One of Maariv’s senior editors, Yosef (Tommy) Lapid, was elected by the Broadcasting Authority Plenary as the Authority’s new director general, taking over from Yitzhak Livni. Lapid, 48, born in Yugoslavia, was the Likud and National Religious Party choice for the post. He was reportedly favored for the post by Premier Menachem Begin, and by Education Minister Zevulun Hammer, who will now submit the election for formal Cabinet approval. There have long been complaints within the Likud and NRP of a “leftist” bias among television and radio staff, and Lapid’s appointment is apparently seen as a means of “correcting the imbalance.” Some Likud members even talk of a “left-wing Mafia” having ostensibly taken overwhelming control of the news and current affairs departments of the State-run electronic media.
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