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From: carnes@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP (Richard Carnes)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Good evening. This is the CBS Evening News, Jesse Helms reporting.
Message-ID: <295@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 11-Jan-85 14:58:42 EST
Article-I.D.: gargoyle.295
Posted: Fri Jan 11 14:58:42 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Jan-85 06:25:48 EST
Organization: U. Chicago - Computer Science
Lines: 52

News item from the NYT, Jan. 11, 1985 (article by Sally Bedell Smith):

	Senator Jesse Helms is helping to organize an effort by 
	conservative investors to buy sufficient stock in CBS to change
	what the North Carolina Republican says is the "liberal bias" in
	coverage by CBS News of "political events, personages and views."

	The action by Senator Helms, taken in conjunction with a new group
	called Fairness in Media, was disclosed in papers filed by the group
	yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

	According to the documents, Senator Helms sent letters to 
	conservatives around the country urging them to buy shares in CBS
	in order to influence the company.  The papers specified that
	once Fairness in Media had gathered enough new shareholders from
	its letter, "they intend to request a meeting with the company to
	obtain management's views concerning their proposal that the company
	end what F.I.M. believes to be its liberal bias in news reporting
	and editorial policies."

	In the event that CBS management disregards or rejects their
	proposals, the group may try to gain control of the company, the
	documents said.  

	Mary Boies, CBS vice president for corporate information, said the 
	company would not comment on the matter until it "has studied the
	documents filed with the S.E.C."  --[omissions]--

	A letter spelling out the goals of the campaign and signed by Senator
	Helms was earlier disclosed by The News and Observer of Raleigh, 
	N.C.  That version of the letter urged one million conservatives
	to participate in the campaign to buy CBS stock and "become Dan
	Rather's boss."  Mr. Rather is the anchor of "The CBS Evening News."

	CBS officials said there are 29.7 million shares of CBS stock held by
	about 24,000 shareholders.  William S. Paley, the former CBS 
	chairman, is the largest individual stockholder, with 6.55 percent.
	The price of a share of CBS stock closed yesterday at $73.875.

All Americans can now breathe a sigh of relief that the era of biased news
reporting is coming to an end.  Like most conservatives, Sen. Helms knows
where the real power is, and does not make the common mistake of assuming
that the liberal reporters and editors at CBS have the ultimate control over
what is broadcast.  He correctly concentrates on buying up the company's
stock.  Back to the tube:

"...In a speech before the American Legion today, our great President,
Ronald Reagan, pointed out that--"

Click.

Richard Carnes, ihnp4!gargoyle!carnes
Chairman, Jesse Helms for President of Paraguay Committee