ABC, Critics Return to Scene of Slime

Six months ago, amid virtually unprecedented media coverage of a network executive, ABC Entertainment President Jamie Tarses spent ABC’s semi-annual session with TV critics insisting she still had a job. This week, the 33-year-old executive returns to Pasadena’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel, where the focus should be less on personnel issues than the ailing network’s programming. The last meeting was an almost surreal affair, as Tarses essentially hid from reporters, who shouted questions at her as she darted through the lobby. Tarses and her new boss, ABC Entertainment Chairman Stu Bloomberg, have gotten along well despite their arranged corporate marriage, though sources say there have been moments of confusion in Hollywood circles regarding the division of labor between them. In July, as rumors swirled regarding her future, Tarses told critics she wanted to “focus on the work” and that questions about her would be put aside if the network’s lineup is successful. ABC has seen a few rays of hope this season--including the new sitcom “Dharma & Greg”--but with its prime-time ratings down 8% overall, officials can not only focus on their work but still appear to have it cut out for them.

A Tourist From Back East Comes to Town

When it comes to politics, Hollywood has often been viewed as enemy territory by conservative Republicans. So, in what some are calling a watershed event, no less a conservative than House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) is coming to Hollywood this week to address members of the television and movie industries. Gingrich is scheduled to appear at a breakfast Thursday morning at the Beverly Hills Hotel sponsored by the Wednesday Morning Club. However, the Georgia lawmaker will not exactly be speaking to a hostile audience. While the Wednesday Morning Club boasts that it is a nonpartisan group whose goal is to “encourage diversity of thought and broaden debate within the entertainment industry,” many members are Republicans. “[Gingrich] has never been at an event like this since he became speaker,” said club co-founder David Horowitz, who also heads the Center for the Study of Popular Culture. “We’ve been asking him to come three or four years.” Horowitz said he expects producers, directors and writers--along with some celebrities--to attend the breakfast, but doubted that any studio moguls would show up. Horowitz said GOP lawmakers have avoided Hollywood because “they have been bitten so many times by the Academy Awards and so forth that really there is a timidity on their part in approaching the town. To actually go into the town is like going into alien territory. That is what I’m trying to change. The town needs to make it easier to be a Republican.” Horowitz said he expects Gingrich to address various issues that affect the entertainment industry, including regulatory matters and the impact of media consolidation. “I think Hollywood will discover, to its surprise, that Republicans have been on the side of the angels on issues that are vital to them,” Horowitz said.

Will Grammy Nods Get Her Back on Charts?

Grammy nominations don’t boost record sales, Grammys do. At least, that’s the rule of thumb. But Warner Bros. Records will be looking at the SoundScan charts this week to see if singer-songwriter Paula Cole, who picked up seven nominations last week, including best album and best record, can prove the exception. Her Grammy-nominated album, “This Fire,” which includes the hit single “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?,” has sold about 850,000 copies, but it peaked at No. 33 on the national sales chart last April and had fallen all the way to No. 122 last week. “For most of your pop artists, who usually are so well known, Grammy nominations don’t make that big of a difference in terms of record sales,” says Geoff Mayfield, charts editor for Billboard magazine. “But we might see a bump for someone like Paula Cole because she is still developing her fan base. If someone always liked ‘Cowboys,’ and then they hear she got nominated in all these categories, they might go out and buy the album.” Cole, though, will get a much stronger boost, says Mayfield, if she performs well during the awards telecast on Feb. 25 (as scheduled) or, better yet, wins a Grammy or two.

--Compiled by Times Staff Writers and Contributors