Business & Economy

Inventor and the man called "the greatest marketer/salesman of the television era," Ron Popeil. He's sold everything from the Veg-O-Matic to the Pocket Fisherman on television, amassing over one billion dollars in sales. He's written a new book about how he did it, Ron Popeil: The Salesman of the Century, (Delacorte Press, with Jefferson Graham).

Jerry Yang is co-founder of Yahoo, a directory to the World Wide Web. Yahoo has an on-line site, as well as a companion book. Yahoo is one of the most popular sites on the Web. Users can access Yahoo, once in the Web at http://www.yahoo.com. Their new book is Yahoo! Unplugged (IDG books).

Writer Joe Kane talks about his new book Savages (Knopf 1995) It’s his first hand account on the confrontations between Amazonian warriors and multi-national oil companies, environmentalists and missionaries. Kane writes about the Huaorani tribe’s fight for its culture and environment. Kane’s earlier book Running the Amazon was a 1989 New York Times best-seller. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane).

International investor and philanthropist George Soros and one of the world's wealthiest men. He's been called the "world's greatest investor." As head of the Soros Foundation, (a philanthropic organization) he's given away millions internationally, funding such things as a water-treatment plant for Sarajevo, low-income housing units for South Africa's urban townships, and a University for Central Europe in Budapest.

Veteran journalist Ben H. Bagdikian discusses the recent buyout offers for ABC & CBS. Bagdikian's book The Media Monopoly (Beacon Press 1983) examines the influence corporate ownership has on programming. Bagdikian newest book Double Vision, (Beacon 1995) is his personal memoir. He has been a Washington bureau chief and foreign correspondent for the Providence Journal, an assistant managing editor for the Washington Post and a dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Investigations Editor for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel Fred Schulte. He has received many awards for consumer-oriented journalism including the George Polk award for exposing patient abuses in health maintenance organization. Schulte's new book Fleeced (Prometheus), looks into telemarketing rip-offs and how to avoid them. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Union leader Anthony Mazzocchi. He has been President of OCAW (Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union) Local 8-149; Vice-President of the Nassau-Suffolk CIO Council; and he was active in the legislative struggles of the 1960's and 1970's, including a key role in the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). Mazzocchi's present position is Presidential Assistant of OCAW.

Journalist Ken Auletta wrote the book Three Blind Mice: How the TV Networks Lost Their Way (Random House), and is currently a writer for the New Yorker. He will talk about the new telecommunications bill which the Senate just approved.

Architecture and Design Critic Thomas Hine has written a new book, The Total Package: The Evolution and Secret Meanings of Boxes, Bottles, Cans and Tubes. He explores the effect packages have on consumer emotions and purchases.

Dr. Thomas J. Moore is Senior Fellow at George Washington's Center for Health Policy Research and author of the new book, Deadly Medicine: Why Tens of Thousands of Heart Patients died in America's Worst Drug Disaster. He tells the story of a certain line of drugs that prevented irregular heartbeats but were consequently shown to be dangerous and even fatal. Yet the drug remained on the market due in large part to the giant pharmaceuticals power over the FDA.

Ed Gillespie, co-editor of the book The Contract With America and policy and communications director of the House Republican Conference. He believes the welfare reforms outlined in the Republican agenda are accurate assessments of what is needed to correct the current welfare system.

Robert Rector is a policy analyst at the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation. He is credited wiith being the driving force behind the rightward swing of the newest GOP welfare reform. He believes the welfare system creates illegitimacy, and that, "the more you spend [on welfare] the more clientele for the programs you create." He also believes to bring people out of their "behavioral poverty," they need to work for their assistance.

William Greider is a political reporter for Rolling Stone Magazine. His most recent contribution is titled, "Why the Rich Get Richer." Greider speaks with Terry about his most recent article, the status of our economy, and the just announced interest rate hike. Greider is also author of two best-selling books "Secrets of the Temple" and "Who Will Tell the People: the Betrayal of American Democracy."

Steven Levy is an expert on computer technology, a Fellow of the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center in New York, and a columnist for the magazine "Macworld." His new book is "Insanely Great: The Life and Times of Macintosh, the Computer that Changed Everything."

Commentator Gerald Early reflects on the black middle class, which he says doesn't enjoy the same benefits of its white counterpart.

Tonight, PBS debuts the documentary series, "America's War on Poverty: Untold Stories from the Front Line." The five-part series examines President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty, which he declared during his State of the Union Address in January 1964. It included programs like Head Start, and Job Corps. Terry will talk with Executive Producer Henry Hampton and journalist and consultant Nicholas Lemann.

Journalist Steven Levy, author of "Hackers," is one of the premiere writers on technology. He writes The Iconoclast column for "Mac World" magazine, and is a contributor to "Wired," "The New Yorker," and the "New York Times Magazine." He talks with Terry today about e-money — the electronic currency of the future. Levy has an article in the December issue of "Wired" about the computerization of money.

Writer and former "New York Times" advertising columnist Randall Rothenberg's new book is "Where the Suckers Moon." He follows Subaru's ad campaign from start to finish, from choosing a new ad agency to the finished commercial's debut during the Superbowl.

Twenty-five years ago, most of the middle class wasn't involved in Wall Street affairs, and investments were for the rich. Now that's changed, in what financial journalist Joseph Nocera calls "a money revolution." Nocera has written "A Piece of the Action: How the Middle Class Joined the Money Class." The book explores how the middle class became involved in the stock market, largely, he says, through the rise of credit cards, mutual funds, and discount brokerage houses.

The former television executive has written a memoir called "Tinker in Television." He was co-founder of the production company MTM Enterprises with his then wife Mary Tyler Moore. He left MTM at the peak of its success to become the chairman of NBC, and made it the top-rated network, with shows like "Cheers," "The Cosby Show," and "St. Elsewhere."