Series: Series 2. Administration Records, 1953-1968
Physical Description: 22 boxes 
Biography/History

After the Board of Directors, NET's highest level of leadership was the office of the President.

The Newburn years (1953-1958), characterized by conservatism, were five years of solid accomplishment during which NET was firmly established as the center for ETV programming and information in the United States. The pernanent Center staff under Newburn was kept small, consisting of an assistant to the president, a director of programming, and, after two years, a director of deveopment. Program consultants were hired in varying numbers, to assist director of programming Robert Hudson,^[1] but only for one year appointments. This was Newburn's method of achieving a continual influx of new blood and ideas.

All the Center staff worked together. With headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the small staff handled all the duties for which separate departments were eventually established, namely, public information, development, network affairs, distribution, business affairs, and programming. Programming was generally of poorer quality during these early years, in part due to high turnover of program consultants as mentioned, and in part due to inability to find significant amounts of quality programming that was suitable and available for ETV use.

In 1958, John White was appointed president of NET. For the following eleven years the mark of his personality and the impact of his forward-looking innovations were felt in the nation at large through the growing influence of the 4th Network. White moved the Center headquarters to New York, greatly expanded the permanent staff, began to emphasize quality programming regardless of the cost and embarked NET upon a campaign in quest of non-Ford Foundation monies and a permanent endowment. In 1960 White personally directed the new development campaign and was squarely behind the establishment of the new Vice President for Development position. In general, public relations and promotional activities received a great deal of emphasis under White, but, ironically, his years of expansion failed to elicit a corresponding expansion of research into ETV itself.

Scope and Content Note: The records consist of fragmented files from the President's office and some files from the office of the Vice President for Administration. No files exist in the archive yet for the position of Senior Vice President, which was occupied by Robert Hudson from 1965 to 1971. Most of Hudson's activities prior to his appointment as Sr. V.P. are documented in the Program Subject File and the Program Title File as well as throughout the collection, since his influence was felt throughout NET.

Subseries: Subseries 2A. President's Office
Scope and Content Note: The records of the President's Office consist of a remnant of the Early Central File (1953-1962) and a portion of John White's file (1953-1966). Together they constitute the primary documentation on the origins of NET at the ETRC; early efforts to promote educational television in the United States; the nature of the presidential office at NET during the first 14 years of NET's 20 year existence; and NET's relationship with the federal government and other organizations concerned with educational broadcasting.

Early Central File, 1953-1962
Physical Description: 10 boxes 
Scope and Content Note

Nearly three-fourths of this file is correspondence, but it also contains printed material, report forms, shipping memos, grant applications and awards, and near-print material from stations, foundations, organizations. Arranged in a subject file, the two largest categories are “Meetings and Conferences,” where much information on the origins of NET can be found, and the “National Association of Educational Broadcasters,” where documentation on the relationship between NAEB and NET can be found, as well as information on the program production grants they jointly administered. These ETRC-NAEB radio grant-in-aid application files often contain script treatments of the program for which the station was requesting financial support.

In addition to the grants and meetings, the file concerns radio in general, grass roots efforts to establish NET and ETV -- including correspondence with individuals, commercial TV stations, educational organizations and institutions, foreign countries, and other organizations of all kinds. Also included is documentation of the early concern of ETV stations over such problems as distribution, production, technical aspects such as kinescopes, promotion of educational broadcasting, and how to stimulate new and creative thinking in producing for ETV. The people most in evidence in the file are H.K. Newburn, Lyle M. Nelson, Barton Griffin, and George L. Hall. There is some John White material in the NAEB meetings folders.

Probably only a core of the original central file exists, as it appears that, in addition to the normal amount of weeding done by NET secretaries prior to shipping, certain folders were removed when the subject they covered became the responsibility of a newly-created office.

Commercial Television Stations, 1953-1956
Scope and Content Note: Correspondence arranged alphabetically by station call letters; including requests for programming and general information with answers detailing nature and stage of development of NET.

Foreign Countries, 1954-1958
Scope and Content Note: Mainly inquiries about NET services with answers. arrangement alphabetically by country.

Ann Arbor, Directors of TV Stations, 1953 September 15
Scope and Content Note: Both of the above folders contain excellent documentation of the origins, purpose and early policies of ETRC.

Staff Meetings, 1954-1957; 1959
Scope and Content Note: In 1954: information on early programming efforts, solicitation of programs, policy decisions, and establishment of the working structure of NET.

1952-1954
Note: See H.K. Newburn speech, Fall 1953, on origins of NET.

NAEB Radio Grants-in-Aid, 1952-1960
Scope and Content Note: The grants-in-aid program originated under ETRC. Originally, funds (In the amount of $40,000 annually, plus $2000 NAEB administrative expense) were handed over to the NAEB for disbursement. As the program became organized, it was decided to modify that plan because the ETRC was not a grant-making organization and needed to take more direct responsibility for the radio grants program. So, the grants-in-aid were made directly by the Center, after screening of applications and recommendations from the NAEB Grants-in-Aid Committee. A program associate was added to the Center staff to assist that committee in matters of management and procedure, to provide liaison between the Center and the NAEB and to follow through with grantees on matters relating to completion of series production. Later, a special three-year plan was initiated out of a desire for a less random, more unified relationship between radio series. The plan provided for a grant of $100,000 per year for three years: 1. to continue the grants-in-aid and 2. to provide for the commissioning of special radio series. ETRC initiated the proposals for the latter and the NAEB Grants-in-Aid Committee acted in an advisory capacity, in addition to evaluating and making recommendations on applications for grants-in-aid.

General Correspondence and Applications
Note: All the radio grant-in-aid files contain letters written in years later than the folder date, but they all pertain to the grants of that year.

John White's File, 1953-1966
Physical Description: 5 boxes 
Scope and Content Note

John White's presidential files are not as voluminous (5 boxes for eleven years) or informative as one would expect. In fact, they are downright disappointing. Their paucity is no doubt due to: weeding performed by NET secretaries; retention of files for James Day's use; possible documentation of some of White's activities in other NET files or in a personal file which he still has in his possession; and the certainty that much of his work was performed over the telephone or in personal conferences.

About 50% of this file is correspondence; the other half is comprised of annotated printed and near-print matter, reports, scripts, clippings, lists, statistics, speeches, articles, notes, etc. The bulk of the material pertains to the period 1962-1964, although there is some material passed on to him from Newburn, and thus the early inclusive date of 1953. Part of the file arrived loose and separate from the rest without clear indications as to the original filing arrangement, but there were evidences that it was alphabetical, so such an arrangement was used.

There is very little information herein on the internal operation or events of NET; rather, the files relate to White's personal activities, such as speech making, chairing committees, etc., and his professional activities as head of NET. It is not easy to distinguish between the two. As can be seen from the container list, most of the files pertain to organizations, institutions and events outside NET, such as NAEB, NITL, JCET, U.S.-H.E.W., BBC, etc. Rather than being a criticism of the paucity of presidential files, this observation is probably an accurate indicator of the functions of the president's office during the years White occupied it, consisting mostly of outside promotion and fundraising work, educating others about ETV, and working out policies and long-range plans for a growing TV network, while the day-to-day business of producing and distributing television programming was left to others. Newburn was deeply involved in the day-to-day administration of the Center and in satisfying the immediate needs of the stations, while White increasingly wore the cloak and filled the sophisticated role of good-will ambassador at large on behalf of ETV.

However, White did involve himself in the actual production work from time to time. Such a program was “Championship Debate”, produced by Larry Pickard, where most of the pre-production correspondence was conducted by White. In fact, the 1962-63 folder of correspondence in Pickard's file was really White's file, but was apparently given to Pickard by White for the former's use, as it arrived at the SHSW among Pickard's files. (See 8E/1/5)

Subseries: Subseries 2B. Vice President for Administration, 1954-1968
Physical Description: 7 boxes 
Biography/History

This office probably originated with Kenneth Yourd in 1958, when he was already acting in this capacity, although he then carried the dual title of Executive Secretary and Vice President of NET. Yourd was succeeded in 1961 by Arthur M. Griffin, who gave way to Edwin Bayley in 1963. Bayley held the office for six years, serving as Public Affairs Editor for NET at the same time. In 1969, Richard M. Catalano succeeded him and was acting in the office at the time of the 1971 merger.

The purpose of this office seemed to be what the title implied, one of overall coordination and administration of the Center's non-programming or supporting activities. Directly responsible to the VP for Administration at one time or another were the Directors of Engineering and Technical Distribution, including NET Film Service, Legal Affairs, and Reports. This officer also had some responsibility for routine public relations, financial-accounting and programming, as well as office management, office efficiency, the physical plant, etc. The office was responsible for making people aware of company policy regarding sick leave, vacation, misuse of the phones, etc. The VP for Administration seemed to do a little of everything. He never went into any area in depth until 1965 when Bayley's position as Public Affairs Editor involved him as emcee of the series entitled Regional Reports.

Scope and Content Note: The files consist of about 60 per cent correspondence and 40 per cent reports. Covering mainly 1960-1966, they are arranged in an alphabetical subject file preceded by the general correspondence and the financial memos. The main subjects are FAE grants, correspondence with affiliates, FCC hearings on non-commercial use of TV satellites in 1966, programs, and NET Film Service, whose correspondence includes promotional literature, order forms, articles, and program descriptions. Much material is Bayley's as Public Affairs Editor, and the only in depth files are his, on Regional Reports. The files are highly fragmentary as documentation of the office of Vice President for Administration. Especially sparse is the information on the Kenneth Yourd years.