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The Don't Quote Me archive

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Making waves

Part 3

by Dan Kennedy

It's possible to quibble with WBUR's priorities. But in the realm of news and public affairs, 'BUR is nevertheless considerably ahead of WGBH -- not just the radio station, but the television station as well. And WGBH-TV's near-absence following the cancellation of The Ten O'Clock News is not just a Boston phenomenon, but the reflection of a national trend that has its roots in public-broadcasting governance as well as broader social and cultural changes.

The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) was established as a decentralized television network whose programming is supplied by member stations, many of which are run like little fiefdoms, conscious of their turf and prerogatives. Danny Schechter, of Globalvision, an independent production company in New York that has had trouble getting PBS to pick up shows such as its human-rights series, Rights & Wrongs, quips that "Bill Moyers once told me, `If you think the war in the Balkans is bad, consider what would happen if you armed the PBS stations.' " By contrast, the 1967 Public Broadcasting Act established NPR as a centralized operation with a clear mandate to produce news and public-affairs programming.

Then, too, public television has been beset by competition from cable, VCRs, and the Internet; public radio has benefited from the decline of commercial competition, as well as from a trend toward long commutes and longer days at the office, where people find it easier to listen to radio than watch television.

Give such obstacles, WGBH deserves praise for making a renewed commitment to local programming. In fact, Greater Boston is just one of three new locally oriented shows. The others: Greater Boston Arts, a monthly arts-scene show that debuted on January 16; and The Long & Short of It, a weekly political talkfest starring the diminutive former secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, and the elongated former Republican senator from Wyoming, Alan Simpson. (Full disclosure: the Reich-Simpson show is sponsored by the Boston Phoenix.)

But it's Greater Boston that will (or won't) get 'GBH back onto the local-public-affairs map. Rooney and WGBH officials know how high the expectations are. That's why they warn that the half-hour show is not intended as a substitute for The Ten O'Clock News.

Most of the action takes place in the studio, making it considerably cheaper -- about $750,000 per year as opposed to upwards of $3 million for the News. (Indeed, WGBH's local-programming budget is just $5 million, out of a total of $143 million for the WGBH Educational Foundation, which includes both television stations, a sister station in Springfield, and WGBH.)

Then, too, Greater Boston is intended as a magazine-style show, not a newscast. Some of the lighter topics wouldn't be out of place on WCVB's Chronicle, which Greater Boston executive producer Judy Stoia helped get off the ground 15 years ago. Others -- such as the Charles Murray interview and media chit-chat with Nieman Foundation curator Bill Kovach -- aim for more highbrow appeal.

The show will also feature a range of freelance contributors, including advertising executive John Carroll, political analyst Lou DiNatale, and veteran Boston TV personality/producer Robin Young.

For Rooney, the show is a chance at a fresh start and some measure of redemption. Well regarded as the news director of WCVB, she was lured to New York in 1993 to become the executive producer of ABC's World News Tonight. Less than a year later she was fired, with Rooney's detractors charging that she wasn't prepared for the big time, and her supporters countering that she was done in by a boys'-club atmosphere in which important people -- including anchor Peter Jennings -- were unwilling to listen to a strong-minded woman from the provinces.

"It was extremely painful," Rooney says. "It's only recently that I stopped thinking about it all the time."

Part 4

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The Don't Quote Me archive

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Dan Kennedy's work can also be accessed from his Web site: http://www1.shore.net/~dkennedy/

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Dan Kennedy can be reached at dkennedy[a]phx.com

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