Week of July 23, 1983

President Reagan replaces special Middle East envoy Philip Habib with Robert

C. McFarlane. The move was an effort to encourage the withdrawal of Syrian

troops fro Lebanon.

President Reagan meets with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who

then told reporters that he and his new commission on Central America might

visit the countries of the region, including Nicaragua.

Mayor Harold Washington of Chicago, declaring a

need for “immediate and drastic action” to prevent the

city from going broke, orders the layoffs of hundreds

of city workers.

Five Armenian terrorists shoot their way into the

Turkish embassy in Lisbon, seize hostages and then

blow-up themselves and a top diplomat’s wife with a

grenade when Portuguese commandos storm the

building.

Despite his order for military maneuvers in Central

America, President Reagan insists that the U.S. has

no plans for armed intervention in the region.

Paris - A gunman pumps six bullets into Gilbert Zemour, killing the fourth brother

of the Jewish “Z gang” that ruled a large part of the prison underworld for nearly

two decades.

Charles David Rothenberg, the New York waiter who set fire and burned his 7-

year-old son last March in a motel room, is sentenced to 13 years in prison.

The State Department says that the voices of President Reagan and Prime

Minister Margaret Thatcher were patched together in a non-existent telephone

conversation, possibly by the KGB. The tape was delivered to the U.S. Embassy

in The Hague in May. In the bogus conversation, the leaders discussed the

placement of American intermediate-range missiles in Europe and Britain’s

efforts to oust Argentine forces from the Falkland Island. In a statement, the

department says - “This type of activity fits the pattern of fabrications circulated

by the soviet KGB, although usually they involve fake documents rather than

tapes.’

Week of July 23, 1983

The FCC approves a regulatory plan it says will make higher phone bill easier to

swallow. Under the action residential phone customers will see local bill rise an

initial $2 a month and businesses $6 a month on January 1. The flat rate “access

fees’ are designed to shift more of the expense of operating a local telephone

company to that company’s customers and end the subsidies that have been

provided from AT&T’s long-distance revenues. The new fees take place the

same day AT&T is broken up.

Coming soon - A Mr. T doll. Two versions - one is a rag doll!

Sports - San Diego Padres star Steve Garvey

dislocates his thumb and will be sidelined. This after

Garvey has played 1,207 consecutive games. Lou

Gehrig of the New York Yankees holds that record.

Between 1925 and 1939, he played 2,130

consecutive games.

The American League upholds a protest by the

Kansas City Royals, overrules its umpires and gives

George Brett of Kansas City back a two-run home

run he hit in New York last Sunday. The home run

had been taken away from Bret for using too much pine tar on the handle of his

bat.

More Kansas City - Gaylord Perry becomes the fourth pitcher in major league

history to strike out more than 3,500 batters.

Daryl Strawberry hits his 12 th home run in the ninth inning at Cincinnati, giving

the Mets a 3-2 victory over the reds. Keith Hernandez hit a homer too.

Anne Pawelek of Cicero, Illinois, acting as her own attorney, files a class-action

suit on behalf of all Polish-Americans for the Polish jokes in the hit movie

“Flashdance.” The suit asks, “to delete all offensive, degrading and demeaning

“Pollack jokes’” from the film. The movie is about a young woman steelworker

who aspires to be a professional dancer. The Polish jokes are told by a would-be

comedian in the tavern where she dances.

Entertainment news -

Passing - Actor David Niven (73).

Passing - Actor Raymond Massey (86).

Week of July 23, 1983

Music news -

Taping is clearly a problem for record companies. Geffen Records isn’t taking

any chances with the new Asia album. The band has included an extra song for

the cassette version of the album “Alpha.” Other artists are sure to dot he same.

Touring - Simon and Garfunkle.

Sesame Street releases rock album “Born to Add.” The jacket is a takeoff of

Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.’

NBC’s “Friday Night Videos” debuts. The 90-minute program, which runs

Saturday nights at 12:30am, is the first for the use of videos. According to

producer Dick Ebersol, that amounts to about $1000 per video and more for

Week of July 23, 1983

world premieres. MTV thinks the new program will wet the appetite for viewers,

who will want more and come to them.

Television news -

The FCC proposes to authorize (finally) TV stations to broadcast their audio in

stereo.

Roger Mudd will be dropped set 5 as co-anchor of the

“Nightly News” but will remain with NBC as senior political

reporter.

Monday night television -

CBS - Square Pegs, Private Benjamin, Tucker’s Witch,

Cagney & Lacey, News Overnight

NBC - Family Ties, Movie, Tonight Show, late Night With

David Letterman, News Overnight

ABC - Baseball, Nightline

PBS - Frontline, Great Performances

ESPN - SportCenter,

International Soccer

Square Pegs - Vinnie and

Jennifer are on the outs after

Vinnie gets a male lead in the

school musical.

David Letterman - Paul

Simon and Art Garfunkel.

Week of July 23, 1983

Music news -

The indestructibility of the Compact Disc is a myth, according to research by the

Dutch Consumer’s Assn. CD’s may be less vulnerable than conventional records,

but dust and scratches can still affect their reproduction and even in extreme

cases, make them unplayable.

More CD - A&M Records is slated to join the ranks of Compact disc labels via

plans for a fall release of digital CD titles.

Right now, stores with compact discs are stocking imports. Two CD Stores in the

Washington DC area say most of their buyers are affluent and are plopping down

the $20-$25 per disc. CBS is going to be the first U.S. company to bring out

compact discs and that ‘s supposed to happen this month.

Did you catch Diana Ross’ concert at Central Park?

MTV hotter - With 140 national advertisers representing more than 340 products,

MTV has sold more ad time in the first three months of this year than it did in all

of 1982!

Week of July 23, 1983

Radio news -

Passing - Legendary air personality Hal “Aku” Lewis ,

known to his many Honolulu listeners as J. Akuhead

Pupule. He was 66.

After more than a year and a half of news and news talk,

KCNN (1360) in San Diego is moving into standards

music.

Changes at KHTZ Los Angeles. Morning

sidekick/newsman Boyd R. Britton is being replaced by

Lou Henry, who will now be heard on the Charlie Tuna

morning show.

Charlie Kendall is the new program director of WNEW-FM New York. He had

been at sister station WMMR Philadelphia.

Look out - WHTZ is about to make its debut in New York!. PD Scott Shannon

says the hit radio station will have a mass appeal orientation. “We’re taking the

position that we’re here to create, not compete. Shannon’s been listening to other

New York stations and feels they sound too serious. “We’re going to be fun and

that should make us different. I want to customize a product for New York that

will reflect the spirit and the old WABC, before they lost touch with the street.”

Shannon won’t employ consultant Mike Joseph or any other consultant. He

believes “Hot Hits” has lasting power.

KPKE Denver shifts from AOR to Top-40… KFRC San Francisco personality Bill

Lee is fired for joking about the disease AIDS on the air.

Top Albums this week -

Thriller - Michael Jackson

Synchroniciy - Police

Flashdance - Soundtrack

Let’s Dance - David Bowie

The Wild Heart - Stevie Nicks

Pyromania - Def Leppard

Keep It Up - Loverboy

Cargo - Men At Work

Frontiers - Journey

Killer on the rampage - eddy Grant

State of Confusion - Kinks

Killer on the Rampage - Eddy Grant

Week of July 23, 1983

1999- Prince

Kilroy Was Here - Styx

Listen - Flock of seagulls

Piece of Mind - Iron Maiden

Speaking in Tongues - Talking Heads

Reach the Beach - The Fixx

Cuts Like A Knife - Bryan Adams

Hot Hits -

Flashdance. What A Feeling - Irene Cara

Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant

Wanna Be Startin’ Something - Michael Jackson

Every Breath You Take - The Police

Our House - Madness

Come Dancing - The Kinks

Never Gonna Let You Go - Sergio Mendes

Stand Back - Stevie Nicks

Is There Something I Should Know -

Duran Duran

Sweet Dream - Eurythmics

1999- Prince

Maniac - Michael Sembello

Too Shy - Kajagoogoo

Cuts Like A Knife - Bryan Adams

(Keep Feeling) fascination - Human

League

I’m Still Standing - Elton John

All This Love - DeBarge

It’s A Mistake - Men At Work

Top Hits In Britain -

I.O.U. - Freeze

Baby Jane - Rod Stewart

Wherever I Lay My Hat - Paul Young

Come Live With Me - Heaven 17

War Baby - Tom Robinson

Moonlight Shadow - Mike Oldfield

Who’s That Girl - Eurythmics

It’s Over - Funk Masters

Double Dutch - Malcolm McLaren

Top Country This Week -

Pancho & Lefty - Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard