KCAL’s Smart Move--Prime-Time News

TV or not TV. . . .

THE SWITCH: In a way, KCAL-TV Channel 9 was lucky as well as smart when--going nowhere as a station--it decided to present a nightly, three-hour, prime-time newscast.

The station’s format, which marks its third anniversary next month, was introduced as news and reality series were increasing as major forces on the national networks.

Add to that the fact that the emphasis on local news made KCAL wholly different from CNN, with its global and national approach.

When the rains came in recent days, KCAL, an independent station, was a handy resource. On Friday, for instance, it presented a wide-ranging, prime-time report on storm damage well before the 10 and 11 p.m. competing newscasts aired.

While the local network stations have lengthy news reports in the late afternoon and early evening, many viewers clearly find KCAL’s prime-time format--along with cable--welcome alternatives to the entertainment on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.

For KCAL, it’s a long way from the years when--under its former name, KHJ--its most famous attraction was the vampy movie hostess Elvira.

NUMBERS GAME: Will any entertainment program ever have a chance of topping the finale of “MASH” on the list of most-watched TV shows? Will “Cheers” have a shot when it gets around to its finale?

There’s a lot of the same sentimentality and audience affection involved with both series. The difference is that “MASH,” with Alan Alda, departed in 1983, when network viewing was more dominant, and cable and VCRs were less prevalent.

But you never know what emotion and curiosity will bring out in viewers. Witness ABC’s recent Michael Jackson interview, the fourth most-watched entertainment show in TV history.

TWO HATS: Dina Merrill, who appears in Sunday’s ABC film “Not in My Family,” is also the vice chairwoman of RKO Pictures. The chairman is her husband, Ted Hartley.

“We got control of RKO three years ago,” the veteran actress says. Her job with the company, she says, “keeps me from getting frustrated when I don’t get work as an actress. When you’re over 35 and a woman, you don’t get much work these days, although men get plenty.”

In “Not in My Family,” Merrill plays the mother of two daughters (portrayed by Joanna Kerns and Shelley Hack) who were sexually abused as children by their father, a respected banker (George Grizzard).

The story focuses on the depression of a one daughter (Kerns, who stars in the film) and her seeming inability to bond with her baby. Merrill, in her role, refuses to believe her daughters were abused by the father.

“It’s a good part,” says Merrill, who recently returned with Hartley from China. “We were in Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China. We want to build entertainment complexes over there, and we’re looking for Chinese partners.”

VIEWPOINT: You remember Arthur Kent, the “Scud Stud” who gained attention covering the Gulf War for NBC and then split with the network a while back in a bitter dispute.

As it happens, Kent formerly was a correspondent for “Dateline NBC,” the series that recently admitted it faked a truck crash. In his airing of differences with the network, Kent said that the series wasn’t interested enough in serious journalism.

Of course, NBC News gave some earlier clues as to its direction when it promoted the handsome Kent as a heartthrob during the Gulf War.

I.D.: Those Hollywood features by Peter Jones are a definite plus for the American Movie Classics channel, enhancing its specific tone and identity.

One feature last week dealt with old musical shorts featuring such performers as Fats Waller and Nat King Cole. Other stories have looked at Chasen’s restaurant and the Whitley Heights area of Hollywood.

In the crowded field of cable, a quickly recognizable identity is crucial to success and survival. CNN, ESPN and the Disney Channel are easy to pick out. Others blur together.

The E! channel, beefing up its visibility, has added Howard Stern, Smothers Brothers reruns and Ron Reagan specials to some of its own, lively home-grown series, such as Greg Kinnear’s “Talk Soup,” about television talk shows, and “Extreme Close-Up,” celebrity interviews by Jerry Lazar and Arthel Neville.

The addition of high-profile to home-grown can enable cable outlets to build their images, but it can also be a mixed blessing. Over at the Discovery Channel, for instance, the signing of Walter Cronkite to do specials fits right in with the tone of the network. But an upcoming Discovery travel series with Lynda Carter seems a stretch.

Called “Tourific Destinations” and hosted by Carter, the series, which debuts March 30 on Discovery, has run for a year on the Travel Channel.

THE PITCH: UCLA Extension is offering a one-day workshop on March 13 titled “Getting Through the Maze: A Writer’s Guide to TV Program Development,” with speakers from various areas of the industry. It’ll cost you $65. Information: (310) 825-9415.

MONEY TALKS: Zeroing in on President Clinton’s agenda, PBS’ MacNeil-Lehrer news program says it will be all over the economy issue every day this week.

FATE: Way before he jumped to CBS, David Letterman said that one of the Top 10 ways NBC can save money is: “Every night have Brokaw turn on portable TV and say ‘Shall we watch the CBS news together?’ ”

BEING THERE: “A sucker’s groan is music to a gambler’s ear.”--Sgt. Ernie Bilko (Phil Silvers) in “The Phil Silvers Show.”

Say good night, Gracie. . . .