NBC plans TV program with nuclear-terror realism

By Compiled From Wire Service Dispatches With Analysis Around The World; Edited By Linda Feldmann

March 17, 1983

New York

Dial switchers beware! In an effort to boost ratings, NBC plans to broadcast a mock emergency that depicts nuclear terrorists threatening to vaporize Charleston, S.C. The program is called ''Special Bulletin,'' and it will air Sunday, March 20, from 9 to 11 p.m. Eastern standard time.

Thanks to plenty of advance publicity and the fact that real news anchors are familiar to most Americans, the panic that followed the radio broadcast of ''War of the Worlds'' 44 years ago is not likely to be repeated.