MEDIA : Ted Leitner’s Opinions--A Little Goes a Long Way

There is a voyeuristic element to watching Ted Leitner’s commentaries, similar to eavesdropping on strangers arguing in a restaurant.

There is the thrill of the unknown, the possibility that one of the combatants in the restaurant might crack and start shrieking hysterically. Maybe one of them will snap and start throwing things, and you’ll have a front-row seat.

People watch because they are titillated by the uncertainty of the scene.

The same element made the prophetic 1976 film “Network” seem eerily plausible. Albert Finney portrayed a news anchor who snapped, and grew more popular as the “mad prophet of the airwaves,” exhorting viewers to scream, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.”

Watching Leitner’s commentaries on KFMB-TV (Channel 8), it is easy to conclude that the premise of “Network” was not so far-fetched.

People clearly enjoy watching Leitner’s blood boil, as he blindly strays off his first topic, careening through whatever thoughts happen to come to mind. For more than 10 years, his free-form sports commentaries/reports have been a key to any ratings success enjoyed by Channel 8.

But he’s moving into new waters with his “Something to Say” commentaries, apparently free to rage about any type of topic.

Of course, there is precedent for this. KGTV (Channel 10) anchorman Michael Tuck had no real credibility when he began doing commentaries. But at least he could cloak himself in the veneer of being a newsman, even if most people first saw him as a talking-head anchor.

Leitner must live with the stigma of being a sports guy. He argues that he has always been opinionated about a wide variety of subjects in his sports reports, so it is a small step to do general commentaries. In a sense, he’s right. There is no doubt that he is an opinionated guy.

But, so far, his commentaries come across like nothing more than the thoughts of a semi-avid newspaper reader--albeit a very opinionated one. They are not editorials designed to persuade people, nor are they critical analyses geared toward enlightening viewers. They are simply Leitner’s opinions, nothing more. Clearly, the only goal is to touch nerves, to prod some type of reaction from viewers.

Last week he came out against racism and the death penalty. Tuesday night he called convicted murderer Robert Alton Harris a “slime,” who could “go to hell” for all Leitner cared, but that society should not kill him.

He sure is an opinionated guy. And there is certainly entertainment value in seeing him work up a sweat, leaning into the camera, calling somebody a “bozo.”

But there is a very real problem of overexposure, the danger of Channel 8 giving viewers too much of an obnoxious thing. Tuck only goes into his avenging angel of the airwaves persona once a day. In addition to his news commentaries, Leitner rants about sports during the 5 and 11 p.m. newscasts. He rants on KFMB-AM (760). He rants during San Diego State basketball games.

San Diegans can only take so much. Everybody knows Leitner has an opinion. But sooner or later, they are going to have to ask, who cares?

According to a well informed source, United States International University has reached a tentative agreement to sell its stock in KUSI-TV (Channel 51) to minority owner Michael McKinnon. . . .

Former KSDO talk-show host Stacy Taylor is making waves with his new station, WLS-AM in Chicago. In a recent article, the Chicago Tribune refers to Taylor as “razor-tongued.” Although it chastises him for referring to the city’s elevated train as a trolley, the article calls Taylor “the most even-tempered of the station’s talent, but rapier-witted nonetheless.” It went on to state, “A social conservative, he particularly enjoys taking stabs at his more liberal colleague . . . whom he once said ‘rolls over like a spayed cocker spaniel’ and pants with delight whenever someone criticizes the good ol’ U.S. of A.” . . .

The general public probably isn’t aware of the turmoil behind the scenes at KUSI-TV (Channel 51). They simply see that the station is now airing “Gilligan’s Island” and “Batman” from 5 to 6 p.m. each weekday. Of course, the new, dynamic programming move is probably more reflective of the pitiful ratings of “Highway to Heaven” reruns, which previously filled the hour slot. And, heck, maybe it is a shrewd counterprogramming decision. Now viewers will have to sit back and think seriously: Should I watch Gilligan or Stan Miller? . . .

No, that was not a three-part commercial for a Colorado ski resort airing during the Channel 10 news last week. It was just a very cheesy free-lance piece submitted by Shawn Styles. The airline that flew him to Colorado and the resort that put him up were given ample publicity in the feature, which basically portrayed the resort as the best place to ski in the Western Hemisphere. . . .

If the headline in last week’s San Diego Union was really true, the story probably deserved better play, perhaps in a special miracle section: “Comatose man sees son, revives.” According to the article, a man in a coma “saw” his son, and then woke up. . . .

KPBS-FM (89.5) will host an “Afropop Dance Party” Friday night at the Bacchanal, hosted by Georges Collinet, the host of public radio’s “Afropop Worldwide” show. The party is a fund-raiser for the public radio station, which airs “Afropop” at 11 p.m. Saturdays. . . .

Perhaps trying to prove that radio stations can manipulate ratings in any way they please, KFMB sent out a letter to advertisers touting the fall Arbitron ratings. KFMB-AM (760) went from an 8.3 to a 4.2 among listeners 12 and over (the summer book was buoyed by Padres broadcasts), and KFMB-FM (B100) slipped in almost every category. Unfazed, the letter states that the two stations combined reach “more than enough people to fill Jack Murphy Stadium 10 times.” Six paragraphs into the letter, general manager Paul Palmer acknowledges that “this report is not one of our better ones”--a stunning admission for a letter of this kind. . . .

Former KNSD-TV (Channel 39) reporter Cathy Clark was due to start work today as a reporter with the San Diego Tribune. . . .

North County Community Newspapers, which includes the Coast Dispatch, Del Mar Surfcomber, Solana Beach Sun and Rancho Santa Fe Times, will soon add a Vista paper. The group was recently purchased from the Virginia-based Times Journal Co. by publisher Bill Lyke Jr.