COMMITTEE ON BROADCASTING AND TELEVISION (COBAT) 33RD MEETING HELD 2:00 P.M. FEBRUARY 6 ROOM 2039 HEW BUILDING

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Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP78-01634R000300030033-0
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RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
C
Document Page Count: 
2
Document Creation Date: 
November 17, 2016
Document Release Date: 
April 14, 2000
Sequence Number: 
33
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
February 7, 1958
Content Type: 
MIN
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Approved For Relea000/08/27: CIA-RDP78-016341Q003a0&j~r& V OPERATIONS COORDINATING BOARD Washington 25, D.C. February 7, 1958 MEMORANDUM OF MEETING: Committee on Broadcasting and Television (COBAT) 33rd Meeting held 2:0O P.M. February 6 Room 2039 HEW Building Working Group Members Present: USIA ., Robert E. Button, Chairman Robert A. Bauer, alternate State - William A. McFadden Florence T, bowling, alternate Richard T. Black (representing TPIB) ICA - Gerald Winfield Defense - John C. Broger CIA - Representative present OCB Staff - Ralph R. Busick Marjorie M. Denny l. The minutes of the December 3 meeting were adopted. With reference to Item 2, the oral briefing given to COBAT on the work of the Committee on Radio Broadcasting Policy, the Chairman told of a meeting with the Executive Officer where it was. agreed that COBAT would continue under its present terms of reference to concentrate on the problems related to overseas tele- vision, with occaei,onal briefings on the work of the Policy Committee; and it was further agreed that there was no duplication involved in the work of the two committees. 2, The Chairman brought to the attention of CQ, JDespatch No. 148 from -? `' Bonn. date January , which describes the compet tion that television in West Berlin is encountering from East Berlin. Possible avenues of assistance to West Berlin television in its programming were discussed. It was agreed that before the next meeting each member would prepare recommendations on the Berlin situation and transmit them to the Staff Representative, who would combine them into the first draft of a COBAT paper dealing with this problem. With reference. to the overall policy problem, it was agreed that the separate agency policy statements prepared by the individual members would be pulled together into one package as preliminary snap in the preparation of an overall policy paper on television. 4.S F e~,Q y V1 3. Reference Despatch No. 51j. from New Delhi dated 31/26/57, a request for aid to an educational television station in India,soon to be brought into services was discussed. The members of.COBAT agreed with the ICA.representative that this request, which came through USIS, should be referred back to the field, and should more properly have come through USOM channels, CONFIDENTIAL Approved For Release 2000/08/27 : CIA-RDP78-01634R000300030033-0 DOS & USIA declassification & release instructions on file Approved For Release 2000/08/27 : CIA-RDP78-01634WO0300030033-0 1. The Chairman informed COBAT of USIAEs plans to have a regional tele- vision adviser stationed in Beira , to work under the PAO and lend assistance to the developing situation in Yr rut, and also Teheran. and Baghdad, as requested, ~ , .L/ . J .WAWNWNMWI 5. The TV situation in Iran, with particular reference to the relation- ship among USIS, the Armed Forces program, and the local commercial station in Teheran, was discussed. The Defense member informed that the Armed Forces would be building a television station in Teheran, as their program for Iran was shelved at the present time. a h b th t t i h t/ l i S ange progr m. on exc e ev s e mem ers discussed e Eas Wes o T Reference was made to tvo meetings on television to be held in the Soviet Unions the OIR (International Broadcasting Organization of Iron Curtain countries) at Moscow in April, 1958; and Study Group 11 of the CCIR (International Consulta- tive Committee study group on television) in Junef 1958. In the meantime, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is to meet in Brussels in March, and a repres- entative of USIA (the alternate USIA member on COBAT) will attend. The EBU members were invited to attend the OIR meeting but have declined. Discussion developed the opinion that the OIR will press for across-the-curtain program exchanges with EBU countries, and will play up the US/USSR exchange agreement; otherwise the curtain countries will probably push over-the-border transmissions via the Tallinn, Bratislava, Murmansk, etc. stations.. The question will doubt- less be explored informally at Brussels. It was agreed that the USIA representa- tive should have guidance from the State Department on the US point of view before his departure for the EBU meeting. 7. The next meeting will be at the call of the Chairman. Ralph R. Busick Staff Representative Approved For Release 2000/08/27 : CIA-RDP78-01634R0003000 B T ,