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January 3, 2006  Dr. Frank Stanton is one of those icons of broadcasting who, when mentioned to the current generation, draws the intelligent question, "Who's he?" His death over the Christmas season recalls how vital his role was in the wake of a turmoil created by the genre we follow here.Chances are, without Dr. Stanton's leadership during one of the biggest clouds in the history of the industry, we may not have television today as we know it. While some may argue the value of that, considering the direction broadcasting has turned, Frank Stanton---as president of CBS and Bill Paley's guiding hand of the business side of the network---was one of the few industry leaders who did not turn his head, stick it in the sand or look for someone else to blame when the cancer of the quiz scandals struck in 1958. ABC didn't have to worry. That network was so cash-poor, it had no big-money quiz shows (though suspiciohns wer ultimately raised about the original Treasure Hunt, which started on ABC). With the squeaky-clean Pat Weaver shoved out of the way of programming decisions, NBC's executives took an approach of "you guys aren't cheating over there, are you?" Not until Dr. Stanton took a firm grip on the situation and publicly acknowledged transgressions had occurred did some of the bullets stop firing at broadcasting. Said Stanton: "We at the CBS Television Network will not only control what appears on our airwaves, but how they appear." In testimony before the House Telecommunications Subcommittee and in a series of news conferences, Stanton took the statesman's role in attempting to clean up the mess created by the quiz brouhaha. That also led him into direct conflict with another of the network's icons, Edward R. Murrow---the originator of CBS News and arguably a bigger icon to viewers than anyone on the network short of Lucille Ball and Arthur Godfrey. Stanton hinted in a media interview that Murrow's Person to Person Friday night celebrity interview show was not on the up-and-up with viewers because no disclaimer was offered that portions of the program and interviews were rehearsed. Murrow was inflamed and incensed, offered a scathing public retort to Stanton and suggested the CBS boss "knows nothing about the requirements of television production." Murrow was been stewing for three years since the loss of the prime time Tuesday night slot of his See It Now shortly after the premiere of The $64,000 Question in the half-hour prior. To have his name and program indirectly lumped in the same breath with dubious quiz shows was too much for Murrow. His and Stanton's relationship was never the same and Murrow ultimately left CBS in 1961. Despite the Murrow eruption, Stanton's leadership staved off intense anger which came from a Democratic-controlled Congress. After regaining control of the House and Senate during the Eisenhower years, key Congressional leaders seized on the quiz scandals as an opportunity to cement their power. More than one proposal was floated for the FCC to assume direct control of the networks (which the panel indirectly holds with its authority over the licenses of affiliated stations). Several considerations were offered which would have removed all commercial advertising from broadcasting and probably turned television in the U.S. into either the British model or further toward what eventually became PBS. Even one reactionary idea was for the federal government to not only regulate television but to operate it, as well. Stanton did several things to back up his public statements. First, he fired the president of the CBS Television Network, Louis B. Cowan. While Cowan presided over unprecedented ratings growth in three years at the helm of CBS---largely due to the network's quiz shows, westerns and sitcoms, he committed the unpardonable sin of being the creator of The $64,000 Question. With a federal grand jury investigation and looming Congressional intervention focusing on Question, Stanton would have no credibility had he not removed the series' creator as the guiding hand of the television network's fortunes. Second, he moved quickly to wrest control of network time slots away from advertising agencies. In television's infancies, networks merely sold half-hours to ad reps----who bought shows for their clients. The fear was excessive influence from advertisers, such as Revlon's Charles Revson, had led to the quiz riggings. Over the next five years, Stanton spearheaded a shift toward magazine, or participation, advertising in television----which spread the sharing of program costs among several advertisers, not just one or two. Some analysts argue the evolution and skyrocketing expenses of television would have forced the change regardless. However, Stanton expedited the move by reducing single and alternating dual sponsorships of individual shows as advertising contracts expired. Stanton added disclaimers on programs to indicate to viewers if they were previously recorded or edited. On surviving game shows, such as Password, announcers were required to say "contestants on this recorded program were interviewed and selected in advance." The statements probably registered in a minimal way with viewers but, to Stanton, they were an olive branch of honesty. Finally, Stanton committed CBS to a weekly documentary series, CBS Reports (the other networks soon followed), to explore the nation's difficult issues and---for a time---moved Face the Nation and a half-hour retrospective series, Eyewitness to History, into prime time. The moves were regarded as smoke and mirrors by some media critics who questioned why Stanton did not stop the removal of See It Now from a prime evening slot in 1955. However, until the late 1960s, CBS held to its committment. CBS Reports ultimately evolved into 60 Minutes in 1968 and as Stanton approached retirement in 1973, his successors conveniently dismissed documentaries as a regular programming staple. Stanton faced criticism, as well, because he did not remove all semblances of game shows from CBS. His answer: "We are not going to punish honest producers who maintain standards of integrity with their programs." That allowed Mark Goodson and Bill Todman to survive with their low-budget prime time, celebrity-based panel games. G.E. College Bowl was a huge boost for CBS in the wake, particularly when it won a Peabody Award for its content and in its encouragement of education. However, CBS sharply reduced its budget of game shows in the 1960s with Bob Stewart's Password as one of the few new and successful offerings on the network. More than 200 years ago, John Adams said: [Because power corrupts] “Society’s demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases.” Charles DeGaulle said: "Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back upon himself." Perhaps today, when we decry the lack of moral leadership and genuine integrity in television, the reason is because we are still looking for the next Frank Stanton.   Miss Francis' gowns by Bonwit Teller © Copyright 2006 TVgameshows.net. All Rights Reserved. |
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