Celebrity Newsmagazines
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The structure for the parachute approach typically included four segments
related to a single topic. Field producers would be assigned to drop in to a location,
gather footage, and get out. A leading anchor would introduce the program’s theme
and provide the continuity. Av Westin of ABC News described the anchor as the
person who would string the individual pearls together to form a necklace (Mascaro
1988).
But the ratings for 1987 also demonstrated the ability of stylish infotainment
programs to entice a large audience to watch news in prime time. NBC aired two
documentaries that achieved ratings equivalent to middling entertainment shows—
Life in the Fat Lane (3 June) scored a 15.7 rating and a 28 share, and Scared
Sexless (29 December), a 17.5 rating and a 30 share.
Life in the Fat Lane warned viewers about the dangers of fad diets and
overeating and suggested that changes in life style would be required to reduce the
risk of disease. But above all, it was a fun show that used the guitar riffs of the
popular baby-boomers’ song “Wipe Out” as the soundtrack for tricky editing
showing bouncing bellies, shimmying thighs, and undulating butt cheeks.
Among the guests yucking it up with anchor Connie Chung were comedian
Dom DeLuise, who claimed his mother could roll salami so tight you could pick
your teeth with it; L.A. Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who confessed to his
love affair with linguini; the rotund TV stars Nell Carter and Oprah Winfrey, who
talked about diets; and fitness queen, movie star Jane Fonda.
The producer for the two Connie Chung programs and four other life style
documentaries that year, Sid Feders, explained the success of Life in the Fat Lane
this way: “One, it had a good subject. Everyone in this country is either fat or
thinks they are. Two, it had Connie Chung, a major star who was going to bring in
an audience. Three, you have the stars—Dom DeLuise, Jane Fonda, Oprah Winfrey
and Nell Carter. That’s the formula that I have been pushing” (Mascaro 1988).
Feders’ system worked again in December with Scared Sexless, an even more
stylized presentation. Chung appeared on set roaming among brass beds. Again
the producer used accelerated montages that flashed through the tease, with fly-by
images of Elvis, fast cars, and glitzy street scenes. The theme of this documentary
was that the threat of sexually transmitted diseases had curtailed heterosexual
America’s sexual activity.
And who better to connect with baby boomers about sex than Laugh-In’s skinny
dancer with the tattoos on her belly and bedroom eyes, Goldie Hawn. To balance
the sex appeal for this show, Chung also talked to Alan Alda, who portrayed the
main character on
Race car hunk Danny Sullivan and football star
Marcus Allen rounded out the program and added both sex- and macho appeal.
The network documentary slate for 1987 was a scorecard for executives (See
Table, “Prime-Time Entertainment Series Ratings”). The most popular long-form