MEDIA : Leitner Passed Up, Wonders If He’s Become a ‘Nonentity’

Ted Leitner first learned that KFMB-TV (Channel 8) had picked Pat Brown and Dave Hood to host a new afternoon talk show late Thursday night, when a reporter told him the news.

He was stunned. A few months earlier, he said, Channel 8 management had told the sportscaster that he was in line to host the show, pending a contract agreement.

After those meetings, “I never had one offer; I never had one discussion with them” about the show, Leitner said from Cincinnati, where he was working on San Diego Padres radio broadcasts. “Obviously they decided these two have more appeal and are better at it than me.”

Channel 8’s decision, announced Thursday, to drop the “Sun Up San Diego” morning show after 30 years was not much of a surprise, nor was the decision to start a weekday 3 p.m. talk show. “Sun Up” had been fading for several years, and the recent switch to 9 a.m. to accommodate network programming sent a clear signal that the show was on its last legs. The afternoon slot is a logical choice for a talk show, given the size of the potential audience and the thirst for these types of shows.

However, the choice of “P.M. Magazine” hosts Brown and Hood stunned more than a few people, not just Leitner. They are little more than professional posers for the fluffy “P.M. Magazine,” doing short, taped, extremely corny segues and occasional lightweight features. Brown’s perky demeanor appears suited for a talk show, especially if Channel 8 is looking for an extremely perky program. But it’s hard to imagine the slightly smarmy Hood as the genial co-host of a live talk show.

“We think they are outstanding personalities and they will fit well into a talk-show format,” said Channel 8 vice president Bill Moylan.

The new talk show is being produced by the programming department, which also handles “P.M. Magazine,” not the news department, which employs Leitner.

Love him or hate him, Leitner is the most recognizable personality at Channel 8. Management had given a tentative go-ahead to the concept of a Leitner-hosted talk show more than a year ago. However, the idea was abruptly dropped.

Moylan said management decided Leitner was too busy to do a talk show. “You can’t do a daily talk show and travel” with the Padres, he said.

Leitner believes the sales department scuttled the idea because “they thought the show would be a disaster and they didn’t want to move ‘MASH.’ ”

The talk show concept resurfaced a couple of months ago, and Leitner said he was under the impression that he would be the host. But management never talked to him about it “one way or another,” and he had no idea that Hood and Brown had been given the show until Thursday night.

“I didn’t even get a memo or somebody saying to my face that your show is out,” Leitner said. “I wish them well, but I’d like to know when this thing happened. When did I become a nonentity at the station?”

Like an expansion team drafting players, KUSI-TV (Channel 51) is filling the roster for its new news team.

Although nothing is definite yet, there are several positions that appear to be set. The anchors will be Roger Grimsby, the New York veteran, and George Reading, who most recently worked in Monterey. Staffers will include former Channel 39 reporter Cathy Clark, who will have a newsroom management position; former Channel 8 reporter Jesse Macias, and former Channel 39 reporter Doug Curlee. Danny Diaz, another veteran of Channel 39, reportedly will head up the camera department.

Rod Luck, who last worked in Orlando, Fla., is already on board as sports director.

Station management has talked to former Channel 8 anchorwoman Allison Ross about anchoring weekend newscasts, but they’ve been unable to agree on terms.

Management would like to have a 10 p.m. newscast on the air by Sept. 10, but that appears to be optimistic.

Something called the San Diego Film Festival opens tonight at the new Mann Theater complex in Mission Valley. The list of films is remarkable only by the inclusion of an unprecedented number of bad films.

“Attack of the Killer Tomatoes,” “Airport ‘77,” “K-9,” “Return of the Killer Tomatoes,” “A Time of Destiny” and “Tora! Tora! Tora!” are part of the series, described as “adventurous” and “ambitious” in the festival press package. More than anything, the festival seems to be an advertisement for the financially strapped San Diego Motion Picture & Television Bureau. Most of the selections were at least partially filmed in San Diego.

The screenings, which continue throughout the week, are free.

KPBS-TV has filled one of its five new producer positions. Paul Marshall, who has worked with the station for 23 years, has been rehired as executive producer of arts and cultural programming. Marshall was one of the seven producers laid off last month. . . .

I never want to see another picture of a Soviet sailor dancing, drinking, singing, playing billiards, eating a hamburger or playing pinball. Channel 10 led its 11 p.m. newscast Thursday night with yet another feature showing the sailors out on the town, saving that little war in the Middle East for later. . . .

KNSD-TV (Channel 39) was all set to produce regular 30-second spots featuring San Diego Chargers’ general manager Bobby Beathard saying inspirational football kinds of things. The spots would be sponsored by a third party and run throughout the season, but not necessarily tied to Charger games. At the last minute, however, Beathard backed out, reportedly because Chargers management felt the team should concentrate more on winning football games. Charger officials were unavailable for comment Friday. . . .

Landmark Theaters is reportedly negotiating to expand the Cove Theater. Two screens would be added, if the company is able to lease space next to the existing theater and gain approval from the city of San Diego. . . .

KFMB-AM (760) personnel were cruising down the freeway in their new, mondo-cool, 65-foot “live broadcast center,” a sort of an urban radio-assault vehicle, when they heard a crash. The sliding glass doors had fallen off, logo and all. Fortunately there were no injuries. . . .

Dred Scott, who lost his morning news slot with XTRA-FM (91X) when the Berger & Prescott team was hired, has landed a job with KFOG in San Francisco. . . .

Mac Hudson and Joe Bauer have signed a new deal with KFMB-AM (760). No further details were available.