‘Censors’ Host Reagan Holds on to His Standards

TV or not TV. . . .

CENSORS: “I’m probably less a careerist than most people,” says Ron Reagan.

Nonetheless, the 34-year-old son of the former President continues to turn out provocative work in TV’s documentary and talk-show fields. His latest effort, “In Censors We Trust,” airs Sunday night on the E! cable network.

It’s the third of seven documentaries Reagan is doing for E!, which has also signed the Smothers Brothers and Howard Stern in an effort to carve out an image for itself in the crowded field of cable TV.

“I’m interested in doing quality work,” says Reagan. “I’m looking to make a living and at the same time not embarrass myself. I think that’s all you can ask for in television. I think you’re ahead of the game if you’re not humiliated at the end of the day.”

“In Censors We Trust” is a lively one-hour broadcast focusing on censorship battles that have made recent headlines. Guests include Keenan Ivory Wayans, creator of “In Living Color”; actress and director Lee Grant; Tom Smothers; authors John Irving and Andrea Dworkin, and Anthony Lewis, writer and First Amendment expert.

Others on the show: Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Assn. of America; Luther Campbell of the rap group 2 Live Crew; Terry Rakolta of Americans for Responsible Television; Danny Goldberg of the American Civil Liberties Union and Ted Baehr of the Christian Film and Television Committee.

The program doesn’t try to disguise the fact that Reagan’s view is anti-censorship: “We decided at the outset not to pretend that we were absolutely neutral on the issue.” But, he adds, the show tries to be fair.

Although his past, syndicated talk series, “The Ron Reagan Show,” failed because of ratings, it was often praise-worthy for its intelligence and his light-handed approach and wit.

“It was apparent quickly that we were not going to get numbers (ratings),” he says. “We were pushed to go the Oprah-Geraldo route: ‘Why not get LaToya Jackson?’ We said, ‘Nah. If we’re going to go down, we’re going to go down with our heads high.’ You have to stick to your guns.”

Reagan, who lives in a Westwood apartment, is looking into various TV projects to suit his interests. He likes E! because “it isn’t too top-heavy. There aren’t layers and layers of Suits dangling above you. So once you agree on something, you’re pretty much left to your own devices.”

“I wouldn’t mind doing another talk show. I love the kind of thing Charlie Rose does (on PBS), sitting down with one or two people for an hour and sinking your teeth into it. But, if things came up that interest me, like natural history or science--on the Discovery or Arts & Entertainment channels--I’d jump at that.”

FAST TRACK: A survey for C-SPAN, the cable channel founded by host Brian Lamb to cover government in-depth, shows that 28% of its viewers are Democrats, 29% Republicans and 31% independents.

Other findings: 77% of the C-SPAN audience is between 18 and 49 years old; 52% of the viewers are men and 48% are women; and more than 60% of the network’s audience reads a newspaper and watches a television newscast daily.

Use of C-SPAN is up by 80% since the 1988 election, and you can bet viewership will be intense during President-elect Bill Clinton’s inauguration proceedings during the next few days.

SOLUTION: Maybe the high ratings of Carol Burnett’s Jan. 10 reunion special have given CBS the answer to how to bring back the star on a regular basis. How about a special a month, or four or five a season?

CUTTING CORNERS: NBC has titled a Jan. 30 prime-time special “5 Years Later . . . With Bob Costas,” billing it as an anniversary salute to the host’s late-night interview show. Actually, a more accurate title would begin “4 1/2 Years Later . . . .” His series debuted in August, 1988. But, hey, that’s TV--the old shill game. And at least the early-to-bed audience can see what Costas has been doing in the wee hours with his 1:35 a.m. gabfests.

COMEDY TEAM: David Letterman used CBS Chairman Laurence Tisch as a straight man several times at the entertainer’s rollicking news conference Thursday formally announcing his upcoming move to his new network.

With Tisch sitting at his side in New York, Letterman, now at NBC, said he expected to start on CBS in August “and we should finish up about Labor Day. . . . That’s a joke, Larry.”

In the funniest moment of the news conference, Letterman, asked if his bandleader Paul Shaffer would also be making the network switch, feigned shock, uttering an expletive, as if he’d forgotten all about his sidekick. Turning to Tisch, he said: “Have you got a little extra for Paul?”

MIXED BLESSING: The good news is that Lisa McRee, co-anchor of ABC’s middle-of-the-night program, “World News Now,” will be joining the network’s new prime-time news magazine, “Day One,” as a correspondent. The bad news is that the move will break up network TV’s best anchor team--McRee and Aaron Brown--and it will be tough to match their droll chemistry, which has epitomized the attitude of the splendid overnight series.

BOOST: The head of the American Institute for Teen AIDS Prevention has urged ABC brass to renew the ratings-shaky series “Life Goes On.” The series “has become one of the most effective HIV/AIDS education tools for teens,” wrote Duane J. Crumb, executive director of the institute, which is based in Fort Worth, Tex.

GOOD OL’ BOYS: Not a single major commercial TV station in Los Angeles is run by a woman. But the Fox-owned Chicago station just named a 30-year-old woman as its general manager.

ENCORE: Former “Newhart” regular Tom Poston has yet another guest shot on the star’s new series, “Bob,” on Friday.

BEING THERE: Letterman at his news conference on joining CBS: “I never dated Amy Fisher. I fixed her car. I helped her with her homework. I never laid a hand on Amy Fisher.”

Say good night, Gracie. . . .