The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 318

Gordon goes over a story with other members of the Ch 5 news staff Mendes Napolil news producer and John Ray ing enjoy you very it said find it very hard to accept the news when delivered by a young person" Actually Bill Gordon is only 51 years old But that slicked-back parted hair those overwhelming glasses that almost mask the rest of his face on a close frontal camera shot the fact that not pretty like his younger counterparts both at the competition and at WPTV all contribute to make him seem older And older is what Palm Beach television viewing audience is all about In the 6 to 6:30 pm spot when and is head to head with WPEC-Ch 12's the local Nielsen ratings show 116000 adults watching Ch 5 Incredibly 90000 of those are over age 50 Ch 12 which has 30-000 adult viewers in that time slot still has half of its viewers over 50 But in the 18 to 34 age group Ch 12 is nearly even with Gordon at 6:30 with 11000 viewers to 15000 At 11 pm when many of Palm viewers have apparently gone to bed (and Gordon has too) Ch 12 runs much closer to 5 in the total ratings and is on a par with younger viewers Further underscoring the dominance of the market in this area is the dominance of network programming ABC with its youthful programming runs third in Palm Beach County a reversal of national trends (WPTV is an NBC-affiliate WPEC is linked with ABC) Jay Johnson now the managing editor of Ch 12 news was the former 11 pm co-anchor at Ch 5 Having worked both side-by-side and in competition with Gordon he has a unique perspective of the man and his impact has a great concern with Johnson says People can recognize that But I think mainly (his success is due to) his longevity in the area well known in TV circles and in research that length of stay helps in terms of reactions whether or not they initially like someone the longer around his credibility goes But he adds sizing up situation as a whole fighting not just Bill Gordon as an institution bui the whole station as an Bill Markham the 6 pm anchorman who must go head to head with Gordon agrees not just a matter of competing with Gordon per he says of the reasons everybody watches Ch 5 in West Palm race and constant advancement He successfully avoided that but there still seem to be many things here that rankle him not too happy with the way Palm Beach has he says a matter of fact when I retire I do intend to leave I know maybe just true of anyone grown up in a town and seen it change: It never seems as good as good old There may be another reason for Bill restlessness He has leukemia Not the rapidly terminal kind but chronic lymphatic leukemia wirch can be controlled and with which a person he says can live for years I sort of get the idea (the doctors) are telling me not to count on he says I could afford it probably call it quits now I want to become eligible for retirement and then be in no condition to enjoy So he says he expects to stay at WPTV another 32 years until 55 and eligible for early retirement And then? Then one expects find Bill Gordon somewhere in the mountains up north beaming his voice but not his visage happily anonymously out over the airwaves from some small unobtrusive radio station assistant editor right Beach is just force of habit (Our market research shows) that 50 per cent of the people who watch Ch 5 had never even tried Ch 12 Ch 12 has only really been competition for Ch 5 since 1973 when Alex Dreyfoos and his Photoelectronics Corp bought it from John MacArthur who divert much of his billion-dollar empire to it Ch 5 on the other hand has been the dominant news outlet in the Palm Beaches since its takeover by the Scripps-Howard chain in December 1961 Bill Gordon had arrived nine months earlier but his presence in Palm Beach news dates back even further family moved to West Palm Beach in 1931 when he was five years old He grew up here went to school here and after a Navy stint returned here in 1948 to become1 a staff announcer for WEAT radio He bounced between radio and television and between Palm Beach County Texas and the Caro-linas for a few years after that Finally the wealthy Palm Beach Phipps family which owned the then-fledgling Ch 5 asked Gordon to run and anchor its news been there ever since Ask him why and he shrugs his shoulders "Oh there were maybe one or two times I got other offers and thought seriously about leaving But 1 knew within six months in this business I want the rat The MIAMI HERALD Steve Son sky is a Herald staff writer in the Palm Beach Bureau 49.