Serling Resigns

(Taken from the New York Times, November 17th 1977)

Serling Resigns
FBS Chief Stands Down Amidst
Funding Bill Controvery
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Rod Serling announced yesterday at a Press
Conference in New York his intention to resign
as Director-General of the Federal Broadcasting
Service. This comes on the heels of the recent
Buchanan-Hayes Bill put forward in Congress
to drastically reduce the FBS’ funding and remit.
Serling refused to comment directly but when
mentioned by reporters, he called the Bill part
of a “changing atmosphere” in government to
public broadcasting. The Bill is believed to be
part of President Reagan’s electoral pledge to
reduce Federal spending and remove “excessive
government influence” from certain areas of
society, in light of the recent economic downturn.

Serling became Director-General of the FBS at its
inception in 1970, following almost two decades
of critical acclaim as a writer, director and
producer in commercial television. Much as today,
the Service was highly controversial at the time,
receiving criticism from Republicans and
Democrats in Congress alike, along with state
governors, free speech groups and the private
media. In his seven years as its Head, Serling
became the FBS’ face, being famously dubbed the
Kennedy Administration’s “Goebbels” by
Governor Wallace. Despite these protests and
fears of federal propaganda and liberal bias from
some, Serling oversaw the creation of several
award-winning programmes such as the ground-
breaking documentary serial Americaand gritty
drama 42nd Street.

Following a failed bipartisan bid to sink the FBS in
1973 under the 1st Amendment, State Governors
led first by Wallace in 1975 attempted to challenge
the right of Federal television and stations to be
placed within their state borders. However the
Supreme Court also ruled this to be legal due to the
civilian nature of the stations. Serling mentioned
the Buchanan-Hayes Bill in relation to these past
challenges to the FBS legitimacy as “yet another
political distraction” to his job as a broadcaster,
which added “unnecessary strains” to both himself
and his family.

Malcolm Griswold, head of the Federal Broadcasting
Trust in charge of financial and content regulation for
the FBS, as well as helping to appoint the Service’s
Director-General regretted Serling’s decision to leave,
calling him “an asset to the Broadcasting Service”
and a “giant in American Television”. Griswold and
the Trust Executive have yet to announce a successor
to Serling and it is doubtful given the present political
climate to attract many high profiles television
executives.

Sources close to the President suggest if successful
the remaining elements of the Service not targeted in
the Bill, such as the national network of local radio
and television stations, will be sold off to the private
sector. A spokesman told reporters the President was
“disappointed” to here of Serling’s resignation.
 
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