News, Information Programs Prove Popular in San Diego

San Diegans have their quirks and foibles, but they watch some high-quality television.

C-Span, which will never be confused with the Disney Channel, lists San Diego as one of its top markets. That’s one reason it will be in town this week to televise KSDO-AM (1130) talk shows featuring Roger Hedgecock and Michael Reagan live from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday as part of its “A Week in the Life of Talk Radio” series. C-Span, which airs congressional hearings, press conferences and other unsanitized news events, is spotlighting talk shows in six cities.

San Diego is C-Span’s top call-in city, according to C-Span spokeswoman Kristin Wennberg. More people in San Diego rise up and phone the channel’s shows to express their opinions than in any other city in the United States.

Given C-Span’s programming, that is an impressive statistic, even if C-Span’s national audience is relatively minuscule. And C-Span is not the only highbrow network enamored with San Diego.

The Arts and Entertainment channel rates San Diego as its No. 1 station in terms of number of viewers, according to Cox Cable program director Art Reynolds.

The large percentage of homes wired for cable in the area certainly has a lot to do with the large audience for these cable-only channels. But the phenomenon goes beyond cable.

At 7 p.m. weekdays, San Diego news hounds have a clear choice. They can watch “A Current Affair,” “P.M. Magazine” or “The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour.” Of course, the vast majority choose the tawdry sex scandals and mutant animal stories on “A Current Affair” or the warm and fluffy stories of “P.M. Magazine.”

“A Current Affair” and “P.M.” attract 8 to 10 rating points, while “MacNeil-Lehrer” on KPBS-TV (Channel 15) usually draws a 4 to 5 rating. So it’s not like all San Diegans are political scientists.

The good news, though, is that San Diego is one of the top markets nationally for “MacNeil-Lehrer.” It gets better ratings in San Diego than in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and most major cities.

Marketing types, who pore over statistical profiles of San Diego, say San Diegans as a group are well-educated, professional and generally aware of their surroundings. They can form complete sentences and show more interest in the world at large than the general populaces of many cities, they say.

In the last ratings book, CBS, the network of “Jake and the Fatman” and “The Bradys,” finished third nationally, but was No. 1 one prime time in San Diego, primarily because shows like “60 Minutes” posted ratings numbers well above the national average.

“It’s a strong news and information city,” said Jim Baral, vice president and group manager for Petry Television, which does national research and sales for their local CBS affiliate, KFMB-TV (Channel 8). He notes that early-evening local news programs are generally higher rated in San Diego than in Los Angeles.

“There seems to be a thirst for news and information” in San Diego, he said.

Southwestern Cable Television decided to black out the beginning and end of a symposium on reapportionment, which was scheduled to air Sunday on community access channels around the county.

The show was moderated by Assemblywoman Sunny Mojonnier, who is running for reelection. In an attempt to avoid any equal-time requests from other candidates, Mojonnier’s role was removed from the show as much as possible. Taped in February, the symposium was put together by Mojonnier’s office, in conjunction with the League of Women Voters, and produced by Southwestern.

The program was reedited with Mojonnier’s opening and closing remarks deleted, a Southwestern spokesman said, although it was impossible to eliminate her role throughout the show without damaging the flow.

“We didn’t want equal time challenges for something that we’re putting out there purely for public interest,” said Southwestern spokesman Jeff Van Deerlin.

San Diego Union editors knew that David Copley--president of Copley Press and son of company chief executive officer Helen Copley--had pleaded guilty to his second drunk driving-related offense recently, but chose not report it. The Times printed a brief story about it last week, after Copley was sentenced to two days in jail.

“We have a policy not to run drunk driving stories unless it involves an accident injury or death, or unless it involves a person whose performance of his duty might be affected by it,” said Union editor Gerald Warren. “If a politician was involved, it would be different. We take it on a case by case basis. We wouldn’t carry a drunk driving story simply because it involved a prominent person.”

“Kill Them With Comedy,” the slightly demented half-hour show airing on local community access channels, has been picked up nationally. One catch: the nation is Yugoslavia. Producer Mark Shapiro said it was arranged through a contact of an occasional cast member. The contact, with connection to Yugoslav TV, has agreed to purchase episodes of the show. It will air in English. “I guess they’re desperate for American comedy,” Shapiro said. . . .

Six months after KNSD-TV (Channel 39) weekend anchor and reporter Kim Devore quit the station, she’s still plugging away. She was due to leave when her contract expired last month, reportedly to get married. “We basically have a ‘til-further-notice agreement,” said news director Don Shafer. “We’re still looking for a replacement, and her plans haven’t changed.” . . .

Steve Janisch, general manager of KCR, San Diego State University’s campus radio station, was encouraged by the results of the recent Associated Students Council meeting. Although no concrete decision was made, he was told the A.S. was on the station’s side. In order to continue operations, KCR needs A.S. to assume responsibility for it. Said new A.S. president Joe Horiye: “I hope we do sponsor (the station), but that has to be decided by the executive committee.” Sounding very much like a politician, he said A.S. is “looking into it.” . . .

Edens Broadcasting, owner of KKLQ, has bumped program director Garry Wall up to vice president and replaced him with music director Kevin Weatherly. . . . Terry Grant has resigned at KKYY-FM (Y95). No replacement has been named for her 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. slot. Y95’s new morning team, “Stevens and Grdnic,” is scheduled to start “on or about May 31,” according to program director Robert John. . . . Debbie Summers, most recently of KSOL in San Francisco, will fill the 2 to 6 p.m. slot for KSON.