Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 41

0 usmes Saturday May 211994 SECTION 1 TTT GM to boost Asian sales Todd Mason COMMENTARY111111111 I Pay phones can be private money trees I RI dea0 connects ((Walls KDFW to buy ad time on ICDFI and control its programming BY STEVEN VONDER IRAK Fort Wonh Star-Tclegram KIVWChannel 4 said yesterday that it has struck a deal to assume virtually all of the programming and marketing operations of rival local television station KMChannel 27 The transaction a first in the North Texas TV market calls for KDFW to buy the bulk of KDF1's advertising time KDFW will then take over KINI progamming and will resell the commercial time For KDFW an affiliate of the CBS network the agreement provides a new outlet for testing experimental programming while allowing it to use one sales force to sell advertising for two stations said Jeff Rosser KDFW president and general manager "A traditional network affiliate like ours can be awfully crowded with the shelfspace it offers" Rosser said "There's not a lot of room to do creative things "Now we don't have to consider14 hours of programming a day" he said "We have 48 hours of programming to consider" For KIN! the agreement translates into a steady source of income and a likely opportunity to trim expenses KDF1General Manager John McKay said the station will keep "as many people as possible" But McKay who was general manager at KDFW between 1980 and 1983 said even his own status under the new structure is uncertain' Rosser said however that he seeks to "use the creativity of both staffs" and that no immediate changes in KDF1's programming lineup are planned Rather KDFW plans to take several months to study options for introducing new programs on KM Options include using KDFW's news staff to produce programming such as public affairs showsor additional news coverage Some of th is (More on DEALon Page10) Fort Worth Star-Telegram RALPH I AUER 1 liztf deal connects rro-valls lu)Fw to buy ad time on 1(1)FI and control its programming BY STEVEN VONDER IRAK Fort Wonh Star-Tclegram KDFWChannel 4 said yesterday that it has struck a deal to assume virtually all of the programming and marketing operations of rival local television station KDF1Channel 27 The transaction a first in the North Texas TV market calls for KDFW to buy the bulk of KDF1's advertising time KDFW will then take over KDF1 progamming and will resell the commercial time For KDFW an affiliate of the CBS network the agreement provides a new outlet for testing experimental programming while allowing it to use one sales force to sell advenising for two stations said Jeff Rosser KDFW president and general manager "A traditional network affiliate like ours can be awfully crowded with the shell space it offers" Rosser said "There's not a lot of room to do creative things "Now we don't have to consider14 hours of programming a day" he said We have 48 hours of programming to consider" For KDF1 the agreement translates into a steady source of income and a likely opportunity to trim expenses KDF1General Manager John McKay said the station will many peopie as possible" But McKay who was general manager at KDFW between 1980 and 1981 said even his own status under the new structure is uncertain' Rosser said that he seeks to "use the creativity of both staffs" and that no immediate changes in KDF1's programming lineup are planned Rather KDFW plans to take several months to study options for introducing new programs on KDFI Options include using KDFW's news staff to produce pro- Fort Worth Star-Telegram gramming such as public affairs showsor RALPH LAUER additional news coverage Some of th is (More on DEALonPage10) 1 o-Telegram BY MIKE MCKESSON Fon onh Star- lelegram SHREVEPORT La General Motors Corp executives told shareholders yesterday that they expect rapid growth in the world automotive market and that they plan to increase sales in Asia over the next few years At (Ms annual meeting the ex- ecutives said the automaker is negotiating with China to build min- vans and passenger cars there and hopes to triple sales in Japan by the end of the century "We are moving aggressively into China with pickup truck assembly already in place" said Louis Hughes GM's international operations chief "We are in final negotiations for production of minivans and Opel Corsas and are following a similar strategy of localizing production in other Asian markets" he said At a news conference after the meeting GM President Jack Smith said outside forces might affect the China plans He said he does not know what might happen if the United States does not extend China's most favored nation trading status President Clinton has until June 3 to make that decision "We're interested there but other events might overcome what's happening" Smith said Hughes said the company's plans for Japan go beyond an agreement with Toyota to sell 2u000 Chevrolet Cavaliers as Toyotas starting in 1996 "We've set a goal for the year 2000 of selling 100000 General Motors units a year" in Japan Hughes said GM sold about 32000 cars and trucks in Japan last year Recent news reports have said that Hughes who is president of GM of Europe was one of two executives in line to take over GN1's North American Operations "I'm (More on GM on Page 2) I The customers always write: Boy howdy I thought I was unhappy after my son checked in at home from the wrong pay phone and ran up a S570 bill fora two-Minute collect call Then I heard from the road warriors the folks out there wagingbusiness on the highwaysand byways of the Metroplex Private pay phone companies 3'should have the sign Highway Phone Co displayed all over their equipment" writes Lester Zimmerman of Alvarado Adds August Schilling of Euless: "Their business practices are abominable" It's the dark side of deregulation Pay phone entrepreneurs got nowhere competingagainst the local exchanges until they teamed up with non-Bell network companies Together they extract outrageous tolls for operator-assisted and long-distance calls offer the proprietors ofgas stations and convenience stores a piece of the action and with the hook baited wait to reel in unsuspecting travelers My correspondents describe something akin to guerrilla warfare "The outlandish rates for the operator-assisted calls are not the only way ofgouging you" writes Paul Brown a telecommunications consultant in Fort Worth Some limit quarter calls to three minutes Brown says and then dis connect you At other phones he writes the keypad goes dead after the connection is made so callers can't use voice mail services or automated switchboards You say you want your quarter back? Good luck Brown writes "They sometimes list a service number you can only dial from that phone!" Then there's the shabby treatment of metro numbers Many private pay phones won't recognize metro numbers as local calls Instead they force them to be completed as long-distance numbers or by operators who helpfully come on the line In reader Zimmerman's case an unwary caller couldn't dial his metro number in Alvarado from a pay phone in Alvarado "Apparently the machines are programmed to accept only the local exchange prefix 783 and not metro 790" he writes "Even worse the caller did not get his quarters refunded on any of the three calls" What to personally avoid any nonlocal exchange pay phone even to the point of driving out of my way to get to one with a Bell or CiTE symbol on it" Brown says If you're victimized by a private pay phone make it a point to complain to the proprietor who in most cases is a silent partner And count your blessings The prize story belongs to Richard Marmo The kindly Fort Worth gentleman offered to take messages for a self-employed friend who stopped by pay phones to check in with the calls being billed to Marmo "By the time the billing sequence was over he was calling two three four times a day" Marmo said The bill? $200 Marmo repons his heart (More on MASON on Page 2) Pier 1 chief says he knows ofno takeover IC Penney urged not to carry Leslie Fay clothing The Associated Press NA Worth Storidep Clark Johnson chairman of Pier 1 Imports Inc said yesterday that a televised report that his Fort Worth-based retailer is a takeover target is "news to me" Johnson told Dowiones News Service that "nothing in our trading stock price or volume would indicate that anyone is accumulating a position in the company" Hiscomrunt came in response to a report by CN BC correspondent Dan Dorfman who said that a corporate buyer has accumulated a 4 percent stake in Pier I and might try to take over thecornpany were any other supplier of LC Penney We do not condone nor do we support or engage in the activities that you described" HowA said Penney plans to begin carrying the Leslie Fay brand at about 500 stores in the fall The company's clothing will also be offered in Penney's catalog A spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania dressmaker did not immediately return a telephone call from The Associated Press Speaking to reporters after the meeting Penney officials said they (More on PENNEY on Page 3) Garment Workers' Union and urging Penney to boycott Leslie Fay The union opposes a Leslie Fay proposal to close its US dressmaking operations which would eliminate 1200 jobs in northeastern Pennsylvania Leslie Fay is in bankruptcy protection and has been in contract negotiations with the union During the meeting Tim Wagner a Lutheran pastor from Harrisburg Pa said he visited several Leslie Fay contractor factories in Guatemala last week "1 observed conditions that were deplorable and despicable" Wagner said The workers including teen-age girls work up to 48 hours straight earn only 35 cents an hour and supervisors sometimes force them to perform sex acts Wagner said "Their working conditions are of a sweatshop nature" he said Penney Chairman William Howell said he is unfamiliar with the conditions Wagner described "We've had consumers'asking for the product at JC Penney and we will look at these issues with Leslie Fay the same way we would if it PLANO JC Penney Co's annual meeting yesterday was peppered with questions about the company's plan to sell clothing made by Leslie Fay Cos which has faced allegations of worker abuses by its foreign contractors Penney also said it expects I 994 to be its best year yet and will issue a Spanish-language catalog to support its planned Mexican stores Outside Penney headquarters in this north Dallas suburb some I 5 demonstrators carried signs supporting the International Ladies' Judge ends Conrail strike Japan's trade surplus with US rises 89 PIUS Track workers ordered to return to jobs 1 3 hours after walkout The Associated Press Dowoil report Washington Trade negotia9 lions broke down in February over US demands for numerical benchmarks to measure progress in opening Japans market Japan says numerical targets would violate free-trade principles The Finance Ministry attributed part of the increase in the surplus to the steep rise of the Japanese yen in recent months Ministry officials said that in yen terms the overall surplus in April fell 16 percent its third straight monthly decline The surplus with the United States dipped 09 percent The dollar averaged 10443 yen in April down 100 percent against the yen from a year earlier they said Some economists believe (More on JAPAN on Page 3) 3800 3750 3700 3660 3600 3550 3500 3450 3400 3350 3300 1-r Dow isteida Jones 76635 137 moommuni TOKYO Japan's snowballing trade surplus the source of friction with its trading partners rose 81 percent in April from April 1993 to $1112 billion the Finance Ministry said yesterday The surplus with the United States Japan's largest trading partner rose for the second month in a row increasing 89 percent to $438 billion it said April marked the fifth straight month of year-to-year growth in the overall surplus officials noted The surplus was the largest for any April they said The announcement of trade figures came as US and Japanese officials attempted to re- start stalled trade talks in to the north West Virginia to the south and Indiana to the west plus Quebec and the District of Columbia The union representing 3500 workers who repair Conrairs tracks buildings and bridges went on strike early yesterday morning complaining of safety standards they said had been lax for decades The union was not specific but noted that two workers were killed this year when struck by trains Conrail officials estimated that a strike would cost the company up to 10 million a day Nearly 30000 loads of cars coal food chemicals and lumber were stranded as maintenance workers picketed Conrail entrances and other workers honored their protests Negotiations between Conrail and the union broke down after two hours yesterday morning Management employees were operating two essential services draw bridges and dispatching according to John Samuels Conrail vice president for engineering This strike was a complete surprise to us" Samuels said Conrail officials had prepared for a prolonged (More on RAIL on Page 10) BY BUCK1 GLEASON The Associated Press PHILADELPHIA A judge ordered striking Conrail track workers back to work last night about I 3 hours after they walked off the job over safety issues and shut down the freight network in 12 states Texas was not among the states directly affected US District Judge Franklin Van Antwerpen issued the order after a three-hour hearing union officials said "The pickets are in the process of being pulled down" said George Davidson vice chairman of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Van Antwerpen wrote that keeping workers off the job would cause "irreparable damage and injury to the company for which it has no adequate remedy at law and the public interest will be seriously and substantially affected" The judge said the workers must remain on the job pending a hearing to be held Friday on Conrail's request for a preliminary injunction against the strike Conrail operates in 14 states from Massachusetts 8 9 10 11 12 131817181920 011 futuies $1892 per barrel $047 ezf 4047 Contract or June June ogled price li 14 utu re $0' Fort Worth Star-Iblegram 010 As.