„ .opinion

TV News. 30 Seconds Of Mush By EDWIN FEULNER ^ Television has come a long way since its black and white beginnings. But despite the obvious technical advances, the change appears to be for the worse. While the prime-time "soaps" like "Dallas," "Falcon Crest," and "Dynasty" provide the sleaze-tease network officials feel viewers want, most Americans expect more than high-tech glitz when Dan Rather comes on the screen. But TV news is not what it was when John Cameron Swayze and Edward R. Murrow delivered the daily report. A two-hour taped interview when exposed to the editing process is reduced to a few seconds of subjective mumbling that may or may not reflect what the individual said. The artificial world of the cutaway becomes a substitute for reality. Issues as complex as tax policy or nuclear disarmament are reduced to 30 seconds pf talking heads and visual mush. That's the nature of the beast. BUT WHAT HAPPENS when that beast gets out of control? Ask Gen. William C. Westmoreland, one of its victims. It all began when Gen. Westmoreland agreed to be interviewed by CBS reporter Mike Wallace. A few months later, in January 1982, CBS television aired a controversial documentary "The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception," accusing Westmoreland, former commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, of conspiring to deceive the U.S. public and government officials about the size of North Vietnam's fighting force in the year leading up to the January 1968 Tet Offensive. In his new book, "A Matter of Honor" (Macmillan. 1984), Don Kowet provides a fascinating inside look at the making of the CBS documentary, which led to the largest libel suit in the history of American media — Westmoreland v. CBS. The case is now being tried in New York with the conservative Capital Legal Foundation, a public-interest law firm representing Westmoreland. Kowet has been following the story for years and coauthored the TV Guide qpver story which first questioned the fairness and accuracy of the CBS report. ACCORDING TO Kowet's description, the techniques used to make the documentary are suspect at best. To support their accusations of a cover-up by Westmoreland, Kowet says a CBS producer juxtaposed statements made by Westmoreland in two, separate interviews regarding the enemy count. In 1967 on "Meet the Press," Westmoreland said the enemy was infiltrating South Vietnam at a rate of some 5,500 to 6,000 a month, while 14 years later, in the Wallace interview, he cited a figure of 20,000. What viewers didn't know was that the "Meet the Press" film' clip was deliberately edited to delete a qualifying statement in which Westmoreland added that the North Vietnamese had the capability of "stepping up" the troop movements. As a result of the discrepancy in the two figures. CBS alleged that the general had deliberately deceived the American people. When CBS conducted an internal investigation after the TV Guide story appeared, network officials admitted the news team had strayed from normal news practices — but they still uphold the integrity of the documentary. The outcome of the"$120-million libel suit is being watched with more than passing interest by the journalism fraternity, whose skillful hatchets had struck many public figures before William Westmoreland. In the meantime, CBS has hired a New York public relations firm to attack Kowet's book, as if that will erase the stain of journalistic impropriety that got the network into this mess in the first place. ED NOTE: ( Feulner is president of The Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based public policy -research . institute.) BBSS BBSS BBS 553555 SSSSSSS 555 m^m ( fllralii V Publuhed Evnt W*d<^»<Uy By Th« Sc*«.v* C«por«Mo« P 0. 8o* 430 May Cwn How—. N.J. 08810

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S»o*ovf Corp. 1984. All rights reserved All property rights lor «ht •nlir* content! of this publication shall be the property ol the Seowrave Corp . No part hereof may be reproduced without prior written content. DEADLINES ~ News & Photos .Thursday Advertising. . . . Friday — 3 P.M. Classified Advertising .^riday — 3 P.M. 465-5055 For News or Advertising Information Neither participating edvertiM-r. nor the publitben. of the HERALD AND LANTERN tail I be rrsponnible or liable lor mitinlormation mi. print., typographical error*, etc in on> iaaur. The editor merer, the right to edit an. letter or article* tub mi tied for publication. Wow*r Totcnthip W LANTERN k \ PttbUrtwd Every Wednesday By The Scuvt Corporal Km j P.O. B— 480 Cape Hey Court Hattee. HJ. WIU >y

Free Flow of Information? The presidential campaign is over, and it is clear that in at least two important respects the tricky relatiqpship among the candidates, the press and the public fell short of what it should have been. First, it is a serious reflection on this political process that President Reagan went the entire campaign without a news conference. His last such session with White House reporters was held on July 24. Since then, while Congress has finished its work, while important developments have taken place from the Philippines to El Salvador to Lebanon, he has stiff-armed the reporters who cover him. Reagan was applauded for agreeing to tvo debates, but he rejected an older obligation — the obligation of a public official to answer in timely fashion the questions of the press and public. > THE FAILING IS NOT in the White House press corps, which has pressed aggressively and continually for news conferences. The failing is solely that of the president and his staff, who arrogantly insisted that reporters be present when it suited their convenience — as it did in shielding Reagan from a man-to-man debate with Walter Mondale — and be kept at a distance when they were judged to be a risk or nuisance to this coddled chief executive. One can only hope that voters understood the implications of this White House manipulation, and took it into account when judging the prospects for a full and free flow of information in a second Reagan term. A government that would so easily subvert the channels of public discussion during the three months of a presidential campaign is hardly likely to reopen them when it knows it will not have to face the voters again. —David Broder in the Washington Post

Our Readers Write Three Cheers For Fare-Free In reference to last week's letter by Mary Rowe of Cape May County Fare-Free Transportation: I'm employed by a local convalescent center in Cape ' ^ May County and want to express my feelings about the fine service that they provide. If it were not for Fare-Free Transportation, many of our senior residents could not have made it to their doctor's offices; or even to the market for some simple shopping. In some cases, stroke victims are transported in large vans which have special wheelchair lifts. THE USE OF taxi service to provide this transportation is prohibitive to someone whose sole income is Social^ Security. '\0 Since privately owned mass transportation is almost non-existent in this country, let's not lode a gift horse in the mouth. Three cheers f W Fare-Free Transportation and many thanks to our freeholders for providing this valuable service- MRS. EUGENE SICILIA Del Haven 'For Rent' Ended The Realtors of Sea Isle City recently voluntarily decided to remove and discontinue the use of "For Rent" signs on rental properties. I would like to congratulate this group of Realtors who are cooperating togther, for their community interest and concern. Front lawns and residential areas littered with rental signs did little to enhance the value of property or add to the aesthetic appearance of our town. I realize, while engaging in business, it takes courage to cooperate and implement decisions of this type. I hope this sets an example, not only for other Real Estate businesses, but also for the entire business community. ° It is more beneficial to cooperate together on projects of this nature, that not only benefit each business, but the entire community. I am sure, they will be supported by both our part-time and full-time populace. ^ MICHAEL J. MC HATE Sea Isle City Why No Free Flu Shots? I just can't buy the story from the county Office on Aging and Burdette Tomlin Hospital that there are no free flu shots because of law suits. I didn't see any law suits from last year's free flu shots in the county. If Bridgeton can give them, why must this county's seniors be denied and subjected to possibly getting the Many can't afford the $10 or $12 to protect themselves from it. This is very unjust. V. MC MAHON Villas

-Mushrooms on Whale Beach— Limit Interviews to Lunchtime

By JOE ZELNIK R.L. of Sassafras Island: I see your recommendation of Larry Newbold for freeholder proved to be of no value. That should be some inclination what readers think of your column. Answer: Newbold did much better than anyone thought placing a close fifth. The problem was the short attention span of most Cape May Countians. My endorsement of Newbold appeared at the very end of my column and many readers' minds had already started to wander. They read and approved my recommendation, but their brains only registered his first name. As a result, all sorts of Larrys — Larry Bohm, Larry Boyer, Larry Bird, Larry Doby, Larry Ferrari — got write-in votes which, if totaled, probably would have produced a winner. E.S. OF TICK NECK: After reading your explanation of Larry Newbold's totally negative program last week, I'm glad he was rejected by voters. Answer: Negative is in the eye of the beholder. For example, abolishing those 10-12 boards and commissions may have looked negative to their members, but it was a positive act for the taxpayers. Without those boards, the "Directory of County and Municipal Officials" would have been reduced by 10-12 pages at considerable saving to taxpayers. The mandatory candidates' names tee-shirts for county employes may have looked petty to some, but it would have saved my brother-in-law, who has a tie-shirt shop on the Wildwood boardwalk, from Chapter 11, definitely a positive result. ( In this regard, the employe dress code would have been fine-tuned to. ban women with tatoos and men with earrings.) SOME PROBABLY THOUGHT unleashing the, zoo's wild animals around "the home of environmentalist Ruth Fisher was a mean-spirited act. But this would have kept her home and away from freeholder meetings, making it possible for them to adjourn about 30 minutes earlier each week. And that would have saved about $54 a year in electricity. , *

Many of Newbold's positive programs were not discussed last week for lack of space. fi For example, following the lead of the OPEC members who intend to create a temporary world oil shortage in order to increase prices, he had a master plan to boost tourism profits. He would have had the Health Department close 25 percent of the businesses (mostly noncampaign contributors): motels, restaurants, amusements, souvenir shops. The resulting shortage would have enabled those still in business to hike prices by at least 40 percent. In order to keep county officials from wasting time with journalist interviews, a problem revealed last week by Transportation head Mary Rowe, he would have required all interviews to be conducted during lunch hours. TO ANSWER THE NEED for a pollution-free industry he was working on bringing a Campbell's Soup mushroom plantation to Whale Beach. Plans to build a new Crest Haven Nursing Home at the sterile Crest Haven complex would have been scrapped and the building relocated to Benny's Landing from which place residents would have had a breathtaking view ' of sunrise over Stone Harbor. In close coordination with the local chapter of Weight Watchers, the dinner meal at the county jail would have been eliminated, resulting in thinner prisoners and a fatter budget surplus. There were tentative plans to secede from the state and set up barriers on all roads leading to casino-cluttered Atlantic City. BASED ON RECENT reports that immersion in water could protect persons from the effects of a nuclear blast he was working on leasing four-foot-square portions of the ocean and bay to -Philadelphia residents. The county also' would havfe rented snorkeling and scuba diving equipment -at considerable profit - to those fleeing the blast Finally, the desk behind which freeholders conduct their meetings would have been sawed off approximately 12 mehes^bnnging them to eye level with the public As it lSitvS must lQok up to the freeholders. This provideSNbem > false sense of superiority. And it gives memberj-of tjie public a pain in the neck.