THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 28, 1995 TAG: 9507270048
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LARRY BONKO
DATELINE: PASADENA, CALIF. LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
THE American Broadcasting Company cozies up to Michael Jackson again tonight, handing over 30 minutes of prime time at 9:30 to the singer, dancer, bridegroom of the year and National Enquirer's No. 1 cover boy.
ABC not long ago turned over the network to Jackson in exchange for an exclusive interview with His Weirdness and his flinty wife, the former Lisa Marie Presley.
Now Jackson is back on ABC to give his new album another push in a program that ABC's news or entertainment divisions played no part in producing. Jackson is giving the network the show in exchange for the air time.
They call it barter in the TV game, and to tell you the truth, the president of ABC appears to be a tad uncomfortable with the arrangement.
David Westin said so when he met with Television Critics Association members here the other day.
``We generally try to avoid doing barter,'' he said. The reason is simple. If you give away air time, the people who advertise on your network will begin growling about the prime-time fees you charge them.
After hanging out with the gang from ABC for three days here, you get these vibes from the suits:
At ABC, Jackson is king. The basically conservative executives who run the network melt in his presence, turning as giggly and starstruck as 12-year-olds.
Being the cynical bunch that we are, the TCA members suggested to Westin that perhaps a deal had been struck between ABC News and ABC Entertainment to snare Jackson and Lisa Marie. Let Sawyer and the newsies have their interview, and the entertainment boys will later find prime time for another Jackson appearance.
No such deal was made, said Westin. He looked shocked when the TV reporters described the Sawyer interview and tonight's visit from Jackson on ABC, as infomercials disguised as legit programming.
Infomercials?
Don't be silly, the boss of the network suggested.
``(Tonight's) show is an entertainment special. He did his interview with ABC News, which does not pay for interviews in any way. That program was clearly news. There was no deal-making here.''
I swear. I think I saw him sweat a teeny drop.
Question: Didn't ABC give Jackson a bunch of free commercials for his album after the Sawyer interview.
``The 10 spots and the special coming up tonight are part of a long-term relationship between ABC and Michael Jackson.''
Question: Are we really expected to believe that Jackson agreed to talk one-on-one with Sawyer without making a deal with ABC Entertainment beforehand?
``ABC News had a request in to interview Jackson for some time. Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters were competing for that. Has all this helped Michael Jackson? Of course. People don't usually agree to do these things unless they are going to be helped by them.''
So, who is using whom here? Westin admitted frankly that viewership this summer is down, way down, from past years. He's been dying to put something fresh on the air this month.
``This special looks like a pretty good bet for the summer months,'' said Westin.
And Jackson can't lose either. Tonight, he'll use the time on ABC to show how he slipped into a recording studio to re-do lyrics (``Jew me. Sue me. Everybody do me. Kick me. Kike me. Don't you black and white me'') which offended many. Michael's mea culpa.
Do you, dear viewer, care about any of this? Or are you happy to see Michael Jackson on a Friday night in July when TV is a desert of reruns? Help. The FX channel is running ``Dynasty'' again. MEMO: Columnist Larry Bonko is in Los Angeles for the twice-yearly Television
Critics press tour. by CNB