Welcome Guest in the House (1957)

[Music] this is a television tower a skeleton of steel but a solid moving force in our life today and we will tell the story of the steel tower in terms of a boy an american male child age well about going on 12. home your streak usa will do very nicely name well because you'll get to know this boy for what he is and what he represents his name is not important he represents a number of things all of which add up to the future of our country he may become a scientist or perhaps an educator he might even join the space patrol but today he spends a lot of his time in the company of a friend of ours a steel tower there are all kinds of steel towers but our particular tower transmits television signals to energize a home receiver that has become a very important part of our young man's everyday life he and his family depend upon it for a good deal of their entertainment they also depend upon it for much of the news and information of their community state and nation it is a welcome guest in the home [Music] our young man takes a shortcut home and at the moment it's hard to tell what he might be thinking but we can tell you that he represents a constant challenge to all men everywhere who believe in freedom and truth specifically this challenge is the day-to-day guide post for responsible men in television broadcasting men who work in the shadow of the steel tower men who use it to distribute ideas and strengthen ideals today our boy comes home in the sunshine of freedom and safety he meets and plays with a familiar friend in a moment he will have another companion our familiar guest in the house [Music] the nab the national association of broadcasters the guest in your house the guest that concerns itself with the future of our boy because of its being this boy will grow up acutely aware that there are forces at large alien to his way of life 12 years old with a 20-inch screen and he has seen the face and forces of evil communism is a word he is learning to understand moscow is a city he hears of often names such as khrushchev bulgarnon and zhukov have meaning [Music] his horizons are no longer confined to the front yard he can see across oceans a familiar reminder in the town square that brass plaque a war memorial suddenly comes to life for even a 12 year old boy can now relate the past with the future he has seen graphic lessons in freedom more often than once [Music] it is no longer true nor will it ever be again that a dog fight down the street is bigger news than a revolution in hungary another lesson in freedom he watches on that screen the men and women and yes the children fighting in a turbulent land for a cause that might well be his [Music] our boy travels down a road on a sunny day and without knowing it has a lot of people working in his behalf for one of the most detailed provisions of the national association of broadcasters code deals with the treatment of news and public events television news must be presented fast accurate and fairly in a good many cases it is presented on camera as it happened [Music] [Music] if our lad lived in texas he would have recently seen a typical example of local broadcaster and resourcefulness when disaster struck [Music] [Music] these films became the basis of a special hour-long program to rally disaster relief efforts [Music] [Music] in another southwestern town a local broadcaster pioneered actual coverage of a jury trial with an on the spot broadcast of a felony case a dramatic specific example of local broadcaster public service resourceful broadcasters have duplicated similar events from time to time when local bar associations and the court permits in colorado a television station reported to the nation the day-by-day account of the bizarre and sordid crime of john gilbert graham a man who sent an airplane to doom in the forlorn hope of profit the case of the televised texas trial and the extended coverage permitted the colorado station illustrates how your broadcasters association is attempting and succeeding to cover courtroom news and for your right to see it our young man and others like him see many examples of commercial television acting on its own split-second initiative to bring to the audience a significant event as it happens an enterprising broadcaster in utah had his crew on the scene at a nearby prison riot and it was there on television for the entire nation to see [Music] as far as i'm concerned i can't blame the inmates for doing what they did but i believe they went about it in the wrong way a conflict between law and disorder in the sharp focus of a television camera empty lifeboats on a darkening sea the imagination of a boy quickened and enriched by seeing great events as and when they happen familiar sights assume new importance and our boy has some fun on the local pond [Music] and witnessed on television by millions that one awful moment in maritime history when time and oceans stood still when the majestic liner andreadoria hesitated as if pleading for mercy rolled over and sank in a grave fifteen fathoms deep our boy has been born into a brand new time the writers and historians refer to it as the atom and space age a time when the mind of men and boys ventures ever closer to the secrets still locked behind the doors of time television on the scene creates a new awareness of science and exploration [Music] a terrible mushroom cloud and a little boy who may sometime tame it one day back in the hometown of where our youngster actually lives in a large western pennsylvania city he joined the millions who stood a watch throughout the day and throughout the night while rescuers looked for a group of trapped miners it was only two days when it was all over but every hour without news was forever and the local television stations watched with them these friends and relatives of trapped coal miners as they kept their vigil a nation prayed with them these were people in trouble and as television told the story it contributed again to national understanding [Music] in homes all over the country others waited too and when the word came rescue completed all survive rejoicing was a national affair this is the story of a city in a shadow a city faced with a serious dilemma overcrowded slum areas poor sanitation no trash disposal no playgrounds trees are just a little grass never any flowers just lots of people lots of filth these are representative scenes of a major motion picture effort on the part of a large new england broadcaster to bring home to his audience the importance of urban renewal and if our young lad had been in the audience that night he would have shared the broadcaster's concern this concern was so great that following the broadcast shown in commercial evening time when the most number of people could see it the local chamber of commerce got behind the effort with a maximum urban renewal campaign and the necessary wherewithal the legislation appropriations and urban planning is all in the works thanks to a responsible broadcaster meeting his community and audience responsibilities other broadcasters across the nation perform in similar fashion for the nab rules and regulations contribute to this understanding this new england broadcaster was alert to his obligations and today his community is making significant strides with the problem he brought home to their living rooms some television stations across the nation as we have already seen are capable of making substantial contributions to the community they may different subjects choosing science education juvenile delinquency crime or perhaps a charity but they do lend their talents and resources in support of their public need [Music] not all television stations belong to the nab some do not qualify a few others prefer to set their own standards of programming and advertising but one station on the west coast privileged to be a member of the national association of broadcasters has made tremendous strides with a series of programs on city traffic congestion the impact of its programs was so great that it brought about legislation that has been the big bottleneck up to the time of the broadcast today cars move faster in this city and the plan is becoming a pattern elsewhere [Music] you might ask what were little boys born for they were born to hit a home run with the bases loaded and our lads got the best seat in the house and he has it for championship sporting events of all kinds on free commercial television [Music] there are times too when we turn that knob and we see on the screen an event that has taken place thousands of miles away in this case the coronation of the queen of england and a little boy discovers that the world at large seems even smaller he might be wondering what would happen if someone tripped or the crown fell but confidentially so did i [Music] we are looking now at one of the scientific achievements of our times the first space satellite photographed by a talented television news cameraman in baltimore the first man anywhere to capture on film a permanent scientific record of the satellite [Music] a moment ago a coronation and everyone knew who would get the job but for a 12 year old boy who wants to be president this is where you start he might be a little dismayed by some of the shenanigans in between speeches but then dad can fill him in on that today the political scene is under the constant focus of the living room screen and little boys along with their moms and dads are making up their minds better than ever before and this all has to do with broadcaster responsibility for the nab code clearly states that and i'll quote here a television broadcaster has an affirmative responsibility at all times to provide coverage consonant with the ends of an informed and enlightened citizenry [Music] and we inaugurate a president who was himself once 12 years old [Music] don't be dazzled by the glitter because the glitter is almost always there yes our medium is an entertainment medium a commercial advertising and free entertainment medium and it's all the stars and all the shows of the networks local affiliates and independent stations that makes possible this exciting and wonderful gift we call television it has given us omnibus see it now in disneyland perry como ed sullivan and frank sinatra and all the other talented stars that makes our screen glitter with a dazzling brightness [Music] while television programming can never in itself fulfill the spiritual need of church attendance it does nonetheless supplement and support beliefs of all faiths your nab member station meets this responsibility you can help them improve this service by calling on them with suggestions for additional improvement they welcome these suggestions [Music] washington dc home office usa and the home office of your broadcasters association governing body of broadcasting stations across the land stations who have voluntarily banded together to assure the american television public that your television set will always be a welcome guest in the house it is here that the code board of review meets to determine policy and enforcement of high broadcasting standards monitor reports are scrutinized and appropriate action is taken a broadcaster might win an accolade for his efforts or for his negligence it could be as severe as expulsion in this regard the governing body is similar to that which we have had in other mediums always a self-regulatory system which functions without government censorship a system which in this country we have found works very well this group meets face to face the day-to-day problems of television broadcasting standards of advertising performer decor dramatic themes news accuracy and fairness and many other component elements that cross our screens daily implementing their decisions is a permanent staff which keeps abreast of broadcast practices perhaps it sounds like a lot of administrative routine behind all the glitter but the truth is these people are not any different than you and i you see they have youngsters like the boy in our show and like the boy on our show their children watch and are responsive to television an american teacher then without hesitation uses television as a teaching tool [Music] the free television system is based on the competitive flow of ideas which in turn contributes to a flow of goods the economists tell us this is the basis of free enterprise and in turn is fundamental to a democratic system our way of life then is based on standards of quality and taste even though appetites change our appetites for television programs change too and the cold border review depends upon listener reaction for criteria in standards your letters are a great help in this direction letters of comment on advertising practices programming material and suitability of performers are all a part of code board of review decisions your letters contribute to the american system of self-regulation reflected by newspapers periodicals motion pictures and the theatrical arts [Music] a young boy believes in a lot of things and they depend upon the things around him with the right guidance he will perhaps tame the awesome bomb maybe even join the space patrol or go to washington home office usa and yes it's all the glitter and a lot more too it's drama news special events and community affairs right there on our 20-inch screen there's a lot to see and a lot to do but our youngsters growing up and you know it's pretty exciting because it's a lot of fun and there's something left over when it's all done we know a little more than we did yesterday so what then were little boys born for well they were born to hit a home run with the bases loaded or give their life for freedom's cause they're born to become presidents and shoot rockets high in the air some will teach school others will write a few will become scientists but all will respond [Music] a familiar sight it means communications or an exchange of ideas to make it possible you just twist a dial but behind that number is a personality and a face it belongs to your television broadcaster he's working for better standards his guide is a set of ground rules established by the national association of broadcasters and as a member he knows that he will always be a welcome guest in the house [Music] you