Evening star., 1954-06-22
Faint Echoes of Hearings
Ease off the TV Addicts
By Harry Macarthur

VuSfAItHUT
been away too long from the
world where direct answers are
sometimes used.
youth Wants to Know" also
had a man who knows how to
play this game, a panel men,
ber from the caucus room TV
show. This was Senator Henry
c. Dworshak, substituting for
the Mccarthy committee coun-
sci, Roy Cohn, who had reported
to the producers that sudden
urgent business had called him
out of town.
Whether or not the young
interviewers gained by this ex-
change of interviewees on Sun
day is debatable. They did not,
however Git seemed to one
viewer at least), learn very
much from Senator Dworshak.
except that he has quite a self
satisfied smirk when he has
managed to reply to a question
without answering it.
y \ \
Mr.. 'Cohn'S friends will be
happy to know that the urgent
business which kept him off of
Youth Wants to Know" appar-
emily was dealt with in a hurry.
He had it taken care of in time
to appear and be interviewed
on Walter Winchell's Sunday
night sinulcast on ABC.
It would be unkind to suggest
that Mr.. Cohn purposely evaded
those young people who press for
the facts. 1t is mere coincidence
that Mr.. Winchell, who is fact
unto himself and does not have
to pursue any, was a most SYM
pathetic interviewer.
1t was fairly comic interlude,
at that. It sounded just like one
of those moments when Mr..
Cohn paused in mid-hearing to
eulogize Senator Mccarthy. or
vice-versa. In substance it con-
sisted principally of Mr.. Winchell
asking Mr.. Cohn if it were not
true that he, Mr.. Cohn, is the
fightingest foe of Communists
yet discovered. Mr.. Cohn fully
agreed.
OPEN TO CRITICISM-If
NBC would like to know, the golf
set around here is mighty un-
happy with the TV coverage Of
the National open Saturday aft
ernoon. That mobile unit which
NBC employs so proudly is fine
thing, the golfers admit, if you
are interested in automobiles or
in the technical aspects of tele-
vision. But when you are watch
ing a golf match you want to
know who's winning.
At one point Saturday, an
irate viewer reports, the camera
caught up with Gene Littler on
the 10th green. He was still very
much in the running with Win
ner Ed Furgol as he pitched
neatly onto the green and got
ready to line up a crucial putt.
Before he could make it, how
ever, the television switched
away from there, for a CONNER
cial or something.
Mr.. Littler arrived eventually
at the 18th green with stfll no
word of that putt. The an
nouncer came equipped only with
wild rumors about Mr.. Littler's
standing at the moment, which
he cheerfully advised viewers to
disregard.
The man who passes this along
did find some high comedy in
the televiSed proceedings. One
instance came with the arrival
of a pair of contestants on a
green where an announcer was
chattingly discussing their activi-
ties.
whats that? Oh. He told me
to be quiet" said the announcer
to the nation, in hurt tones.
HE hasn't even lined up his
ball and he told me to be quiet"
Please watch these things,
NBC. They make life difficult
for TV columniStS.
THE AUDIENCE-Again let it
be noted that the program man
ayers lot is not a happy one.
He tries and tries to determine
what sort of entertainment his
audience would like when, only
to have the audience continually
confound him. Out at WTOP-
TV, for instance, it seemed once
that Billy Johnson'S 9 am. show
would be just the thing for the
young set. 1t probably is, for
that matter, but the most recent
Telepulse ratings have injected
a small note of confusion. In
Mr.. JohnSon's 9 am. audience
there are fewer children GAG per
cent? than adults and teen-agerS
(54 per cent?.