath of
facilities. will have no such prob
lens. As calmly as if the game
were the only event in the cosmos,
ABC-WMAL will start at las
pm. with Harry Wismer and
Jimmy Gibbons reporting on Duke
VS.. Tennessee; WRC with Michi-
gan State VS.. Ohio State. o game
that will be picked up by Mutual
Broadcasting System stations after
the World Series.
CBS-WTOP win proceed Sc
renely for the second Saturday
/ with Red Barber's radio roundup
of football including such high
light contests as Navy VS.. Prince
ton: Michigan State VS.. Ohio
State; Georgia Tech VS.. Kentucky;
Duke VS.. Tennessee, and Wiscon-
sin VS.. Illinois. among others.
Also on the CHS schedule Is
the color television broadcast
over closed circuit Of the Navy
VS.. Princeton game.
A week from tomorrow, with the
World Series out Of the way, the
whole coaSt-to-coast television
network will be ready for one Of
the years most promising foot
ball telecasts, that Of the Notre
Dame-Southern Methodist battle.
Before Football, Drama-Miss
Helen Hayes, who is likely to
turn up anywhere. stage, movies
or television. is the star Of to-
nights Playhouse of Stars
(WTOP-TV 8 p.m.), which will
replace last years Pulitzer Prize
Playhouse. The play is a comedy.
Not Chance" and Miss Hayes
co-star will be David Niven. Also
on the drama menu for tonight
is a mystery, Carries Coffin"
(WMAL-TV 8 p.m.), an extern
sion into television Of the radio
series, Mystery Theater.
Simple Protocol - Had she
needed it. the very primer of
etiquette could have settled for
Sarah Churchill the question Of
her first guest on her new tele-
vision show starting Sunday (CBS-
WTOP-TV 5:45-6 p.m). That
would be Mrs. Franklin D. Roose-
welt. an old friend of the Church.
i'll family.
Winston Churchill's tall, cool
looking daughter will keep her
program on an informal, chatty
level. Opening night she and Mrs.
Roosevelt Will reminisce about war