Reverberations of "60 Minutes" broadcast (11/06/94)

Reverberations of "60 Minutes" broadcast

Community representatives meet with CBS

by Khristina Lew

NEW YORK - An ad hoc delegation of Ukrainian Americans, armed with a statement from Rabbi Yaakov Bleich decrying CBS's unbalanced portrayal of Ukraine, received no commitment from CBS to publicly rectify the inflammatory "60 Minutes" segment on anti-Semitism in western Ukraine during an October 31 meeting held here at CBS headquarters.

Instead, according to meeting participant Askold Lozynskyj, president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, CBS pledged to revisit the issue, convene its own meeting of researchers and experts, convene a meeting with Rabbi Bleich when he arrives in the U.S. and then make a decision.

It was a draw," said Ukrainian National Association Vice-President Nestor Olesnycky, another member of the 10-person Ukrainian delegation, of the meeting. "I don't think we scored any knock-out points. CBS promised to look at the material and information we provided them and get back to us. If they agree with our version, they will retract."

"If we find we have made any error," said "60 Minutes" Executive Producer Don Hewitt, "it is our obligation to correct it, not for them [the Ukrainians] but for our viewers. And I keep using the word if," he emphasized.

The one-hour, 40-minute meeting, organized by Mr. Hewitt at the insistence of Ukrainian Human Rights Committee President Ulana Mazurkevich, pitted the executive producer, CBS Vice-President Joseph Peyronnin, "60 Minutes" correspondent Morley Safer, and segment producer Jeffrey Fager against Messrs. Lozynskyj and Olesnycky, Mrs. Mazurkevich, Ukrainian Catholic Bishop Basil Losten, Rutgers University Prof. Taras Hunczak, and Profs. Borys Rabiner and David Meltzer of the Association of Jewish Emigres from Ukraine and Eastern Europe.

At CBS's insistence, three additional members of the delegation - correspondents from The Ukrainian Weekly, The National Tribune and "Kontakt" Ukrainian Television - were asked to leave. "This is not a press conference," clamored Mr. Safer. Mr. Peyronnin assured meeting participants that while discussion between the two groups was "for the record," prior agreement for media participation had not been reached, and his delegation objected to its presence

"There was great tension during the meeting," recalled Mrs. Mazurkevich.

Prior to the meeting, the Ukrainian delegation had agreed to a list of grievances and demands, which included a retraction and apology in the preamble to a balanced program on current Ukrainian-Jewish relations that would include the reading of Rabbi Bleich's entire statement; the dismissal of Mr. Safer; no rebroadcast of the "Ugly Face of Freedom" segment; and no unsolicited dissemination of transcripts of the segment.

The delegation also agreed to impress upon CBS that inferences that Ukrainians are "genetically anti-Semitic" and an illiterate lot of peasants in control of nuclear weapons are objectionable, as was the image of young scouts marching and the translation of "Zhyd" as "kike."

During the meeting, one of several points of contention between the two delegations was the pejorative translation of the western Ukrainian word "Zhyd." According to Prof. Hunczak, the Ukrainian delegation "presented objective evidence, which CBS did not dispute, except for the translation of 'Zhyd.' They said they have someone who says that 'Zhyd' is pejorative."

Bishop Losten elaborated: "We tried to explain to them that 'Zhyd' is not only used in western Ukraine, but in Poland, in Slovakia, in Romania and so forth, and that it is a legitimate word in western Ukrainian dialogue for Jew. It is not a derogatory word." Mr. Olesnycky added: "In western Ukraine 'Zhyd' is a generic word for Jew. In eastern Ukraine, 'Yevrey' is the accepted word. So it depends on where one comes from."

Another point of contention was the dismissal of Mr. Safer. "We suggested the dismissal of Safer similar to that of Andy Rooney," explained Mr. Lozynskyj. "CBS argued that Rooney was not suspended for the anti-gay statements he made on the air, but for something else. But they wouldn't elaborate," he said.

The Ukrainian delegation maintains that Rabbi Bleich's statement (for full text, see page 6), received by Mr. Lozynskyj several hours before the meeting, surprised CBS. "They were very interested in the letter from the rabbi, and likewise they want to meet with him when he comes over on November 10," said Bishop Losten. It appears that a resolution to the situation hinges on Rabbi Bleich's meeting with CBS.

Mr. Lozynskyj has called on the Ukrainian American community to continue to protest the October 23 segment to CBS, its affiliates and the sponsors of the program. He added that during the meeting, CBS officials had stated that they had received numerous letters from Ukrainians, as well as letters from other groups, such as the Polish and Jewish community.

Sandy Genelius of CBS's press office, however, could not confirm the number of letters for or against the segment. "It is very difficult to give you an exact number," she said. "We have received letters with both a positive and negative response. From our standpoint, there was a response, and that's the primary issue."

The Ukrainian American community continues its protest, writing letters to CBS and the sponsors of the segment, meeting with CBS affiliates and demonstrating.

An October 28 meeting between five representatives of the Ukrainian American community and Rochester CBS affiliate WROC-Channel 8 resulted in WROC Vice-President and General Manager Gary Bolton granting the Ukrainian community 30 minutes on a local public affairs program to present its views on the "Ugly Face of Freedom" segment. According to Volodymyr Zacharkiw, vice-president of the UCCA Rochester Branch, the segment will be taped either November 16 or 17 and aired in late November. The Rochester community also submitted a petition with 510 signatures protesting the segment to Mr. Bolton, who agreed to forward it to CBS headquarters in New York.

In Detroit, the local CBS affiliate covered an October 27 community rally at the Ukrainian Cultural Center attended by some 600 Ukrainian Americans and aired it on that evening's 11 o'clock news. A local newspaper, The Macomb Daily, carried a front-page story about the event, which resulted in the signing of a petition to CBS by 550 people, on October 28.

Contacts with Michigan Reps. David Bonior and Sander Levin, who issued a statement that was read at the October 27 meeting, resulted in a November 2 meeting with Ukrainian Cultural Center director and Detroit area UCCA President Borys Potapenko. Mr. Potapenko summarized the meeting: "The two congressmen have indicated that they will use their elected office to further mobilize Capitol Hill in this regard. They will speak out on the floor of the House. Congressman Levin indicated that he will himself seek a meeting with CBS on this."

In Washington, a November 2 demonstration at the CBS office resulted in a meeting with Vice-President and Bureau Chief Barbara S. Cochran (see story, page 3).

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