Local News Outlets Getting All Shook Up Over Elvis Series

The news departments at KABC-TV Channel 7 and KNBC-TV Channel 4 are not only feuding as usual over who’s tops, but, as the May sweeps wrapped up Wednesday, the two rivals were debating on the air whether Elvis Presley is alive or dead.

In a last-ditch effort to salvage what Nielsen ratings indicate could be its worst sweeps showing in a long time, Channel 7’s “Eyewitness News” saturated its last several days of newscasts with a preposterous series of special reports on people who swear Presley faked his death and is still alive. (The reports did not include an interview with Priscilla Presley, though the station did make a big deal out of its exclusive interview with her during the February sweeps when the miniseries “Elvis and Me” aired on ABC.)

Hungry for its first significant ratings victory over KABC in recent memory--the final Nielsen numbers for May are to be released today--KNBC countered by accusing Channel 7 of having “no more journalistic integrity than the National Enquirer” and running 10-second spots saying: “No matter what anyone tells you, Elvis is still dead. If you want real news, watch Channel 4.”

This swipe at Channel 7 failed to point out, however, that the “real news” on Channel 4 this month included a report on UFOs, timed to coincide with the NBC outer-space miniseries “Something Is Out There,” and the station’s resident doctor/reporter, Bruce Henzel, doing a sweeps profile on himself, which showed him at work and mugging for the camera in a hospital emergency room.

Also this week, while Channel 4 money editor Doug Kriegel went in search of the “best burgers” in town, Channel 7 sent its food critic, Elmer Dills, in search of the exact same thing.

In the final May Arbitron ratings released Wednesday, KABC with Elvis and burgers beat KNBC’s UFOs and burgers during every local news time period.