KCBS makes news with a late comeback
For decades at KCBS-TV Channel 2, if there was champagne on ice and the big boss was working the room, it probably meant one of two things -- a mistaken delivery or someone had just been fired.
But earlier this month, both elements -- chilled bubbly and CBS President and CEO Les Moonves -- were present at the KCBS broadcast center in Hollywood. The heady mix marked an extraordinary celebration in the once-downtrodden newsroom: The affiliate had recently been crowned ratings champion of the local late-night newscast for the first time in more than three decades.
The surprise visit by the CBS chief rallied the troops more than a news chopper exclusive of a freeway car chase at rush hour and helped honor the end of a decades-long losing streak that perhaps only the Los Angeles Clippers could understand.
“His visit to the newsroom was a huge psychological paycheck,” said local news veteran Laura Diaz, who co-anchors the 11 p.m. news with relative newcomer Paul Magers. “There are people who’ve worked here for decades and have never experienced being No. 1....It feels pretty sweet.”
The last time the station reveled in first-place glory for its 11 p.m. newscast was in the early 1970s when Jerry Dunphy and “The Big News” commanded the local airwaves. The top ratings are more a reflection of CBS’ strong nighttime programming -- particularly with older adults, a prime audience for evening newscasts -- and the personal appeal of its revamped news team than any truly distinctive journalism that separates it from its closest rivals, according to analysts.
“It was the shaking of a curse,” said Johnny Mountain, KCBS’ gregarious weatherman who came aboard only 13 months ago after years at KABC-TV Channel 7. “You don’t want to use the word ‘euphoric’ -- I can’t spell that word -- but people here are on cloud nine.”
For decades, Southern California’s 11 p.m. newscasts had been dominated by KNBC-TV Channel 4 and KABC, with the former typically finishing No. 1 in the coveted time period in recent years. But the May sweeps anointed KCBS the winner this time. KCBS attracted an average of 396,000 viewers each night, just outdistancing its closest competitors KNBC with 391,000 and KABC with 382,000.
The KCBS numbers mark a reversal of fortune from four years ago, when its 11 p.m. newscast drew just 230,000 average nightly viewers -- fewer than half of KABC’s 467,000 and just over a third of KNBC’s monster number of 616,000.
Sounding like a ballplayer who’s just won the World Series after years of being on losing teams, sportscaster Jim Hill said, “It’s been a long, hard road, but if you keep doing things the right way and if the audience sees that you like what you’re doing, they are going to appreciate it.” Hill should know: Except for a four-year stint with KABC, he’s been at the station since 1976.
The ratings triumph prompted a round of mutual congratulations within a newsroom more accustomed to rock-bottom morale. From support staff to lead anchor, there was a lot of talk about hard work, dedication and professionalism as being the forces behind the victory.
But late-night news ratings too, as any executive knows, are probably just as much about the strength of lead-in programming. Even in an age of fingertip remotes and TiVo, viewers who want to see local news usually remain at the same station they were watching moments before 11 p.m. In CBS’ case, its trio of “CSI” programs has been a ratings bonanza for local news.
“As with any newscast, the lead-in is tremendously important,” said Nancy Bauer Gonzales, vice president and news director of KCBS-KCAL. “But we also have to keep that audience and not turn them away.... Really at that hour, our biggest competitor is sleep.”
Some industry observers argue programming isn’t just half the battle -- “It’s everything,” said Ron Fineman, who writes On the Record, a website about local TV news. “Anybody that tries to spin it another way, well, that’s just nonsense.”
In addition to holding onto first place, KCBS’ major goal is to retain more of its lead-in audience. Still, that’s a nice problem to have compared with the station’s former problems.
Even in the fast-changing world of local news, KCBS staff turnover was considered high within the ranks of management and its on-air news talent. During its long-suffering decades, the station went through scores of general managers, news directors and anchors in what turned out to be fruitless attempts to rise in the ratings.
“There’s no doubt the revolving door hurt them,” said Beth Evans, a former television reporter and anchor who now teaches broadcast journalism at Cal State Fullerton. “One of the main reasons people tune into a newscast isn’t so much for the breaking news, it’s really for anchors they feel familiar and comfortable with.”
It wasn’t until 2002, when CBS acquired KCAL-TV Channel 9 to form one of the nation’s largest duopolies, did fortunes begin to rise for KCBS. Today, the merger’s aftermath supplies the KCBS newsroom with more reporting muscle than other stations and gives it a particular edge when it comes to live spot coverage. On a typical newscast, KCBS will air from six to eight live field reports -- about twice that of other stations.
The merger also signaled the start of an aggressive makeover of its news team, which began with Diaz’s arrival in fall 2002. In perhaps its boldest move, the station gambled an estimated $2 million per year for Paul Magers, the baritone-voiced former Twin Cities anchor who started at KCBS in January 2004.
The makeover is apparently working.
“Television habits are extremely difficult to change,” said Magers, respected for his smooth breaking-news delivery and ad-lib sense of humor. “That’s why when people sit down to watch television they go to that same chair.”
Both KCBS anchors believe the team’s talent and on-air chemistry help keep viewers coming back to their newscast.
“We have four people out there who are pretty good at their jobs,” said Magers, referring to co-anchor Diaz, weatherman Mountain, sportscaster Hill and himself. “We interact well together. That’s important. It is not faked. I’m not an actor, so I certainly couldn’t fake that.”
Added Diaz: “On any good team, there’s a yin and a yang. I think we complement each other very well.”
But can the first-place ratings last? In Minnesota, Magers anchored at a station that took No. 1 and then slipped the next ratings period. It took two years to recapture first place.
“I don’t want people in this building jumping off bridges if we aren’t No. 1 next time around,” said Magers. “First place is temporary. That’s the business.”