Deaf protesters carrying picket signs and speaking in sign language demonstrated outside CBS television stations nationwide Wednesday to show disapproval with the network's lack of closed-captioned programming.
Various groups for the deaf staged peaceful protests outside stations in California, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Indiana, Iowa, South Dakota and Florida. They asked for a daylong boycott of CBS programs.
'We want CBS policymakers to know how we feel down here. We can't get up there (to New York) to protest,' said Pauline Hicks, 65, in Jacksonville, Fla.
CBS said it adopted a captioning system early this year, but decoders to translate the signal probably won't be available from manufacturers until 1984. ABC, NBC and PBS provide captions for hearing-impaired viewers.
'Mom used to call me and ask me to come over and interpret 'Dynasty' for her,' said Camilla Coleman of Des Moines, referring to the popular ABC program. 'Now I don't have to do that.'
Ms. Coleman has normal hearing, but translates CBS programs for her deaf parents through sign language.
The Iowa Association of the Deaf set up pickets at stations in Des Moines, Mason City and Cedar Rapids.
About 20 members of the Indiana Association of the Deaf picketed at WSBT in South Bend, carrying signs whichread: 'Turn Off CBS,' 'CBS Insensitive to the Deaf,' 'We Want Captions on CBS' and 'One Decoder is Enough.' Other Indiana protests were in Fort Wayne and Indianapolis.
'We can't understand their television programs,' said Deb Kloepfer of Goshen. 'We've missed a lot of their good shows.'
In Charleston, S.C., 11 deaf people picketed the local CBS affiliate, WCSC-TV, 'to bring our displeasure and frustation to the attention of CBS policy makers,' said Donald Goen, a local print shop operator.
In Charleston, W.Va., about 12 people picketed WCHS-TV for several hours and in San Francisco, about 30 pickets marched at KPIX.
CBS does not participate in the 'Line 21' system that brings captions to deaf viewers of other networks, saying a teletext system called 'extravision' will better serve both the deaf and the hearing.
CBS, in a statement Wednesday from New York, said Sony, Panasonic and General Electric decoders are expected to be on the market next year.
