Chicago Tribune du lieu suivant : Chicago, Illinois • Page 37

INSIDE SECTION 3 Briefing 2 Inside manufacturing 2 George Lazarus 3 Earnings 3 Market report 5 Markets at a glance 5 Stock tables 5 QUAKER CUTBACKS Company will shrink staff further, sell some "chronic underperformers," chairman says See Page 3 Thursday, May 14, 1998 Ameritecl to offer Ion no Yesterday's market report Wednesday, May 13 g-oisiaiice Dow Jones: 9211.84 Deal with Denver's Qwest will likely draw fire SAP 500: Gainers 1,436 Same S53 1IOOC 1 NYSE: four other long-distance firms who contend it isn't legal They took their case to federal district court in Seattle Wednesday, charging the alliance violates the Telecommunications Act's restriction against a local telephone company providing long-distance service until its local market is deemed adequately open to competition. The suit also says Qwest and West are violating federal By Jon Van Tribune Staff Writer Ameritech Corp. will begin marketing discount long-distance service to its customers in a deal with Denver-based Qwest Communications Inc. that will be announced Thursday. The alliance is similar to one announced last week between Qwest and West, the Denver-based Baby Bell, which MCI Communications Corp.

and other long-distance order the long-distance deal, which will be packaged with their local service and included in a single bill. Because Ameritech will get no revenue from the long-distance business, its lawyers believe the marketing partnership is legal. A similar deal between Qwest and West met a firestorm of criticism from MCI and carriers are suing to stop. An industry source close to negotiations said that Amer-itech's residential customers will be offered a flat rate of 7 cents a minute to call anywhere in the country after 7 p.m. and on weekends, with a 15-cent flat rate for weekday calls.

Business customers will be offered a flat rate of 9.5 cents a minute for daytime calls. Long frustrated at failing to get government approval to offer its customers long-distance directly, Ameritech executives have elected to team up with the small but aggressive Qwest to provide "one-stop shopping" for phone services that many customers say they want. People can call Ameritech to -Hp 579.20 AMEX: 742.99 NASDAQ: 1866.18 See Ameritech, Page 4 1 THURSDAY NIKKEI Closed at 15,307.69, down 36.12, or 0.24. Dollar higher: 134. 18 yen.

3 Analysis: The Dow reached a record high, but the broad market remained sluggish. Bonds rallied after a successful 10-year note auction. Composite volume: 730,602,080 More markets, see page 5 'Jit i 30-vear lifii ah svi'v i nnnn- 1111 -n SHAKEUP IN CHICAGO TV Channel 5 news looks for fresh start Joel Cheatwood, noted for action-packed broadcasts and using Jerry Springer as a commentator, is replaced by the news director at top-rated Channel 7. AMA ends exec search 10-year T-note: 5.66 MORE ON THE INTERNET: Find out what's making news today and get a preview of tomorrow's business section. Get a 4:30 p.m.

news update at chicago.tribune.comgobusiness Midwest ticker By Tim Jones and Jim Kirk Tribune Staff Writers Joel Cheatwood, the last vestige of WMAQ-TV's disastrous dalliance with Jerry Springer, was swept out the newsroom door Wednesday and replaced by the news director of Chicago's top-rated news station, WLS-TV. The change was swift, especially as it pertained to WMAQ's surprise hiring of Channel 7 news director Phyllis Schwartz, who will assume the title of vice president of news and creative services at NBC-owned Channel 5. Not so surprising was the exit of Cheatwood, whose Chicago legacy will forever be tied to the brief and ultimately self-destructive experiment of making Springer a news analyst during the station's 10 p.m. newscasts a year ago this month. Cheatwood, Channel 5's vice president of news, was named vice president of daytime development for the NBC Television Stations group.

Cheatwood said he was "excited" by the new job, which previously did not exist. Larry Wert, WMAQ's new general manager, called Cheatwood "talented and creative." But there was never, any doubt that Cheatwood's lease on his first-floor office in the NBC Tower was short-term, especially after Wert arrived 14 weeks ago. Last month, Wert obtained an early release from Channel 5's contract to carry Springer's daytime talk show. The change at WMAQ does not herald See Cheatwood, Page 2 general to lead agency By Judith Graham Special to the Tribune u' The American Medical Association named a new executive vice president late Wednesdays afternoon, ending a difficult search that had dragged on longer than expected. Dr.

E. Ratcliffe (Andy) Anderson, former surgeon general of the U.S. Air Force, now the daunting task of helping the1 nation's largest medical zation rebuild its grassroots membership and upper manage-, ment ranks. The dermatologist also will confront the heritage of the AMA's ill-fated commercial deal with Sunbeam Corp. last fait an ongoing lawsuit that could cost the Chicago organization millions of dollars and a still-tarnished image in the minds of doctors and the general public.

Anderson assumes the helm of the AMA in September, but begin working with the organization over the summer, appearing for the first time before its leadership at the June annual meeting in Chicago. In Anderson's favor, according to AMA board chairman Dr. Thomas Reardon, were strong managerial and organizational, skills. "He's very personable, forward, bright, a quick thinker. We think physicians across the U.S.

will be impressed," Reardon said. None of the AMA leaders across the country reached by phone Wednesday know the; three-star general personally. But they greeted his appointment with an evident sense of relief, noting that he is not an AMA insider. "This is a breath of fresh air.T for the AMA, a chance to bring in someone with a whole new set of ideas," said Dr. Gary Krieger,) speaker of the house of delegates of the California Medical Associ-'- ation.

"It's a very positive thing that he's not ingrained in the AMA culture." All three previous AMA execu-; tive vice presidents, the top agement position for the organization, which has an annual budget in excess of $200 million, spent years in and around the AMA and its member medicaT societies before reaching the AMA's highest ranks. That's not true of who was not made available for('7 comment and who could not be -reached in Kansas City, where he lives with his wife three children. His career has been spent in academic medicine, military, medicine, and, most recently, hospital administration, according to information released by See AMA, Page 4 Sears to appeal bias suit verdict A jury has awarded a New Hampshire woman $1 million in a sex-discrimination lawsuit against Sears, Roebuck and Co. Jeanie Boisvert worked as a greeter and dispatcher at the Sears Auto Center in Manchester, N.H., for 14 years before she was laid off in February 1993 during a reorganization of Sears' auto departments. The suit charged, and the Concord jury agreed, that the company failed to consider her for rehiring even though she applied and at least one other former employee a man-was rehired.

Hoffman Estates-based Sears said it planned to appeal, i Mitsubishi wins Chrysler contract Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will begin providing Chrysler Corp. with fuel-efficient gasoline direct-injection engines by 2001, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper reported. The Japanese automaker announced it is negotiating a similar supply agreement with another Michigan-based automaker, General Motors Corp. Westell, Fujitsu in joint project Westell Technologies Aurora, said it and Fujitsu Telecommunications Europe Ltd.

signed a contract to develop and market jointly worldwide broadband, end-to-end access and data services. A Westell spokesman said the companies are involved in development trials in London, which use a high-speed interactive network. Oneac wins patent lawsuit Oneac a Libertyville-based maker of voltage-protection circuits, said it has won a patent-infringement lawsuit in Britain against a competitor, Raychem Corp. Oneac said a judge barred Raychem from further sales of its Teltec devices, used in the telephone industry, and ordered the company to destroy its current inventory. Glimcher Realty to buy five malls Glimcher Realty Trust of Columbus, Ohio, said it agreed to buy five shopping malls for $375 million, increasing its holdings by 20 percent and becoming the latest mall company to join in the industry's consolidation.

The malls contain about 5 million square feet of space. They are located in Oregon, Alabama, California, Minnesota and North Carolina. Unilever acquires AmeriClean Anglo-Dutch consumer-products giant Unilever said it acquired AmeriClean Systems Inc. for an undisclosed sum. AmeriClean, based in Southfield, provides cleaning and hygiene products to the healthcare, lodging, food-service and other industries.

It had sales in excess of $100 million last year. AmeriClean will become a part of Unilever's DiverseyLever cleaning and hygiene business group. Buffets Inc. to increase holdings Buffets Eden Prairie, operator of 370 buffet-style eateries, said it will buy 11 restaurants from Country Harvest Buffet Restaurants adding West Coast and Northwest locations to its Midwest and Southern restaurants. Terms were withheld.

The acquisition is the first for the company since its 1996 purchase of competitor Home-Town Buffet USDA beefs up for food programs F. Qulnn "but AP photo Jerry Springer's brief role as a commentator on Channel 5's 10 p.m. newscast ended just over a year ago. Tribune (lie photo by James Joel Cheatwood says it would be "natural" to assume he was pushed out, NBC is not a company that would just create something to move me into." Transition is sudden and locally driven Jim Kirk Media Talk With those moves, one could now call this the P.S. era at Channel 5.

That would be "Post Springer." Many at Channel 5 expressed their admiration for Schwartz, and their relief that the last chapter in the Springer saga was writtea "She is a tough, hard-nosed said veteran Channel 5 political editor Dick Kay, who worked with Schwartz during her previous stint at Channel 5. "You will always know where you stand with her." So the question now is, where will many at Channel 5 stand with Schwartz? She left perhaps some of the best talent still in the city at Channel 7, which has long been the city's tdp-rated news broad-See Kirk, Page 2 It was just 14 weeks ago that Larry Wert was brought in as general manager to straighten out the listing Channel 5 news operation. His mission was to erase all memories of what has become one of Chicago broadcasting's most enduring debacles the use of trash talk show host Jerry Springer as a news commentator. In those few short weeks, Wert, 43, who arrived from radio-dominated Chancellor Media has moved quickly. First, he dumped the Springer show entirely from his station last month.

And then Wednesday, Wert went to work on rebuilding his newsroom. Wert and NBC brass moved Joel Cheatwood, the vice president for news at Channel 5 and one of those responsible for the Springer fiasco, aside to a newly created vice president's post for daytime programming. On the same frantic day, Wert hired one of the most respected news directors in the city, Channel 7's Phyllis Schwartz, to right the ship. Siemens denies targeting Motorola, but rumor boosts stock I The Agriculture Department has purchased posed buying Ameritech for $56.6, billion. Motorola shares closed up $3.50 to $59.37, following a morning report on the rumor broadcast! on CNBC.

Siemens depositary receipts, trading over the counter, closed at $66.12, up $2.62. Motorola stock is selling at a discount in comparison to other technology companies, said Doug See Motorola, Page 4- in Dresden, Germany, and recently completed a $15 billion semiconductor plant in White Oak, Va. In recent weeks the investment community has seen proposals for several huge mergers, which usually have the effect of driving up languishing share prices. Last week, Germany's Daimler-Benz announced it would buy Chrysler Corp. for about $40 billion.

On Sunday, SBC Corp. pro telecommunications business. Siemens, based in Munich, Germany, in turn is looking to bolster its profile in Asia, where Motorola has a strong presence. "It looks like a pretty good fit for them," said Theor van Lin-gen, who follows Motorola for Goldis-Pittsburg Institutional Services. "They both said Can I see it happening? I'd say yes." Motorola and Siemens already are partners in a DRAM factory stoutly denied it.

"Great company. We work with them in a lot of areas. But, bottom line, we're not after Motorola. We're not interested," said Siemens spokesman Tom Varney. But observers noted that at least superficially, there are factors that would make such a union plausible, if not probable.

Schaumburg-based Motorola needs switching technology, available from Siemens, for its digital By Andrew Zajac Tribune Staff Writer On a Wall Street currently enamored of megamergers, rumor of a union with the German electronics behemoth Siemens AG gave Motorola Inc. shares a healthy kick Wednesday and intrigued analysts. Motorola said it wouldn't comment on the rumor as a matter of policy, but Siemens about 8 million pounds of beef and pork commodities for about $9 million. The purchases are part of the USDA's $30 million pork and $30 million beef bonus buys announced earlier this year. The beef and pork purchased will be used for distribution in the National School Lunch Program and other food-assistance programs.

Compiled by George Gunset.