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David Was Really Goliath
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The
following article by John P.
Zarrella, Senior News Producer
at WXIA-TV, traces the
newsman's coverage of
Hurricane David. Zarrella is a
parishioner of the Cathedral of
Christ the King.)
Television news is as complex as it
is fascinating. There is a lot more to
it than a brightly lit studio and an
anchorman reading from a piece of
paper, although that was certainly
the case in years gone by! Perhaps no
other medium has moved from
infancy to adulthood in so short a
time.
Television news is a hodgepodge
of personalities: reporters,
photographers, editors, producers,
technicians and the list goes on. Each
of these individuals performing his or
her own job produces that
phenomenon we call “the Newscast.”
This column is about “the
Newscast.” It is about the people
who put the program together. It is
about a bad night in the control
room when film reports go to the
ever-feared ‘‘black,” and the
anchorman can’t read a word. It is
about covering major news events -
presidential visits, politics, crime,
natural disasters as seen through the
eyes of a newsman. It is a column
that looks at the often times
whimsical world of TV news.
The story of a deadly storm made
headlines and led local and national
newscasts for more than a week
around Labor Day. Hurricane David
was a giant. Bom in the far reaches
of the Atlantic, David churned across
the Leeward Islands building strength
over warm tropical waters and then
bringing its full killer force to bear
on the Dominican Republic.
In the newsroom, we had begun
keeping a close watch on what the
experts were now calling the storm
of the century. By the time David
stumbled across the mountains of
Hispanola, we had flown with the
Storm Trackers into the eye of the
hurricane and a news crew was
stationed at the Miami Hurricane
Center following every move the
giant storm made.
Sunday, the day before Labor
Day, David had been wallowing off
the coast of Cuba but now showed
signs of strengthening once again. As
the storm headed for Florida, we
took off for Miami.
The next 30 hours were anything
but dull. The taxi was late and the
plane was leaving in half an hour.
Our driver said she couldn’t promise
anything. At that point, we virtually
commandeered the vehicle. We stuck
her in the back seat alongside our
equipment and with reporter Collin
Siedor at the wheel, we took off
down the interstate. It must have
been a funny site: a reporter,
CHURCH IN RUINS - Villagers in a small
rural town west of San Cristobal, Dominican
Republic, view the remains of their church which
was destroyed by the high winds of Hurricane
David. Fifteen people died when the church
collapsed.
cameraman and producer in the front
seat while our driver squirmed and
bit her nails in the back. At one
point she called the base asking
permission for passengers to ride up
front. Little did they know!
Hurricane David was just a few
hours off the Miami coast when we
landed, which was anything but a
smooth touchdown. Landing from
west to east, right into David’s fringe
winds, the pilot put the 727 down
power on and everyone, including a
stewardess fastened snuggly in her
seat, thought the pilot had left the
tail section on the end of the
runway. As it turned out, all other
flights into Miami after ours were
cancelled.
For the next couple hours, we ran
around Miami Beach shooting our
first report. You may have seen it,
the boarding up along Collins
Avenue, the wind and high surf along
the beach and an evacuation center
where several elderly people were
waiting patiently for a bus to take
them inland.
Back at the airport we found
(with a good bit of luck) a plane
leaving for Atlanta. With a ten dollar
bill, we bribed a passenger to take
our video tape back with him
(someone would meet him at the
gate to pick-up the precious
package).
The name of the T.V. news game
is to beat your competition and
(Continued on page 6)
Jerry’s
Million Dollar Kids
VI li-lti |\
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 17 No. 31
inursaay, September 13, 197y
SISTER JEAN LISTON, GNSH, principal at
the Cathedral of Christ the King School, always
has time to show her personal interest in the
educational development of all of her students.
Here she talks with third graders Amy Gunn and
Jeff Euart.
Smooth Sailing For Catholic Schools
BY MICHAEL MOTES
He sends out the word. And in
hordes they come running. His call
circulates the Silver City of Las
Vegas and the back lots of
Hollywood’s golden ghettos.
Broadway contributes current hits
and the London stage will yield its
best.
Sinatra, Travolta, Paul McCartney,
Bernstein - you name it - all
dramatically dash to the annual
emergency call of Jerry Lewis. This
billion dollar
collection of
talent lines up
hour after hour,
freely offering
their spectacular
service for
Jerry, for his
annual Telethon
and most
especially for
Jerry’s kids.
Jerry Lewis
loves kids. All
kids. It’s just that some he loves
more than others. They can be black,
brown or blue. They can come from
the Rain Forest or the Ganges River.
They can be tall or short, lean or
rotund, raggedy or rich, just as long
as they have M.D., they belong to
him. Those, he loves best. ee
Muscular Dystrophy meagerly ^
dishes out moments instead of years z
to kids. It strangles the glowing m
promise of young life and sends it to
early graves all over the globe. There
is no cure for this deadly dread
disease and until the advent of Jerry
Lewis, there was as much hope. Now,
thanks to this battling one man
battalion, M. D. is on notice. Its
days are numbered, and Jerry Lewis
is doing the counting.
Labor Day weekend belongs to
Jerry and it is well named. He works.
And his guests work. And his staff
works. And together each year they
produce a major miracle. Pledging
money pleasantly pleases. Redeeming
those pledges is often a nightmare.
Money men will tell you fifty per
cent collection is excellent. The Jerry
Lewis Telethon not only pockets one
hundred per cent but usually tops
even that.
Last year just under 29 million
was pledged, just over 29 was
collected. That sky high record could
not be topped and the daring Mr.
Lewis promised not even to try. This
year, while hurricane David was
browbeating our cities, just over 30
million was pledged and who knows
what will be collected. The miracle
goes on. A miracle for the M.D. kids.
While the UN is struggling most
unsuccessfully to highlight an
International Year of the Child and
the medical profession hands us more
easy abortion miracles, Jerry Lewis
hosts a Year of the Child every year.
There are no proclamations, no globe
trotting task-forces and no
committee meetings in Geneva.
It’s just honest to God dedication,
determination, hard work and
swinging sweet success. That dreaded
monster, Muscular Dystrophy,
weakens an age-old strangle hold year
by year because of the unyielding
obstinacy of one classic, song and
dance comic.
Maybe you feel left out because
you didn’t plege and give this year.
Well, this is your chance. Just send
that check to:
Jerry Lewis M.D. Kids
Curesville, USA
The new year for Catholic Schools
of the Archdiocese of Atlanta is off
to a flying start and, certainly not
surprisingly, inflation can be blamed
for the slight decrease in total
enrollment this year.
The soaring cost of gasoline has
effected the number of children
being transported to schools from
outlying areas, especially the area of
Norcross in Gwinnett County, says
Sister Valentina Sheridan, RSM,
Superintendent of Schools.
Another factor in the decrease is
that fewer babies were bom during a
period five and six years ago, thus
there are fewer children entering
schools for the first time.
A third area influencing school
attendance, says Sister Patricia
Geary, GNSH, Archdiocesan
Curriculum Consultant, is that
Georgia now requires kindergarten in
all public schools and more people
are taking advantage of sending their
children to a public school.
“However,” Sister Patricia says,
“we anticipate that a number of
those parents who send their children
to a public kindergarten will enroll
the child in a Catholic school once he
or she begins first grade.”
“The slight decrease of only about
25 students is certainly not an
alarming figure,” says Sister
Valentina. “Rather than becoming
overly concerned in this area, we are
continuing to focus on the
academically sound structure of our
archdiocesan schools.”
She pointed out that each school
in the archdiocese undergoes an
interim review every five years and
an in-depth study every 10 years. In
both instances, the school is visited
by an evaluating team from the
Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools (SACS), the regional
acrediting agency.
During the current year, Christ
the King, Our Lady of Lourdes, St.
Anthony, St. Paul of the Cross, St.
Thomas More and St. Mary’s in
Rome are being visited by the
accrediting agency.
One of the major projects the
Office of Catholic Schools
undertakes each year is the
evaluation of certain curricular areas.
This program was established in 1977
and concentrates on a special subject
area, or areas, each year. Thus far,
Language Arts and Reading programs
have been evaluated.
This year the focus is on
mathematics and art. Teresa Decker
of St. John the Evangelist school in
Hapeville is chairperson of the
Curriculum Committee of Teachers
and parents studying mathematics
and Carmella Howard of Christ the
King School chairs the Art
committee. In addition to these two
specific areas, an updating of texts
and materials for Language Arts and
Reading is also scheduled.
Other items on the busy agenda
for the Office of Catholic Schools
this year include future development
of Catholic education in certain areas
in the archdiocese, and the
establishment of scholarships for
students who otherwise would be
unable to attend Catholic schools.
“The high quality of the Catholic
education we are providing cannot be
questioned,” says Sister Valentina.
(Continued on page 6)
Official
Archbishop Donnellan has announced the availability of a new service
program.
Beginning October 1, 1979, a Crisis Pregnancy Service will be
provided by Catholic Social Services. The CPS Program is a special
project of the Agency made possible because of a recent Grant. The
services provided to pregnant women in a crisis situation, will include
casework services, supportive services, as well as a telephone service for
immediate response.
For more information, call Mary Ellen Hughes (881-1411), or Steve
Brazen (881-6571).
$6.00 Per Year
SALT Ratification
Urged By Bishops
WASHINGTON (NC) - Cardinal
John Krol of Philadelphia,
representing the nation’s Catholic
bishops, has urged the Senate to
ratify the second Strategic Arms
Limitation Treaty — SALT II — as a
“deceleration” of the arms race and
“the beginning of a continuing and
necessary process for obtaining
meaningful and progressive
reductions” in nuclear stockpiles.
Cardinal Krol made his comments
in testimony prepared for delivery
before the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee Sept. 6.
Representatives of the National
Council of Churches, an
umbrella-group of 32 Protestant and
Orthodox denominations, and the
Union of American Hebrew
Congregations, representing more
than one million Reform Jews in 700
congregations, also supported
ratifying the treaty.
Cardinal Krol made these main
points in his testimony:
— The treaty does not threaten
U.S. security.
— Ratifying the treaty should not
be used as an excuse to increase
military spending.
— If the hope of reducing nuclear
stockpiles ever disappears, the
Catholic Church “would almost
certainly” condemn the possession of
nuclear weapons as well as their use.
— New missile systems such as the
MX mobile missile and the Trident II
submarine “should be considered as
negotiable in return for equivalent
concessions” by the Soviet Union in
a SALT III treaty.
— The United States and Russia
should consider lowering the number
of warheads per missile in future
SALT negotiations.
He said the position he presented
was the majority, not the unanimous,
position of the bishops’
Administrative Board and not the
unanimous position of American
Catholics.
“It is, however,” he said, “the
official policy of the U.S. Catholic
(Continued on page 6)
LIFE MAGAZINE salutes the globe trotting pilgrim, Pope John
Paul II. October 1 will bring his pilgrim feet to the U.S. For seven
days the excitement of this modern Pope will be among us. For
details of his U.N. and U.S. tour turn to pages 2 and 3.