
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 2, 1990                   TAG: 9003023438
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/2   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                 LENGTH: Medium

CBS RETURNS ROONEY TO `60 MINUTES' LINEUP

Andy Rooney is bringing his weekly gripe session back to "60 Minutes" on Sunday after CBS lifted his suspension early with the blessing of the NAACP.

"I'm very pleased," Rooney said Thursday after CBS News president David Burke reinstated the 71-year-old humorist, whose curmudgeonly commentary has been a show-ending "60 Minutes" feature since 1978.

Burke on Feb. 8 had suspended Rooney for three months without pay after The Advocate, a gay magazine, quoted him as saying that blacks had "watered down their genes" - a remark Rooney denied making.

On Thursday, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said it believed Rooney was misquoted, didn't object to his return to work and considered the matter closed, spokesman James Williams said.

Rooney also had drawn fire from homosexuals for a Dec. 28 CBS special in which he cited "homosexual unions" as among things that cause "self-induced" death, and for a letter to The Advocate in which he said he found male homosexual acts "repugnant."

Burke said of the suspension, "Painful though these events have been, we have all learned a great deal about how sensitive and fragile our society is - how thoughts and words can be misunderstood."

He said Rooney "has consistently stated publicly that he is not a man who holds prejudice in his heart and mind toward any group in our society. Those of us who know him and work with him know two things - first, that is true, and second, it is time that Andy returned to his proper place on `60 Minutes.' "

Rooney, who said he would address the uproar Sunday on "60 Minutes," said it had sensitized him to some of the problems faced by homosexuals.

In a statement, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation complained that Rooney "has yet to make amends with the gay and lesbian community regarding the series of homophobic comments he made in the last few months."

During his three weeks away from "60 Minutes," the program, while still top-rated, has slipped in the ratings, dropping to 18th last Sunday, when it was beaten by a special rerun of ABC's hit "America's Funniest Home Videos."

by CNB