TV, Radio War Coverage a Mixed Bag of Results

The local television and radio industry went to war last week, with mixed results. Some lingering impressions:

* The reliance on interviews with families of military personnel became tedious and extremely redundant. It was a one-note story and more than a little exploitative of the families’ terror.

Perhaps KUSI-TV (Channel 51) assistant news director Cathy Clark summed it up best when she told the San Diego Union, “Let’s interview 500 more Navy wives. There comes a point when hearing us talk about what’s happening to each other doesn’t do much good. It’s more important to give information about what’s happening in the Gulf.”

All the stations committed an impressive and unprecedented amount of resources to the Gulf crisis coverage. They should be applauded for the effort, even if the results were often a grab bag of inconsequential features and low-level analysis from people far removed from the scene. The stations that controlled their zeal and focused on international network coverage were invariably more interesting.

* KGTV (Channel 10) anchorman Stephen Clark struck one of the stranger chords of the coverage. Clark told his audience that in the future he would try not to refer to demonstrations as “peace” marches because of a conversation he had with his father. Instead, he would call them “anti-war” demonstrations because, according to his father, calling them peace marches makes it sound like the soldiers in the Middle East are pro-war.

* A poignant moment from Wednesday night’s coverage: While Channel 51 was showing CNN reports from Baghdad, and Channels 8 and 39 were airing live network coverage from Saudi Arabia, Channel 10, which started showing commercials early in the coverage, was showing a commercial for Boll Weevil restaurants.

* War creates strange bedfellows. Many of the radio stations without full news departments hastily made arrangements with local television stations for news reports.

Not too long ago, KFMB-TV (Channel 8) was building its news team around its own version of the Brat Pack, a gang of anchors and reporters who looked like they had just graduated from modeling school. When Michael Tuck moved to KGTV (Channel 10) in 1984, the station began hiring people like Greg Hurst, Stan Miller, Linda Mour, Mark Brown and Susan Roesgen.

Last week, the station announced that weather guy Larry Mendte, who was hired 2 1/2 years ago, will be leaving the station in the next few months, signaling that the station is continuing its move in a completely different direction.

Almost all the pretty boys and girls are long gone now, either forced out or--by their own choice--gone off to jobs in bigger markets. Miller and Roesgen are still at the station, but both, unhappy with recent events, are packing their bags. Miller has been dumped from the main 5 p.m. newscast and is basically a nonentity at the station. He has already announced that he is looking for another job. Roesgen was nowhere to be seen during war coverage, and the only question is whether she will last through the end of her contract in June.

“I do know Susan has expressed some unhappiness. . . . I understand she is looking for other opportunities at this point,” news director Jim Holtzman said last week, publicly acknowledging for the issue for the first time.

Mendte and the station came to a parting of the ways for two reasons: For one, Holtzman, who a few years ago was talking about ways to dump the traditional role of weatherman from the newscast, has now decided to take a “harder, environmental direction” with weather. Also, Holtzman wanted Mendte to sign a long-term deal, which Mendte didn’t want to do, given his other career opportunities. Mendte has been working as a stand-up comic, and he said he hopes to be in Los Angeles or New York in the near future.

Holtzman said he is looking for “people who are part of San Diego. People committed to spending their careers in San Diego.”

He pointed to sports guy Ted Leitner and Hal Clement, who recently took over Miller’s anchor seat, as the core of the new direction. Both have been with the station for more than a decade.

Clearly, Holtzman, who once was the closest thing to an innovator in San Diego television, is turning conservative in the face of consistently mediocre ratings.

“We are looking for people who are pleased with the opportunity to be here, who want to be part of the community, not people who are looking for opportunity to go elsewhere,” Holtzman said.

KNSD-TV (Channel 39) photographer John DeTarsio was packing up his gear at Chicano Park last Monday when a man approached him and asked for $5. When DeTarsio refused, the man hit him in the face, cracked a bottle over his head and ran away. Bleeding from the head, DeTarsio gave chase, while anchorwoman Denise Yamada radioed the station for help. Along with the police, photographers from Channel 10 and 51 showed up to lend a hand. Six-foot-tall, 200-pound Warren Perry was found hiding in a truck and was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. DeTarsio is recovering. . . .

KSON, which has been posting impressive ratings numbers with its country format, has hired John Stone, most recently of WSUN in Tampa, to supplement its morning team. In some ways, Stone will fill the role vacated by Jack Diamond, who left early last year. He will bring the ability to produce comedy bits and a collection of voices to the show, according to program director Mike Shepard. . . .

The shake-up continues at KKYY-FM (Y95). Program director Robert John got his walking papers last week. . . .

The ill-fated run of San Diego County City Magazine is apparently over. Gerald Davis, a court-appointed trustee for the bankruptcy proceedings of publisher Karen Steeb, confirms that the magazine has ceased publishing and there are no real assets, including the magazine, to pay off creditors. . . .

Spanish-language station XHKY-FM switched its frequency to 95.5 two weeks ago, after years of battling with KKOS-FM (95.9), which complained that the Mexican-based station interfered with its signal. Now the Los Angeles-based KLOS-FM is complaining that the new frequency interferes with its signal, XHKY owner Victor Diaz says. Diaz says he will continue at 95.5 and pursue legal avenues to increase the power of the station’s signal. . . .

Fox Television’s crusading “America’s Most Wanted” will be in town Feb. 5 and 6 to tape stories with San Diego angles.