ABC's inquiry appears to reflect a news shift
ABC's decision to dig up dirt on a linchpin of another network's entertainment lineup reflects the changing values of television news, several media analysts said yesterday.
The much-hyped ''Primetime Live" exposé Wednesday night on Fox's hit show ''American Idol" generated a big audience and has led to speculation that Paula Abdul will depart the show. The ABC report prompted a Fox statement yesterday expressing ''concerns about the motives behind last night's purported news special."
Although Fox did not elaborate on those motives, Steven Stark, a television historian and author of ''Glued to the Set," cited increasing network friction as a factor in ABC's scrutiny of ''American Idol."
''I don't think you would have seen this 10 years ago," Stark said. ''I think there is such competition between each network that it's become cutthroat. Secondly, it's Fox. Fox is willing to push the envelope. They're the fourth network and they've tried to usurp the other three."
ABC spokesman Jeffrey Schneider vigorously defended the ''Primetime Live" examination of the Fox show.
''It might be interesting or fun for some to make this into a fight between Fox and ABC News," he said. ''It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with journalists pursuing an interesting tip which clearly showed there were substantial reasons to look into these allegations. . . Obviously, 'American Idol' is a cultural phenomenon that attracts millions of viewers, and we thought the claims warranted further investigation."
The status of ''American Idol" as a pop-culture smash is reflected in
Although former NBC News president Larry Grossman found no ethical problems with ABC's decision to investigate ''American Idol," he said it spoke volumes about what now constitutes television journalism.
''That's characteristic of the prime-time magazine shows at all the networks," he said. ''They are nonfiction entertainment rather than dealing with the major issues of our time. . . . If it's a good story, it's a good story. The question is: What do they define as a good story?"
Certainly, newsmagazine shows are not averse to treating entertainment television as a subject of interest. Schneider recalled a flattering 2002 ''20/20" segment on ''American Idol;" NBC's ''Dateline" has aired pieces on personalities from that show. CBS's ''60 Minutes" aired a profile of comedian and NBC sitcom star Jerry Seinfeld. And on Sunday, Ray Romano, star of CBS's long-running comedy ''Everybody Loves Raymond" will be interviewed on the venerable newsmagazine show.
What seems to be less commonplace is one network training its journalistic guns on another. Asked about ''60 Minutes" investigations into rival networks, a CBS spokesman could only recount a September 1996 story about whether NBC anchor Tom Brokaw had been unfair in coverage of suspected (and eventually vindicated) Olympic bomber Richard Jewell.
And in a 2001 segment that bore similarities to ABC's look at ''American Idol," NBC's ''Dateline" interviewed a former participant in the CBS reality hit ''Survivor" who had said the show was rigged.
J. Max Robins, editor in chief at Broadcasting & Cable, said the ''Primetime Live" investigation was ''well reported" and covered a story that was ''valid news." But he also said it ''is valid to ask the question, 'If 'Idol' were an ABC show, not a Fox show, would they be doing the story?' "
Whatever the answer, it is clear that ''American Idol" provided a ratings bonanza for ''Primetime Live." An ABC spokesman said Wednesday's edition of the newsmagazine attracted 13.7 million viewers, nearly double the size of the normal audience.
