Eugene David<br>...The One-Minute Pundit

Posted 2:24 PM by Gene

The beautiful Anna Moffo has died. We must confess, however, we remember her because she was married to Robert Sarnoff, the General's son and the man who brought down RCA with his conglomeration schemes.

P. S.

He espoused the benefits of a "well-rounded schedule," but clearly practiced a policy of programming to majority tastes. Sarnoff insisted that competition for advertisers, audiences, and affiliate clearance would ensure that the networks would remain receptive to the multiple demands of the market. Ratings were the economic lifeblood of the medium; "high brow" interests would have to remain secondary to "mass appeal" shows in the NBC schedule. Critics who lamented the disappearance of "cultural" programming were elitist, he claimed. Neither the Federal Communications Commission nor Congress should interfere in network operations or establish program guidelines, according to Sarnoff, since this would encourage political maneuvering and obstruct market forces. More effective industry self-regulation and self-promotion, spear-headed by the networks, would ensure that recent broadcasting transgressions (symbolized by the quiz show scandals and debates over violence on television) would not reoccur.

THE FIRST GLIBERTARIAN!