In October of 1957, the Diamondback published 4 articles dealing with University of Maryland interest in Television.  As a point of reference, Elizabeth Campbell was elected president of the Greater Washington Educational Television Association (GWETA) in 1957.  It would be four years before WETA went on the air on UHF Television Channel 26.  UHF tuners were not installed in televisions until 1961.  The Midwest  Program on Airborne Television Instruction would not begin operation until 1961. While certainly the University of Maryland was not the first to recognize the potential for instructional television, the forward-looking faculty members saw potential early.

As these Diamondback articles reveal, televised curriculum programs (through the auspices of WBAL and WTOP), as well as the use of color television in the medical field (Walter Reed Army Medical Center) were on the “front burner” within the faculty community as early as 1957.  One faculty member to watch is George Batka.  He is with the Speech Department, and will figure prominently in the development of RATV.