Bell Features and Personnel move to United
[originally printed in Editor & Publisher, January 8 1972]
United Feature Syndicate has taken over a substantial part of NANA and Bell-McClure Syndicate features as of January 1, with a number of key employes also being hired by United.
William C. Payette, president and general manager of UFS, announced that Sidney Goldberg, president of NANA and its affiliate Bell-McClure, has joined the Scripps-Howard syndicate with the title of general executive. Goldberg, former NANA editor, has been president of the NANA-Bell-McClure operations since last February.
NANA and Bell-McClure are owned by Good Reading Corporation, and the move of the acquired features operations to UFS offices at 220 East 42nd Street is expected to be completed by the middle of the month.
Jack Anderson’s Washington column, published in more than 700 dailies, is among UFS acquisitions, as are columnists Bill Vaughan, Marya Mannes, Sidney Margolius, Ernest Cuneo; Sheilah Graham and Harry Golden; the editorial cartoons of Art Poinier, TV Time, NANA and Women’s News Service, and comics “Hizzonor” by Bill Feld, “Funland” by Art Nugent, “Life’s Like That” by Fred Neher, and “Little No-No and Sniffy” by George Fett.
Al Hoff, NANA-Bell-McClure treasurer, has joined the United Feature staff as well as Sheldon Engelmayer, an editor of NANA, who will continue in the same function. Bell-McClure editor Martin Linehan and Donald Laspaluto, sales, are among others making the move to UFS.
[Allan’s note: Bell-McClure’s few remaining comics evidently weren’t of primary interest to United, as the copyright slugs didn’t change until March-April of 1972. TV Laffs, not even worth a mention in this article, also made the transition to United.]