Time for TV to make it or break it
 |
|
||||||||||
Sweeps month has arrived. Early signs:
1. Killer plants threaten Washington.
2. Killer dogs threaten Washington.
3. Killer viaducts threaten Washington.
4. KING-TV investigative reporter Duane Pohlman re-emerges onscreen.
5. Mary K. Letourneau taints the minds of impressionable adolescents - again. Ah, the rituals of spring. No plowshares turning the soil can rival Seattle stations digging for news to lift ratings and impress advertisers during sweeps.
Sometimes, viewers even get the benefit of interesting stories. KCPQ-TV kicked off last Friday with a great piece on bone banks, which operate in a similar fashion to organ-donor programs.
And KING-TV's reporting on the suspect Alaskan Way Viaduct was a model of dogged research and healthy skepticism - enough so, I'm staying away from that thing. Let's just hope our politicians were smart enough to hustle whatever post-earthquake FEMA money they could get for reconstruction.
On the other hand, local news also exhibits a screaming lack of proportion this time of year. The goofy tale of Letourneau's name popping up as prankster fodder on a 10th-grade WASL test was treated with all the spurious earnestness of Robert Downey Jr. recognizing a higher power. Lighten up, people.
Which brings us to another aspect of sweeps: No matter how good or outrageous a local station's newscast may be, a lot of ratings juice is supplied by the network or syndicated programming that surrounds it.
That's why no one should mourn the relapsed Downey's firing from "Ally McBeal" more than KCPQ, whose 10 p.m. news follows the Fox show on Monday nights. Minus Downey, "Ally" will probably return to its former dullness, delivering less kick to KCPQ.
Granted, the real impact won't be felt until fall, and fall may not matter if the Writers Guild of America begins its strike this week and actors subsequently join the picket line. Bye-bye, dramas and comedies; hello, game shows, old movies and newsmagazines.
What will unemployed actors do? They could take a page from Andrea Thompson, former "NYPD Blue" star, Internet centerfold and putative CNN hire.
Thompson, 41, left "Blue" a year ago and joined a station in Albuquerque, N.M., to learn news reporting. CNN's decision to have her anchor its Headline News cable channel and develop national stories was a pretty quick promotion, as any TV reporter will tell you.
Some have criticized Thompson's hire because she has an 11th-grade education. So what? Last we heard, ABC News anchor Peter Jennings was a high-school dropout.
Then again, Jennings' résumé probably doesn't include appearances in "Baywatch," "Silk Stalkings," "Arli$$" and the body-baring Italian film "Manhattan Gigolo."
As for harm to CNN's vaunted rep, keep in mind Headline News is pretty much a script-and-read operation. An actor could probably handle it - even Thompson, who apparently still has a lot to learn.
"I saw her tape," said KCPQ news director Todd Mokhtari. And? "I thought Albuquerque was a good market for her."
The outcry over actors like Thompson or Candice Bergen stepping into the role of journalists isn't always matched when the roles are reversed.
Now joining big network news stars who have made appearances on film or television will be a roster of KOMO news staffers, including Dan Lewis, Margo Myers, Steve Pool, Theron Zahn, Tracy Vedder, John Sharify, Gary Lindsey, Michelle Esteban and Natasha Smith.
The gigs were offered during local filming of the Angelina Jolie-Ed Burns picture "Life, or Something Like It," which includes scenes shot at KOMO, depicted as "KQMO" in the flick.
According to KOMO spokeswoman Maria Collins, the station's staffers portray news reporters.
Truth is, there are more similarities between TV reporters and actors these days than the former would like to admit. Foremost is the emphasis on looks - as demonstrated by Thompson's hire and the recent suspension of another Albuquerque news anchor, Cindy Hernandez.
The general manager of KOB-TV booted Hernandez off the air for two days after she violated a clause in her contract promising not to change her appearance without consulting him.
Hernandez's crime: She cut her hair from shoulder- to chin-length.
Seattle stations vary in policy. Most require a similar clause in contracts with on-air personnel, but seldom invoke it and probably not for what Hernandez did.
"It's really common sense," said Adrienne Laurent, assistant news director at KOMO. "Mainly, stations want a conservative, consistent appearance and nothing that distracts viewers from the credibility of the news content."
The Hernandez fuss is reminiscent of the reaction when actress Keri Russell, star of The WB's "Felicity," shed her famous long locks without telling network honchos.
According to the weekly Albuquerque Journal, a local radio station conducted a poll on Hernandez's haircut. One caller said she looked like Mr. Spock; another said she could shave her head and still look great.
Hernandez, like Russell, has agreed to let her hair grow back.
Kay McFadden may be reached at 206-382-8888 or at kmcfadden@seattletimes.com.