Commentary

Jack Myers' Think Tank: How Would You Save Katie Couric? Plus Paris Hilton, Chris Albrecht

Paris Hilton: Live By the Press; Die By the Press

Paris Hilton issued the following statement: "After reading the media's coverage of my court hearing, I feel the need to correct what I believe are misperceptions about me. I do not expect to be treated better than anyone else who violated probation. However, my hope is that I will not be treated worse."

Pity poor Paris. For the first time in her so-called career, she is confronting a harsh reality that being treated differently than everybody else is a dual-edged sword. Whether it's avoiding the red velvet rope and waiting lines, or driving while on probation, Paris has led a simple life unencumbered by the barriers that are imposed on the rest of us. Since her coming out parties dancing on the tables at Bungalow 8, Paris' life has been scripted, and the unscripted parts have been manipulated to her favor.

Now, she has clearly been mistreated by a California judge who believes tough love and a harsh and abusive spanking are in order. Apart from small rallies at NYU, of all places, Paris' fan base has deserted her. The press. who put her exploits on the front page and made her the top story of all the tabloid TV shows, are relegating this story to the back burner. Paris Hilton, and her parents who have funded her 15 hours of fame, seem genuinely shocked that there's a price to pay for infamy. After Martha Stewart's turn in the cell, two TV movies appeared and Martha's star did not dim.

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Will Paris' 39 days in the pen be the beginning of a new phase of a long career -- or has the Paris star burned out for good? What do you think? Will the press and public continue to elevate her to superstar status?

HBO's Chris Albrecht: Fight of the Week

The temporary leave of absence that Chris Albrecht took from HBO a day earlier has become permanent, Time Warner announced this week. Albrecht has lost his job as chairman and CEO of HBO after Albrecht was arrested in Las Vegas for (allegedly, we're required to add) assaulting his girlfriend. The Los Angeles Times then reported that HBO had settled and covered up a lawsuit in 1991 when Albrecht assaulted a female HBO employee he had been dating.

Just a few months ago, Time Warner protected its CFO after allegations of an affair with a woman reported to be a "madam." In both this case and the Paris Story, alcohol is involved. Mel Gibson: alcohol; Alec Baldwin: alcohol; David Hasselhof: alcohol; Ty Pennington: alcohol; rap artist Eve: alcohol; Britney Spears: alcohol. What troubles me is how easily alcohol is blamed for human dysfunction, and how compliant the press is in accepting the excuses. If alcohol is as great a destroyer of lives as it appears to be, apparently doing more potential harm to mankind than cigarette smoking, why is the glorification of alcoholic consumption such a pervasive presence on TV? Are we heading toward federal controls? Should we be paying more attention?

How Would You Save Katie Couric?

"CBS Evening News" ratings have continued to slip for the eight months of Katie Couric's stay at the anchor desk. Ironically, CBS was edging steadily up in ratings after interim anchor Bob Schieffer replaced Dan Rather. Katie's performance -- or lack of it -- camouflages a more relevant and important issue: broadcast network news is less and less relevant to Americans.

With veteran news producer Rick Kaplan now managing the CBS nightly newscast, there has been a return, he says, to a more traditional hard news broadcast. According to USA Today, Kaplan says "CBS erred in trying to change its tone and style when Couric arrived. In addition to all the things viewers had to get used to, the fact that what they were seeing wasn't anything like a traditional broadcast was too jarring."

This makes little sense to me. Kaplan apparently is depending on CBS' traditional older news viewers to return. But not only have these traditional viewers moved elsewhere, network news viewers are deserting all nightly network news broadcasts.

For Kaplan to attract new audiences to Katie's newscast, a return to a traditional format is unlikely to produce stronger ratings. When it might stabilize ratings, where will new audiences come from? They were turned off by traditional newscasts ages ago.

I'd argue that Katie's original producers didn't go far enough to reinvent the nightly newscast. They moved away from Katie's proven strengths and personality. They alienated her traditional "Today Show" constituencies. They put her into uncomfortable surroundings. No, Kaplan is trying to make Katie into a Cronkite and Rather, something she will never be. Instead of differentiating Katie and reinventing the nightly 30-minute news, Kaplan is creating a news clone.

What are your proposals to save Katie and improve the "CBS Evening News"? How would you restructure the format to attract audiences without alienating current viewers?

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