ENTERTAINMENT

THE ORIGINAL

•

SI

Comeback Time

Continued frorb preceding page

IN ROSEDALE PARK

533-2910

19220 Grand River Ave.

Enjoy The Warm Friendly Atmosphere Of A
New York-Style Italian Bistro
And Experience The Fine Cuisine Of
The Original Maria's...and the strolling rhythms
of Olga and her trio, Friday and Saturday evenings.

Banquets and Private Rooms Accommodating
20-100 ... at no extra cost, including music

I COMPLIMENTARY OFFER... $50° OFF ALL 1
L DINNER ENTREES FOR 2 with This Coupon JN
Full Bar With Complete Wine List Including Italian, Etc.

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

MON.-FRI. LUNCH . 11:30-2:30, DINNER SUN.-THURS. 4-10 & FRI. & SAT. 4-11

THE ORIGINAL MARIAS IS LOCATED
BETWEEN THE SOUTHFIELD FREEWAY
& TELEGRAPH, 1 BLK. EAST OF
OUTER DRIVE ... ON GRAND RIVER

RESERVATIONS
ACCEPTED

Valet
Parking

Visa & Mastercharge

rOlt MEDALLION

• Present coupon
before ordering
• 1 coupon per couple
• Expires 10-21-89

PleeSe -Present
Coupon Before Ordering
(1 Coupon Per Couple)

-( r ). , ses
OFF
1I2
Offer Good Tuesday Thru Thursday Dinner Only

daiEutietrec Of Equal
e, esceorny

DON NADEL
At Piano
Fri. & Sat. Eiies.

NEW FALL HOURS:
TUES.:THURS.
5 p.m.-10 p.m.
FRI. & SAT.
5 p.m.-11 p.m.

Also Fri. & Sat. 5.6 & after 9

"Creative Cuisine .is
tops at Medallion"

—Observer Eccentric Newspapers
May I, 1989

851-5540

• Full Bar Service

••

CIND1 ROSNER
.KELLY„ at the piano

TUESXHURS.

4343 Orchard Lake Rd.
(at Lone Pine)
Northeast Corner of
Crosswinds Mall

• Banquet Facilities Available

THE PANDA

5586 DRAKE, CORNER WALNUT LAKE RD West Bloomfield
Drake Summit Shopping Center
661.1503

1ST ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

EXPIRES NOV. 30, 1989

GOOD TUES., WED., THURS. 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sunday 12 noon-4 p.ni.

8

.95 per person

2 ENTREES WITH CHICKEN FRIED RICE ON ONE PLATE

YOUR CHOICE OF: • ALMOND CHICKEN & SHRIMP WITH LOBSTER SAUCE

• PEPPER STEAK & HOI SEN CHICKEN
• SWEET & SOUR PORK & CHICKEN IN GARLIC SAUCE
• MONGOLIAN BEEF & SWEET & SOUR CHICKEN
• SHRIMP CHOP SUEY & SWEET & SOUR PORK
• SHRIMP LO MEIN & SZECHUAN CHICKEN
• SPICY SCALLOPS & ROAST PORK KEW • ALMOND CHICKEN & SPICY SHRIMP
• CHICKEN LO MEIN & MONGOLIAN BEEF
ALSO INCLUDES: EGG ROLL, WON TON OR EGG DROP SOUP, ICE CREAM OR SHERBET & HOT TEA

r-

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US
CELEBRATE OUR 10TH ANNIVERSARY
2
AT THIS LOCATION

z

8

I

150 / OFF

0

ALL ITEMS (Except Specials)
Carry-Out Only

01 111) l anniMaini
•
JN
= RD % 1311dd3r1; Baril"F et Expires 10 2719
LAKE ROAD
Tzcatuari etscureWilr 4 Afire%
LIN THE WEST BLOOMRELD PLAZA, SOUTH OF MAPLE
a 1-fiLauj

64

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1989

$112.50 a week as a produc-
tion assistant for Channel 7.
He then worked his way up
the ladder in the newsroom,
and left Channel 7 in 1981 to
work in news operations at
WBBM, a Chicago TV
station.
Meisner came back to
Detroit after Channel 2
changed owners. In 1987,
Storer Broadcasting Co., the
longtime owner of Channel 2,
sold the station to Nashville-
based Gillett Group Inc.
Under Storer, the station
had declined. Storer had fail-
ed to buy the top syndicated
programs to attract late after-
noon audiences, the kinds of
programs that would grab au-
diences and encourage them
to stay tuned for the news.
Meanwhile, CBS programs
that ran on Channel 2 from
8 p.m. to 11 p.m. also declin-
ed in popularity, which meant
small audiences for Channel
2's 11 p.m. news.
After Gillett's purchase,
Antoniotti joined Channel 2
as vice president of broad-
casting in charge of news. He
hired Meisner to run the
news. Antoniotti was named
president and station
manager last November.
Meisner inherited a
newsroom with low employee
morale and broken and ob-
solete equipment. Rumors
abound in the TV industry
that Gillett is trying to sell
Channel 2 and is investing
little in trying to improve the
station's programming, a
charge that Antoniotti has
denied. lb aggravate matters,
station management and a
union representing about 80
technical employees are in-
volved in long and bitter
negotiations over a new con-
tract. The union has been
working without a contract
since November 1987. The
employees work in the
newsroom.
News competitors, pointing
to the station's consistent
failure to cover big stories a
few years back, mocked the
station as the "I missed it
news," a parody of the 1970s
station slogan "Eyewitness
'News?'
Then there is the stiff com-
petition from Channel 4 and
Channel 7, which Meisner
said is his biggest challenge.
"This station is hard to turn
around, partly because of the
competition," he said. He
predicted it will take the sta-
tion another year to show con-
siderable improvement in the
news ratings.
Channel 2 has hired two
former Detroit newscasters
who had gone to other cities,
Eli Zaret and Joe Glover, and
hired Dayna Eubanks from
Channel 7, where she had

Since Meisner arrived, 32 staff have left.

been unhappy, to gain
credibility and audience.
Meisner said Gillett has
supported him in all the
things he wants to do to im-
prove the news, including
money for new equipment,
such as computer terminals
for reporters. Gillett gave him
approval to hire away Vince
Wade, arguably the best
broadcast journalist in
Detroit, from Channel 7,
Meisner said.
Meisner said since he arriv-
ed, 32 people, out of 94
newsroom employees, have
either quit or been fired, a not
unusual turnover. He said he
has replaced the 32 people
with younger, more en-
thusiastic people who can be
trained his way. He also ad-
mits that young people come
cheaper.
Meisner also now em-
phasizes breaking stories and
features. He points with pride
to the fact that Channel 2 had
the first and most complete
coverage of the June floods.
He said the station was first
with a story of a Warren boy
who nearly drowned in • a
swimming pool.
And, as indicative of his
support for thoughtful repor-
ting, Meisner cited a -six-
part series that Wade did
on Detroit's Chaldean
community.
But the crime, sex and
cutesy features stories are
still covered. The station did
a story on a new dog collar
that is supposed .to stop dogs
from barking. A reporter
began by interviewing the
owner of a barking dog that
would serve as a guinea pig
for the collar. The Channel 2
reporter promised to do up-
dates on the dog to see if the
collar worked.
The news ends each day
with a feature story, "Just as
the newspapers have cartoons
in the back section . . .
because the research on
features shows that you
should leave people with a
smile."

But with all the new hir-
ings, new news emphasis and
new equipment, the jury is
still out on Channel 2 news.
The ratings have yet to im-
prove, said Mary Ellen Tindle,
media director for the Troy-
based advertising agency,
Kolon, Bittker and Desmond
Inc. As long as the ratings are
low, ad rates are low, and
Meisner has to fight harder,
stronger and longer to win
than Vince Lombardi ever
had to. 0

Steve Raphael covers the
media for Crain's Detroit

Business.

New Music
Teachers At JCC

The Jewish Community
Center's music department
has added new teachers to the
music faculty at both
buildings.
Neill Eisenstein, pianist-
teacher, received his master's
degree in music piano perfor-
mance and graduated with
distinction from the New
England Conservatory in
Boston. He is an experienced
teacher and has performed
lecture-demonstration
recitals both here and in the
Boston area.
Cellist and teacher, David
Levine, while a student at
Cass Thchnical High School
studied with Paul Olefsky,
then principal cellist of the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Levine studied at the
Juilliard School of Music in
New York and at the Peabody
Conservatory in Baltimore.
He joined the cello section of
the Detroit Symphony Or-
chestra in 1965 and the
following season played with
the Cleveland Orchestra
under George Szell. In 1972
he resumed his employment
with the D.S.O. where he re-
mained until 1983.
Lana Dostal, piano instruc-
tor, was educated in Russia at
the College of Music in Baku
where she received her