In newspaper jargon, the money woes of United Press International are what is known as a running story. Stained by red ink for two decades, the nation's second-largest wire service (800 client newspapers and 3,300 broadcast stations, vs. 1,260 papers and 5,700 stations for the Associated Press) was sold to a group of investors in 1982 for $1. Despite wage and staff cutbacks, U.P.I. remained in delicate health; as payroll checks began bouncing in March, Owners Douglas Ruhe and William Geissler agreed to surrender most of their shares to the company's creditors and employees. Even that drastic move was not enough....
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