Newscasts Blossom in the Wee Small Hours

The middle of the night has suddenly developed into a fertile new battleground of network TV news series.

Whether you’re a night owl, work the late or early shift--or simply want to check things out after the fact via your VCR--the intriguing stirrings are plain to see.

A few weeks ago, for instance, a newswriter for ABC’s entry in the wee-hours stakes, “World News Now,” was given center stage just because he had a few things he wanted to say.

That kind of refreshing informality is all too rare in network news.

And in a splendid commentary, the news writer, Warren Kozak, criticized all the networks, including his own, for refusing to broadcast condom ads in the age of AIDS. “C’mon, guys,” he said, “we’re talking about saving lives here.”

The overnight news derby began Nov. 4 with NBC’s “Nightside.” ABC followed with “World News Now” on Jan. 6. And CBS joins the race March 30 with “Up to the Minute,” which replaces the long-running “Nightwatch,” no longer the force it was when Charlie Rose was host.

A big reason for these multi-hour news programs, which stations can run either entirely or in part, is to compete with CNN and other burgeoning news alternatives and prevent network affiliates from defecting to them, even for part of the day.

Another reason is that the Big Three networks are enabling their affiliates to have fresh, inexpensive, around-the-clock programming to remain viable in the new world of fierce TV competition, where 24-hour cable channels are plentiful.

By far the class of the new overnight network entries thus far is “World News Now,” a beautifully produced, casual and comfortable program from New York with a perfect tone for the relaxed time of night.

In less than three months on the air, it already is one of the freshest shows that has emerged on TV in some time--at any hour.

“It doesn’t look like any other ABC News broadcast,” says executive producer David Bohrman. Yet the suave look and execution since “World News Now” broke from the starting gate emphatically makes the point that ABC, already the network news leader, is determined to command the field at any time of day.

“We’re out in the regular ABC newsroom,” says Bohrman. “We’re sort of like cockroaches. When everyone else leaves, we come out of the woodwork and rearrange the furniture.”

“World News Now” is carried by KABC Channel 7 starting at 3 a.m. “Nightside” airs on KNBC Channel 4 at 3:30 a.m. “Up to the Minute” has been penciled in by KCBS Channel 2 for the old “Nightwatch” time period that begins at 2 a.m.

One of the keys to “World News Now” is its droll underlying tone. Says Bohrman: “We try not to take ourselves too seriously.” And he has come up with an anchor team that understands the vibes: Aaron Brown, a major TV find from Seattle, and Lisa McRee, an agreeable partner who joined the broadcast from Dallas.

Brown’s glasses can’t hide the fact that he has some of the most expressive eyebrows in TV since the late Chet Huntley used his as pointed editorial weapons. “I’ve been told that,” says Brown, whose low-key, faintly amused demeanor is responsible for much of the program’s comfort.

“This is a perfect show for me,” Brown says, “because I get to do things I think I do well. I ad-lib three sportscasts a night, I get to interview and I get to write. They want us to push the line, to be different. That’s a great sense of freedom. They’re going to have to drag me out of here.”

Says McRee: “We figure that people who are up at this hour and aren’t watching reruns of ‘Branded’ are news-savvy. Bohrman is a real journalist and wants to see some new stuff. He’s bored with what he sees on TV, just as we all are.”

Bohrman says he encourages commentaries: “We try to have correspondents in the field do essays and what we call de-briefs, their impressions of the day. We try to have an ‘agenda segment’ and spend five, six minutes talking to the correspondent or producer of a story.”

While “World News Now” hit the ground running, “Nightside” did not. Originating in Charlotte, N.C., in large part for financial reasons, the NBC series looked as if it had been rushed on the air to meet its November commitment date, but has improved its appearance recently.

It began with one anchor, Sara James, a solid presence who was hired from a Charlotte station. Two other anchors, Antonio Mora and Tom Miller, have since been added.

Says James: “I was interested in moving to the network and had interviewed with New York--and it came up in my own back yard. It was a fluke. But in these days of satellite technology, the rules are changing. You can work for the network and be anywhere.”

Unlike “World News Now,” “Nightside” is not shaping its format to fit the wee hours, says Sharon Houston, executive producer of the NBC entry: “We are not doing it in that fashion. Just the latest information and longer interviews. I can’t say we’ve fulfilled all our goals, but we’ve made vast improvements.”

Houston adds that “we’re currently (based) in a warehouse . . . until we move into our own building in April.” And the newscast is done “from the local NBC station,” she says.

While Charlotte is “not a broadcast mecca,” says Houston, she notes that Atlanta-based CNN has shown that you no longer have to emanate from “one great control center like New York or Washington” in a world of technology.

CBS’ “Up to the Minute,” which like “World News Now” and “Nightside” is going to local stations for its anchors--meaning lower costs--has chosen Russ Mitchell from St. Louis and Monica Gayle from San Diego to head its on-camera team.

The CBS program will also originate in New York. But, like “Nightside,” it will not tailor its format for the insomniac audience, says executive producer Tom Bradford: “It will have nothing to do with the time period in which it appears, and I think that gives it some distinction. ABC’s show is relaxed. Ours is not going to be relaxed.”

But Bradford also thinks different directions can be taken in the sprawling newscasts: “We could do some viewer call-in stuff where we can question a political figure ourselves and let them hear from viewers.”

Well and good. But “World News Now” is the overnight show to beat. Like Linda Ellerbee’s old “NBC News Overnight” and the great years of “Nightwatch” with Rose, it has recognized the magic of those quiet, introspective hours in people’s homes.

“There are very few rules on our broadcast,” says Bohrman. “One of the great things about working all night is that I don’t have to ask permission of anybody.”