Commentary : FOLLOWING THE BOUNCING NEWS AT CHANNEL 2

Even Los Angeles--where trendiness is an industry as well as a way of life--wasn’t ready for what KCBS-TV Channel 2 did to broadcast journalism three weeks ago.

Neither, as recent events make clear, were the top executives of CBS Inc.

They moved with unusual speed Monday to begin dismantling one of the great fiascos of American broadcasting--Channel 2’s unusualnew late-afternoon and early-evening news format that sandwiched tidbits of news among a smorgasbord of 20-minute health, life style, interview and entertainment features.

According to A.C. Nielsen Co. ratings figures, only one in 10 Los Angeles-area viewers spends the late afternoon and early evening watching what KCBS last month dubbed “the next generation of local news.”

The station’s new format debuted on Sept. 15 as part of an effort to boost the nationalratings of the “CBS Evening News With Dan Rather” as well as the sagging local ratings.

But the competition has not considered the new format a serious threat. “Not for a moment, from the day it was announced,” said KNBC-TV General Manager John Rohrbeck.

Ousted Monday were two champions of the new format: CBS Television Stations division President Neil Derrough and KCBS General Manager Frank Gardner. Named to replace Gardner was Tom Van Amburg, the former general manager of KABC-TV Channel 7.

Historically, Channel 2 was the news leader in Los Angeles, but its premier position was eroded in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s with the rise of KABC News’ “happy talk.” Channel 2 held a No. 2 position in the market but has recently lost it to KNBC.

Since Channel 2 introduced its new format three weeks ago, the station’s news shows have experienced a small, but noticeable falloff in its share of the local audience. At the same time, the two other network-owned stations--KNBC and KABC--have increased their shares. KCBS has dropped a full percentage point in its share of the local audience while KNBC has picked up a point and KABC has picked up two points. (A share point is a percentage of homes watching television at a given moment.)

Rather’s newscast, which moved to 6:30 p.m. from its 7 p.m. time-slot, has held its own through the period, but remained four to five share points behind the “NBC Nightly News With Tom Brokaw,” which also airs at 6:30 p.m.

Significantly, ABC’s “World News Tonight With Peter Jennings,” which remains in the traditional 7 p.m. time-slot, has experienced a tremendous increase in audience since the KCBS changes. Local Nielsen figures show that it has jumped from a 12% share of the audience to 15% in the three weeks since Rather’s newscast moved to 6:30.

The official word from CBS and Channel 2 is that Van Amburg will decide on the future of the new format sometime after he takes over next Monday. The unofficial word, however, is that the “next generation” of television news may not last out the month.

One KCBS staff member noted that no matter what the problem is with the local news, “once you’ve put the train on the track, it’s hard to turn it around. . . . My guess is that Van Amburg didn’t get a trunk full of cash to make the change.”

A quick recap of the events leading up to Monday’s resignations and Van Amburg’s appointment:

--May 28: Faced with new ratings inroads from the “NBC Nightly News,” CBS and Channel 2 announce they’ll move the “CBS Evening News” to 6:30 p.m., putting the seesawing No. 1 and No. 2 national news shows in head-to-head competition in Los Angeles, the country’s second largest TV market.

--July 25: CBS announces it will cancel the “CBS Morning News” and replace it in January with a more entertainment-oriented morning program.

--Aug. 5: Veteran KCBS news anchor Jess Marlow quits over a pay dispute and says that he is unhappy about a proposed new format at the station. In a subsequent interview, he says the new format reflects new “priorities” at the station. “I can’t imagine why the new format would hold great appeal for a reporter working inside,” Marlow says.

--Aug. 12: KCBS unveils the plans for the “next generation of local news.” News Director Eric Sorenson says the new format is an effort to put “news into logical sections, like a newspaper does.” Industry observers speculate that the new Channel 2 format, along with a similar new format at WCBS-TV in New York, may be tryouts for CBS’ new network morning show.

--Sept. 10: In New York, a dramatic contest for control of CBS Inc. ends with Laurence A. Tisch and William S. Paley wresting the company from former Chairman and President Thomas Wyman, who resigns. The next day, Wyman ally Van Gordon Sauter, president of CBS News and former general manager of KCBS, is ousted. CBS veterans see the changeover as a sign that serious news reporting may receive a new lease on life.

--Sept. 15: The new Channel 2 news debuts to near-universal critical scorn. Sports anchor Jim Hill goes on “vacation” (from which he has yet to return). Dan Rather spends the week in Los Angeles doing his evening news broadcast from the West in an effort to call more attention to Channel 2’s new format.

--Sept. 29: Ratings for the previous week show that KCBS was standing still as both KNBC and KABC were improving. KABC led all of the network-owned stations with 20% of the afternoon audience. CBS stations division President Derrough meets in Los Angeles with local executives during the week. He returns to New York and tells brass there that the new format needs time to catch on.

--Oct. 6: Time starts to run out. CBS/Broadcast Group Executive Vice President Neal Pilson accepts Derrough’s resignation in New York in the morning and catches a plane to Los Angeles. Pilson takes Gardner’s resignation in the afternoon and that night names Van Amburg as general manager.

In a year that has seen major upheavals at all three networks, including the purchases of ABC and NBC and attempted takeovers of CBS, the swift rise and fall of KCBS’ news format remains a curious footnote.

KCBS’ official statement on the events said that Van Amburg will take “the necessary steps to retrieve” Channel 2’s traditional position among Los Angeles stations.