Lesson Fifteen
Section One: Nev,,s in Brief
Tapescript
1. American reporter Nicholas Daniloff arrived back in the United
States today, and accused Soviet spy, Gennadi Zakharov, left for the
Soviet Union. Administration officials insisted that there is no coii-
nection between the two as they announce plans for a meeting in
Iceland, October II th and 12th, between President Reagan and So-
viet leader Gorbachev. We have two reports on today's develop-
ments. First, NPR's Jim Angle at the White House. 'The preparato-
ry meeting in Iceland was proposed by Secretary Gorbachev in a let-
ter to President Reagan September 19. Secretary Shultz said, today,
the meeting will give the two leaders an opportunity to give a special
push to preparations for a full-fledged sui-nmit later this year in the
United States.-President Reagan made clear his agreement to the
meeting came after an agreement between the two nations on how to
resolve the Daniloff affair. 'The release of Daniloff made the meet-
ing possible. I could not have accepted and held that meeting if !'le
was still being held.' But the President and others insisted that
Daniloff's release without trial had no connection with Gennadi
Zakharov, the accused Soviet spy who was allowed to plead no con-
test to espionage charges today and ordered out of the country. See-
@retary Shultz tied Zakharov's departure to the Soviet agreement to
release human rights' activist, Yuri Orlov, and allow him and his
wife to emigrate. I'm Jim Angle, at the White House."
2. The Vatican today denounced all homosexual activity as morally
evil and said homosexuals should be taught that their sexual pr.,tc-
tices are unacceptable to the Catholic church. The document was rc-
layed to all Catholic bishops and restates the church's position that
lioi-nosexual tendencies are not sinful but activity is. This is NPR in
Washington.
3. University of Maryland basketball coach Lefty Dresell resigned
today, another victim of the cocaine-induced death of basketball
star Len Bias. Paul Guggenheimer reports. "Dresell's resignation
came as no surprise today. In recent weeks, advisors to Maryland
Chancellor John Slaughter and some members of the Board of Re-
geiits were pushing for Dresell's removal. This morning, at
Maryland's Cole Field House, Dresell made it official. 'I want to
announce that I am stepping down as the head basketball coach at
Maryland. I will remain at Maryland in the position of Assistant
Athletic Director. The University has agreed to honor the financial
terms of my contract, which has 8 years remaining.' Dresell coached
basketball at Maryland for 17 years, but following Bias's death,
I)rcsell told a Grand Jury that he ordered an assistant to remove ev-
ideiice of drug use from Bias's room, and subsequent revelations that
his players were having academic problems proved to be Dresell's
undoing. For National Public Radio, I'm Paul Guggenheimer in
Washington.'
Section Two: News in Detail
Tapescript
American journalist, Nicholas Daniloff,, returned to the United
Stated today, a free man. He walked off a plane at Dulles Airport
outside Washington late this afternoon after a month's detention in
the Soviet Union. Daniloff had these words for members of his fami-
ly and journalists at the airport:
'There is always a silver lining in every cloud. In Russian, Nyet
Kuda bisdabra. And I believe that the cloud that hung over
Soviet-American affairs is dissipating. I understand that the Presi-
dent is going to meet with Mr Gorbachev shortly in Iceland, and this
to me, is a wonderful thing. In my case, the investigation into the
charges against me was concluded. There was no trial, and I left as
an ordinary, free American citizen. In Zakharov's case, there was a
trial, and he received a sentence. I'm sorry I don't remember the ex-
act terms of the sentence, and he left. I do not believe that these two
things are in any way equivalent."
NPR's Richard Gonzalez is at Dulles Airport now.
'Richard, what was the mood of Daniloff and his family when
he arrived?'
"Well, the Daniloffs enjoyed a rather emotional reunion here at
Dulles Airport. Daniloff was cheerfully greeted by his daughter
Miranda and his son, Caleb. They celebrated his arrival with a bottle
of champagne. And they bought a dozen yellow roses for their
father. Caleb presented his father with a T-shirt that had been print-
ed to say ' Free Nick Daniloff" and now had been amended to say
"Freed Nick Danilofr, which Daniloff displayed with obvious relish
to the cameramen and photographers who were gathered there.'
'What seemed most on Daniloff's mind when he spoke with re.
porters today?'
'Well, as you heard him say, Daniloff seemed very, very re-
lieved that his own personal honor and integrity as a journalist had
been preserved in the negotiations that had freed him. And he re-
peated once or twice that he felt that he had not been traded for
Zakharov as a spy."
"Is there any chance DaDiloff who is completing a second tour
as a journalist in Moscow will return to the Soviet Union?"
"Well, Daniloff told us that he left the Soviet Union with his
passport and just as importantly with his multiple-entry visa,
'which is still valid,' he said. And he ended his news conference by
telling reporters that yesterday in Moscow, feeling that he might be
leaving the Soviet Union soon, he had placed new flowers on the
grave of his great great grandfather who was buried in Moscow. And
he said, 'I'm hopeful that I'll be able to do that again, some time. "'
" But who knows what will happen? What else can you tell us
about what the scene looked like there?"
Well, I can tell you that there were throngs of reporters here
too, some of whom wanted to greet Mr Daniloff with applause, and
that it took a while for Daniloff to get their attention so that he
could tell them what they wanted to hear. I think that the most obvi-
ous thing is that he had a lot of friends here, among the press corps,
that were ver,; happy to see him, and I think that he really ... he had
a sparkle in his eye that said, 'Well, I'm finally home.
'So he seemed a lot more rested perhaps than in Frankfurt?"
"Rested, relieved, and I'd have to say well scrubbed."
"(Laugh). NPR's Richard Gonzalez talking with us from Dulles
Airport. "
Section Three: Special Report
Tapescript
Today, Van Gordon Sauter, the President of CBS News re-
signed from his job. This resignation, the latest move in a CBS
shake-up, which yesterday brought the ouster of CBS Chief Execu-
tive Officer Thomas Wyman. He was replaced by Laurence Tisch,
the company's leading stockholder.
Also, yesterday, the 82-year-old founder of CBS, William
Paley, came out of retirement to become the company's Chairman.
Writer Ken Aleter says the CBS Board probably put the changes in-
to motion even before the Board meeting yesterday.
' There was a regularly scheduled Board dinner, an informal
dinner the night before, which is normal for a monthly Board meet-
ing. And Wyman cancelled it, feeling that the Board was so
polarized in the battle between Laurence Tisch and Paley on one
side, and Thomas Wyman and some of the Board members who are
supporters of his on the other. But the Board decided to meet any-
way without Tisch or Paley or Wyman, and they apparently met till
quite late, which would be Tuesday night. Then at the meeting yes-
terday, Mr Wyman presented a budget as planned, and apparently,
the Board unanimously was dissatisfied with that budget presenta-
then it was learned that, in fact, there had been, at least
formed, that there were overtures made by Wyman and
others aligned with him t company, try and fin
white knight to stave off I and Bill Paley.'
'Last minu scram
'Yes, a the end. Tisch and Paley to le
and then Wyman to leave. the 3 principle actors in
drama were out of the room when the Board discussed it, and I'm
told, unanimously reached the judgment that it was time for a
change.'
'So it's not really fair to say that Laurence Tisch came rolling
into that meeting and just took it over.'
'Well, apparently the Board took it over. What happened was,
as of late last week, this Board was ready to support Tom Wyman.
Something happened in the last several days to turn this Board
around. And I think, in part, that something that happened was a
growing sense of dissatisfaction with Wyman: And I suspect also, a
sense that the Board probably had that the continued
in the press, would only continue if Wyman remained,the helm, and
they had to stop i@
"Yeah. Let me ask you fo a very simplistic answer to a compli-
cated question here. CBS got into this sort of trouble because of
problems endemic to the television industry now, or because of
mismanag
Both. Clearly, sai ng is happening in all the networks.
They're facing a future, at least the immediate future,, where revenues
no longer grow at the same rate they used to, which is 10, 12, 14
percent a year. Revenues are declining at all three networks. Adver-
tisers are finding otheroutletsfor their money, more efficient outlets,
cheaper outlets for their money. There's new competition from the
4th network, from technology, from cable. Second, there was a feel-
ing that, Wyman, though he was a good manager on paper and had
a good strong managerial background, was not a people manager.
Television is populated by a lot of famous people, who have rather
large egos. They're also rather large talents. But in anv case, tho se
egos re@ire some strokinp- Tom Wyman was not a stroker. He was
a go-bytthe- manager. So, he was a stranger, for in-
stance, to the t division of CBS, not the division that
produc the i ut the one that produces the most pres-
's the news division."
BS News people, as you 1 n%n, have been disen-
nd they're probably encouraged by this move, but
specitically@, what. were they fussing about? How have they been
mismanaged? Can anyone say
"Well, I think there are"
pr@aAO'@hlu different stories.
One story that's received a loyof prominence in the last week is Bill
Moyer's storv. which is a/edling that the entertainment values at
CBS have been enshrin@ at the expense of news values. That, how-
ever, is probably also a-Tittle simplistic if you go back to Edward R.
Morrow, @tlie late sainted Edward R. Morrow, who's a wonderful
journalist, but who was also a journalist who sometimes enshrined
entertainment values, for instance, if you go back and look at
person-to-person interviews that he did on a program called 'Per-
son to Person', it was a kind of a 'Gee, whiz, oh gosh, it's so nice to
be invited into your home'- kind of an atmosphere, and hardly hard
news. But I think Moyers' complaint suggests how polarized the sit-
uation at CBS is."
Ken Aleter. He's the author of the book, Greed and Glory on
Wall Street, talking with us in New York." |