THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 19, 1995 TAG: 9501190040
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
DATELINE: PASADENA, CALIF. LENGTH: Long : 110 lines
THIS IS THE week that the producers of soap operas on ABC, NBC and CBS wished would never come, the week when opening arguments are scheduled to begin in the O.J. Simpson double homicide case.
As the trial unfolds here in Superior Court in an area drying out from the heaviest rains in two decades, the news divisions at the three networks will take charge of what viewers see throughout the day. That means CBS News president Eric Ober and his counterparts at ABC and NBC will jerk the daytime dramas off the air and put the trial on. Viewers who don't give a hoot about Simpson's guilt or innocence but care deeply about what's happening with the much-married Erica Kane on ``All My Children,'' will have their day ruined if the soap operas are preempted for the trial. From across the land, the networks and affiliates will hear the cry.
``We want our soaps! We want our soaps!''
ABC Television's president of daytime programming, Pat Fili-Krushel, told members of the Television Critics Association meeting here that ``All My Children'' and other ABC soaps will not be buried in the avalanche of testimony that will come out of the Simpson trial. She expects ABC News to take control of daytime when the trial begins and show all of the opening and closing statements. But after that, Fili-Krushel looks for the ABC soaps to return to their regularly scheduled time periods.
If the trial produces an electrifying moment - if, say, Simpson took the stand to testify on his behalf - the soaps would be pre-empted. Otherwise, the ABC daytime programmers expect it to be business as usual.
``With trial updates seen on an as-needed basis,'' said Fili-Krushel.
She is aware that the trial may be irresistible to even the most devoted fan of ``All My Children'' or ``General Hospital.'' They can watch the courtroom drama and stay caught up with the ABC soaps by tuning into ``Soapline.''
That feature will air on ABC at the start of each of the three hours in the network's daily block of soap operas. It's a quick update of just what's happening on that day's soap, for those who are flipping back and forth from the real-life trial to make-believe melodramas. ``They'll be in one-minute segments, but we can produce longer segments if the need arises,'' said Fili-Krushel.
Her message to soap opera fans is, ``Relax. We've got you covered.''
Should the whole day's soap operas be pre-empted by the Simpson trial, not to worry, said the ABC executives. The network will not skip over episodes. The story lines pick up at the point where they were interrupted.
``The bottom line is that we don't really expect the Simpson trial to disrupt our soap operas for any great length of time. The business of daytime television is much too important for that. The viewers wouldn't stand for it. We know because we hear from the viewers. It is a very vocal audience.''
Don't be surprised if the networks develop a plan to rotate coverage of the Simpson trial. Eric Ober, president of CBS News, likes the idea and said so to the TV writers.
``It's warranted for viewers who want gavel-to-gavel coverage because not everyone subscribes to cable. I don't see anything wrong with rotating coverage of a major news event,'' Ober said. On cable, to which more than 65 percent of viewers in Hampton Roads subscribe, CNN, Court TV and E! Entertainment plan to cover every minute of the trial. (In Los Angeles, one station, KTLA, has been on the air with every moment of the preliminaries. The story is that big here.)
Ober isn't convinced that's the way to go, even for a 24-hour cable channel. ``This is going to be an over-covered trial, and I'm not sure it's necessary to be on the air with trivial things, to be saying, `We're here, nothing is happening, but in case something happens, you're covered.' ''
On another matter, Ober said it was wrong for his news division to release that famous 20-second sound bite from Connie Chung's ``Eye-to-Eye'' broadcast before the interview with House Speaker Newt Gingrich's parents aired.
``The timing was inappropriate, and releasing only 20 seconds of a 12-minute interview trivialized the interview.''
In other words, it was a big mistake.
There are millions of soap opera fans out there who are also aware of bad timing - the coming of the Simpson trial here and now to threaten their long-established habits of watching the doings in Pine Valley and other soap opera locales. ABC and CBS have pledged here to keep O.J. Simpson from running roughshod through their soaps as much as possible.
``Our viewers don't want to miss anything,'' said Fili-Krushel. Who would want to miss Erica's sixth marriage? Or is it seventh? The actress who plays the part of Erica Kane, Susan Lucci, said she can't remember to how many men she has married in 25 years on ``All My Children.''
``I think it's been eight marriages to six different men,'' Lucci told the TV writers. Close enough. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
THE TRIAL ON TV
Opening arguments in the O.J. Simpson trial are expected to last
about two days. Here is the local broadcast schedule for the opening
days of the trial. All times and programs are subject to change.
Court TV and E! Entertainment Television will carry the trial in
its entirety.
CNN will broadcast the trial from noon to 8 p.m. daily, breaking
only for ``TalkBackLive'' at 3:30 p.m., ``Inside Politics'' at 4
p.m. and ``Moneyline With Lou Dobbs'' at 4:21 p.m. ``Crossfire'' has
been moved to 8:30 p.m. Trial coverage is anchored by lawyer and
``Showbiz Today'' co-host Jim Moret.
CBS (WTKR, Channel 3) will have live coverage anchored by Dan
Rather from noon to 8 p.m.
NBC (WAVY, Channel 10) will present complete coverage of opening
arguments, anchored by Tom Brokaw, with a break for local news from
5 to 6:30 p.m. After opening arguments, soap operas will continue
with no episodes lost, and the trial will be seen in two-minute
inserts.
ABC (WVEC, Channel 13) will break from regularly scheduled
programming for important events in the trial.
by CNB