PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY JUNE 1, 1983, WHITBY FREE PRESS whitby Voice of the County Town ibllshed every Wednesday Michael lan Burgess, F The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby Pubisher . Managing Editor Ut~IUVI1L5 ior WflhLD~ resittents. by M.B.M. Publishing and Photography Ine. Phone 668-6111 The Free Press Building, 131 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. Second Clasa Mail P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Oht. Regatration No. 5351 TIMOTHY BAINES Community Editor ELIZABET ANOZDRYN Advertlsing Manager Second Class Mail Registration No. 5351 So who was that new ma Say who was that good looking blonde girl sit- ting in the mayor's chair at council chambers last Thursday evening? It wasn't incumbent Mayor Bob Attersley wearing a wig. He was spotted wat- chirigthe council meeting from a citizen's stand- point. And who are those young councillors surround- ing her? They sure don't look like the men that we elected to office so long ago. Wait, they were ail participating in the 12th an- nual Youth and Civic Administration mock councli meeting. i nere was an interesting piecet in.heGlobe and Mail the other day to the effect that Pay TV and satellite broadcasting are not living up to our expectations, that they are flot giving us the kind of diversity we-hoped for, and that they merely mimic existing networks in the stampede for the mass audienice. The article quoted Mark Freiman,- who teaches Communications at the University of Toronto. He is speaking more of the United States than Canada, I gather; here, both pay and satellite broadcasting are still in their infancy. What he says is true, as far as it goes. The dwindling mass au- dience is still the producers' and the advertisers' pot of gold. But if the television revolution continues, and more and more signals become available, that won't last. The mass audience can only be subdivided so often, until, instead, it becomes, a group of small au- diences with identifiable tastes, income levels and biases. Mr. Freiman says that the kind of homogeniz- ed programming we're now getting on Canadian Pay TV could have been avoided if licenses had been award- ed on a pay-per-program instead of pay-per-channel basis. He might be right. But it's hard to see how cost- ly pay television machines could survive if they had to depend on the equivalent of street sales in the newspaper business. In this country, the only Pay TV channel that is not homogenized, if i may use Mr. Freiman's word again, is C Channel. And the word is out everywhere that C Channel is in financial trouble. For my money, it's a good service. i don't regret the $15 per month it costs me for a minute. It carnes film, dance, drama and music programs that i can't see anywhere else, on other Pay TV channels, on network television, or even in the local movie theatre. And I'd be willing to bet that if C Channel had had to survive by selling individual programs it would be in even worse trouble than it is now. In ternis of the Canadian market, C Channel may be a little before its time. There wilI be more diversity available to the cable subscriber very shortly. Just the other day, the CRTC was opening up applications for the first of the new wave, the first ad- ditional tier' of cable channels. When the smoke has cleared, say in a year and a half, the cable subscriber will be able to purchase four new channels, as a group, for somewhere between five and ten dollars a month. These will include an all-news and information chan- nel, an all-sports channel, an all-music channel, and perhaps another specialized channel, all-heaith infor- mation, for example. But since they too will be depen- dent on a combination of subscriber fees and general advertising revenue for survival, they too will be seek- ing the dwindling mass audience. Ultimately and in- évitably, the people who last in this new broadcasting business will be those who can rationalize their costs and smaller audiences. And the breakthrough will come when they can identify their audiences to the point where advertisers won't have to waste time and effort trying to sell denture cream to teenagers. I think Mr. Freiman will get much of what he wants in time, through the natural pressures of the marketplace. Sandi Smith indeed took on the chores of a regular mayor for the evening. The 17-year-oid Anderson studentgca.ied the experience excting and interesting and she cer- tainly handied the responsîbilîties handed to her with composure and dignity. Sandi, a grade 12 student, was certainly ln fullcontrol of the meet- ing and seemed to grasp the issues around her.* Henry Street Migh School and Anderson C.V.i. both particIatedtn the .program, each contribut- Ing seven students to council. Denis O'Connor was unable to participate this year due to a semes- ter system. The students in the program, selected by their schools, go through a 10-week course which in- cludes a tour of the fire department, panel discus- sions with department heads, attendance at a regular council meeting and a discussion of role of council and council procedure. "They're pretty nervous, but they just do fantas- tic, and they enjoy themselves," said Administra- tive Assistant for Whitby, Mike Gazo, after the mock council meeting. Gazo is largely responsible for the success of the program and he Is to be commended for his ef- forts. yor anyway Councillors for the evening were Tom Brandon (Henry),. Kevin Church (Anderson), Sarina Moilca (Henry), Dave Cox (Henry), Randi Chaippe (Henry) and Robert Needham (Anderson). Department heads were Anderson's Teresa Correll (Parks and Recreation), Henry's Tim Bates (Fire Chief), Henry's Karen qibeau (Planning), An- derson's Ted Hill (Public Works) and Anderson's Leann McEvers (Treasurer). Andrea D'Eall (Anderson) was the Administrator while Carol Vonk (Henry) was the Clerk. Council accepted such reports as implementa- tion of bicycle lanes on WhItby roads, introduc- tion of paramedical rescue-type operatlons in Whitby,·Installation of traffic lights at the corner of Anderson Street and Rossland Road East and extended billboard publicity for WhItby. Our real mayor, Bob Attersley, presented'each participant with a certif icate and warned Sandi not to get too used to the seat. "Give me lots of warn- Ing if you run," he kidded. "I've still got a few good years left." Sandi Is not thinking of a political career yet. Her immediate Interests are completing a secre- tarial course at Durham College. And this council meeting only lasted an hour... LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Easter Seal campaign Dear Sir: Our Easter Seal Campaign for phy- sically handicapped children was strengthened m- measurably by the fine support of your newspaper. Your continuous public service throughout "the month in messages and special fea- tures is deeply ap- preciated by all of us who work as vol- unteers for the im- provement of phy- sically handicapped youngsters in our community and throughout Ontario. Thank you very much for your generous co- operatIon in bring- ing increased public support to carry our campaign to a highly success- ful conclusion in exceedling our Whltby area $7,000 goal by $500. John A. Stotts, Easter Seal Chairman, The Rotary Club of Whitby. 1 ,-jrr il" v resiaents for Whitby residents. qw