A week full of intrigues and showdowns, this one ending on March 12th. On Capitol Hill, John Tower fought a hard fight but lost when the Senate voted Thursday, 53-47, against confirming his nomination as Secretary of Defense. The Senate rejection by a vote of 53- 47 was a bitter finale to the public drama over allegations concerning John Tower’s private life. Senators, most of whom had served with the Texas Republican argued for days over whether he was a drunk a lecherous philanderer and an influence peddler “No public figure in my memory has been subjected to such a far-reaching and thorough investigation nor had his human foibles bared to such intensive and demeaning public scrutiny” John Tower said reading a statement at the Pentagon after the Senate rejection.
Meanwhile, Eastern Airlines fought back against a crippling strike Friday by packing its Northeast Shuttle with passengers at $12 a head and announcing restoration of 80 flights a day mostly Latin American and top domestic routes. But thousands of angry and confused Eastern ticket holders trying to get refunds or fly on other carriers learned they would have to pay more or put in their claims in US Bankruptcy Court. A judge in New York extended his order barring commuter railroad workers from honoring any picket lines thrown up by Eastern’s striking Machinists union “We are going to rebuild this airline in prudent sensible increments and get our men and women back to work so they can support their families” Eastern President Phil Bakes said Friday. “This is the beginning of a new smaller restructured and viable Eastern Airlines” Eastern said the more than 140 daily flights including 62 shuttle flights connecting Boston New York and Washington would be operated with picket line-crossing employees who have been with the company since before the start of the strike Saturday over Eastern’s demand for contract concessions.
And paid pitches for jeans a candy bar and dandruff shampoo were mixed in with a fast-paced menu of current events Monday as Channel One, the televised news show for teenagers had its first day of school. The paid advertising on the show which was produced by Knoxsville-based Whittle Communications LP enraged some education groups who want Big Business barred from making sales pitches to students in side the classroom. But the students teachers and parents who witnessed Channel One’s debut at Central High expressed few reservations about the ads ‘It’s fine with me” said Shelley Bible a 14-year-old freshman ‘You get more pressure from other students than you do from those commercials. Tol McCane a 17-year-eld senior said the commercials “are just the same thing you get on the news at night”. The 18-minute news program included two minutes Of commercials’. Channel One is Whittle Communications’ first venture into television and groups such as the National Parent-Teacher Association and the National Association Of Secondary School Principals are opposing the Idea of sending commercials into school with the news show. ‘They are trying to make it a part of every school day and this medium has a much stronger impact than any Other” said Tari Marshal a spokeswoman for the National PTA.
And that’s only a sample of what happened this week, ending on March 12th as presented by ABC Radio’s World News This Week.
