Replaying Tuesday, January 6, 1981

CHANNEL 2 NEWS EDGES INTO NO.1 SPOT IN RATING-POINTS GAME

Date: 07 January 1981

By Tony Schwartz

Tony Schwartz

TV found a charismatic combination in the older man and younger woman anchor team of Rolland Smith and Michelle Marsh on the 11 o'clock news? Is the relentless cheerleading of recently recruited sportscaster Warner Wolf the explanation? Are viewers simply tired of the chattier, more personality-oriented format of WABC-TV's ''Eyewitness News''? Whatever the reasons, WCBS (Channel 2) has edged into first place in the audience ratings for both its 6 P.M. and 11 P.M. news broadcasts, taking the lead away from WABC (Channel 7), whose newscasts had long dominated in the news ratings. WNBC's news programs (Channel 4) continue to run third. At 6 P.M., WCBS has taken the lead despite relatively poor ratings for the program broadcast just before the news - the John Davidson show. At 11 P.M., when the size of the audience is much greater than at 6 P.M., WCBS led WABC in December by about half a rating point, according to one rating service (A.C. Nielsen), and by more than two points according to the other (Arbitron). In a market where each rating point is estimated to be worth about $1 million in annual revenues, small ratings differences are significant.

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Zimbabwean Official Assails Takeover of Newspapers

Date: 06 January 1981

Reuters

Home Affairs Minister Joshua Nkomo, leader of the minority wing in Zimbabwe's ruling coalition, today condemned the Government's takeover of Zimbabwe's main newspapers as an attempt by the dominant faction to control the news media. ''This is probably my last free statement through our news media, where the radio and television are already under the heel'' of the ruling political party of Prime Minister Robert Mugabe, he said in an interview with the newspaper The Herald.

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U.S. REPORTER MISSING IN SAN SALVADOR

Date: 07 January 1981

Special to The New York Times

United States Embassy officials fear that an American journalist missing or more than a week has been the victim of political violence. The journalist, John J. Sullivan, 26 years old, of Bogota, N.J., checked into the Sheraton Hotel on Dec. 28.

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Notes on People; For Sevareid, a Fascinating Peek at a Wartime Secret

Date: 07 January 1981

As a World War II radio reporter, Eric Sevareid was a familiar figure in London, providing firsthand accounts of the blitz and ferreting out exclusives on other military and diplomatic developments. One London lair Mr. Sevareid never got to, however, was the Underground War Cabinet Rooms, where Winston Churchill directed the war effort.

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COMPANY NEWS

Date: 07 January 1981

Hobart Opposes Bid, By Canadian Pacific, Ap

Hobart Bid

The Hobart Corporation argued before the Ohio Division of Securities that a United States subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Enterprises Ltd., planned to finance its purchase of Hobart with Hobart's own earnings. Attorneys for Hobart, an 84-year-old food-processing and homeappliance company based in Troy, Ohio, said the net worth of the CPE Acquisitions Corporation was one-tenth that of Hobart.

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News Analysis

Date: 07 January 1981

By Steven V. Roberts, Special To the New York Times

Steven Roberts

A conservative coalition of Republicans and Sun Belt Democrats that could well dominate the House of Representatives, particularly on economic and military issues, is starting to emerge on Capitol Hill. If the budding alliance flourishes over the next two years, it would make it much easier for President-elect Ronald Reagan to move his legislative program through Congress. As a result of last November's election, the Republicans already hold a six-vote edge in the Senate, the first time they have controlled either chamber in 26 years.

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Buffalo Forge

Date: 06 January 1981

The Buffalo Forge Company said that its directors had instructed the company's management and investment bankers to examine and report on the unsolicited tender offer that the Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation said last week it intended to make for Buffalo Forge common stock.

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Coupons On United

Date: 07 January 1981

United Airlines announced yesterday that it would accept the halffare coupons on coast-to-coast flights to be distributed by Eastern Airlines.

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Meeting on Massey

Date: 07 January 1981

Reuters

Meetings between Massey-Ferguson Ltd.'s senior management and the company's worldwide bank creditors will resume here during the next few days, with a major joint meeting representing some 250 lenders scheduled to start Jan. 15, a Massey spokesman said. He said the company hoped the joint meetings would implement an interest-forgiveness proposal, which is tied to a planned refinancing program of $700 million (Canadian). The joint meetings may be able to reach final agreements within two or three days, he added.

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News Summary; TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 1981

Date: 06 January 1981

International A vow to revive American-Mexican ties was made by President-elect Ronald Reagan and President Jose Lopez Portillo. They greeted each other at the Bridge of Friendship linking Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, pledged to establish a ''personal relationship'' as the basis for easing differences and held a 70-minute meeting, which a Reagan aide termed ''enormously successful.'' (Page A1, Column 6.) The three American hostages in the Iranian Foreign Ministry successfully resisted attempts to move them 11 days before they were transferred on Saturday to a secret place in Teheran to join some of the 49 other captives, the State Department said. (A1:1.)

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