Replay lunes, 13 de mayo de 1996

In Central Europe, TV News Unfolds

Date: 13 May 1996

By Jane Perlez

Jane Perlez

No matter how much the post-Communist governments in Central Europe pledge to free their state-owned television stations from political interference, old habits die hard. From Bucharest to Budapest, government-run television dominates and the programming, particularly in news, remains predictable and safe. But privately owned stations, many operated by Western investors, are slowly loosening the government grip, with more adventurous news shows and recently released Hollywood movies as the lever.

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COMPANY NEWS;SONY TO ACQUIRE SOFTWARE MAKER

Date: 14 May 1996

Bloomberg Business News

Bloomberg News

The American unit of the Sony Corporation agreed yesterday to buy a maker of digital mapping and navigation software from the News Corporation for an undisclosed price. The company being acquired, Etak Inc., will give the Sony Corporation of America the technology to expand its mobile navigation business. Sony introduced its first car navigation system in Japan in June 1992 and began selling it in the United States in 1994. The system, which costs about $3,000, uses small computer monitors that are installed in cars and track a vehicle's position on a computerized map via satellites. Etak introduced the first car navigation system for consumers in 1985, two years after the company was founded. Etak was acquired by the News Corporation in 1989.

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MEDIA: TELEVISION;A generation gap in news viewership is suddenly wider.

Date: 13 May 1996

By Lawrie Mifflin

Lawrie Mifflin

WE take it as a generational rule of thumb that young people are less interested in news than their elders are. But that gap has grown suddenly wider, according to a new survey that finds the percentage of people under the age of 30 who say they regularly watch network television news has dropped by more than one-third in the last 12 months. The survey, to be released today by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, found that 42 percent of all Americans say they regularly watch one of the three traditional nightly news broadcasts, on ABC, CBS or NBC, down from 47 percent a year ago. But among those under 30, only 22 percent said they watch network nightly news, down from 36 percent last year.

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Clinton Thriving in Gentle Glow of TV Lights

Date: 14 May 1996

By Richard L. Berke

Richard Berke

Lou Young, a reporter for Channel 2 in New York, stood in his trench coat, "live" at Liberty State Park in New Jersey last week, informing viewers at the start of the 6 o'clock news of each tilt and whirl of the Presidential helicopter as it prepared to touch down. "Marine One should be coming into this area any minute, as far as we understand," Mr. Young reported. As the camera panned to the waiting entourage, he added, "You can see we have the Marine One security guard, the armored limousine."

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Cuban Journalist Sent to Exile After Threat of a Prison Term

Date: 13 May 1996

By Anthony Depalma

Anthony Depalma

Faced with a wrenching choice between prison and exile, one of Cuba's leading independent journalists flew to Madrid last week, denouncing the repression of the Castro Government and defiantly vowing to continue working for its downfall. "The Government was able to expel me from Cuba, but the project that I started there will continue," the journalist, Rafael Solano, said in a telephone interview from Spain. When he arrived there on Thursday morning, he was welcomed by the Spanish police, who offered him protection. "Even if I am not there, I will continue defending freedom of expression and supporting independent journalism in Cuba," he said.

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A Modest Beginning

Date: 13 May 1996

The promise of free air time for Presidential candidates by the four major commercial networks, plus PBS and CNN, is a healthy development. But the networks' move is really just a baby step. The commercial networks could multiply their offer ten-fold and still be paying only a tiny rent on the publicly owned broadcast bands they occupy so profitably. Each offer is different, but the offer of an hour at the end of the campaign -- or a few minutes on a more regular basis -- falls far short of the frequent prime-time sessions with Presidential candidates that make sense from the voters' standpoint. Furthermore, it has to be noted that none of the network proposals even begin to address the problem of communicating on television by candidates for Congress. The need of candidates and their parties to raise mounds of special-interest money to buy broadcast time is one of the major corrupting influences in American politics. A workable remedy is contained in bipartisan campaign finance bills pending in both chambers of Congress. The measures, which themselves deserve to be a subject of debate in the Presidential campaign, contain sensible provisions providing free or reduced-cost air time for candidates who agree to reasonable limits on their spending.

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Journalism Faculties Have News Experience, Too

Date: 13 May 1996

To the Editor: Re "Journalism Education Less Focused on the News" (Business Day, May 6): Research showing that journalism graduates are being trained by people with doctorates but little practical experience disserves those of us in the trenches of colleges and universities who are striving to educate young people to become reporters.

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NEWS SUMMARY

Date: 13 May 1996

International A3-9

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NEWS SUMMARY

Date: 14 May 1996

International A3-13

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COMPANY NEWS;ALLERGAN-UPJOHN MERGER TALKS ARE ENDED

Date: 14 May 1996

Allergan Inc., a manufacturer of eye- and skin-care products, said yesterday that discussions with Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc. about a possible merger had been terminated because the proposed terms were "not feasible." Allergan made the announcement after The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Pharmacia & Upjohn was talking with Allergan about a takeover. Allergan said the discussions involved a possible stock-swap merger with "pooling of interest" accounting that would in theory have allowed greater profits than a cash deal would have allowed. "The pooling was feasible for Allergan, but not for Pharmacia & Upjohn," Jeff D'Eliscu, an Allergan spokesman, said. Following the release of Allergan's statement, Pharmacia & Upjohn issued a statement saying that it was aware of what Allergan had said and had no further comment. Allergan's shares rose 37.5 cents yesterday, to $38.25. Pharmacia & Upjohn's stock rose 62.5 cents, to $39.625.

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