Sun Shows No Sign of Setting on Local ‘P.M. Magazine’

In the world of “P.M. Magazine,” the San Diego edition is a survivor, a proven ratings warrior.

With energetic hosts Pat Brown and Dave Hood leading the way, the show regularly defeats its competition, holding down the key 7 p.m. time slot for KFMB-TV (Channel 8). It even beats the Big Daddy of syndicated television shows, “Wheel of Fortune.”

“I wish we could do as well in all markets against ‘Wheel,’ ” said Nancy Alspaugh, executive producer in the national offices of “P.M.”

“P.M. Magazine” went on the air 10 years ago, a syndicated magazine show with a twist. Each local affiliate produced segments and provided hosts for its own version of the show, giving it a local feel, even though most of the show was provided by the national office.

By the early 1980s, 96 affiliates throughout the country carried some form of “P.M. Magazine.”

However, the tastes of viewers and affiliate program directors have changed in the last few years. There are only 28 stations left carrying “P.M. Magazine,” eight of which simply run a homogenized national version called “This Evening.”

In the fall, the San Francisco-based “P.M.” will concentrate its marketing effort on the national edition. The era of locally oriented “P.M. Magazine”shows appears to be fading into history, to be noted as a once-successful attempt to mold a national show to local markets.

The San Diego edition, though, is bucking the national trend. It’s not the strongest “P.M.” edition--versions in Charlotte, N.C., and Columbia, S.C., often pull a strong 40 share--but it is a solid ratings contender.

“Clearly, of all the top market stations among the toughest competition, it has the best ratings,” said Mary Windishar, the show’s national supervisor producer.

In the Arbitron ratings released last week, the San Diego “P.M. Magazine” posted an 8 rating and 17 share, barely edging “Wheel of Fortune” with a 7 rating and 14 share and a new competitor, “A Current Affair,” which had a 7 rating and 15 share.

KGTV (Channel 10) specifically moved “A Current Affair” to 7 p.m. to challenge “P.M. Magazine.”

“My hat’s off to those guys,” Channel 10 program director Don Lundy said. “They just do a real good job. They have patience, and it’s paid off for them.”

The challenge from the National Enquirer-like “A Current Affair” is not unusual for “P.M. Magazine.” In many markets, the producers find themselves up against the new breed of magazine shows--”Inside Edition,” “U.S.A. Today” and others.

Last year, “P.M. Magazine” went through a major overhaul to better compete with the new, often sensational programs. In September, the national office began delivering the national stories daily to each affiliate via satellite, allowing the local editions to wait until the last minute to tape the hosts’ segues and add local segments, giving it a much fresher look. In the past, the tapes were mailed from San Francisco weeks before the air date. A week of shows could be taped in two days.

Most important, the style and content of the show have been revamped. When the show was first syndicated in 1979, it spotlighted two feature segments wrapped around a series of light segments on cooking and gardening.

“There were a lot of down-home stories on the old ‘P.M.,’ ” KFMB program director Jules Moreland said. “It’s one of the reasons it didn’t play well in big cities. In New York, people saw some of the stories and fell out of their seats laughing.”

The current edition will never be confused with “60 Minutes”--there is still a preponderance of warm and fuzzy features usually labeled “puff” by most journalists--but there is a much harder edge to some stories.

For example, the local edition recently did a story that raised questions about the fate of some animals sold by the San Diego Zoo.

“We would never have done that story five years ago,” said Geary Buydos, executive producer of the San Diego edition. “We would never have gotten into the disturbing side.”

“P.M. Magazine” still produces light, almost advertising-like, features on subjects like Sea World. But the producers often see themselves competing for shows like “A Current Affair” for stories. “P.M.” aims for the “people” aspects of a story.

“When we did story on Sharon Rogers (the target of a bombing attack), viewers got to know Sharon Rogers and how she felt,” said Buydos, who has been with the local edition since its inception.

“P.M.” also avoids many of the blatant sex and nudist colony stories, seemingly a staple of every “Current Affair” show.

“We do a swimsuit edition show; we’re not prudes,” Buydos said. “But we’re not going to do a story on female mud wrestling. It’s not the type of story that’s compelling.”

And there has been a conscious effort to tone down the cheerleader-like activities of the hosts. TV personalities who tend to be bubbly are commonly referred to as “P.M. Magazine-types.”

“We don’t do perky anymore,” Buydos said. “We no longer have the hosts throwing Frisbees at the beach; they don’t ride bikes anymore. Cute is out.”

In attitude and tone, the San Diego edition is not very different from any other “P.M. Magazine,” including the 70 some that failed in the past eight years. There are various theories as to why it has survived and prospered. Certainly the emphasis on local stories, the local presence, is a big factor.

KFMB is also given credit for committing resources to the show. There are eight staff members assigned to “P.M.” at Channel 8, including the two hosts.

In many markets, supervising producer Windishar said, stations had interns or people with no production experience developing stories.

“The viewer has to perceive the energy going into the show,” Windishar said. “Shows that failed are ones that didn’t give the show the resources it needed to succeed.”

The cost of producing a local edition is a major albatross hanging around the neck of the concept. Each station pays a small licensing fee to “P.M. Magazine” for the show, but the cost of equipment and staff puts the show’s cost “somewhere between ‘Entertainment Tonight’ and ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ ” according to a spokeswoman for Group W, the show’s syndicator.

Station executives are reluctant to reveal exact costs, but one source estimated the local production costs of “P.M.” as “in the six-figure range.” Based on local TV salary structures, somewhere between $150,000 and $200,000 would be a good guess. For stations contemplating their own local edition of “P.M.,” the expenses can look exorbitant. KFMB, though, has been doing it for 10 years. The expenses are simply part of the cost of the show.

“When ‘Wheel’ was hot, (the distributor) jacked prices up out of sight,” KFMB’s Moreland said, noting that “P.M.” also raised its licensing fee this year. “My guess is their prices are as much or more than what it costs us for ‘P.M.’ ”

Moreland, for one, hopes the “P.M.” national edition sells well.

He said that “it will help underwrite the efforts of the cooperative.”