ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 16, 1996 TAG: 9612180006
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: JOHN CARMODY THE WASHINGTON POST
Senior White House adviser George Stephanopoulos has signed with ABC News to be a contributing correspondent, with a recurring role initially on both the Sunday morning ``This Week'' and ``Good Morning America.''
His decision, announced last week, ended a reported bidding war among ABC, CBS and CNN for his TV services as he prepares to leave the Clinton administration after nearly four years at the White House.
``I'm just thrilled,'' Stephanopoulos said. ``I'm looking forward to working with Cokie Roberts and Sam Donaldson'' on ``This Week.''
He declined to discuss his ABC salary terms, joking that on leaving the White House with its strict disclosure rules, ``I don't have to tell you what I make anymore.''
In recent weeks, the White House aide and his attorney Bob Barnett have talked to executives at ABC, CBS and CNN, while NBC, said Barnett, also ``expressed interest'' but never got around to talking.
Barnett insisted last week that ``without a doubt, money was not the deciding factor'' in Stephanopoulos' choice of ABC News.
A CNN source said the cable network had been prepared to offer Stephanopoulos his own weekend half-hour program and some other ``innovative programming ideas,'' but ``George really wanted eyeballs and the ABC programs have much larger audiences.''
CBS News also reportedly offered him a recurring role on ``Face the Nation,'' which, down the line, is expected to expand to a full hour on Sunday, as well as assignments on its upcoming cable operation, Eye on People.
Having taken the ABC job, it's going to be a busy few years for Stephanopoulos, who in addition to being politically ambitious has already accepted a professorship at Columbia University. According to Barnett, he is expected to sign a book deal very soon and has signed with the Washington Speakers Bureau Inc.
Barnett also disclosed that after the first of the year four print magazines are lined up to talk to Stephanopoulos about doing an occasional column.
But the three-year deal with ABC News already offers some intriguing TV career alternatives, according to network sources - if his workload permits.
Over the first year of the contract, Stephanopoulos is expected to make about 25 appearances - every other week - on ``This Week,'' commuting to Washington on weekends for that assignment and reportedly being paired with conservative commentator William Kristol.
During the academic week in New York he will be available for ``GMA,'' contributing some ``debriefs'' and commentaries, and being involved in some panel discussions, as well as occasional longer pieces produced for the morning show.
He is likely to work closely with ``This Week'' executive producer Dorrance Smith, himself a former Bush administration aide and a longtime Stephanopoulos friend, in producing the longer pieces.
ABC News executives further expect that if things go well, Stephanopoulos' role can expand to include doing some full-length programming for ABC-owned cable channels such as Arts & Entertainment and, particularly, the History Channel, where, said senior news vice president Joanna Bistany, ``he can explore the issues.''
Moreover, Stephanopoulos would be available in 1998 for political coverage in the midterm election year.
* * *
Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who is under 5 feet tall, says he and 6-foot-7 retiring Sen. Alan Simpson will team up for an issue-oriented TV show they hope to call ``The Long and the Short of It.''
The talk show, featuring guests discussing issues of the day, will be broadcast on WGBH, the PBS station in Boston, starting in late January, when Simpson teaches a semester at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and Reich hopes to be teaching in the area.
Reich told reporters he is hopeful the show would eventually go national.
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