Will Roger Run? Which Medium Gets the Message?

In what was shaping up as the most exciting television announcement since the opening of Al Capone’s vault, Roger Hedgecock was going to tell the world live during today’s “Ross/Hedgecock Report” on KNSD-TV (Channel 39) whether or not he is going to run for mayor.

The television sweeps rating period ends Tuesday, so it would have been Hedgecock’s way of confirming speculation that he has been milking this “will he or won’t he” debate in the same manner a carnival huckster begs for attention, hoping to bolster the ratings of the struggling year-old show. Everything was in place; political reporters were advised to reserve seats in the Channel 39 studio audience.

But it’s not going to happen.

Although Channel 39 will certainly exploit Hedgecock’s decision during today’s “Ross/Hedgecock,” the big announcement now will be made during Hedgecock’s KSDO-AM (1130) morning talk show, since KSDO balked at the plan to have all the hoopla go to Channel 39.

The switch was made because “KSDO did not like Roger making the announcement” on Channel 39, Channel 39 General Manager Neil Derrough said. Although Derrough was not specific, he said that legally “it looked to us like (KSDO) had the right” to be insistent.

KSDO General Manager Mike Shields confirmed that he felt the announcement and its attendant attention was better suited for KSDO.

“We sat down and talked and decided it would be more appropriate at KSDO,” Shields said. “He’s been here for six years.”

Contacted Friday, Hedgecock said his only goal is to find a way to make “the maximum impact, as all candidates do.” Although it doesn’t help the TV show much, announcing in the morning allows Hedgecock to make noon television news programs and get more general coverage.

The initial attempt to make the announcement on Channel 39 provides some clues to Hedgecock’s decision, or at least his thought process. A candidate looking for the best possible exposure wouldn’t necessarily choose the low-rated “Ross/Hedgecock Report.” For one, the other television news operations are not going to be enthusiastic about covering a program on a rival station.

Although the television show certainly needs the ratings help more than the radio show, it really it wouldn’t have done any good to help the ratings if Hedgecock is actually going to run, since the announcement to run would also signal the end of Hedgecock’s participation in the show. Derrough confirmed that Hedgecock will have to be taken off the show the next day if he chooses to run for mayor.

The federal equal-time guidelines, which require stations to give free time to opponents if they give time to one candidate, would not apply to Hedgecock announcing his candidacy, however.

“Our rules don’t kick in until he takes the last step and files,” said Bob Baker, senior attorney for political programming for the Federal Communications Commission.

The filing deadline for mayoral candidates is Thursday. But Shields said that Hedgecock will be off the air Tuesday if he decides to run.

“We tend to play it more conservatively,” Shields said.

Hedgecock said his only interest is in getting the largest possible audience for his announcement.

After the announcement, “whether they vote for me, listen to me or watch me is up to them,” he said.

A recent newspaper article featuring KIFM’s female, minority owners complaining about a recent U.S. Court of Appeals decision to drop preferential treatment for women seeking radio licenses missed one important point: KIFM is a perfect example of why the new ruling made sense.

Although few would argue that women are sorely underrepresented in radio ownership, the Court said there was no proof that giving women preferential treatment results in more programming for women. Anyone seeking evidence would have to look no further than KIFM, the only local station with any significant female ownership.

The three women involved in KIFM--Elida Chavez, Marta Concha and Josie Calderon--have no day-to-day involvement in the operations of the station. They won the preliminary round in the licensing process in 1988, in part because of their minority and female status, but they promptly merged their interest with a competing applicant headed by Bruce Walton. Despite good intentions, the weighted process didn’t achieve its goal.

The women still have their names on the license, and they’re active minority owners, but they have little control of the station, and it would be tough to argue that KIFM is doing anything out of the ordinary to program to women. There are several women in KIFM management, but that’s hardly because of FCC involvement.

If KNSD-TV (Channel 39) needs another reason to put the “Ross/Hedgecock Report” to sleep, it need look no further than last Wednesday’s show, which featured a segment on the NHI billboards, followed by a discussion of “hunks in uniform.” . . .

Let’s get this straight: Channel 39 reporter Michael Settonni whines in print about Channel 8 calling a report on pesticides an exclusive, since he did a similar story last year. This at the same time that Settonni’s bastion of originality, Channel 39, is doing a sweeps period series on privacy, less than two years ago after Channel 10 explored the same topic, which had also done it a year earlier. . . .

Media animal Betty Broderick will be seen on Oprah Winfrey this afternoon (4 p.m., Channel 10), but the interview was taped two weeks ago. In the meantime, Oprah and her staff reportedly were hunkered down in a North County spa last week. . . .

Take note local TV sports nerds: In Thursday night’s 11 p.m. newscast, Channel 39’s Jim Laslavic actually showed video from that night’s Gulls hockey game, University of San Diego basketball and the dramatic end to the San Diego State women’s basketball game. Most stations have trouble getting even one token local video segment for sports. . . .

The long-suffering Vista Press, finally acknowledging that it is not going to be a great daily, has switched to a twice-weekly format. . . .

Not content with a simple mention of Kimberly Hunt’s new baby at the end of a newscast, Channel 10 has been giving it the type of coverage usually reserved for the passing of heads of state or Ted Kennedy’s love life, complete with music video. . . .

From Channel 8’s Andrea Naversen’s health report last week: “No, that’s not a bionic woman, that’s me!”

CRITIC’S CHOICE

BIG SCREEN IS BEST FOR ‘NORTHWEST’

Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest” is a staple of late night television, the quintessential curl-up-on-the-couch movie. But, although Cary Grant’s suave but innocent hero plays well on the small screen, it is meant to be viewed in a theater, where the scope and splendor of the Mt. Rushmore scenes and the infamous plane attack in the cornfield can be truly appreciated. As part of its “restoration festival,” the Ken Cinema will present a restored version of the classic Thursday through Saturday, along with Hitchcock’s “Suspicion.”