News In Future Tense
Date: 23 November 1998
By Bruce Feiler
Bruce Feiler
Op-Ed article by author Bruce Feiler says there is subtle shift going on in news coverage that is even more corrosive than tabloidization, namely, that reporters have become predictors and forecasters who no longer report past but concentrate only on future; says since their predictions are often incorrect, forecasters are suffering same fate as weather forecasters--losing credibility and at times becoming laughing stocks (M)
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Media; TV News Wary of Lawsuits, Study Says
Date: 23 November 1998
By Pamela Mercer
Pamela Mercer
University of Miami survey finds 20 percent of local television news directors around nation say their stations have declined to broadcast some news reports in last year because of fears of possible suits; finds added 28 percent of news directors omitted key data from news report for same reason; finds 38 percent of 360 stations studied have been sued for libel in last three years (M)
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After Papers Merge, Readers Speak Out
Date: 22 November 1998
By Thomas H. Matthews
Thomas Matthews
Random interviews with readers indicate mixed reaction to changes in their daily newspaper after Gannett Co replaces 11 local newspapers in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties, NY with new combined daily The Journal News; photos (M)
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Bertelsmann Denies EMI Merger Report
Date: 23 November 1998
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Bertelsmann AG denies report it weighs merger with EMI Group PLC (S)
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Maxxim Medical To Buy Circon
Date: 23 November 1998
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Maxxim Medical Inc to buy Circon Corp for $243 million in cash and assumed debt (S)
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A Sweep of Stocks At Long-Term Capital
Date: 22 November 1998
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Long-Term Capital Management LP reports worth of stock portfolio at $6.9 million, drop of nearly 99 percent since quarter ending in June (S)
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Duke Energy to Buy U.S. Gas Business Of Union Pacific
Date: 23 November 1998
By Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News
Duke Energy Corp to buy Union Pacific Resources Group's United States natural gas gathering, processing and marketing business for $1.35 billion (S)
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Books in Brief: Nonfiction; News That Stayed News
Date: 22 November 1998
By David Walton
David Walton
David Walton reviews book The Century, by Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster; photo (S)
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NEWS SUMMARY
Date: 23 November 1998
INTERNATIONAL A3-10 Iraq in New Defiance Over Arms Inspections Iraq signaled in a series of defiant statements that it has little intention of cooperating with international arms inspectors and remained on a collision course with the United States. Iraq's Foreign Minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, rebuffed a United Nations demand for more documents on his country's arms program. The United States and Britain have warned that only full cooperation will avert an attack. A1 Pentagon Proposes Cuts Pentagon officials are quietly recommending that the Administration consider unilateral reductions in the nation's nuclear arsenal. The recommendations are driven by budget constraints as much as diminishing security threats and, if adopted, would reduce the American arsenal below the 6,000 nuclear warheads allowed by the first strategic arms reduction treaty, or Start I, Administration officials said. A1 Six Killed in Indonesia A gang fight between Muslims and Christian migrants erupted into fierce rioting in Jakarta. Officials reported that six people were killed and nearly a dozen churches burned or damaged. While not related to the demonstrations and military gunfire that have kept the city on edge for more than a week, the rioting was a sharp reminder of the potential for violence as Indonesia suffers political and economic turmoil. A4 Clinton Visits Troops in Korea President Clinton visited American troops stationed in South Korea and continued to warn of the threat to regional peace posed by North Korea. In a speech, Mr. Clinton pointed to recent North Korean missile tests, incursions into the South and a mysterious underground site that may be a nuclear weapons installation. But he praised South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's policy of engagement with North Korea. A10 Jiang Visits Neighbors President Jiang Zemin left China for visits to Russia, where he is to meet with the ailing President, Boris N. Yeltsin, and to Japan, for the first visit by a Chinese Communist head of state. Mr. Jiang's visit to Russia is the latest of several summit meetings between the neighbors, who appear determined to foster friendly ties despite a history of feuding. A4 Austria to Return Nazi Art Austria expects to return some of the hundreds of artworks seized by the Nazis to their owners by late December. The Austrian Parliament has just given final approval to a law permitting restitution of such works. The law covers paintings, furniture and other artifacts held by the Austrian Government. A6 Peace Talks in Mexico Mediators from the Mexican Congress and top leaders of the Zapatista rebels managed to salvage some semblance of peace talks, but only barely, after exchanging angry invective for two days. A8 NATIONAL A12-16 White House Signals Willingness to Compromise The Clinton Administration signaled that it was open to any ''serious and reasonable'' compromise that would allow the President to put the year-long Lewinsky scandal behind him, as the House moves quickly toward a series of critical decisions on whether to impeach Mr. Clinton. A1 Reviewing Tape of Kevorkian A Michigan prosecutor said he would carefully review a videotape of Dr. Jack Kevorkian injecting a terminally ill man with a lethal series of drugs and other evidence before deciding whether to prosecute him. The tape was shown last night on the CBS News program ''60 Minutes.'' A12 Front-Loading in Election 2000 Presidential primaries and caucuses in Election 2000 are likely to be more front-loaded than ever, despite talk about spreading them out. Thus far, about three dozen states plan to hold their caucuses and primaries by the end of March or are seriously thinking about it. A12 Uncensored TV for Russia A communications satellite that will beam the first uncensored television programs into western Russia and Siberia headed into orbit around the Earth atop an unmanned Delta 2 rocket. Boeing launched the satellite for Hughes Space and Communications, which built it for a private media group in Moscow. A15 Crime Rate Continues to Drop The nation's murder rate reached its lowest level in 30 years as serious crimes reported to the police in 1997 declined for a sixth consecutive year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said. Final F.B.I. figures for 1997 showed a 2 percent drop from 1996 in the number of major crimes reported across the nation. A16 Heidi Fleiss to a Halfway House Heidi Fleiss, who provided prostitutes to the rich and famous, has been transferred from a Federal prison in Northern California to a halfway house at an undisclosed location. Ms. Fleiss, 32, had spent 20 months in prison for conspiracy, tax evasion and laundering money from her call-girl operation. As part of a plea bargain, she also was serving a concurrent state sentence of 18 months for attempted pandering. She will be released in six months from the halfway house, which she entered last week, if she completes her time without breaking any supervised custody rules. (AP) Protest at Fort Benning About 2,000 people, including the actor Martin Sheen, were briefly taken into custody yesterday in a protest at the Army's School of the Americas in Georgia, which critics say has trained soldiers involved in atrocities in Latin America. Demonstrators who entered Fort Benning were loaded onto buses, driven to a park about a mile away and released. (AP) NEW YORK/REGION B1-6 G.O.P. Ballot Tactics Are Assailed by Democrats As the final ballots are being counted in the tight race for state attorney general, Democratic leaders are charging that the campaign of Dennis C. Vacco, the Republican incumbent, has mounted a concerted effort to invalidate paper ballots in black and Hispanic areas. B1 Yankee Boss to Stay the Boss George M. Steinbrenner 3d continued to deny that he had reached agreement or was close to an agreement to sell a majority share of the Yankees to Cablevision. But he made it clear that he and his family would retain control of the team if he should sell, and he said it was possible he might wind up running the Knicks and Rangers, too. B1 Reviving Livingston Legacy The Livingston family of New York State has returned to prominence, thanks to Representative Robert Linlithgow Livingston, the Louisiana Republican who is poised to become the next Speaker of the House of Representatives. From the late 17th century to the early 19th century, they were one of America's most aristocratic families, lording over the Hudson River Valley and owning more land than Rhode Island has. B1 ARTS E1-8 Return of 'Star Wars' ''Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace,'' the first ''Star Wars'' film since the release of ''Return of the Jedi'' 15 years ago, opens on May 21, but the anticipation for it is said to be extraordinary. E1 SPORTSMONDAY D1-12 Jets Win, 24-3 The Jets had three second-half touchdowns in defeating Tennessee. D1 OBITUARIES B7-8 Edwige Feuillere A much-loved French actress whose 60-year career took her from sensual screen beauty to grande dame of the Paris theater, she was 91. B7 Charles McCartney A man who pulled up his Iowa stakes, put on his goatskins, hitched up his ironed-wheeled goat wagon and hit the road for what turned out to be a three-decade odyssey as one of the nation's most endearing eccentrics, he was 97. B8 BUSINESS DAY C1-12 AOL in Talks to Buy Netscape America Online is on the verge of a deal to purchase Netscape Communications, the Internet pioneer at the center of the Government's antitrust suit against Microsoft, executives involved in the talks said. The purchase is valued at roughly $4 billion. The complex deal would also involve Sun Microsystems. A1 Testing a Navigational System An improved navigational system for airplanes that is based on the Global Positioning System, a halo of two dozen satellites, is nearing completion. An American missile attack on Iraq, should tensions escalate to that level, could provide a clue as to how well the satellite-based technology meets the aviation industry's extraordinary need for reliability. C1 Duke to Buy Gas Business Duke Energy said it would buy the United States natural gas gathering, processing and marketing business of Union Pacific Resources for $1.35 billion, making Duke one of the largest companies gathering and selling natural gas. C5 Softnet Plans Acquisition Softnet Systems, a small company in Mountain View, Calif., intends to announce an agreement today to buy Intelligent Communications, a private concern in Fremont, Calif., for about $10.5 million in stock, executives close to the companies said. C2 Business Digest C1 EDITORIAL A18-19 Editorials: Pay days in Albany; death of a Russian democrat; Marie Curie and a century of radiation; Gail Collins on women in politics. Columns: William Safire Bridge E7 Metro. Diary B2 Crossword E7 Weather D10
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NEWS SUMMARY
Date: 22 November 1998
INTERNATIONAL 3-16 Clinton Urges North Korea To Forge Link With South At a news conference in Seoul, President Clinton made an unusual direct appeal to North Korea to set aside any nuclear ambitions in favor of strengthening ties to South Korea and the United States. 1 Albanians Voting on Charter Worn down by years of unrest and political chaos, Albanians appear likely to approve their first post-Communist constitution in a referendum that Western officials see as critical to the country's stability. 3
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