People

RUKEYSER BACK ON SOME PBS STATIONS

When PBS unceremoniously canned veteran business reporter Louis Rukeyser when it revamped "Wall Street Week," however, Lou was immediately snapped up by CNBC. The cable network said he would appear in his old time slot opposite the show where he was host for three decades. Now, according to Long Island TV station WLIW, the station where the new show is being produced, at least 16 public stations have decided to opt for the new Rukeyser broadcast. Among them are important PBS outlets in New York City, Chicago, and Minneapolis-St. Paul. All this comes in the wake of a request by PBS bigwigs that local stations boycott the popular Rukeyser. By the way, if you missed Lou's opening show on CNBC, he began it in typical Rukeyser style, saying: "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted."

UPDATE ON YAHOO YODELER

On Monday we reported that yodeler Wylie Gustafson was suing Yahoo for $5 million over the continuing use of his "Ya-hoooooooooo!" that the Internet company has been using for years in its "Have you yahoo'ed today?" commercials. Gustafson claimed that he was paid less than $600 to do the recording, assuming that it would only be used once. But, it's been used so many times that the oxide is nearly rubbed off the recording tape. So he said he was suing. Now, according to the Los Angeles Times business section, the Dusty, Wash., native has changed his mind. The way the Times tells it, when Yahoo got wind of Gustafson's threat -- which made worldwide news instantly -- it dispatched a high-powered lawyer to meet with the yodeler and see what could be worked out. The meeting proved so cordial that Wylie seems to be financially satisfied and might even make public appearances for Yahoo. And, one other good thing has come from the flap, we now know who Yahoo's yodeler is.

WHAT NEXT IN THE BLAKE CASE?

It's not likely that international media will do what it did covering the Simpson trials -- tie up hundreds of valuable news people, millions of dollars of equipment and spend more than two years covering what some felt was "the trial of the century." But when former Our Gang kiddo Robert Blake goes to trial on murder charges, it could prove to be another media circus. We don't need to recount the events of the past day here. But we can report that the actor's lawyers are fighting to keep as many cameras and microphones out of the proceedings as the judge will permit. People magazine, in citing the case of one media organization's reaction to the requests for non-coverage, notes that there are certainly going to be First Amendment questions raised. At least, if there is coverage, the trial should not be as racially divisive as was the O.J. legal-fest.

NIRVANA-ITES THINK LOVE MAY BE LOONEY

Court records in Seattle show that two of the remaining members of the band Nirvana say they want Courtney Love -- once the wife of Nirvana's head man Curt Cobain -- to be tested to see how competent she is. The reason, according to lawyers for the pair, is that they think that the "Widow Love" might not be making business decisions that are not in the band's best interest. According to published reports, the big question is whether or not Love still has unreleased Nirvana material that would be worth big bucks were it released on CD. Meanwhile, a lawyer for Love totally discounts the two band members' claims that Love is looney, as least as far as having any business sense is concerned. Krist Novelselic and David Grohl are asking a Washington state judge to require that Love undergo psychiatric testing.

TNT TO PRODUCE MORE FAMILY MOVIES

Some of television's most stalwart commercial time buyers, the folks at Johnson & Johnson, say they have entered into a partnership with Turner Network Television to produce a series of "family oriented" movies during the next few years. TNT, according to the Hollywood Reporter, has signed a three-year agreement with the company to develop a series of family-friendly films. At least two major projects a year will be cranked out. The announcement was made in New York but was nearly overshadowed by 20 minutes of stand-up by Jerry Seinfeld. The TV comic was there to hawk the launch of re-runs of his popular show on TNT in the fall. By the way, the partnership between Johnson & Johnson and TNT is the outgrowth of a project started a few years ago by that company and several other advertisers to increase the amount of family entertainment in television.

KID ROCK IN ANOTHER COUNTRY COLLABORATION

Entertainer Kid Rock is no stranger to the world of country music and he's proving it again. His next country-tinged appearance will be on May 10. He's scheduled a concert for Madison Square Garden in the Big Apple. CMT says it's already sold out. The reason that Country Music Television is at all interested in the ostensibly rock-style concert is that Hank Williams Jr. is going to be the special guest. Williams will be brought on as Rock's "Rebel Son." You may remember that the trash-talking rocker has been enamored of the country music genre since his appearance on CMT's "Crossroads" program. That interesting series has been pairing traditional country stars with musicians and singers from other idioms.

UPI DAILY SURVEY QUESTION NO. 317

I have been spending an hour or so a day reciting a 25-minute speech I've written that I can't wait to deliver to Kiwanis or Rotary or American Legion. It's called "Why People Hate America." Like most speeches, the title is deceiving. It's about the fact that many people just don't understand this country because they can't conceive of a nation that has operated with the same basic blueprint (the Constitution) since the 1700s. So, in light of that, here's today's question: "How adept are you at public speaking? Ever had to give a speech? What happened?" Put SPEECH in the subject line and send to [email protected] via the Internet.

RESULTS OF QUESTION NO. 312 (MEMORY)

Last week we asked about your earliest childhood memories. Here are some of the interesting replies, picked at random: Sheli remembers "waking up in the middle of the night and coming out (of her bedroom) for a drink of water" and having a "towering uncle set me on the sink and give me a glass and then put me back down." Her mom tells her she was three at the time. Fran is among several who have memories of sitting in a huge daycare room with other toddlers at age two or three. CMor has a horrible memory in mind ... being hit by a car at age three. PO remembers a broken collarbone at age three after trying to climb from a crib. Huggiepoo has a great memory, of times as early as when she was 18 months old. Yes, Huggiepoo, but can you remember what happened yesterday? :o) LarryM had measles at age two and remembers his grandmother singing to him while he was on the mend. Nice memory. Ali remembers having chicken pox at that age. AnineQ remembers a Thanksgiving when he was three. Finally, Anne remembers an encounter with a wonderful stuffed rabbit doll when she was two ... 72 years ago. Anne, and I bet if you close your eyes you can see that toy again and return to those "golden days of yesteryear." Personally, I remember my dad repeatedly putting quarters into a PAY TV in an old hotel in downtown Washington, Penn., while we watched coverage of the first Eisenhower-Stevenson election in '52. And I remember the night Stalin died (3/5/53). The bulletin came over the radio while I was riding in the back seat of the family car on the way to a neighboring town. I remember asking my dad who Stalin was. "A very bad man," he replied. Funny how the childhood memories of a future newsman would relate to history. TOMORROW: Home plumbing disasters. GBA.