The Flap Over an ABC Flip-Flop

Sometimes, the goings-on at network television get curiouser and curiouser.

Consider the case of David Hartman’s documentary “Early Warning.” Its tortuous route into the nation’s TV homes--along with who’s getting it there and how the public’s finding out about it--makes for one of the more unusual TV tales of 1988.

First ABC wanted the former “Good Morning America” host to make a documentary for the network on the American defense establishment. And in these times of all-around cost-cutting in the television business, ABC even paid most of the costs for the special.

So Hartman delivered the program this spring--only to be told then by ABC that the documentary wouldn’t be airing because of “internal policies . . . which severely limit our ability to broadcast third party-produced documentaries, no matter how substantial their qualities.”

It turned out that while Hartman was making his program, ABC’s news division was preparing its own special on the Pentagon, “The Business of Defense: Flaws in the Shield,” which aired Dec. 1.

So what happens? ABC gave Hartman permission to cut a deal with someone else. And now Hartman’s “Early Warning” will be broadcast Jan. 14 by the Fox Broadcasting Co.

And, of course, the news of the flap over the program didn’t hit the street until less than three weeks before “Early Warning” is to air--just in time to stir up media interest.

No, the folks at Fox aren’t taking out ads in TV Guide playing up the flap with ABC. But Fox Broadcasting President Jamie Kellner acknowledges that “generally, publicity makes awareness higher, and if more people know about it, that’s nice.”

“To the extent that it makes people aware of the program and interested in it,” says Hartman, who first brought up the ABC controversy this week in response to a columnist’s questions, “I’m pleased. Because we think this program deserves to be seen.”

Hartman, for his part, maintains that even though he has known since last spring that ABC had refused to broadcast the show, “We couldn’t say anything about it until it was cleared up in writing.” That official ABC letter of notification was dated Sept. 1.

Why didn’t he go public at that time? “We needed to find a place to air the program. And I don’t think it (going public) would have been useful in getting the program on the air.”

Hartman said the Fox deal was made “about six or eight weeks ago.” And even though he is taking on his old bosses at ABC now and calling their decision-making “bizarre,” he doesn’t believe “there’s any particularly tainted relationship” between the network and himself.

However, Fox spokesman Brad Turell suggests that “there may be executives within ABC that may not want to devote an hour of prime time to David Hartman at this time. And, internally, there may be some people at ABC that don’t want to see non-news division documentaries aired because of the conflict it may have within the news department.”

Hartman acknowledged that his deal was with ABC’s entertainment division, not ABC News, whose documentaries are overseen by veteran producer Av Westin. Also, “Nightline” anchor Ted Koppel has a deal to make documentaries for ABC.

ABC Entertainment had no comment about Hartman’s program because “all the key executives are on vacation,” said a spokeswoman on Wednesday.

Nonetheless, on Tuesday ABC News Senior Vice President Richard Wald spelled out the reason Hartman’s show was rejected, although not why it had been ordered up and then 80% financed by the network.

“We’ve traditionally taken programs from outside as long as they’re done under our direction, even commissioned them,” Wald explained through a spokesman. “But when David proposed his special, we were already thinking of doing one on our own, in a very different direction.”

That ABC News documentary about defense was widely criticized by the Pentagon. (Said Hartman: “I saw it, and I didn’t see anything new.”)