6The Daily Tar HeelMonday, April 5. 1982
nht laihi mv MM
90th year of editorial freedom
John Drescher. eJu
Ann Peters'. Mamum
Kerry De Rochi. aom ej,u
Rachel Perry, ufc
Alan Ch apple. cuyEJiw
JIM WRWK State and National Editor
Linda Robertson. Swe Eik
Al Steele, Pkot&tmpky
KEN MMGlS,Attocia Editor
Elaine McClatchey.p
Lynn Peithman. n Editor
Susan Hudson. f Editor
NlSSEN RlTTER,lrE1lwr
Teresa Curry, Spotihi Editor
News will be what udd:.. says, it is
Food fight (part II)
With two separate proposals before him and a third in the works,
Chancellor Christopher C. Fordham HI has not had enough time to
make an informed decision on the future of a food service at UNC. Be
cause several distinct alternatives do exist, the chancellor should hold
off making a final decision on such a complex issue until all options
have been thoroughly studied.
When first announced three weeks ago, the original proposal was pre
sented as a do-or-die move designed to save a rapidly failing food ser
vice. The proposal, drawn up by James Cansler of Student Affairs,
Charles Antle, a member of the Food Services Advisory Committee and
Assistant to the Vice Chancellor Biruta Nielson, recommended a quick
decision by Fordham with renovations set to begin in May. That report
immediately drew criticism from student leaders who said it was incom
plete and failed to address many questions surrounding the affect on
students.
Within one week, a second food service plan was presented to Ford
ham, this one drawn up by Student Government. This plan also called
for renovations of Lenoir Hall, but recommended that Chase Cafeteria
be used only to serve dinner and that the Fast Break restaurant be left in
the Carolina Union. The proposal also called for transferring the profits
from residence hall snack bars and vending machines to a central food
service. The result would be a $6 per student food-service fee and a
room-board plan for a smaller number of students. v
Using Chase Cafeteria for dinner is a sound idea because it is cur
rently the only meal most students eat there. Renovating it would not at
tract more students and is not the solution; neither is .forcing South
Campus students to pay for the improvements through a meal plan.
Most students on South Campus simply do not eat breakfast and lunch
at Chase. '
The reasoning behind the Student Government plan makes sense in
other ways. For example, the FSAC plan calls for moving the highly
successful Fast Break into the Pine Room. The Fast Break is successful
because of its location: students in the Union stop by on their way
through and grab something to eat. Moving it to the Pine Room would
eliminate this advantage.
Like the FSAC plan, the Student Government proposal calls for a
meal plan for a limited number of students, but with needed qualifica
tions. Any students assigned to a dorm not one of their first five choices
. would not be required to eat on the meal plan. Students in Greek or
ganizations could pay a small fee and be exempt from the plarii ln addi
tion, the plan would be phased in over three years. Only the minimum
number of students for the food service to break even would be required
to be on the room-board plan.
Another option is under review by the Residence Hall Association. It
has been considering a set fee for all students in order to avoid a meal
plaH anywhere on campus. The major drawback of this plan is that it
imposes a fee on students who would not use the food service, residents
of Granville Towers for example.
None of the reports by itself is a complete proposal, but the Student
Government plan comes closest. One option, allowing the University to
take over food services, has been largely ignored. The push for a hasty
decision has been because administration officials fear . the ARA
operated food service may soon leave the Universitya weak excuse
considering the number of companies" that would like to take its place
here. If an on-campus food service is to be successful, improvements are
crucial. But the University should not rush into a decision because of
alarmist cries that all the food service problems must be solved in the
next week. j
Best and brightest
When David Halberstam speaks on the influence of the media at 7:30
tonight in Memorial Hall, he will speak from an experience that is
twofold. As a journalist, he has achieved the highest honor of his pro
fession, the Pulitzer Prize, for his reporting from Vietnam. As an author
he has been able to step out of his role as a journalist and report on the
business of the media in his book The Powers That Be.
Halberstam's speech is the culmination of the three-week long
Carolina Symposium. Under the theme "America in Pieces," the sym
posium has addressed fragmentation in America. Symposium workers
should be commended for their hard work.
Their contribution cannot be ignored. They have brought a rare op
portunity to Carolina students by raising questions and issues that affect
and concern us. Tonight's address is an example of that type of oppor
tunity, one that on student can afford to miss. ' ; -
By JOHN DRESCHER
"News is whatever I say it is," former
NBC anchorman David Brinkley once
said. If news is whatever the anchorman
says it is, then starting tonight Roger
Mudd will determine what's news and"
what's not. Mudd, who received a mas
ter's in history from UNC in 1953, will
join Tom Brokaw tonight as co-anchor of
the NBC Nightly News as the pair re
places John Chancellor.
As NBC's Washington correspondent,
Mudd has handled all stories originating
from the capital. Now, with co-anchor
Brokaw stationed in New York, Mudd
will be even more involved in the daily
production of the news. "It'll mean that
I'll be more intimately involved in the
assembly, assignment and preparation of
the broadcast," Mudd said in a telephone
interview.
While previously Mudd's script had to
be approved by NBC headquarters in
New York, now he will have the freedom
to make his own decisions as to what
stories will be aired and how they will be
presented. "I think we have the Washing
ton expertise to make our own news judg
ments," Mudd said, "and it will also save
us a lot of time."
Time. In the super-competitive world
of network news, saving a few minutes
here and there can make a big difference.
After all, news is only good when it's new.
One of television's largest advantages
over the print media is its striking im
mediacy that enables it to cover breaking
news far better than newspapers.
But there is another side to the time
factor, and that's the amount of time the
public is willing to put into acquiring in
formation each day. More people are
spending that time watching television
news and not reading newspapers. While
Mudd is all for every American watching
the news every night (preferably the NBC
Nightly News), he's disappointed that
fewer Americans are reading a daily
newspaper. s
"I don't think it's a good sign," he
said. "People are spending less time in
forming themselves. They're missing the.
depth they should be getting! Philosophi
cally it's not a good sign and economically
it's not either, with papers having to go
out of business. One of the shortcomings
TV news has is that it doesn't do news
deeply; it kind of skims across the news
and just touches the top."
"I think it's mandatory if you're really
serious about broadcast journalism, be
cause there simply isn't the training at
local stations," he said. "I feel like two to
three years on a newspaper is really obli
gatory. More and more, networks are hir
ing people that haven't worked for a
paper. I see that as a bad sign."
That's not in tune with those who feel
acquiring a newspaper background for
TV news is living in television's Stone
Age. "In 20 years, the definition of news
will be entirely different," said one TV
news analyst in The Washington Jour
nalism Review. "Television's old fogies
'Networks are trying to make news brighter. ... I think it's
bad that we have to take something and change the
nature of things to make them more attractive. It's a
dangerous trend. We should be reporting the news, not
changing if Roger Mudd
Mudd said television news may be able
to provide more depth in its coverage if it
expands to a one-hour format. Both local
stations and the Federal Communications
Commission are blocking that expansion,
although many in television news feel it's
only a matter of time before the expan
sion occurs.
"An hour would be great if we made
intelligent use of it," Mudd said. "If all
we did was double the amount of stories
we have now, then no, it wouldn't be bet
ter. I think we need to cover more com
pletely some of the areas we cover now,
and then expand to areas we don't cover
now." : ;. v
Newspapers provide more depth for
readers, but they also provide a depth in
journalism training that radio and tele
vision stations do not, Mudd said. The
best places to learn journalism are at
newspapers, not in radio or television.
who worked on newspapers and went to
journalism school will be dead and the
news will be in the hands of people who
know only about ratings."
That is exactly what Mudd fears: that
TV news will prostitute itself to the
ratings and disregard good, informative
journalism. He says it's already hap
pening. When ABC hired sports mogul
Roone Arledge to boost its ratings in
1977, Arledge introduced entertainment
to network news. It worked and now the
battle for the rating points is more fierce
than ever. .
"I think what's happened is the comp
etition for the audience has increased,"
Mudd said. "Networks are trying to
makes news brighter. I'm troubled by
this. I think it's bad that we have to take
something and change the nature of
things to make them more attractive. It's
a dangerous trend. We should be re
porting the news, not changing it."
It appears NBC is following that same
trend by moving Brokaw from the Today
show to the co-anchor of the news.
Brokaw has spent more than five years
chucking feather pillows at show-biz folk,
as one writer put it. Although Brokaw
was once a White House reporter, his
move to the co-anchor strikes many as re
miniscent of when ABC hired Barbara
Walters.
Mudd disagrees that Brokaw is the
show-biz type.
"When Tom went to Today, the (To
day) anchor had done dog-food commer
cials and all that. Tom changed that.
There wasn't as much fluff. There's still a
lot of lighter stories and features but I
think Tom was picked for the job because
he's a hard-working fella with serious in
tentions." Contrary to gossip reports that say
Mudd is upset about sharing the anchor,
he says the co-anchor format is a good
one.
"There's a great deal of advantages,"
he said. "It gives you another person
thinking about things, another perspec
tive, another person with a strong repu
tation for honesty. There's more mobili
ty. One can travel, one can stay behind.
It's a good system. It also distributes the
work and prevents the one great wise man
from dominating the network."
That is not to say Roger Mudd would
not mind being that one great man. At
54, he has reached the top of his pro
fession. There's no telling what the next
step may be, but for now anyway, the
NBC Nightly News from Washington is
what Roger Mudd says it is.
John Drescher, a senior journalism and
history major from Raleigh, is editor of
The' Daily Tar Heel.
Letters to the editor
Students acted irresponsibly
To the editor:
On March 29 I shared the excitement of our winning
the 1982 NCAA championship with fellow UNC
students. But my enthusiasm quickly dissolved upon see
ing the senseless conduct of students and other Chapel
Hill residents on Franklin Street and on UNC's campus.
The irresponsibility of some people never fails to
amaze me. Within the first minutes of the Monday night
celebration, two students were abruptly jolted from the
roof 01 a moving car when the driver, (no doubt intox
icated), decided to ram down Franklin Street at 30 mph.
The siuo nts hopefully weren't badly injured. I didn'f
stay around long enough to hear the report.
Saturday night's melee, after our semi-finals victory,
was also the center of upsetting scenes. Perhaps the site
of small children walking hand in hand with their
parents was the most disturbing. I saw an indescribable
terror On the face of one infant who was undoubtedly
shaken by theponfusion and noise of the crowd. I even
observed one woman trying to climb over a wall while
juggling her 16-ounce Schlitz and two-year-old child.
How can parents subject their children to such a
frightening and . abnormal atmosphere? ... And we
wonder where crime and alcohol abuse come from.
I would be the first to admit that winning a national
championship Hs exciting and that a celebration is
definitely in line. But can't this celebration take place
with our minds and bodies remaining intact? I don't
understand what pleasure is found or what point is
made, in becoming so drunk that one cannot feel or
react to anything that is going on around him.
Furthermore, I fail to see why the following correla
tion holds: the bigger and badder the event, the bigger
and badder the partying and drinking must become.
Isn't the hard work of UNC's great basketball team and
coach only demeaned by one's using it as an excuse to
get as drunk as one can possibly get? Dean Smith and the
team deserve a better show of our appreciation.
I needn't go into a detailed description of the van
dalism done to the campus during the celebration. We've
all seen the painted slogans, strewn toilet paper, broken
glass bottles, beer cans, etc.
Indeed, partying and drinking have become so-called
"established traditions" at Carolina. But no matter how
longstanding these practices are, I believe that a re
evaluation of them needs to be made when they produce
so many negative results.
Betsy Thomas sen
836 Morrison
Blue Jeans Day
To the editor:
, In the DTH editorial ("Blue jeans and gays") of April
2, you declared that "if the Carolina Gay Association
wants to have Blue Jeans Day every Friday, that's fine
with us. If it's not fine with you, perhaps you should
think about why it's not."
I have thought about it, just as most other UNC
students thought about it as we got dressed that Friday.
, Blue Jeans Day '82 put all of us (straights, gays and in
differents) in the position of making some type of state
ment about our sexuality, regardless of whether we wore
the clothes which befitted our respective preferences.
The CGA deemed that the pants we chose to wear on
March 26 revealed whom we chose to sleep with.
Presumably, this is exactly what the Gay Rights Move
ment has been telling us is no one else's business.
Jeep Bryant
1721 Granville West
TV evangelism threatens tradition
The Daily Tar Hool
Editorial Assistants: Michelle Christcnbury, Jon Takott
Assistant Managing Editors: Lynn Earley, Karen Haywood, Ann Murphy''
Contributions Editor. Gdareh Asayesh . : ;r
News Desk: Ted Avery, Joseph BerryhilL Paul Boyce, Stacia Clawson, Allison Davis, Lisa
Evans, Evelyn Faison, Donna Fultz, Ivy Hilliard, Dan Hart, Melissa Moore, Michele. Peficey,
Laura Seifert, Jan Sharpe, Martie Hayworth, Jule Hubbard, Renae Lyas, Clare Lynrnan, Lin
Rollins, Dale McKeel, Mary McKecl, Lisa Reynolds, Lynsky Rollins, Tracey Thompson.
Martha QwBin, assistant news editor. '
News: Cheryl Anderson, Greg Batten, Teresa Blossom, Scott Bokjack, Laurie Bradsher, Stacia
Clawson, Teresa Colbert, John Conway, Alison Davis, Tamara Davis, David Deese, Amy
Edwards, Charlie Ellmaker, Mary Evans, Dean Foust, Bonnie Gardner, Steve Griffin, Lucy
Holman, Charlotte Holmes, Julie Jones, Peter Judge, David Lam berth, Elizabeth Lucas,
Alison Mallard, Christine Manuel, Alan Marks, Kyle Marshall, David McHugh, Mary McKeel,
Alexandra McMillan, Sheila Miller, Karen Moore, Melissa Moore, Robert Montgomery,
Rosemary Osbom, Sonja Payton, Sue Powell, Lisa Pullen, Sarah Raper, Nancy Rucker, Mike
O'Reilly, Suzette Roach, Laura Seifert, Ken Siman, Kelly Simmons, Mark Stinneford, Anna
Tate, Lynne Thompson, Virginia Trull, Bonita Walker, Sonya Weakley, Mary WtUoughby,
Chip Wilson, Wendell Wood. Katherine Long, assistant state and national editor. Pam
Duncan, assistant university editor.
Sports: Jackie Blackburn and S.L. Price, assistant sports editors. Kim Adams, Clifton Barnes,
Greg Batten, Tom Berry, Jerry Brattori, R.L. Bynum, Norman Cannada, Grady Cathey,
Richard Craver, Michad DeSisti, Stephanie Graham, Morris Haywood, Bob Henson, Frank
Kennedy, Keith Lee, Draggan Mihalovich, Lew Price, Kurt Rosenberg, John Royster, Stephen
Stock, Charles Upchurch, Eddie Wooten and Tracy Young.
Features: Jill Anderson, Shelley Block, Lorrie Douglas, Cindy Haga, Lisbeth Levine, Mitzi
Morris, David Rome, Vince Steele, Debbi Sykes, Rosemary Wagner, Randy Walker, Clinton
Weaver, Susan Wheelon. Jane Calloway, assistant SpotSskt editor.
Arts: Jeff Grove and Marc Routh assistant arts editors; Dennis Goss, Julian Karchmer, Ed
Leitch, Dawn McDonald, Tim Mooney, Tom Moore, Karen Rosen and Guha Shankar.
Graphic Arts: Matt Cooper, Pam Corbett, Nick Demos, Andy Fullwood, Danny Harretl,
Mike Haynes, Dane Huffman, Sam Mitchell, Janice Murphy, Vince Steele and Tom
Wcstarp, artists; Suzanne Conversano, Jeff Neuville, Faith QuintavcH, Zane Saunders, John
Williams and Scott Sharpe photographers.
Business: Rejeanne V. Caron, business manager; Linda A. Cooper, secretaryreceptionist;
Lisa Morrell and Anne Sink, bookkeepers; Dawn Welch, circulationdistribution manager;
Julie Jones and Angie Wolfe, classifieds. ' .
Advertising: Paula Brewer, advertising manager; Mike Tabor, advertising coordinator;
Harry Hayes, Keith Lee, Terry Lee, Jeff McElhaney, Karen Newell. Deana Sctzcr. Betsy
Swartzbaugh and Anneli Zeck ad representatives.
Composition: Frank Porter Graham Composition Division, UNC-CH Printing Department.
Printing: Hinton Press, Inc., of Mcbane.
By NISSEN RITTER
Robert Alley would like nothing better
than to participate in a face-to-face de
bate with Rev. Jerry Falwell. He sees the
current trend of television evangelism
characterized by Falwell, host of The Old
Time Gospel Hour, and Pat Robertson,
host of the 700 Club as a threat to
American tradition.
Alley, who teaches religion and chairs
the Area Studies program at the Univer
sity of Richmond, is a founding member
of People for the American Way. Estab
lished by television producer Norman
Lear in 1980, PFAW is a monitoring or
ganization designed to keep an eye on
Falwell's Moral Majority and other right
wing religious groups.
Ironically, Alley somewhat resembles'
the outspoken leader of the Moral Ma
jority. But the two Southern ministers
have little in common.
"I have been concerned for over 20
years with the distortion the fundamen
. talists have been perpetrating," Alley
said. "I think the best way (to confront
the fundamentalists) would be to engage
Falwell and Robertson and others in a
head-on discussion or debate of ideas.
"It's a monitoring group trying to keep
up with what's happening in the world of
television evangelism," Alley said.
Alley said the one-way communication
in television broadcasting prevented any
possibility of interaction between the
public and the broadcaster. Because of
this, he advocates open debates.
'My own feeling is that Falwell and
Robertson are afraid of that (open de
bate)," Alley said. "I would dearly love
to get Robertson and Falwell on a one-to-one
discussion of the issues where we had
equal standing on the platform and where
no holds were barred about what we
could deal with."
In addition to supporting public de
bates, Alley encourages viewers to request
alternative prograrnming or air time to
present their opposing viewpoints. The
Federal Communication Commission's
Fairness Doctrine requires stations which
air one side of a controversial and im
portant public issue to give equal time to
the other side. . .
"I want to broaden, not limit, the dis
cussion," Alley said. "Falwell has the
perfect right to the positions he holds and
the perfect right to espouse them. I
thoroughly endorse that."
IN QUOTES
Alley listed three concerns about the
Falwell-Robertson brand of. religious
broadcasting. He placed misrepresenta
tion of the Bible at the top of his list.
"When Falwell and Robertson and the
rest of these characters began to appear
nationally and get national prominence, I
was disturbed about the way in which
they were manipulating people, abusing
the intellect, generally misrepresenting
the nature of the Bible and Christianity,"
he said.
The outspoken minister also criticized
religious broadcasters who endorsed po
litical viewpoints on the air. "They
(Falwell and Robertson) either do not
know or do not care to know about the
relationship between church and state in
the 18th century and the religious free
dom that we have," he said.
But Alley's harshest criticism focused
on the integrity of the television evan
gelists themselves. "One of the things I've
learned very quickly from dealing with
Robertson and Falwell and their people is
that they have no compunction with re
spect to lying," Alley said. "They will lie
with great glee apparently. They will say
something and deny it. If you do not have
documentation in your hand when you're
charging, it is hopeless because they have
no integrity at all when it comes to the
truth.
"I was present when he (Falwell) made
the statement that the prayers of Jews are
not heard by God which he later denied
having said. I did hear him say it, and I've
got it on tape."
Despite the public attention given to
Falwell and the Moral Majority, Robert
son is the real threat, Alley said.
"I think he (Robertson) is far worse
and far more dangerous than Falwell,"
Alley said. "He not only has the power
through his network to reach far more
people, but the way he's willing to abuse
people through faith healing is not
something Falwell does."
Alley also said that Falwell's basic ap
peal was limited to a small group of sup
porters in his home base, Lynchburg, Va.
"Falwell is weak in Virginia, and he
knows it," Alley said. "For the long run,
I think Robertson will have more staying
power than Falwell. It doesn't matter
where Robertson is; he could be on the
moon."
Both Falwell and Robertson broad
cast their programs from Virginia. But
Alley said the presence of the two promi
nent television evangelists in Virginia was
only a coincidence.
"It's an accident because Virginia
does not have the fundamentalist creden
tials to support this stuff," Alley said. "I
would say the two most liberal states in
the South religiously are North Carolina
and Virginia.
"Virginia really has nothing to fear
from Jerry Falwell. It's the United States
that has some problems. But if we can de
velop a concern for Falwell and Robert
son here, that says something to the rest
v J
M
Robert Alley
of the country."
In contrast, Alley said Falwell and
Robertson have everything to fear from
the public by participating in open dis
cussion. Alley added that he understood
their reluctance to face him in a public de
bate because he was confident that they
would lose.
"But if people end up thinking that
Falwell's got the better, then it's, all
right," Alley said. "That's the way de
mocracy works. It's the risk of democ
racy, and I think it's a risk worth
taking.'
Nissen Ritter, a senior radio, television
and motion pictures major from Rich
mond, Va., is arts editor for The Daily
Tar Heel.