10 Years Giving Women Their Say

Bonnie Erbe was appearing regularly as a panelist on a television news talk show in the late 1980s when she decided to take things into her own hands and try to craft a series that would cover issues women cared about.

“I was a panelist on ‘The McLaughlin Group’ when God was a baby, 100 years ago, and I thought there’s more to life than arguing over whether the Senate was going to table an amendment or not,” she said.

With a journalism degree from Columbia, a law degree from Georgetown and a resume listing work in radio and television in Washington, Tampa and Atlanta, Erbe saw a niche for a news show featuring a panel of influential women discussing serious issues.

Four years later, PBS gave her the green light. As other shows debuted and then died, “To the Contrary” proved its staying power. Premiering in April 1992, the series is in its 10th season, drawing about 1 million viewers a week. It also has the highest percentage of women viewers in the 18-to-49 age group of any PBS news program.

In a recent interview, Erbe, 47, said she thinks it would be almost impossible to get such a show on the air now, given its serious nature. The show focuses mainly on public policy matters that affect women, children and families and their communities: home and workplace issues, finance, education and health care.

A half-hour production, “To the Contrary” is divided into two 15-minute segments. The first is devoted to major stories of the week; the second is an interview with a newsmaker designed to trigger a lively panel discussion.

In early July, the show triggered more than that when an offhand remark by Erbe was picked up on news wires. During a discussion of an apparent increase of interest in female action heroes, such as the voluptuous Lara Croft, Erbe said: “Maybe if we did the show topless, [more viewers] would watch.”

Asked about the remark, Erbe laughed and said she was quoted out of context.

Erbe, who writes a weekly opinion column for Scripps Howard newspapers (as well as a point-counterpoint column with conservative journalist Josette Shiner), has drawn occasional criticism herself.

Last year she was accused of lacking sensitivity for a remark she made after panelist Linda Chavez, then 52, revealed she had bought a gun to protect herself in rural Virginia. Erbe said: “If you look at the statistics, I would bet that you have a greater chance being struck by lightning, Linda, living where you live and at your age, than being raped. Sorry.” In explanation, Erbe has said she thinks women who buy guns to protect themselves from rape are “bonkers.”

When “To the Contrary” went on the air, it was unique. It’s still the only serious talk show giving voice to women’s views and concerns through a panel of female politicians, journalists, lawyers and other activists. “Serious” is the operative word, separating “To the Contrary” from lighter shows by women such as ABC’s “The View.”

Erbe encourages candid, lively and thoughtful discussion among her panelists, telling them: “What we say is more important than how we look.”

As a result, the series has become a showcase for accomplished women who add it to their resumes. That’s a mixed blessing for Erbe, who lost panelist Elaine Chao when the Bush administration named her secretary of Labor.

But sometimes, when the jobs are over, former panelists stay in touch. For example, Lynn Martin, who served as secretary of Labor for former President George H.W. Bush, left Washington but remains on the show’s advisory board. Irene Natividad, chairwoman of the National Commission for Working Women and former president of the National Women’s Political Caucus, heads the board and is an occasional panelist.

Erbe said she tries for racial and political balance, but said “the hardest slot to fill is conservative women of color.” Still, her efforts appear to have paid off: Twenty-three percent of the show’s viewers are black and 14% are Latino, greater than their percentages among the U.S. population of 13% and 12%, respectively.

The combination of guests and pacing their interaction are the keys to any panel show, Erbe said.

“The toughest thing is to get the chemistry right. We’re sort of ‘The McLaughlin Group’ on Quaaludes or ‘Washington Week’ on a little bit of speed,” she said with a smile. “I tell them, ‘Keep the enthusiasm, keep the passion, but don’t talk over each other.”’

The formula seems to have worked. “To the Contrary” has won three awards from the National Women’s Political Caucus, in 1994, ’95 and ‘98; the 1994 and 1996 Clarion Award from Women in Communications for best TV talk show; and a Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television in 1997.

In June, after almost a decade of focusing exclusively on women, “To the Contrary” marked Father’s Day by featuring its first all-male panel for a discussion of men’s changing social roles.

It turns out that one-third of regular viewers of “To the Contrary” are men. “I was surprised by that,” Erbe said. “When the first ratings came in, I thought it would be 80-20 or 90-10. But it’s not.”

Erbe and her executive producer, Cari W. Stein, produce the show under the banner of Erbe’s Persephone Productions.