Top Stories Of 1993 p. 3

By: Editorial Staff

Associated Press editors select Midwest flooding
as the biggest U.S. story; AP and Reuters editors
pick Mideast peace as the biggest international story sp.

THE BIGGEST U.S. story of 1993 fell from the heavens, poured into rivers and gushed over their banks, spreading death and destruction across the lowlands of nine Midwest states, according to the Associated Press' annual survey of editors.
The next biggest story was the drama and tragedy at fundamentalist Christian leader David Koresh's Ranch Apocalypse outside Waco, Texas. The 51-day armed standoff ended in a real-life apocalypse, a fiery death for more than 80 believers.
The third-biggest story, according to the survey of 300 U.S. news executives, was the trial by fire of Bill Clinton's young presidency.
Editors polled gave 10 points to the biggest story, nine to the second-biggest and so on. The flood got 2,026 points; Koresh, 1,734; Clinton, 1,732.
Fourth in line was the World Trade Center bombing in New York City, 1,289 points; fifth, the troubled U.S.-led U.N. humanitarian mission to Somalia, 1,174; sixth, the historic peace agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, 1,169; seventh, the North American Free Trade Agreement, 986; eighth, health care reform, 903; ninth, Russian turmoil on the road to reform, 715; and 10th, ethnic war in Bosnia, 615.
The biggest international story by far was the Israeli-PLO peace accord, according to AP's polling of newspaper, radio and TV news editors from 44 other nations.
The runner-up was the Russian coup attempt, followed by third, ethnic war in the former Yugoslavia; fourth, transition to black enfranchisement in South Africa; fifth, European unification; sixth, Somalia; seventh, Italian government-business corruption; eighth, the World Trade Center bombing; ninth, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; and 10th, Clinton's first year.
Reuters editors in the United States and throughout the world took a more international view. Both groups agreed on the top three stories of 1993, led by the historic peace pact between Israel and the PLO. The deal promises to end a bloody feud that has festered, spreading terrorism, death and fear throughout the world, since Israel was formed in 1948. Runner-up was the failed coup in Russia followed by the U.S.-led U.N. force in Somalia.
From fourth on, Reuters U.S. and foreign editors disagreed.
The U.S. group listed the Midwest floods, fourth; trade issues, fifth; the World Trade Center bombing, sixth; the business battle over the future of information, seventh; singer Michael Jackson's child-sex scandal, eighth; Koresh, ninth; basketball star Michael Jordan's retirement, 10th.
Reuters' international editors rated South African power sharing, fourth; war in the former Yugoslavia, fifth; trade issues, sixth; the World Trade Center bombing, seventh; Michael Jackson, eighth; Indian earthquake, ninth; and British royalty, 10th.
United Press International's poll of 55 UPI editors and subscribers rated the Mideast peace agreement as the top story, followed by NAFTA, Russian turmoil, Bosnian conflict, U.S. floods, Somalian peacekeeping, ending South African apartheid, Koresh, World Trade Center bombing and Clinton's young administration.