At Issue; Great Label Mystery

Item Information

Title:
At Issue; Great Label Mystery
Description:
This month At Issue examines food, drug, and cosmetic packaging practices, and the controversy that has arisen from the truth in packaging legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Philip A. Hart (D. Michigan). The report studies the pros and cons of the Hart bill still pending in the Congress through the comments of government officials, food and drug manufacturers, packagers, and Consumers Union spokesmen. In a special feature of the program, four housewives question representatives from General Mills and three other leading manufacturers of consumer products about current packaging practices. The housewives, recommended by Consumers Union, bring into discussion areas of dispute which include so-called cents off pricing, shortcomings in package illustrations, the use of fractional weights in measuring package contents, and the inaccuracies of indicated per person serving directions. Senator Harts bill has been attacked by critics on the grounds that it is necessary since existing laws prohibit deceptive practices; that it is contrary to the tenets of free enterprise because it denies packagers the right to be creative; and that it is not economical because it would increase prices. Authorities who appear on At Issue in opposition to the bill include: U.S. Senator Thruston Morton (R. Kentucky); Paul Willis, president of the Grocery Manufacturers of America; Clarence Adamy, vice president of the National Association of Food Chains; William Snaith, president of Raymond Lowey-William Snaith Inc., a leading designing firm. Supporters of the Hart bill contend that existing laws are vague and leave a number of loopholes for alleged packaging manipulations. In addition, they contend that it would not restrict creativity, and that it would enable housewives to make clear-cut money-saving purchases in the market place. Those appearing on the program to defend the Hart bill are: Senator Hart; Esther Peterson, special presidential assistant for consumer affairs; John Hance, director of marketing services, Consumers Union; Mildred Edie Brady, senior editor of Consumers Report; Helen Nelson of the Consumers Counsel of California. The program also travels to the Good Housekeeping Institute where the significance of the Good Housekeeping seal and requirements to be met before it is granted are discussed by Wade Nichols and Ray Petersen, editor and publisher, respectively, of Good Housekeeping Magazine, and Miss Willie Mae Rogers, director of the Good Housekeeping Institute. In another portion of the At Issue report, Melvin Sokolsky, a noted fashion photographer, demonstrates how a product ad is actually created. Running Time: 58:49 (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche) At Issue consists of 69 half-hour and hour-long episodes produced in 1963-1966 by NET, which were originally shot on videotape in black and white and color.
Production company:
National Educational Television and Radio Center
Producer:
Perlmutter, Alvin H.
Producer:
Silverstein, Morton
Author:
Silverstein, Morton
Creator:
Morton, Thurston
Creator:
Adamy, Clarence
Creator:
Petersen, Ray
Creator:
Peterson, Esther
Creator:
Nichols, Wade
Creator:
Rogers, Willie Mae
Creator:
Brady, Mildred Edie
Creator:
Hart, Philip A.
Creator:
Sokolsky, Melvin
Creator:
Hance, John
Creator:
Willis, Paul
Creator:
Zucker, Lisa
Creator:
Snaith, William
Editor:
Solomon, Lawrence
Creator:
Nelson, Helen
Date:
October 1965
Format:
Film/Video
Genre:
Talk Show
News
Location:
Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive
Collection (local):
American Archive of Public Broadcasting Collection
Series:
Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive > At Issue
Subjects:
News
Business
Health
Politics and Government
Extent:
00:59:29
Link to Item:
https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-dj58c9s12b
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.
Notes:
Episode Number: 60