European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 13, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 18 the stars and stripes wednesday August 13,1986 bad news for America from lbs by Andy Rooney lbs which used to stand for Columbia broadcast ing system no longer stands for anything. They re just corporate initials now in the past year lbs has fired 110 people from it news division. Business is bad and Ine company has been through a difficult Battle to keep from being bought by Money operators. This summer there was More bad news. Lbs new president Van Gordon Sauter announced thai the morning news broadcast will be turned Over to the entertainment division. This is worse news for America than America might think. The lbs morning news has never been so great thai anyone would mourn its passing u one odour great journalistic institutions but it has been a steady supplier of news to millions of people making an entertainment show Oul of lbs morn ing news is bad news for other reasons. Lbs eve Ning news with Dan rather carries 22 minutes of information. This amounts to less than a Page of Type in a newspaper. Lbs has 65 correspondents around the world and every Day of the year each of them Hopes to Repon a Story thai will get on the evening most Don l make it very often. The morning new provided them with an alternative for getting their stories on the air. Being on the air telling their stones is important 10 correspondents. And Here is another Factor. By shouldering some of the expense the morning news helped lbs carry he weight of 65 correspondents. A news organization needs More reporters than it can use on Page one any Given Day. There never was a company that did t have some people who should be fired. Inevitably there Are dead beats goof offs and people who simply Aren t Good enough. Some of the people at lbs who were fired were weak contributors. Some were outstandingly lbs a committee of executives made the firing decisions. It would be into resting in any company that has to Cut Down to save Money to take a Vole of All the employees and find out who they think should be fired. Al lbs the list would have included several members of the firing committee. Lbs news Hai for example at least 12 vice presidents none of whom were dumped overboard. If it was Money the company wanted to save firing a couple of sl50,000-a-year ups would have saved More than firing a lot of $50,000-a-year people. The real tragedy is that lbs news will never again be As Good As it once was. 1 the Competition among the three networks has Al ways been Lough bul the danger for Dan rather to Brokaw and Peter Jennings is not from cacti other. The danger is from some schlock outfit that starts pulling out television news that s the equivalent of the publications you see by the supermarket checkout counters. If some schlock television network starts attracting a bigger audience by doing two headed baby stones sooner or later executives of other network will lower heir own standards to meet the Competition. The people running the network news operations would like to see their news maintain its High Stan Dards but they Are company men first and newsmen second. Unlike some of heir predecessors they Are not willing to die professionally for a journalistic principle. For them news is a business Enterprise first a moral Enterprise second. If you be been dissatisfied with the news you get on television wait and Sec what you get in the next 10 years. The Golden Days of television news Are Over. Cut due mum str Tew moral disarmament in Europe Art Buchwald fas taken a few Stela Oft he left behind several columns he bund in a trunk Byar Buchwald Paris you would think that after All the United Stales has done for Europe the least the europeans could do is make in easy for an american to buy a gun. Bul such is not the Case and in spite of their great claims to being civilized the europeans Are still living in the dark age when it comes to making firearms available to the Public. 1 discovered this accidentally when i was Over charged by a waiter in a cafe. Or claimed thai it was an Accident bul i knew he did it on purpose. 1 told my wife i was getting sick and tired of being pushed around and the Only thing to do was buy a gun and carry it Wilh me Al Alt times. Then if someone tried to overcharge me i d let him have in. In t thai a bit strange my wife asked. Can you think of a better reason for using a gun the next Day i went to a gun store and told them 1 wanted a revolver what do you want it for the dealer asked. I am an american citizen i said and according to our Constitution am allowed to Bear arms any place any Lime we cannot sell a gun just like that he said. We have regulations in France concerning guns. "regulationst11 said incredulously. What for the French government does not want everyone in the country to have a gun. There is too much Chance of accidents. That does t bother us in the United Stales i said do you know last year we had Over 5.000 people killed by firearms alone we Only had 12." the dealer said. The rules Here Are too strict Don l you have a National Rifle association we have something like it but parliament tells them what they can or cannot in my country i boasted the National Rifle association tells Congress what it can or Zannol Why do you want a gun he finally asked. I want to shool surly cafe fill out these papers. Then go to your local police station Wilh All your identification and explain to them Why you want a Good and thin i can have it no not yet. They will investigate you for three months. After that they will Senj their recommendation to the main police station which will ask Why the local station gave permission to Lei you have the gun. This will Lake three More months. If they agree you can come Back and buy the six months to get a Lousy gun thai s for the gun. Buying ammunition requires another do you know if we had red tape like that in Ameri Ca almost nobody would be Able to own a revolver that s Why we Don t sell too Many revolvers the dealer said. Do you want to Start filling out the papers no 1 Don to and if the French had sense they d permit americans to buy handguns just by showing their passports. How else can we protect ourselves from waiters while we re travelling abroad across River in europe5 Pic no Man 8 pass Over composer 13 Tim period 1 Evergree Nib Jamaica cltj17 it precede Date or room 18 Perfec Tib Vietnam city2 1 Harp s cousin24 India or invisible2ft go 28 dutch re a 30 Osaka sash33 once called Clay 34 clips35 King cole36 All the Kings " 37 River islands 38 Taj mahal site by Eugene Sheik or 38 Herd of 59 Prophet whales Down 41 appear i h. 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