INSIDE TV & RADIO; This Just in: High Ratings Give Media Reason to Follow Anna Nicole Saga
By TIM CUPRISIN
There was a moment of honesty at the height of the latest blizzard of silly coverage, when CNN’s Jack Cafferty was handing the baton over to Wolf Blitzer.
“Is Anna Nicole Smith still dead, Wolf?” he asked in a callback to Chevy Chase’s famous Francisco Franco bit in the first season of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” more than three decades ago.
Straight-faced Blitzer gave a simple “yes” and promised an update.
“I can’t wait for that,” came Cafferty’s retort on Thursday’s “Situation Room.”
Days later, the ridiculous story still is being updated. The “mystery” propelling this tale onto the network morning shows on Monday is the paternity of Smith’s 5-month-old daughter.
But there’s no mystery behind the over-coverage.
Ratings maven Marc Berman at mediaweek.com dug into the Nielsen Media Research numbers to find that Thursday’s “Inside Edition” reached a season high. Ratings also were up for “Entertainment Tonight” and “The Insider” coverage of the death of the stripper turned centerfold turned “reality” TV star.
The obvious market for this stuff was served throughout the weekend on cable and the networks. ABC and NBC subbed episodes of its magazine shows Friday and Saturday with more coverage of a woman who leaves no body of creative work in her wake.
Despite her attempts to mimic a previous generation’s blond obsession, Smith was no Marilyn Monroe, who was a memorable performer in addition to being a sad figure. Smith’s rsum includes a few caricature parts in a few forgettable films. Her 2002 E! Entertainment show was a pathetic glimpse into a garish life.
Yet millions will continue following Smith’s seedy saga, giving TV news outlets enough reason for even more coverage.
Cafferty’s crack is rare proof that the folks selling us the story get the joke.
CHANNEL SURFING: Fox News Channel airs the first of two episodes of its ” 1/2 Hour News Hour,” developed by “24″ executive producer Joel Surnow at 9 p.m. Sunday. The comedy show’s second installment runs March 4.
— For streaming video of Steven Avery’s homicide trial, Channel 4′s feed is at www.todaystmj4.com, Channel 6′s at www.myfoxmilwaukee.com, and Channel 12′s at www.themilwaukeechannel.com. You also can watch at JSOnline.com.
— CBS is singing about the best Grammy ratings since 2004. Nielsen says some 20 million people watched.
— David Spade’s “Showbiz Show” returns to Comedy Central at 9:30 p.m. March 15.
A NEW GM: Hearst-Argyle TV has moved quickly to replace recently promoted Channel 12 general manager Frank Biancuzzo, naming Jan Wade to lead Milwaukee’s ABC affiliate.
She has been president and general manager of WATE-TV, the Young Broadcasting-owned ABC station in Knoxville, Tenn., since 1994, and has a list of TV jobs before that in marketing and programming.
LET’S CHAT
Inside TV & Radio’s February cyberchat kicks off at noon Wednesday. But you can get your Valentine’s in early at www.journalsentinel.com/chat.
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Reach Tim Cuprisin at (414) 224-2397 or tcuprisin@journalsentinel.com. Read his blog at www.jsonline.com/ cuprisinblog.
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