Jim Hill Takes a ‘Vacation’ From Next Generation

What’s new at Channel 2? Just about everything--a new set, a new format for local news and the disappearance of Jim Hill.

Hill hasn’t been on since Channel 2 went to its controversial format Sept. 15.

Hill, not pleased with the new format, is technically on vacation. It is an unplanned vacation, however, and he may not be back.

“The Next Generation of Local News” is what the station calls its approach. To sports fans, it’s the next degeneration.

Sports used to get five or more minutes on the 5 and 6 p.m. programs. Now sports gets 2 minutes, tops, during the 4 o’clock news, 2 1/2 at 5, and 4 minutes during the half-hour 6 o’clock show.

Under the new 4-to-6:30 format, which has done nothing to improve Channel 2’s standing as Los Angeles’ third-rated news station, there is plenty of time for fluff and stuff but little time for sports.

“I’m concerned, and I’ve expressed my concerns,” Hill said.

Hill has been at Channel 2 for 10 years. Asked if he’ll return as long as things remain the same, he said: “I don’t know. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. For now, I’m on vacation.”

Hill talked with station management Thursday, and it was agreed that he would take at least one more week of vacation.

“Anyone who knows me knows I love to work and I love my job and knows I would rather be working now,” he said. “Normally, I would not be on vacation at this time when there are so many things happening in sports.”

Hill learned about the sports cutback at Channel 2 a couple of months ago and expressed his disapproval then. Hill also refused to take part in dress rehearsals the week before the change.

That and the sudden vacation are Hill’s way of protesting. “I wouldn’t call it a protest,” Hill said. “I’m not the type of person who would carry a sign in front of the station.”

Frank Gardner, the station’s general manager, and Erik Sorenson, the news director, were not available for comment, but station spokeswoman Andi Sporkin said:

“Jim had been working seven-day weeks for months and had vacation time coming. We expect him back. We like his work and we think he likes us.

“If you add up the time now devoted to sports during our evening news block, there isn’t much difference (10 minutes-plus before, 8 1/2 minutes now). There is a sports segment on the 4 o’clock news, while under the old format the half-hour 4:30 news had no sports.”

What particularly bothers Hill are the restrictions on the 4 and 5 o’clock sports segments. “Los Angeles is the sports capital of the world,” he said. “You can’t do justice to sports in this town in two minutes.”

Sporkin said: “The audience for the 4 and 5 o’clock shows is not sports-minded.”

The station believes that most working men are not home for those shows and that the audience for each is made up mainly of women. Meanwhile, Hill’s agent, Ed Hookstratten, is trying to get Channel 2 to change that thinking. He has met with Neal Pilson, who oversees the CBS network sports department, and today is scheduled to meet with Neil Derrough, president of the CBS stations division.

“I’m in agreement with Jim that the new format is incompatible with his style,” Hookstratten said.

For now, Tony Hernandez is handling the weeknight sports, and Dave Lopez is doing the weekend reports.

Whether Hill returns apparently depends on whether station management realizes that there’s just no way more people are interested in, say, how many trees there are in Riverside than are interested in what’s happening on the busy L.A. sports scene.

It was only last June that Stu Nahan and Channel 4 parted company. Now it could be Hill and Channel 2.

No. 1 vs. No. 2: It’s because of a little luck and a little foresight that CBS, and not ABC, will televise the Oklahoma-Miami game Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

In January 1985, at the NCAA convention in Nashville, Tenn., CBS and the University of Miami made an unusual television pact. Normally, networks don’t deal with individual schools.

But Miami, a member of the College Football Assn., which has a deal with ABC, decided to make its own TV deal. It helped that at the time Miami quarterback Bernie Kosar was expected back.

CBS agreed to pay $2.2 million to Miami to televise four games during the 1985 and ’86 seasons.

But in the spring of 1985, Kosar, who had graduated early, gave up his fourth year of athletic eligibility and signed with the Cleveland Browns. Suddenly, CBS’ deal with Miami didn’t look so good.

Now, with possibly the game of the year in hand, the deal again looks like a sweet one.

“We were aware of the Oklahoma-Miami game 20 months ago when we made the deal,” said Len DeLuca, CBS’ director of program planning for college sports. “Kosar and this game being on the 1986 schedule were two selling points. We lost out on one point but sure made up for it with the other.”

CBS, which televised Miami’s games against Maryland and Notre Dame last season, will also televise the Miami-Florida State game Nov. 1.

Broadcast Notes Besides the Oklahoma-Miami game on CBS, other top college games on TV Saturday are Purdue-Notre Dame on ABC at noon, Washington-USC on WTBS at 4 p.m. and Cal State Long Beach-UCLA on Prime Ticket at 7 p.m. The Florida State-Michigan game will be televised to much of the nation by WTBS Saturday, but the regional game in this area at 9:30 a.m. is Tulane vs. Mississippi. Figure that one! . . . The kickoff for UCLA’s game against Arizona State at the Rose Bowl Oct. 4 is now 11:41 a.m., since CBS will televise the game. TV coverage will begin at 11:30. . . . Channel 5 has announced that Norm Nixon will serve as the commentator on Clipper telecasts this season while he is recuperating from his knee injury. He will work with former ABC sportscaster Dave Diles. Might Nixon let the fact that he’s under contract to the Clippers keep him from making objective, critical comments? Nah. . . . Word is that the Clippers recommended Cheryl Miller for the commentator’s job, but Channel 5 nixed that idea because of her lack of experience. Someone else will have to be hired, though, since Nixon is expected back on the court before the end of the season. The first Clipper telecast is Oct. 31 from Sacramento.

Pay-cable services HBO and Showtime offer live boxing shows the next two nights. In a doubleheader tonight at 6 on HBO, Livingstone Bramble will defend his World Boxing Assn. lightweight title against Edwin Rosario, former World Boxing Council champion, and undefeated Hector (Macho) Camacho, the reigning WBC lightweight champion, will defend his title against the WBA’s second-ranked contender, Cornelius Boza-Edwards. Saturday night, Showtime will have Donald Curry (25-0, 20 knockouts) fighting Lloyd Honeyghan (27-0, 17 KOs) in a welterweight title fight. The undercard from Atlantic City, N.J., will start at 6 p.m., the main event at 7. . . . The Curry-Honeyghan fight is Showtime’s third boxing show. Showtime broke into boxing with a tape of the Marvin Hagler-John Mugabi fight last March, then in June televised a tripleheader at East Rutherford, N.J. The tripleheader featured Bernardo Pinango’s win over Gaby Canizales. With HBO heavily committed to the heavyweight division--tonight’s HBO card is an exception--Showtime saw an opening and took it, making a deal with promoter Bob Arum to supply periodic fights. “We think the best fighters are not in the heavyweight division,” said Allen Sabinson, senior vice president of programming for Showtime. “We hope to offer another major fight in late October or early November.”

Racing will return to Santa Anita Wednesday, and so will the track’s radio station, KWIN, which made its debut last season. The low-powered station can be heard only at the track. Mike Willman is back as coordinator of the broadcasts. As a promotion, Santa Anita will give away free radios with belt clips and headsets to the first 40,000 fans on opening day. . . . “Racing at Oak Tree” will begin on Channel 56 Monday night at 7:30. . . . Ratings game: The USC-Baylor game drew an L.A. Nielsen rating of 6.4 Saturday. the Angel-Chicago White Sox and Notre Dame-Michigan State games each drew a 6.0. Sunday, the Rams and the Indianapolis Colts drew a 17.8, the Houston Oilers and the Kansas City Chiefs a 13.4. The Monday night game between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers had an impressive 22.6 L.A. rating.