1. NBC taking the gold in viewership of the Vice-Presidential debate famed for Texas Democratic Senator Lloyd Bentsen's "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" jab at Indiana Republican colleague Dan Quayle, along with a look at the network personnel covering the event (for NBC; commentator and former Nightly News anchor John Chancellor hosted their coverage in place of Tom Brokaw, who was one of the panelists and who asked the question - the 3rd {following two others by ABC Capitol Hill correspondent Brit Hume} over what Quayle would do if Vice-President George H.W. Bush were to win and die in office, leading to Quayle's response and the Bentsen jab)
2. Knight-Ridder announces the sale of all of its TV stations (among them, then-ABC affiliate WPRI-TV 12 in Providence, RI and the CBS affiliate closest to me, Norfolk's WTKR-TV 3) as part of an attempt to relieve debt
3. A report predicting a "dazzling array" when it came to what was projected for the telecommunications industry by 2000
4. One week after NBC mega-hit "The Cosby Show" made its debut in syndication, and the results are mixed; with reruns of the Huxtables doing better on independents than on affiliates of the "Big 3" (including many affiliates using "Cosby" as a lead-in for newscasts reporting little to no change in ratings compared to previous lead-in programs)
5. After a turbulent 2-year run as the very first show on the network, FOX throws in the towel on "The Late Show" while looking to expand to a third night of programming (eventually, FOX would expand to Mondays starting the following season)
6. A look at some unfinished broadcasting business in Congress as the 100th Congress nears the end of its session before the elections (such as a bill creating a compulsory license for satellite customers receiving broadcast signals passing the House; a similar proposal being offered as an amendment to an anti-drug bill by Senator and 1988 presidential candidate Al Gore {D-TN}; an anti-porn amendment sponsored by Sen. Strom Thurmond {R-SC} being added but not expected to be adopted and a children's television-related bill being hampered by a dispute between Rep. Ed Markey {D-MA; House Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman} and Sen. Tim Wirth {D-CO; Markey's predecessor in that role before moving to the Senate})
7. Association of Independent Television Stations considers entering the telecommunications industry
8. U.S. considers the World Administrative Radio Conference, or WARC, meeting a success
9. Network daytime programming described as "glacial"; as faith in the soap opera and game-show dominated daypart remains strong despite dip in ad revenue
10. A mention of television production costs going up
11. Atlantic City cable meeting at Trump Plaza highlighted by Ted Turner officially announcing the launch of TNT; with Turner adding that NBC's recent shortfall covering the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea could open the door for the Games to move to cable and remarks from CNN "Crossfire" panelists Tom Braden and Pat Buchanan (Braden likening the outgoing Reagan administration's efforts to defend against the "sleaze factor" {in regards to recent scandals - headlined by Iran-Contra - that clouded members of the Reagan White House over the previous 2 years} to a speech on fidelity by former Sen. Gary Hart after Hart's presidential aspirations were destroyed by the Donna Rice sex scandal; while Buchanan snarked that the closest thing Massachusetts Governor and Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis had to foreign policy experience was a trip to a local IHOP)
12. GE Americom and Alascom reach agreement to launch two new satellites
13. Wireless Cable Association holds meeting in Washington
14. Highlights of Arbitron's summer ratings books (top spots in New York and Los Angeles unchanged while WGN-AM 720 returns to #1 in Chicago)
15. Plans announced for a new version of "The War of the Worlds" to air on October 30 on public radio in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the original Orson Welles broadcast
16. Record turnout expected for upcoming MIPCOM (Marché International des Programmes de Communication) in Cannes, France
17. Broadcasters viewing co-productions with overseas partners as increasingly attractive option
18. Heavy hitters in broadcast world, such as MPAA chief Jack Valenti and FCC Chairman Dennis Patrick, attend meeting with USSR counterparts in Moscow
19. Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers seek to highlight HDTV
20. Pappas Telecasting's plans to buy KOKH-TV 25; the only commercial independent in Oklahoma City, OK (as part of a complex deal where KOKH would acquire the programming of FOX affiliate KAUT-TV 43 and KGMC-TV 34 as well as KAUT's FOX affiliation while Seraphim Media donating KGMC's license and assets to the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority for $1 million; upon which KGMC would become a PBS station and KAUT's owner, Heritage Media (through the Rollins Corporation subsidiary), would sell that station to a religious broadcaster), run into opposition by the National Black Media Coalition; which cited a rule that stations facing license revocation can be sold to a minority or female-led group at 75% of its market value (KGMC was under investigation due to the improper transfer of disgraced corporate raider Ivan Boesky transferring control of the station to his wife before entering prison on insider trading charges. Meanwhile, OETA had earlier reported that it was having trouble raising funds to run the stations they already had, causing Gov. Henry Bellmon to argue that if OETA added a second Oklahoma City station, they would be constantly asking for additional funds) (the KGMC proposal fell apart, with Seraphim instead selling the station to Cleveland-based Maddox Broadcasting; which turned into a mostly-religious station that also carried Home Shopping Network programming. OETA then planned to flip KAUT to their second non-commercial affiliate, only for stipulations passed by the state legislature in an appropriations bill for OETA for fiscal year 1990 prohibiting state funds for an additional Oklahoma City station or any additional funding if OETA was unable to gain sufficient private funds. KOKH's owner, Busse Broadcast Communications {connected to George Gillett of SCI Television} eventually called the whole thing off on February 3, 1989. Ultimately, a similar offer was worked out in 1991 where Heritage Media acquired KOKH in a deal that resulted in the KAUT assets and license moving to OETA, with a 2-year option to acquire the remaining assets for $1.5 million. The deal was approved and Heritage officially took over KOKH on August 15, 1991; with that station becoming Oklahoma City's new FOX affiliate)
21. Letters exchanged on issue of VideoCipher II-Plus consumer friendliness between General Instrument's Lawrence Dunham (vice-president of VideoCipher division) and Senator Gore
22. Interview with Home Shopping Network president Lowell "Bud" Paxson

Other stories of interest include: U.S. Radio Networks (a group whose ownership included Dick Clark) nearing an acquisition deal with StarGroup to buy a 20% stake in the latter; CBS - which had initially planned to save 13 episodes of the dramedy "Frank's Place" (which had debuted the previous year; reuniting former "WKRP in Cincinnati" star Tim Reid and that series' creator, Hugh Wilson; with Reid co-starring alongside real-life wife Daphne Maxwell Reid) for mid-season - deciding instead to cancel the series (according to Reid, former CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite - who was on the network's board - told him that the cancellation owed to an episode titled "The King of Wall Street" that angered CBS chairman Laurence Tisch due to the use of junk bonds - which Tisch used to buy CBS - being condemned); Group W (Westinghouse) setting aside $1 million to invest in high-definition television; Columbia Pictures enters partnership with television producer Ed. Weinberger (producer of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show"; "The Cosby Show"; "Amen" {with Carson Productions} and "Dear John" {with Paramount}) in which they would help finance Weinberger's own company, coming a week after Columbia hired Hugh Wilson (late of the recently-canceled "Frank's Place") to develop programs for them; Disney naming Robert Jacquemen to run the newly-created Buena Vista Television division; Rep. Tom Tauke (R {IA-2}) introducing the Television Self-Regulation Act enabling the creation of an industry code on programming practices while lifting antitrust requirements; Warner Communications files appeal to ruling preventing its acquisition of Lorimar Productions; CNN announcing the launch of another political discussion show, "Capital Gang" and a report on the previous Friday's last day on-air for WNBC-AM 660 before it flipped to all-sports WFAN-AM 660.

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