April 8, 1999

Philip Morris Co, moving to improve sagging fortunes of its Miller Beer unit, dismisses Miller's chief executive John MacDonough as well as Jack Rooney, company's vice president for marketing, and Christopher Moore, vice president for sales, reflecting Philip Morris's deep unhappiness with series of advertising campaigns that failed to ignite consumer interest in Miller brands; MacDonough will be replaced by John D Bowlin, former Miller president and chief operating officer; Robert Mikulay and James Mortensen will head up, respectively, Miller's marketing and sales (M)

High cost of producing The Iceman Cometh on Broadway is reflected in top ticket price of $100; producer Emanuel Azenberg cites his efforts to cut costs; table of expenses; photos (M)

Fox network, in move that could help radically alter relationship between broadcast networks and their affiliated stations, is unilaterally reclaiming for itself more than 20 percent of commercial time now sold by its local affiliated stations in prime time; Lawrence Jacobson, president of Fox television network, informed network's affiliated station owners in letter dated April 6 that starting July 1 it will cut back to 70 a week from 90 a week the number of 30-second commercials available for local affiliates to sell in Fox's prime-time shows; result will be shift of estimated $50 million to $100 million a year from stations to network, which is owned by News Corp; Fox move is boldest in series of recent moves by networks to try to change their traditional relationship with affiliates (M)

School District Is Indicted The school district and an official in Austin, Tex., were accused of tampering with tests. A prosecutor defended the charges. Page A18. Fox Takes Back Ad Time The Fox network is reclaiming more than 20 percent of the commercial time now sold by its local affiliates in prime time. Page C1.

Clyde Haberman column contends that Mayor Rudolph W Giuliani missed golden opportunity when he said that police officers will be given palm cards with instructions on how to be more polite; maintains that he could have struck real blow for civility by announcing that courtesy cards would be handed out to every single New Yorker; notes that New York City Transit plans to start courtesy campaign to inform subway and bus riders that it is not nice to eat on trains, hold doors open or hog several seats (M)