Leitner to Take Opinions Beyond Sports, Into News

Move over Michael Tuck, KFMB-TV (Channel 8) sportscaster Ted Leitner is going to wade into the 11 p.m. news fray with his own regular “perspective” pieces.

Leitner, always known for his opinionated sport commentaries, will talk about “everything and anything,” according to Channel 8 news director Jim Holtzman. Leitner is expected to begin his commentaries later this month.

The first reaction, of course, has to be this: What are the qualifications of a sportscaster to comment on broad issues?

“There’s a feeling that Ted has always been, in many people’s minds, more than a sports guy,” Holtzman said. “In his sportscasts, he has always been opinionated on a lot of things, and he has always been well-informed in a lot of areas.”

The concept of expanding Leitner’s horizons outside the world of sports is hardly new. Undoubtedly the most articulate voice the station can offer, he often has been used as a host for community forums.

Two years ago, there was a a plan to give Leitner his own talk show, but the idea was killed by upper management.

It’s more than a coincidence that the station decided to expand Leitner’s role just a month after Channel 10’s Tuck announced his intention to leave in September for KCBS in Los Angeles.

The Arbitron radio ratings for the fall quarter, released last week, contained few real surprises. However, there were some points of interest, which is a euphemistic way of saying that some stations are crying and some are smiling:

* KKLQ (Q106) was once again dominant in the overall ratings among listeners 12 and over, chalking up a 9.0, the ninth consecutive book the station has been No. 1.

* After a miserable summer book, KGB-FM (101.5) rebounded to post a 7.0 share among listeners 12 and over, finishing second to KKLQ. KGB was again dominant among men 25-54, with a 9.7 share.

* The mellow tunes of KYXY-FM (96.5) destroyed the competition for women 25-54 with a 9.8 share.

* As usual, KFMB-AM (760), which carries Padres games, took a big dive at the end of the baseball season, going from an 8.3 to a 4.2 among listeners 12 and over.

* KFMB-FM (B100) continued to slip, and the “Morning Zoo,” sans Bobby Rich, fell a couple of ratings notches.

* XTRA-AM’s (690) attempt to establish its news format continued to flounder. Despite the San Diego Chargers games on Sundays, the station posted only a 1.6 among listeners 12 and over. The ratings for Steve Garvey’s morning show raises this philosophical question: Is a show really on the air if no one listens?

Noble Broadcasting chief operating officer Norm Feuer has left the San Diego-based company, which owns XTRA. Feuer said he is going to “reorganize his sock drawers for a while.” The former president of Viacom’s national radio group, he was hired by John Lynch to be Noble’s executive vice president and chief operating officer in the mid-’80s, and is widely credited for much of the company’s success.

Feuer says he remains on good terms with Lynch, with whom he expects to sign a consulting deal.

Feuer vehemently denied rumors that he might be headed to KJQY-FM (103.7), which was recently purchased by Westwood One. Without offering any details, Feuer says he plans to build his own national operation. For personal reasons, he expects to stay in San Diego.

By hiring Mike Berger and Jeff Prescott away from KGB, 91X is apparently admitting that it is finally going after KGB’s older rock audience.

“We feel they can broaden our audience and we can be a little more mass appeal than we’ve been in the past,” said 91X general manager Mike Glickenhaus.

The loser at 91X: Dred Scott, who supplied off-the-wall newscasts to the morning show, one of the show’s few highlights. His future with the station is in doubt, although management says he has been offered other assignments.

Meanwhile, KGB also is losing Pam Edwards, who is leaving to become program director at KNAC in Long Beach. Station management says it will build it’s new morning show around Cookie “Chainsaw” Randolph, who supplied many of the voices, as well as hilarious sportscasts, to the Berger and Prescott show. Randolph was pursued by a variety of stations, including 91X and Q106.

Executives from CBS are expected in town later this month to continue efforts to convince Channel 8 to remain a CBS affiliate. CBS has been heavily wooing the station, which is also being pursued by NBC, for the past year. A scheduled visit by Dan Rather (which was postponed), weatherman Larry Mendte’s appearance on “CBS This Morning” and heavy schmoozing with KFMB management at the annual CBS affiliates meeting have all been part of an obvious campaign by CBS to keep KFMB happy. . . .

Channel 10 has added a new, expanded sports segment on Sunday evenings after the 11 p.m. newscast. Dubbed “San Diego SportsWeek,” the show is hosted by Rick Powers and Mike Smith, two perennial candidates for the Most Boring Local Sports Guy award. . . .

The Cove Theater, usually noted for featuring esoteric French films, has had a noticeably commercial flavor recently, featuring extended runs of mainstream films such as “When Harry Met Sally” and “Steel Magnolias.” The pressure for running the commercial pictures is coming from distributors, who have noticed the high revenues from the large La Jolla theater, according to Landmark Theaters spokesman Steve Russell.

“We are committed to playing the same type of fare, even if we do spice it up occasionally with some commercial films,” he said, noting that “Camille Claudel” will be the next film featured at the Cove. . . .

‘Tis the season for film distributors to make it very clear that San Diego is a minor, insignificant market. Such well-publicized Oscar contenders as “Roger and Me,” “My Left Foot,” “Music Box” and “Enemies, A Love Story” are still weeks away from San Diego. However, “Tango and Cash” is playing at a theater near you. . . .

On a more positive note, the Pacific Theatres Cinerama Six on University Avenue has brought back “Do the Right Thing,” which may be the best film of 1989. . . .

Since the Jan. 1 implementation of “Syndex,” the new rule which forces cable systems to blackout programs from “distant” signals when a local station owns the exclusive local rights to the show, Cox Cable representative Sharon Konz has personally handled about 50 calls, a fraction of the complaints. Don’t blame us, say cable companies, who lobbied heavily against the measure. Cox has been refering callers to the FCC. . . .

The answering machine at KFMB-TV (Channel 8) weatherman’s office: “You’ve reached the Channel 8 weather department. If you need to speak to a meteorologist, hang up immediately.”