House Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight

The special subcommittee investigated the quiz show scandals and the issue of payola. The aforementioned scandal involved rigged televised quiz shows which were portrayed as legitimate throughout the 1950s, while payola is the act of paying radio stations or disc jockeys to get them to play or promote certain songs. In 1959 the subcommittee began hearings on the irregularities regarding quiz shows. Charles Van Doren testified at the hearing and admitted that he cheated, explaining that it made for better entertainment. Van Doren stated that he was coached in how to make his behaviors more dramatic. He also admitted that he was given questions in order to beat the reigning champion Herb Stempel on Twenty-One. Van Doren also said that the show allowed him to lose after 15 weeks at his request. Payola hearings The subcommittee's first hearings into payola in the music industry were held from February to May 1960. The subcommittee concluded that 255 disc jockeys spanning 42 cities collected a combined $263,000 in bribes. President Eisenhower called it "an issue of public morality". The Federal Communications Commission proposed to make it a crime to be involved in payola. In another form of payola, DJs would get a songwriting credit, allowing them to receive royalties so that they would be encouraged to play the song. The reputation of Cleveland DJ Alan Freed was damaged by the hearings. == Outcome ==

As a result of the quiz show investigations, Charles Van Doren pled guilty to perjury. In 1962, Elfrida von Nardroff pled guilty to second-degree perjury. Twelve other former quiz show contestants were also arrested in the scandal. Payola was made illegal in 1960. In December 1962, after being charged on multiple counts of commercial bribery, DJ Alan Freed pled guilty to two counts of commercial bribery and was fined $300 and given a suspended sentence. The investigations led to federal regulation of the broadcasting industry. The Communications Act Amendments of 1960 (S 1898) called for more regulation of the broadcasting industry. The rigging of game shows was made a federal crime and the FCC was given greater authority. Additionally, any payola had to be disclosed. Some artists claim that the practice of payola still exists. Jacob Slichter, the drummer for the band Semisonic, said in 2006 that payola was how they turned their song "Closing Time" into a hit. Slichter stated: "It cost something close to $700,000 to $800,000 to get 'Closing Time' on the air." In a 2019 Rolling Stone article, Elias Right reported that payola never went away and has instead become more sophisticated. ==References==