OCR Text |
Show THE DAILY UTAH (CHM Nil OLE FRIDAY. FEBRUARY IX 1987 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH VOL 96 NO. 89 Press has a bad image, but is valuable service, Hinckley speaker says By Mirk Hollstein Chronicle staff writer "We're in an era of media bashing," Don Gale, vice president for news and public affairs at Bonneville International said at the Hinckley Institute of Politics Thursday. "It's popular these days to say everything bad is because of the press. If a journalist and a snake were run over on a road the only difference would be the skid marks in front of the snake." Gale spoke to the Coffee and Politics audience about the service news reporting plays in society, and the "unholy alliance," of politics and the press. "The love-ha- te relationship between the politicians and the press is true, it exists," Gale said. "The media need the politician because much of what we call news has to do with politics. And the politicians need the press." However, he says, resentment exist on both sides. The members of the press sometimes feel they are being used by politicians when they are swamped with political news releases to which they have a responsibility to respond. "At the same, time politicians resent the press because it has the power, and indeed A - f the obligation, to edit their remarks, he said. Politicians love to bash the media but they usually do it in private, which creates some hypocrisy on their part, Gale said. "When they come to sec me they always say how well we are doing." . ) I 2 x. At. , 1 Politicians are not the only ones criticizing the press, Gale says. "If you were at these hearings where they are talking about putting condom ads on TV you might conclude that the whole AIDS epidemic is the fault of network TV "Immorality, bad business, and poor quality education are always seen as the fault of the media," he said. The news would get less criticism if the public understood that, for the most part, it exercises great restraints when covering stories, he said. When the planes collided over Reams, much of what was photographed was very graphic but none of the graphic film appeared on TV Politicians blame the press for the high cost of campaign advertisements, but the high costs are more the fault of politicians large campaign advertising staffs than the networks, he said. continued on page four X. z "v V J,1:: i UiranKlr photo by Boonr Xjvvo Valentine's dream come true Valentine's Day will be very special for John, Lewis and Wendy Barnhart. Cupid's arrow pierced the pair Thursday afternoon, bringing them together for a Valentine's Day date in the Chronicle's very own "Love Connection." Lewis was selected at random to find a date sponsored by the Chronicle for Valentine's Day. He got Barnhart to say yes, after romancing her with a single red rose. Both are U. students majoring in communication. Lewis is a junior, while Barnhart is a senior. Both also happen to be employed in the Union Building. duo will have This newly-matchdinner, courtesy of The Pic Pizzaria, 1320 E. 200 South, and take in a movie, courtesy of Plitt Theaters, during their date Saturday night. More details in John Youngren's column on page six. ed Drug, alcohol testing for U. employees possible Drug tests pose privacy, accuracy issues Mpa nrnxicinn allnwQ for two types of testing hospitals in the Intermountain West. By Dave Copelan Chronicle Staff Writer By Dave Copelan Chronicle staff writer Drug tests. The probability of people having to take them for employment is increasing in Utah and around the nation. Two bills in the Utah legislature would have private sector employees taking the tests as a matter of course, while there is a growing national trend for testing in the workplace. "We have a 100 percent increase in the number of tests in the last year," says ARUP Laboratories spokesman Dave Johnson, adding that the urine testing lab expects to double its orders for testing in the next year. ARUP Laboratories is located in Research Park adjacent to the U. of U. campus. It has accredition from both the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the College of American Pathologists (CAP). The lab runs both drug screening and confirmation tests for companies in 26 states as well as for several public sector employees and 16 All University of Utah employees can be subjected to a urine or blood test for drugs and or alcohol if suspected of use on the job by virtue of recent provision in University policy, Fred Petersen, director of personnel at the U. said. Petersen said that general policy was amended Jan. 28 to specifically mandate drug tests should a university employee be suspected of drug use. "We've always had the requirement for physical examinations," Petersen said, "but we amended the policy to include drug tests." Petersen explained that the revision was made more for clarity and did not represent a major shift in policy or a move continued on page three The two main sticky points in drug testing are questions of privacy and accuracy of the tests, Johnson said. Against these concerns are employers' interests of workplace safety and overall productivity. Depending on the source, drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace costs $30 billion to S100 billion each year in accidents and decreased productivity. And while a positive test won't necessarily show impairment on the job, several companies report increased productivity and decreased accidents after implementing a drug testing program. One of the most notable examples is the program adopted by Georgia Power and Light. That company reported a 67 percent increase in productivity and a major decrease in the incidence of accidents after adopting a comprehensive drug testing, counseling and rehabilitation program. Despite these successes, even Johnson says there are ways continued on page five for free bus let students would passes get Change Certain fees may increase By Lori Bona Chronicle staff writer proposal by Utah Transit Authority and the University of Utah's Parking Services may help alleviate parking congestion on campus if implemented. The proposal, suggested more than a year ago, would allow the U. to purchase bus passes that would be free for every U. student, staff and faculty member for an entire A J k wm-m- IT f lkA J'Cw if f fc' 'i year. i The U. would pay UTA S400,000 and the transit company would increase busing services to and from campus. An ad hoc committee, organized last year to analyze the parking crisis and suggest alternatives to U. administrators, came up with the proposal. By 0 continued on page four Xn x If a proposal between Utah Transit Authority and the xN Chronicle photo by Boone Xayyo University of Utah is approved, all U. students, faculty and staff will be able to ride public transit free. Non-Prof- it Org. U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 1529 Salt Lake City, UT |