Opposites

For nine years, buxom, baby-voiced Mary Margaret McBride has been a gossipy midday fixture on Manhattan's station WNBC, once crowded Yankee Stadium with 45,000 of her fervid admirers. Last week, because WNBC inadvertently sold someone else 15 minutes of her show, Mary Margaret huffily announced that she would move her 17 sponsors and $500,000 in billings over to rival station WJZ.

Station WNBC, searching desperately for a replacement, found a formidable one: Eleanor Roosevelt, who will be assisted on her Monday-through-Friday chore by son Elliott. On her 45-minute show, Mrs. Roosevelt plans to interview "outstanding personalities," and discuss art, books, plays and fashions, as well as major problems facing the world. Said WNBC: "She is available for sponsorship."

How did Mary Margaret McBride feel about her new competitor? "I think she's the greatest woman in the world," gushed Mary Margaret. "I love her to death. I adore her." Did she fear she might lose listeners to Mrs. Roosevelt? Estella Karn, the McBride manager, replied firmly: "Mary Margaret's audience is Mary Margaret's audience."

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