WGBH-TV Starts Test Program Series Today

New England's first educational television station will begin limited operations today.

Following four years of fund-raising and construction, WGBH-TV will start closed-circuit broadcasts this afternoon, Lawrence Creshkoff '46, assistant director of programs, said last night. The station is operated by the Lowell Institute Cooperative Broadcasting Council, of which Harvard is a member.

Among members of the University who will participate in the test programs is Louis M. Lyons, Curator of the Nieman Fellowships. Starting March 18, his daily radio newscast over WGBH will be simultaneously televised for the monitored screens in the WGBH-TV studio, according to Paul Rader, Director of Production.

Start Regular Telecasts

When the station starts regular telecasts at the beginning of May, Lyons' news program will become a regular part of the schedule. "We think his program will revolutionize newscasting in this area," Rader said.

A number of Law School programs dealing with legal problems in daily life will also be televised over the closed circuit. Charles M. Haar, assistant professor of Law, will moderate a series of discussions on slum clearance which will be repeated later this year on regular telecasts.

The primary purpose of the test programs is to train WGBH's staff for television. Rader noted, however, that they will also "give experience in TV production to groups which might appear on the station after normal broadcasting starts."

He emphasized that any University dramatic or musical group may broadcast over WGBH-TV, as long as the productions have some educational purpose. "This is a cooperative effort," he said. "Since Harvard belongs to the Lowell Institute we are obligated, in a sense, to use Harvard material."