Networks to Fill the Night With News

TV or not TV. . . .

NIGHT FLIGHT: The major TV networks soon will start looking more and more like CNN in the overnight hours.

ABC’s decision to launch a 1 a.m.-6 a.m. news service Jan. 6 means that stations will get ongoing half-hour wrap-ups--the format of CNN’s “Headline News” cable channel.

The ABC stations will be able to run anywhere from two hours of the broadcasts to the full five hours, depending, of course, on how well their other overnight shows are doing.

NBC, meanwhile, is also scheduled to start up an overnight news service later this year--presumably following the series “Later With Bob Costas,” which ends at 2 a.m.

Since NBC’s successful Los Angeles station, KNBC Channel 4, already has a lively lineup in the post-Costas hours--including reruns of the local news and “Entertainment Tonight,” plus “Wheel of Fortune” and “The $100,000 Pyramid”--one wonders how much of the new network service will be seen here.

On the other hand, with NBC’s penny-pinching owner, General Electric, at the controls, the station could save money by dumping some or all of the syndicated entertainment series--for which it pays--and simply running the news service from its own network.

The question, of course, is: Who needs three or four CNN-style stations? Thus, profit-making local stations such as KNBC and KABC Channel 7 may have enough clout to reject as much as they want of the new service.

In the past, KABC was so powerful that it gave its owner, ABC, the back of its hand by scheduling two highly promoted talk shows, hosted by Dick Cavett and Jimmy Breslin, in the wee, wee hours--way past the time the network wanted them to air.

CBS already is in the overnight field with its “Nightwatch” series, which runs from 2 a.m.-6 a.m. “Nightwatch” is a newsy talk show, and in fact was started up in 1982 partly as a countermove to stop the then-new CNN from luring away CBS viewers.

Ever since the departure last year of its outstanding host, Charlie Rose, the future of “Nightwatch” has been uncertain. Guest hosts have taken over, the series is still provocative, but there are rumors that its format could also change to news.

Which would be foolish because “Nightwatch” is already cheap to produce, has a tiny but dedicated staff and has created a comfortable niche for itself.

CNN, of course, doesn’t have to do anything. It’s sitting pretty in the overnight hours, with its ongoing news spiced with reruns of the talk and entertainment shows “Crossfire,” “Larry King Live” and “Showbiz Today.”

Ever on the alert, however, CNN is adding more live news updates in the overnight hours--already preparing for the new network competition.

POINT, COUNTERPOINT: With network news divisions thrashing around, seeking new formulas to hold viewers, they’re clearly studying feisty, controversial--and inexpensive--shows like CNN’s “Crossfire” and the syndicated program “The McLaughlin Group” as one solution.

On Friday, for instance, CBS, with Mike Wallace as host, offers the first of three prime-time shows called “Whose Side Are You On?”

The idea is that two attorney advocates argue opposing sides of a current news story that raises tough moral and ethical issues. Then a panel of prominent figures debates the arguments. The half-hour show will also be broadcast on July 26 and Aug. 2, with Charles Kuralt as host.

“We hope to get our viewers thinking and talking--not just watching,” says executive producer Andrew Heyward.

What a novel idea for a news program. Why didn’t Edward R. Murrow ever think of that?

FUTURE SHOCK: You can bet eyebrows were raised when the new “KTLA Morning News,” with unknown anchors Carlos Amezcua and Barbara Beck, won the ratings race in its first few days against “CBS This Morning,” the home of high-priced anchors Paula Zahn and Harry Smith.

Despite an inauspicious launching, the KTLA Channel 5 morning news series also fared well against ABC’s “Good Morning America,” which features Charles Gibson and Joan Lunden. NBC’s “Today” show was the solid winner in Los Angeles in those initial days of “KTLA Morning News.”

But the lesson was clear. Los Angeles viewers were interested in the new local series, and the lack of big-name anchors didn’t matter at all. Done properly, with more responsiveness to breaking local stories, “KTLA Morning News” could become a welcome fixture.

HARD TIMES: With NBC News now closing its New York and Miami bureaus--the latest shutdowns--and CBS and ABC slashing their news staffs, can you imagine how much attention the Big Three networks will pay to next year’s political conventions? Don’t ask. But CNN and C-SPAN will be there full time.

MAN ABOUT TOWN: Why don’t KCOP Channel 13 or KTTV Channel 11, which both could use a little pizazz, try to lure away KNBC’s Bill Lagattuta, one of the most underrated and amiable figures in local news? He reads the news very well, seems to be an all-purpose reporter and looks like the kind of fellow who helps old ladies cross the street.

CHALLENGE: If CBS’ “Northern Exposure,” which stars Rob Morrow, isn’t on the list for best series when the Emmy nominations are announced Thursday, we will consult a lawyer. We could watch “Northern Exposure” forever. Apparently so could a lot of people. It finished No. 3 in the national ratings last week.

BULLETIN BOARD: Jane Alexander and Christopher Plummer star Wednesday in a KCET Channel 28 drama about two legendary artists, “A Marriage: Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz.” It’s on at 9 p.m.

DOLLARS AND SENSE: Did we really say last week that KABC’s Todd Donoho was one of the local TV sportscasters making more than $550,000 a year? Our source now says he meant KABC’s Jim Hill. Our source had better be right this time, or else no more free dinners at Denny’s.

BEING THERE: Lyric sung by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings on “The Tonight Show” last week: “Old age and treachery always overcome youth and skill.”

Say good night, Gracie. . . .