ABC tries to reinvigorate newsmagazines

updated 3:19 p.m. ET June 6, 2004

NEW YORK - If she weren’t running one, Shelley Ross doubts she’d watch many television newsmagazines.

“The whole genre is tired,” said Ross, recently appointed executive producer of ABC’s newly rechristened “Primetime Live.”

“Some of it is good,” she said. “But it’s not appointment viewing. It’s all become white noise. If I see one more freed-by-DNA-after-20 years-of-being-wrongly-accused story, I think I’ll scream.”

She now has the responsibility of bringing new life to the newsmagazine, or at least hers. ABC is using personnel changes at “Primetime Live” and “20/20” as the impetus for trying to revive an aging television staple.

“It really is as important as anything we’re facing over the next five years,” said ABC News President David Westin. “This has been, historically, the source of strength at ABC News. It still is a source of strength, but it’s not as vibrant as it has been.”

The most high-profile newsmagazines this year have been CBS’ “60 Minutes” twins, which were first to show pictures of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal and conducted a string of interviews that will be capped by the first stop of Bill Clinton’s book tour this month. “Dateline NBC” made news the wrong way, for its promotional interviews about NBC entertainment shows.

Before the reality TV explosion of the past five years slowed things down, newsmagazine hours were nearly as prevalent as comedies and dramas on network prime-time schedules.

“We haven’t had a really new idea for a newsmagazine in some time,” Westin said. “It proliferated and at the same time stayed the same.”

Ross shifted, somewhat reluctantly, from her executive producer post at “Good Morning America.” Hosts Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer will be joined this fall by a rotating team of Chris Cuomo, Cynthia McFadden and John Quinones.

At “20/20,” Barbara Walters is stepping down after more than a quarter-century as anchor. Elizabeth Vargas was appointed to team with co-host John Stossel, and high-profile British interviewer Martin Bashir will come on staff.

Walters departure a challenge, opportunity
“Barbara’s departure, I’d be less than honest with you to say it didn’t present some huge challenge to me, as the guy who’s driving the car,” said executive producer David Sloan. “But it also presents a huge opportunity to do a different kind of broadcast.”

Sloan must keep in mind that the “20/20” audience is 65 percent women. And on Friday night, they’re winding down from a hard week instead of charging into a new one.

“20/20” is planning more single-subject hours, exploring stories like it has done on nepotism, the connections between siblings, adoption and second acts in life. Viewers will participate more; when “20/20” poses a question like “what’s your biggest concern in a relationship?” the show’s reporting will follow their e-mailed replies.

ABC has found a way to use Stossel’s contrarian nature in a way that makes him less of a political lightning rod. An hour he recently spent debunking myths, where he jumped into the Hudson River to prove it was cleaner than people thought, was well-received.

“20/20” will avoid the crime yarns perfected by “48 Hours Investigates” and “Dateline NBC,” although Vargas will continue her occasional reports on missing persons. With other networks airing shows like “Third Watch,” “JAG” and the CSI-like “Medical Investigations” on Fridays, it makes no competitive sense.

Bashir may be best known for his interviews with Michael Jackson and Princess Diana, but he’s actually an eager investigative reporter whose work may complement Brian Ross’ hard-news reports, Westin said.

“It’s much too simple to say he’s a replacement for Barbara,” he said.

Change in focus
The ABC news boss wouldn’t say his newsmagazines will cut back on the celebrity “gets,” but he did explain some of the pressures that make them tempting. Newsmagazines are always conscious of seeking younger viewers, of competing in tough time periods against entertainment shows and of saving the network money, he said.

“When doing that, there’s a temptation to narrow your focus instead of broadening it,” he said.

As eager as Sloan is to explain in detail where he wants to take “20/20,” Ross is reluctant. Perhaps it’s all those years of fighting the “Today” show for scoops.

“I’m a better poker player than to reveal my hand 12 weeks before the launch,” she said. “We may do some test-drives (of new ideas) early in the summer.”

So let Westin — who admits his idea a few years back to combine newsmagazine staffs was a mistake for not recognizing the distinctiveness of each show — try to explain.

“‘Primetime’ is going to borrow some of what Shelley did in the morning, which is to be very flexible, very topical and be able to blow up the show at the last moment, depending on what the news is,” he said.

Ross, who worked for many years at “Primetime” before going to “GMA,” was eager to reclaim the show’s live legacy. “There’s something that just feels canned when it is canned,” she said.

That makes things tough on Gibson and Sawyer, who still have to wake up early the next morning for “Good Morning America.” But Ross warned not to assume the appointment of three new co-hosts means their “Primetime Live” participation will be minimal.

“It means they may be exhausted Friday,” she said. “But at 9:01, they can sleep.”

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