Reluare miercuri, 23 iunie 1982

WHO REALLY REPORTS NEWS ON TELEVISION?

Date: 23 June 1982

By Tony Schwartz

Tony Schwartz

When Mike Wallace appeared in January as the correspondent on a hard-hitting CBS documentary about Vietnam - the reporting methods for which have been called into question by TV Guide - the average viewer might have logically assumed that Mr. Wallace was the person responsible for digging up the story. Mr. Wallace was featured on camera interviewing the key figures in the documentary, among them Gen. William C. Westmoreland, and he was its narrator. But in truth, ''The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception'' was more than a year in the making, and Mr. Wallace's intermittent involvement amounted to less than three weeks all together, and did not even include editing the interviews he had conducted. In effect, Mr. Wallace was chiefly a performer on a documentary that had been reported, written and edited by its producer, George Crile. Indeed, the general rule in television news is that the longer the broadcast the smaller the role of the on-camera correspondent.

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News Analysis

Date: 24 June 1982

By Stuart Taylor Jr., Special To the New York Times

Stuart Taylor

The cascade of public outrage after John W. Hinckley Jr.'s acquittal Monday on the ground of insanity reflects a widespread suspicion that law and psychiatry have combined in a way that confuses juries and almost presumes that people cannot be held responsible for even the most bizarre and heinous crimes. Indeed, some psychiatrists and lawyers argue that the entire orientation of psychiatry flies in the face of the law's general presumption of free will and moral accountability. ''Psychiatry and the law operate from two essentially incompatible views of human nature,'' Dr. Willard Gaylin, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical School, wrote in a recent book titled, ''The Killing of Bonnie Garland: A Question of Justice.'' Psychiatry explains behavior in the deterministic terminology of diagnoses, impulses, environmental factors and hereditary causes. The notion of moral blame, central to criminal law, is almost foreign to psychiatric diagnosis.

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A BRIDGE BUILDER FOR CITY UNIVERSITY

Date: 24 June 1982

Not long after becoming head of Queens College in 1971, Joseph S. Murphy was invited to a Sholom Aleichem festival being held on campus. Those attending the gathering in memory of the Yiddish writer quickly learned how adept the young college president could be in charming an audience. He spoke in Yiddish. Whether conversing in English, Yiddish, his mother's native tongue, or either of the other two languages he speaks -German and Amharic - Dr. Murphy's wit and affability tend to be disarming.

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News Analysis

Date: 24 June 1982

By Bernard Gwertzman, Special To the New York Times

Bernard Gwertzman

Administration officials said today that the coming days would tell if President Reagan's decision not to rebuke Prime Minister Menachem Begin publicly would lead to flexibility by Israel in helping produce a solution to the Lebanon crisis. Mr. Begin returned to Israel today after receiving a measure of public support from Mr. Reagan during his two-day visit here. But Administration officials, uneasy over criticism on Capitol Hill that the President was too conciliatory, said Mr. Reagan firmly insisted in private on more cooperation from Israel in resolving the crisis in Lebanon and negotiating self-rule for the Palestinians of the West Bank. The officials said Mr. Begin promised Mr. Reagan and Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr. that Israel would not try to crush the Palestine Liberation Organization forces in west Beirut. They said he pledged to support diplomatic efforts for a solution in Lebanon, including an Israeli troop withdrawal. He also reportedly promised to rededicate Israel to the Palestinian autonomy talks.

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News Analysis

Date: 24 June 1982

By Edward B. Fiske

Edward

The reversal of lower-court decisions in the Levittown case yesterday represents a significant blow to forces seeking to eliminate unevenness in spending by rich and poor school districts across the state. Whether the finding by the New York State Court of Appeals constitutes a fatal, or even a serious, blow - and whether its effects will be felt outside New York - remains to be seen. Peter M. Fishbein, who argued in behalf of 85 wealthy school districts, in favor of overturning the earlier decisions, predicted yesterday that the decision would lead to ''a dramatic reversal in the trend up to now'' in cases involving the financing of public schools. He cited the prestige of the New York courts as the reason.

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News Analysis

Date: 24 June 1982

By John Herbers, Special To the New York Times

John Herbers

For several months the United States Conference of Mayors has been trying to put together a ''road show.'' A group of leading mayors would travel throughout the country to appeal for public support of their opposition to the Reagan Administration's domestic policies. A similar effort a decade ago in the Nixon Administration succeeded in winning broad support for the cities and enactment of new Federal aid programs for both social services and capital outlays. But this time the conference leaders have not been able to get a single Republican mayor to join the ''road show,'' which, to be effective, would need the bipartisan participation that was easily obtained 10 years ago.

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A MILD NEW PRESIDENT FOR ARGENTINA

Date: 23 June 1982

By Richard J. Meislin, Special To the New York Times

Richard Meislin

Reynaldo Benito Antonio Bignone, who was thrust into Argentina's presidency today, is a curious complement to the man who put him there, Lieut. Gen. Cristino Nicolaides. While people use such terms as ''tough,'' ''no-nonsense'' and ''hard-line'' to describe General Nicolaides, the new army commander, the description of General Bignone is often simply ''nice.'' ''He is a mild man, not a hawk, and very different from Nicolaides,'' a Government official said today. He added that the new President, who retired from active duty as a major general late last year, was unlikely to give the army high command major problems in managing a Government that, with limited navy and air force support, appears likely to be less stable than its predecessor.

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THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 1982

Date: 24 June 1982

International Israeli forces attacked Syrians just south of the Beirut-Damascus road as a cease-fire announced by Israel collapsed. The Israelis used planes, tanks and artillery in intense, daylong exchanges of fire, and fighting was reported in at least nine places along the highway. The American Embassy is closing today, and all Americans in Lebanon have been urged to leave. (Page A1, Column 6.) Israel said heavy fighting was continuing at Beirut as well as along the Beirut-Damascus highway. An Israeli military spokesman said that Syrian and Palestinian forces had first broken the cease-fire. (A15:1.)

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 1982

Date: 23 June 1982

International A major Israeli offensive led by planes and tanks began in Lebanon in an apparent effort to drive Syrian and Palestinian forces from the Beirut-Damascus highway. Israeli jets and artillery also bombarded Palestinian camps and residential areas in Beirut. (Page A1, Col. 6.) Israel announced a new cease-fire after several hours of fighting at the request of Philip C. Habib, the special American envoy. (A8:1-2.)

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National news is on pages A12-17, B5-7 and D19; San Francisco Board Moves to Ban Pistols

Date: 23 June 1982

Reuters

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors has taken a major step toward banning ownership or possession of pistols by almost all people in this city of 700,000 residents. By a vote of 6 to 5 on Monday night, the board approved the first reading of a measure providing penalties of up to 30 days in jail and a fine of $500 for owning or possessing a pistol.

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