USA Today, Wednesday, June 14, 1995

A more wholesome 'Affair' in the works

By Alan Bash
USA TODAY

NEW YORK - A Current Affair, largely credited - and blamed - for inventing tabloid TV, is trying to clean up its image in hopes of once again cleaning up in the ratings.

Vowing more investigative pieces and less sleaze, newly hired producers John Tomlin and Bob Young say they'll also drop the longstanding practice of paying for interviews.

"We're probably going to lose stories because of it," says Young, who hopes other shows follow suit. "It's a matter of honesty and treating the viewer with respect." Checkbook journalism won't go away completely, the new regime admits. But Affair promises to announce on air when it has paid a subject.

Affair has been hemorrhaging viewers for about two years, losing plum time slots on some stations and facing continued rumors of cancellation.

In the past year, it has dropped nearly 20% of its audience share, but other shows also have seen big declines, says Tom Bumbera of Seltec Inc., which advises stations. "I think it indicates a broader problem with the genre."

Borrowing a page from Hard Copy, the new Affair, premiering Sept. 11, will boost coverage of Hollywood.

Gone will be re-enactments, which "devalue" stories, Young says. Also gone: some of the old-guard reporters who helped establish the mag's saucy style, including Steve Dunleavy.

Greg Meidel, president of Twentieth Television, which produces Affair, wouldn't say whether Penny Daniels will stay in the anchor chair, adding only that she'll have a "prominent role."

Tuesday, rumors were surfacing that executives would love nothing more than to bring on deposed CBS anchor Connie Chung (whose husband, Maury Povich, was Affair's first host).

Tomlin and Young helped launch Affair, then built Inside Edition with an added focus on consumer-oriented stories such as food and auto safety.

Wooed back to re-create Edition's success, they vow to spend big bucks for investigations, including three stories a week on government waste. They'll also develop an Affair companion show.

Look for a new set and new graphics, but "the ka-chung will stay," says Meidel, referring to the sound that is the show opening's hallmark.

And after months of debate, the show's original title also will stay.

"It's got a bit of baggage," Young says, "but we can turn that around."