sour grapes lead to early termination. elves cry
March 25, 2002
Rukeyser Has Been Shown the Door
After Slamming His Bosses On-Air
Maryland Public Television has pulled the plug on Louis Rukeyser, the host of "Wall $treet Week," after he went on the air during the Friday program to blast plans to replace him this summer after 32 years.
Calling the plan to drop him from the show, which is carried on public-television stations nationwide, an "ambush," Mr. Rukeyser told viewers that he half expected to come to work to "find my door bolted."
Mr. Rukeyser's contract to host the show runs until the end of June, but after his on-air comments, he is being succeeded immediately. Mr. Rukeyser "violated the journalistic standards of the show," said Robert Shuman, chief executive of Maryland Public Television, adding that it was inappropriate for Mr. Rukeyser to end on "such a sour note." Mr. Shuman said a new host will take over immediately, although he declined to identify the person.
"This is like being instructed in ethics by the Mafia," Mr. Rukeyser said after learning he had been dropped. Mr. Rukeyser's lawyer, Richard Hofstetter, questioned whether Maryland Public Television had the contractual ability to yank Mr. Rukeyser since he is not only the show's host, but also a partner in the show.
Last week, Maryland Public Television said it was reformatting "Wall $treet Week With Louis Rukeyser" by forming an alliance with Fortune magazine, which is owned by AOL Time Warner Inc. Succeeding Mr. Rukeyser in the fall are Fortune editorial director Geoffrey Colvin and an as-yet unnamed co-host. Maryland Public Television Vice President Jeff Hankin last week said the organization wanted to revamp the show "to keep it strong and broaden the audience." However, ratings information from Nielsen Media Research shows that the audience for the program has been relatively stable at just under three million viewers a week, a much bigger audience than what cable business channels average.
Saying his ouster had led to a groundswell of support, Mr. Rukeyser vowed to return with a new show offered to public-television stations. Mr. Rukeyser said he has heard from many public-television executives about returning with a new program, in addition to getting feelers from some commercial networks, although he declined to be specific. He said he hoped to continue appearing on public TV. Known for his dry wit, the 69-year-old said he had no plans to retire until he was as old as some of the correspondents on "60 Minutes," the CBS newsmagazine, some of whom are well over 70.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com1 |
