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Andrew HeiskellAndrew Heiskell
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Session:         Page of 824

absolute doubt, but just sort of--there was always a cloud hanging over the proposition in my mind. Anyway, we were saved by disaster that time--

Q:

Before we go on, let me ask you something else that I--could be misinterpreting. It's kind of reading through the lines. I'm taking this from the--must be the Prendergast book. And there's a--I'm quoting here. This is 1968, this is about the Evening News, and quote: “Management's first pitch to the Time Inc. Directors that September for approval of the Evening News purchase was unfortunately timed. The company was then planning a 17 million dollar investment in MGM stock and the Little Brown acquisition. Faced with additional outlays for Newark, the Board hesitated. Was the company overreaching itself? As the discussion was reported in the dry language of the Board minutes,”--[this is the quote from the Board minutes now]--“‘The outside directors indicated a need for appraisal of the present position of the corporation as a whole, and particularly its capital requirements and resources, and the need of well thought out and present plan and policy with respect to future development of the business.’” It goes on to say that “not only the outside directors were doubtful, but Stillman was opposed because of the union situation that would be brought into--”

Heiskell:

That's correct. The union situation--I've forgotten--was a very major element in this. Because we were afraid that their union would then begin to infiltrate our other operations, and give them a strangle-hold on our whole publishing business.





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