Gruff Grimsby Says Smiling Wasn’t Part of KUSI Deal

Speak up if this sounds familiar. A television anchorman, disillusioned with the light and fluffy direction of the newscast, decides to quit rather than work in a shop that is more interested in ratings than news.

It happens all the time. The only surprise is that Roger Grimsby fits into the scenario. After 30 years in the business, he probably should know better.

Nevertheless, Grimsby said he resigned from KUSI-TV (Channel 51) because he was unhappy with the direction of the newscast.

The Gulf War provided the station with a “golden opportunity” to establish its news product, he said. Instead, he sees the station moving toward typical television news fodder, hiring a health reporter and doing more smiling lifestyle segments.

In fact, last week the station, which is clearly in desperate need of more general assignment reporters, announced the hiring of former CNN reporter Fred Saxon to be an entertainment reporter.

“They’re starting to look like every other station, when they could have been different,” said Grimsby, who waited until after his contract was settled last week to explain his reasons for abruptly leaving the station two weeks ago.

In general, he had nothing horrible to say about the station, and made it clear there was no big blowup. He mentioned several “little things” that bothered him, such as the station’s inferior video equipment and difficulty in getting time on editing machines. But, more than anything else, he said he left because he didn’t feel the station, in particular station owner Mike McKinnon, was interested in his approach to news.

“To be honest, it was not my intention to work long hours, but I got sucked into it” because of the war, Grimbsy said. “I enjoyed it, until I saw it didn’t make any difference.”

Grimsby said he never talked to McKinnon. He had decided to leave in March and handed his resignation to news director Pete Jacobus on Feb. 4. The next day word came down from McKinnon that he should leave immediately.

McKinnon said at the time of Grimsby’s departure that he wanted more “energy” and a “faster-paced” newscast, and that a woman would probably be hired to replace Grimsby.

None of this is too shocking. Channel 51’s newscast, a fledgling attempt to woo 10 p.m. viewers, is evolving the way all television news programs evolve. In a year, it will probably have Susan Anton and Bruce Jenner as anchors.

The only unusual twist to the story is that, apparently, McKinnon was surprised with Grimsby’s crotchety on-air persona, even though Grimsby’s cold stare is legendary within the business.

Grimsby was hired by Jacobus, a former ABC News executive, who certainly knew what he was getting in Grimsby, a veteran of 20 years with the ABC affiliate in New York.

“When I was hired, I said to McKinnon, ‘Please don’t ask me to smile, it’s not part of the act,’ ” Grimsby said. “Sure enough, he did, and I didn’t.”

Responding to its research studies, KPBS-FM (89.5) has completed its move toward a news-talk format, forsaking all that messy counterculture programming, such as folk and classical music, and Spanish-language shows.

Following the lead of public broadcasting stations throughout the country, KPBS is trying to capitalize on the popularity of National Public Radio programming and other nationally syndicated news and talk shows. Those who hoped KPBS would evolve into something more than a carrier of national programs may be disappointed.

“I never want to see KPBS as nothing more than a conduit for national programming,” station manager Craig Dorval said. “But the fact of the matter is, that (national programming) is what the audience has come to expect from us. If we can approach that quality on a local level, then that is the way to best service our audience.”

Dorval says no additional staff members will be hired, and the format will operate within current budget restrictions. That will make it difficult for the station to produce a tremendous amount of local programming.

Many people believe public broadcasting should operate as alternative radio, a chance to hear, commercial-free, the type of programming unheard on commercial radio. There are already two San Diego stations specializing in news-talk, KFMB-AM (760) and KSDO-AM (1130), which brings into question the logic of a public broadcasting station trying to compete with commercial operations.

Dorval emphasizes that the news-talk label doesn’t mean the station will be doing mainstream programs. In fact, KFMB and KSDO are extremely conservative news-talk stations. If KPBS can do in-depth local reporting with a more open-minded perspective, it could turn into a fine addition to the local programmimng spectrum.

Ten years after leaving KFMB-TV (Channel 8), Erik Sorenson is taking over one of the most influential news broadcasts in the world, the CBS Evening News. Sorenson’s meteoric rise is the stuff of legends. Straight out of college, he went to work as a writer for Channel 8, eventually rising to producer of the 5 p.m. news by the time he was 23 years old. After stints at CBS-owned stations in Chicago and Los Angeles, he took over as executive producer of the “CBS Morning News,” a job that has been the death knell of several CBS careers.

But Sorenson has shown himself to be a survivor, a skill he will need in his new job. As executive producer of the “CBS Evening News,” he is replacing Dan Rather’s primary crony, Tom Bettag. Many industry observers view Sorenson’s appointment as a direct challenge to Rather’s authority. Sorenson might find himself in the middle of a battle between CBS and its well-paid prima donna anchorman.

KRMX (94.9)--which should never, ever again be called Y95--tried to hire Danny Romero away from KFMB-FM (B100). But, after initially wavering, Romero has decided to stay in his weeknight slot with B100. . . .

Reporter Dave Arnold has left KPBS-FM to take the general manager job with WNKU, the public broadcasting station attached to Northern Kentucky University. . . .

Loren Nancarrow is scheduled to return to Channel 8 today. He’ll start doing environmental reports, before formally taking over the weather segment in four to six weeks. . . .

With gangster films in the midst of a revival--i.e. “Godfather Part XXI,” “GoodFellas” and “Miller’s Crossing”--the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art is spotlighting classics of the genre, beginning Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. screening of Mervyn LeRoy’s classic “Little Caesar.” “Public Enemy” and the original “Scarface” follow on consecutive Wednesdays. . . .

KNSD-TV (Channel 39) will present another public angst session at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, as “Third Thursday” focuses on censorship. The topic was originally scheduled for January, but was postponed because of the outbreak of that inconvenient war. The producers have expanded the topic to include attempts to censor war coverage.