Remote patrol

"Biography" (7 tonight, A&E) breaks format to look at the personal impact of gambling. In the past decade, casinos have popped up on riverfronts and reservations, offering a night's entertainment for the price of a U.S. Grant or two. But for others, it's more than a game. We meet a 69-year-old retiree who moved from Florida to Mississippi just so she could play video poker every morning. And we hear from another daily player, also a retiree, who declares, "It's a world of make-believe. You make believe you're going to walk out of here a millionaire." Unfortunately, for others the consequences of gambling became all too real. Singer Gladys Knight tells how she grew so attached to her seat in the casino that even having to leave to pick up her child from school became an annoyance. And an ex-Chicago bookie tells how the mob's ruthless control of the rackets finally sickened him; he became an informant. @ART CAPTION:Harry Smith is host of tonight's "Biography Close-Up" look at gambling. @ART:Photo (color) >>>

Convention will have unconventional coverage

Ted Koppel may not be gracing the Republican National Convention with his presence. But Gideon Yago will. The 21-year-old New Yorker is covering the convention for cable's MTV network. In contrast to the "Nightline" anchor, who made a highly publicized exit from the GOP gathering in 1996, Yago thinks the conventions are worth the trip. "Maybe this isn't going to be the most contentious of political happenings," Yago said, "but there are going to be people outside the convention trying to force issues onto the convention floor. Protests are planned. Shadow conventions are going on. This isn't just a coronation." Yago is more than the voice of a new generation. He's part of a new wave of convention coverage that has rushed in to fill the void left by the three traditional television networks. Since 1976, ABC, CBS and NBC have continually scaled back the airtime they devote to the political conventions. During that time, Nielsen ratings for the conventions have declined every year but one. This year, however, no fewer than eight cable channels will be in Philadelphia for the GOP gathering. And even more Internet sites will be devoted to the convention, dishing out more information and analysis to political junkies than the networks ever imagined doing. No one knows if any of this will spark voter interest in the conventions. A recent survey conducted by the Vanishing Voter project at Harvard University found that 66 percent of Americans plan to watch "little" or "none" of the convention coverage. That's up from 47 percent in 1996. Barring a miracle, the number of people tuning in to see what Gov. George W. Bush will say in his acceptance speech Thursday will be smaller, probably much smaller, than the number tuning in Wednesday to see which castaway gets kicked off "Survivor." Other than on the night of Bush's speech, network coverage of the GOP convention will be minimal. ABC and CBS each plan only five hours in prime time all week. NBC will broadcast only half that amount; its cable arm, MSNBC, will shoulder most of the convention coverage. Of the broadcast networks, only PBS will carry the conventions in generous portions each evening. On the cable side, however, the trend is toward giving viewers more convention coverage, not less. Not only will C-SPAN offer uninterrupted coverage of the entire convention, but visitors to its Web site, www.c-span.org, will be able to watch the proceedings on streaming video from one of four cameras positioned around First Union Center. There are three cable news channels at the convention this year instead of two: Fox News Channel joins CNN and MSNBC. And the role of specialty cable channels is larger than ever, because these niche providers have realized that the political process offers a unique way to connect with their viewers. Lifetime, a cable channel aimed at women, will focus on women's issues and plans to interview former GOP presidential candidate Elizabeth Dole on Monday. Nickelodeon is sending a young actor, Josh Peck, to tape reports from Philadelphia for a series later this year, "Kids Pick the President." And Comedy Central has signed up former presidential nominee Bob Dole and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich to supply tongue-in-cheek accounts from the convention. MTV kicks off what will be a very busy week from Philadelphia with "Choose or Lose," a report broadcast at 9 p.m. tonight that features Yago and three other MTV correspondents. The cable network has sponsored voter turnout drives in the past, notably its "Rock the Vote" campaign. Yet MTV's research found that twice as many people from Ted Koppel's age group (45 and up) went to the polls in 1996 as those in the MTV generation (30 and under). That's a trend Yago hopes he can help reverse. A European history major, Yago came to MTV with no political or journalistic background. But while studying at Columbia University, he was energized by the writings of Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel, notably "The Power of the Powerless," an essay Havel wrote in 1978 while resisting his country's communist rulers. Yago thinks that people his age have something in common with oppressed people: They're not apathetic so much as disenfranchised. "Young people are very politically engaged and have fully formed political views," Yago said. "But they don't connect that with going to the voting booth." This week the MTV reporters will roam the convention floor and the streets of Philadelphia carrying lightweight camcorders. They will report live each day on MTV and shoot video for several election-related programs that will be broadcast on MTV this fall. - To reach Aaron Barnhart, call (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com Broadcast convention coverage ABC (Channel 9) and CBS (Channel 5) will broadcast convention highlights at 9 p.m. Monday and Tuesday. They will be joined by NBC (Channel 41) on Wednesday, also at 9 p.m. On Thursday, Channels 5 and 9 will begin their coverage at 8 p.m., Channel 41 at 8:30 p.m. PBS (Channel 19) will offer three hours of convention coverage each evening, beginning at 7 p.m. On Thursday night, after Bush's speech, Channel 19 will broadcast a special live edition of "Ruckus" that will include viewer call-ins. Viewers with digital TV reception will be able to watch the sessions in high definition from PBS on Channel 18. Gavel-to-gavel coverage on C-SPAN will begin at 9 a.m. each day. When the convention is not in session, C-SPAN will either show taped highlights or carry convention-related activities around Philadelphia. C-SPAN also will carry today's "Shadow Convention" at 10 a.m. All-day coverage from the convention floor and convention-related activities will be on CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. Comedy Central will broadcast "The Daily Show" from Philadelphia at 10 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, with analysis from Robert Dole, Robert Reich, John McCain, Rep. Mary Bono and others. MTV presents a half-hour special, "Choose or Lose: Why Care?" at 9 p.m. tonight and a wrap-up special at 8 p.m. Thursday. In Philadelphia, MTV correspondents will file live reports all week during news breaks (50 minutes past the hour) and "Total Request Live" (2 p.m.). The Web site ChooseOrLose.com will feature online chats each night around 10 p.m. Lifetime will carry updates from Philadelphia on "Lifetime Live" (11 a.m. weekdays). Many Internet convention-related events will be listed at Yack.com. Streaming video works best with a high-speed cable or DSL modem and a newer computer. >>>

Throwing the book at (or for) public broadcasting

Air Wars: The Fight to Reclaim Public Broadcasting, by Jerold M. Starr (338 pages; Beacon Press; $27.50) Congress passed the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, and ever since then the public media have created nearly as much drama off the air as on. In 1970 a PBS special charged the banking industry with preying on the nation's poor - and then rolled the names of 135 federal officials who sat on bank boards. The following year, after Richard Nixon learned that the Ford Foundation had hired newsman Robert MacNeil to work for PBS, the president instructed an aide "that all funds for public broadcasting be cut immediately." It has been thus ever since: ongoing attacks against public media, both from the left and the right. All too often, public broadcasters have been better defined by their enemies than their friends. Not even shows like "Sesame Street" or "Barney" have been immune from the darts of well-placed critics. Not surprisingly, public broadcasters have learned to work from a more or less permanent crouch. Thus, when House Speaker Newt Gingrich threatened to slash PBS funding in 1994, the network came up with a new marketing campaign framed around the pitiful slogan, "If PBS doesn't do it, who will?" The campaign worked - yet viewers were reinforced in their image of public media as a charity case you gave to during telethons. Jerold M. Starr is one of public media's critics. But in a roundabout way, he's also one of its most ardent supporters. Unlike Gingrich and other bullies, Starr doesn't want to put PBS out of business. He does, however, think public media need to be reminded why they exist. This is the thrust of Air Wars: The Fight to Reclaim Public Broadcasting. "Our democracy requires some space in our vast system of communications that is not controlled by the imperatives of power or profit," Starr writes. "This was the mission envisioned for public broadcasting." The problem, he argues, is that the federal government never provided much more than subsistence income to the noncommercial stations it helped launch. Soon the stations were seen begging at the steps of corporations like Mobil and AT&T. The early chapters of Air Wars are devoted to a lively history that explains how this came about. Today, some even argue that public TV and radio have become more corporate than the commercial networks. Thinly disguised ads are allowed as "underwriter announcements." Business programs that might as well be on CNBC are staples of the PBS schedule. A show about antiquing is brought to us by an insurer of antiques. And so on. After laying out the problem, Air Wars shifts tone. It becomes a personal account of a battle Starr and others undertook in Pittsburgh to "reclaim" their local public TV station, WQED. In 1996 WQED was facing the worst financial crisis in its history. Then management came up with a heck of a plan: It would sell off its secondary TV station, WQEX, to a right-wing religious broadcaster, and pay off its debts. For Starr and others in his grass-roots group, the WQED board had gone too far. They fought the station tooth and nail, and eventually won. It's a testament to Starr's storytelling prowess that he makes this heavily detailed account readable by outsiders. Quick with a comeback and unafraid to mince words, Starr is also the ideal warrior to take on a communications behemoth in his own town. Starr relates the WQED battle to the wider problem of public broadcasting: too timid, too insular and - ironically, given that PBS often comes under fire from Republicans - too conservative in its programming choices. "Masterpiece Theatre" and "Sesame Street" have been on the air 30 years. PBS' nature, science, mystery and biography programs were long ago imitated by cable. Public TV officials hear all the time from viewers who mistakenly call them after seeing a program on Discovery or A&E. It's sort of a badge of honor, since public broadcasting was doing quality nonfiction television before anybody thought to make a buck off of it. But mostly, it's a sad sign of public TV's inertia. Throughout the '90s, despite obvious attrition in viewership, PBS and its member stations kept their schedules intact, year in and year out. Worse, as Starr notes, "many stations have done little to involve the local community," serving as little more than conduits for PBS programs. But all of that is in play now - finally. There is a new president at PBS. A successful former cable executive, she has already shaken up the network's prime-time schedule and says more changes will come. Digital technology will soon give local stations the potential to put three or four different video streams on the air at the same time. Localism, which once seemed a dirty word in public-TV circles, is gaining currency again, both with those who produce the shows and the donors who pay for them. All these could be portents of a coming boom period for public media. Or they could signal the latest chapter in a long history of unfulfilled promise. The key, says Starr, will be whether we the viewers and listeners get involved and help shape the public media of the future. To reach Aaron Barnhart, The Star's TV critic, visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com @ART:Photo (color) >>>

'Video description' gets FCC boost

For many of us, it's not easy to understand what television is like for the 12 million Americans who are blind or visually impaired. TV is always sending out visual cues, but these viewers often miss them or, because of total blindness, never see them. Imagine hearing a studio audience burst into laughter, or an episode of your favorite drama end with a sudden musical flourish and having no idea what's going on. Few people know it, but there's an innovative technique for describing scenes like these to persons with visual disabilities. Known as video description, it has been used on movies and certain TV shows since the 1980s. Now video description is expected to be widely deployed, thanks to new rules passed last week by the Federal Communications Commission. Top-rated broadcast and cable networks soon will be required to provide video description for about four hours of programming per week. The descriptions will be heard on a secondary audio (or SAP) channel and won't interfere with the regular audio. Most late-model TV sets and VCRs can pick up secondary audio. That's good news for people like Karen Folsom, a 30-year-old instructor who teaches sighted and blind students in the Kansas City area. Folsom, who has been totally blind since birth, is an enthusiast of video descriptions. They're especially helpful for nature shows, which are light on narration, and action movies, which aren't exactly known for being talky, either. "One of my favorites was 'Speed,"' Folsom said. "I liked 'Top Gun,' too. There's so much action going on in those movies. Before, I had no idea who was getting shot or why or by who." PBS is the only broadcast network currently describing its shows. Several cable channels describe some of their programs, but only one - Turner Classic Movies - is widely distributed. Ted Turner, better known as the evil colorizer of black-and-white films, also has funded video descriptions for more than 50 of his titles, including "The Wizard of Oz," "North by Northwest" and "Casablanca." To understand what makes video description so compelling to its listeners, first read this paragraph: "They are brother and sister not long independent from their mother and still struggling to hone their hunting skills. It can take many months for young cheetahs to become effective hunters." Those two sentences, taken from a recent PBS nature program, were spoken more than a minute apart. In between there was a chase, but a sight-impaired person could only guess what was going on from the soundtrack. On the secondary audio channel, however, the entire sequence was described by a second narrator whose voice was dubbed unobtrusively over the music. An excerpt: "A cheetah eyes the white backside of a grazing gazelle. The cat takes a few steps and lies down watching. "Black, tearlike streaks mark the cheetah's tawny face. The cheetah breaks into a run and closes in on an unsuspecting gazelle. It gets within 10 feet - and the gazelle bolts, sprinting to the left. The slight gazelle leans into its turn, gaining ground as the larger cheetahs pursue. One of the pursuing cheetahs throws its paws forward, slowing to a jog. Now safe, the gazelle trots away." This elegant way of describing on-screen action was pioneered at public TV station WGBH in Boston, which supplies such programs as "Masterpiece Theatre," "Nova" and "Arthur" to PBS stations. WGBH describes those shows for the visually impaired, as well as "Mystery!" "Between the Lions" and "The American Experience." Overall, however, less than 1 percent of video programming is described. That statistic spurred FCC Chairman Bill Kennard to begin prodding the networks to get on the description train. "People with visual disabilities watch television in similar numbers and with similar frequency to the general population," Kennard said last year in remarks aimed at industry officials. "You have an audience, with purchasing power, who wants access to your programming." The new guidelines, timed to this week's 10th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act, also mandate more closed captioning. By 2006 nearly all TV programming will have to be captioned for people who are deaf or hearing-impaired. Like captioning, video description has the potential to help not only its intended audience but also the rest of us. As more viewers are exposed to described TV - perhaps after pressing the wrong button on their remote controls - they may start to see its benefits, just as many Americans now use captions to watch TV with the sound off. Now imagine a busy professional doing chores around the house while she listens to a described TV show. WGBH has found that children with learning disabilities get more out of a video presentation when it's described. Researchers say the descriptions may help reinforce important details with these viewers. My first encounter with video description was a broadcast of the PBS show "Mystery!" The describer acted almost like a second set of eyes, calling out extra visual details I'd overlooked. And since this was a British show, I also had the captioning on to help me with the accents. The combined effect was like pure oxygen. It elevated my senses; I was fully engaged with the show. In the last half century television has become much more than "radio with pictures." Video producers now are able to tell complex stories without speech. Last season a notable episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" went more than 20 minutes without anyone saying a word. That episode was nominated for an Emmy last week - for writing. "There's much less dialogue in movies and TV than there used to be," said John Halverson of Kansas City, chairman of the Friends of Wolfner Library. The Wolfner Library, in Jefferson City, supplies Braille and audio books to more than 16,000 patrons who are unable to read ordinary books. Halverson said video description can help these people better understand "the full flavor of what's going on in society." Wolfner patrons can check out more than 250 described titles - everything from "Saving Private Ryan" to "Aladdin" to "There's Something About Mary." (Pity the soul who has to describe that film's hair gel scene.) In the initial rollout, scheduled for early 2002, video description will be required only of broadcasters in the top 25 U.S. markets and any cable or satellite system that serves more than 50,000 customers. That would include Time Warner Cable of Kansas City and Comcast, as well as satellite companies DirecTV and DISH Network. But it would exclude local network affiliates because Kansas City is the country's 31st-largest broadcast market. In comments filed with the FCC, TV lobbyists said video description would be expensive and would slow down production of shows. But WGBH said its experience was that description costs about $4,000 per hour - a pittance next to the $2 million to $3 million spent making an average one-hour drama. Meanwhile, the American Council of the Blind, which lobbied for the video description guidelines, is rallying its members behind the cause. Aficionados like Karen Folsom are also spreading the word. "I would love to see it at IMAX," she said. "If they had descriptions at IMAX and movie theaters, the public would see how cool it is." To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com WHERE TO FIND VIDEO DESCRIPTION Video description will become much more widely available in 2002. Currently, people who are blind or visually impaired can hear described video the following ways: On TV: Viewers must have TV sets or VCRs that can receive the secondary audio, or SAP, channel. Turner Classic Movies: More than 50 titles in its archive are now described. The next upcoming described feature is "The Thin Man" (5 p.m. Monday). PBS (seen locally on KCPT, Channel 19) airs several described series. Look for the letters "DVS" in program listings in the monthly KCPT guide. On video: DVS Home Video (800-333-1203) offers more than 200 titles for purchase on home video, from contemporary movies to the classics, as well as video copies of select PBS programs. On IMAX: The Odyssey Theater at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis is one of the few theater venues in the country that offers video descriptions. Patrons wear a special headset so they can hear the descriptions without disturbing other theatergoers. For more information: The Web site of Boston TV station WGBH (www.wgbh.org) is the single best source for information about video access for people with disabilities. The American Council of the Blind Web site (www.acb.org) is also helpful. @ART CAPTION:Visually impaired children can hear descriptive video with the PBS show "Arthur." @ART CREDIT:1999 CINAR @ART CAPTION:PBS also describes several prime-time programs including "Mystery!" (with Patricia Routledge as Hetty Wainthropp). @ART:Photos (2, color) >>>

Remote patrol weekend

"A House Divided" (7 p.m. Sunday, Showtime) casts light on a lesser-known side of Southern society in the Civil War era. It's based on the true story of Amanda America Dickson (Jennifer Beals), the daughter of David (Sam Waterston) and one of his slaves, Julia Lewis (LisaGay Hamilton). Recent scholarship has discovered many more cases of interracial couplings and mixed-race children than were thought to exist in the antebellum South. Among them were the Dicksons, an intriguing clan who defied convention even as they strived to conform to social mores. Raised by her white grandmother, Amanda enjoyed a life of privilege and learning, even though her neighbors seemed to have known her true lineage. Meanwhile, her father occasionally would escort his slave to social functions, yet this apparently didn't jeopardize his status in the white community. But in 1885, after David died, his will was contested by his white relatives, because he had left nearly everything to Amanda. The case became a cause celebre and was eventually heard by the Georgia Supreme Court. Although all three leads give stirring performances in "A House Divided," Hamilton really crackles. She has a tart tongue (as viewers of "The Practice" already know), and it's well-deployed here. Hamilton seems to understand the fire Julia must have carried within. It must have infuriated the slave to be raped by her master, yet Julia is shown converting her anger into hard work, keeping the plantation afloat during hard times and ensuring a better life for her illegitimate daughter. @ART CAPTION:Waterston @ART:Photo >>>

Remote patrol

Remember ABC's endless promotional campaign for "Once and Again"? (If you're an "NYPD Blue" fan, how could you forget?) Well, here's all the good it did: According to Nielsen, "Once and Again" finished the season in a ratings tie for 58th place. The show it was tied with? Would you believe "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (7 and 7:30 tonight, Channel 9), the low-budget improvisational comedy show with host Drew Carey. "Whose Line" was hardly ever promoted - and worse, it was buried in a Thursday-night time slot where many an ABC show has gone to die. Given those disadvantages, what made it such a relative hit? If you ask me, it's Ryan Stiles. The lanky "Drew Carey Show" co-star is possessed of one of comedy's fastest minds. Pair that with a body made for physical humor and you have one of the loopiest, most sublime performers in the deceptively simple art of improv. Other regulars on "Whose Line" include Wayne Brady, Colin Mochrie, Greg Proops and musical whiz Laura Hall. The original British version still airs in reruns on Comedy Central (and the Brits return the favor, carrying the U.S. version over there). @ART CAPTION:'Whose Line' regular Wayne Brady @ART:Photo (color) >>>

Remote patrol

Amazing. They found this guy, W. Earl Brown, who looks just like the larger-than-life rock star Meat Loaf. He's the star of "Meat Loaf: To Hell and Back" (8 p.m., VH1), a TV movie that VH1 says was made with "the full cooperation of Meat Loaf." Well, if you're gonna go that far, why not just have Meat Loaf play Meat Loaf? That, however, is about my only complaint with this interesting and sympathetic portrait. The story begins in Dallas, where young Meat must endure taunts about his weight - not only by schoolmates but also his own father. By acting and singing, he transforms himself into a 300-pound entertainment giant, starring in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and making the seminal theatrical-rock classic "Bat Out of Hell." Later Meat wears out his voice, sending his career into a tailspin. Thus begins the familiar riches-to-rags-to-riches-again cycle that regular viewers of VH1 will recognize from practically every edition of "Behind the Music." And speaking of which, a "Behind the Music" devoted to the career of Meat Loaf follows the movie at 10 p.m. @ART CAPTION:The real Loaf @ART:Photo >>>

Remote patrol

I took another look at "Beggars and Choosers" after some readers insisted the the Showtime comedy about life behind the scenes at a fictional, low-rated network has improved. . After watching two episodes from the second season, I agree - "Beggars and Choosers" at least aspires to the level of "Arli$$," which is the worst sitcom on HBO. But that's not saying much. On tonight's episode at 9, the network's programming chief (Charlotte Ross) falls all over herself trying to recruit a bigshot producer (guest star Noah Wyle of "ER"). She finally pulls off a devious trick to get an audience with Mr. Bigshot; predictably, she gets her comeuppance not long after that. It's one of those obvious bits of poetic justice that every viewer can see coming for miles away. I hate it when TV shows do that. Also tonight, "Dateline NBC" (9, Channel 41) re-airs a terrific expose of the process some insurance companies have used to deny legitimate medical claims. The hourlong report aired recently on "Dateline" but is updated with new information. @ART CAPTION:Ross @ART:Photo (color) >>>

Remote patrol

The most voyeuristic show on TV isn't "Survivor" or "Big Brother." It's MTV's "Undressed" (10 p.m.). On this half-hour show, scantily clad young people sit around their dorm rooms and apartments talking about nothing but S-E-X. All kinds of sex, too (there's even one current story line about incest). You think the housemates talk too much on "Big Brother"? On "Undressed," that's all they do. We never see actual hanky-panky. And with the scene changing so often, flitting from bedroom to bedroom, we rarely even learn the names of the people. It's amazing parents haven't raised more of a ruckus about this show, which just started its third season on MTV. It's a heck of a lot steamier than any of those "Real Sex" specials on HBO. And it's more revealing than anything on "Survivor" (with the unfortunate exception of any time Richard, the chubby castaway, decides to wander the beach in the nude). >>>

Top of the week

MONDAY Pop history quiz "The Great American History Quiz" returns at 8 p.m. Monday to The History Channel. And if television is (as the old saying goes) chewing gum for the eyes, then this hour of TV is like a multipack of Juicy Fruit. It's a fast-moving hour with host Chevy Chase and a parade of celebrities - Gillian Anderson, George Steinbrenner, Geraldine Ferraro - posing the questions about American history and pop culture. Most wouldn't be worth more than $500 on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," but just try to stop answering them. - Aaron Barnhart THURSDAY Bullish on cows The Kansas City CowParade Committee, the local group that has been working to bring a display of 300 artist-decorated fiberglass cows to Kansas City, will have a committee meeting to discuss the future of the CowParade project at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, 4420 Warwick Blvd. Artists and other members of the public who have interest in the project are invited to attend. For more information, call the museum, (816) 753-5784. - Alice Thorson FRIDAY Man of 1,000 faces More than a few observers thought that Eddie Murphy was cheated a few years back when he didn't get an Oscar nomination for "The Nutty Professor." Now he's back, portraying not just fat guy professor Sherman Klump but also the various members of the Klump clan, male and female. In fact, of the film's 11 main roles, Murphy plays six. "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" opens Friday all over the place. - Robert W. Butler @ART CAPTION:Helen Keller part of the American history quiz fun on "The Great American History Quiz." @ART:Photo >>>

Dinovitz takes his heart and confidence to San Francisco

Fifteen years to the month since he returned to his native Kansas City to turn around KMBC, Channel 9, Paul "Dino" Dinovitz has accepted another daunting challenge. Dinovitz, 52, who left Kansas City for Sacramento, Calif., in 1998, was recently named the general manager of KRON-TV in San Francisco. "Where in the world can you go to have more fun than a place like the Bay Area?" Dinovitz said. "Tell me a more exciting city in the world. You ask me why (I would take this job). I say to you - why not?" Although the station is a powerhouse in a top five market - and life by the Bay, we hear, is very pleasant - Dinovitz will have his work cut out for him there. Last year, after half a century with one owner (the San Francisco Chronicle) and one network affiliation (NBC), KRON was sold. The new owner then announced that it could not come to terms with NBC, which was miffed at being the losing bidder for KRON, and would sever network ties in 2002. The double whammy left employees at the station reeling. Recently, top executives at KRON have started to bail out, and some on-air talent is said to be not far behind. Yet none of this has diminished Dinovitz's enthusiasm for his new job. In a recent phone conversation, he downplayed the pressure and accentuated the positive. "There's a lot of pressure in anything you do in TV," he said. "It doesn't matter if you're the market leader or in fourth or fifth place. We're all given report cards on a daily basis. Everybody has an opinion. That's a given. That's television. But I say to you, why can't we have fun with this?" Dinovitz helped make KMBC the leader in Kansas City television during the 1990s. He left to become general manager of KCRA-TV in Sacramento. He can't leave KCRA until his current contract expires at the end of the year, though he could leave sooner if a replacement for him is found. Union drive at 9 Meanwhile, the photographers at Dinovitz's old station will apparently vote soon on whether to form a collective bargaining unit. If the vote passes, the 17 video shooters at KMBC will be represented by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. AFTRA currently represents the photographers at channels 4 and 5 as well as Channel 9's on-air talent and directors. Don Scott, the executive director of the local AFTRA chapter, said the push to unionize wasn't the result of anything station management had done or failed to do. The employees are simply concerned, he said, about recent efforts by the station's owner, Hearst-Argyle Television, to streamline company policies. Several changes to existing station policies covering items such as sick days and overtime pay were included in a new Hearst-Argyle handbook issued earlier this year, according to one station insider. Other employees have expressed concerns about raises, insurance premiums, health benefits and job security. Scott characterized the discussions with KMBC so far as "friendly," and C. Wayne Godsey, Channel 9's general manager, said he will respect the photographers' decision either way. "I've told them that my concern, as always, is not whether they're represented or not but whether we win or not," Godsey said. As for the handbook, Godsey noted that some changes have already been made to it. "And many of those were made at the urging of general managers, myself included, who felt they weren't as well thought out as they could have been," he said. The WDAF, Channel 4, morning show is still doing its series of remote broadcasts from the Country Club Plaza from 7 to 9 a.m. Friday. Go to Mill Creek Park and look for the doughnuts. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com @ART CAPTION:Dinovitz @ART:Photo >>>

Remote patrol weekend

Overwritten and occasionally overwrought, "Strong Medicine" (8 p.m. Sunday, Lifetime) nonetheless looks like a winner for the women's channel. Janine Turner and newcomer Rosa Blasi play doctors who couldn't be more different, yet join forces to run a struggling women's clinic in south Philadelphia. These characters were built to clash in every way. They embody those classic archetypes, Career Woman and Nurturing Woman, found in practically every Lifetime movie ever made. Throw in a few scenes of feverish "ER"-styled trauma, and "Strong Medicine" pulls every heartstring there is to pull. If you were a fan of Turner's quirky character on "Northern Exposure," her appearance here as a ladder-climbing physician will probably disappoint you. She's snotty, she doesn't show an ounce of kindness to anyone but her dying patients, and that hair! Even it looks repressed compared with her old Maggie O'Connell 'do. This, of course, is a time-honored technique: Make one of the characters into a cold fish and plan for her big emotional "breakthrough" sometime around midseason. So our sympathies go instead to Blasi, who's endearing as the overworked, selfless doctor working in the poor women's clinic. Whoopi Goldberg guest stars as the matchmaker who puts the two doctors together. (She's also one of the executive producers.) Also on Sunday, the third season of the biracial women's drama "Any Day Now" begins at 7 p.m. on Lifetime. Annie Potts and Lorraine Toussaint remain the best of friends, although they're still reliving those turbulent years of growing up in Birmingham during the civil rights movement. @ART CAPTION:Blasi (left) and Turner @ART:Photo >>>

Emmy nominees have familiar look

Although a major change was made in the way Emmy Award nominees are chosen, Thursday morning's roll call of nominees for this year's Emmys sounded a lot like last year's. For the first time, members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences had been allowed to screen videocassettes of Emmy hopefuls at home. Previously they had to trudge to special screenings of the entrants' works. Yet HBO's "The Sopranos," which had the most nominations last year, shares that honor this year with NBC's "The West Wing." Those dramas have 18 bids each. Most of the major categories return three or four nominees from the previous year. Only Eric McCormack of "Will & Grace" was able to break into the Best Comedy Actor category - and that's because Paul Reiser ("Mad About You") wasn't eligible. The most turnover occurred in the supporting-role categories, where more than half of last year's nominees stepped aside to make way for the likes of Dominic Chianese (Uncle Junior on "The Sopranos"), Kim Cattrall (Samantha on "Sex and the City") and Allison Janney (C.J. on "The West Wing"). The big loser was "Ally McBeal," the two-time winner for Best Comedy that wasn't even nominated this year. Nor was star Calista Flockhart for Best Actress, nor Lucy Liu for Best Supporting Actress. The big winner was "Will & Grace." It took "Ally's" place on the Best Comedy ballot. In addition, all four of the show's leads were nominated. The big surprise? Maybe it was the nomination of foulmouthed "South Park" for Best Animated Program. Or the snubbing of TNT in the movies and miniseries categories. Or the continued oversight of one of TV's most popular comedies, "The Drew Carey Show." TV movies and miniseries continued to attract top talent, as evidenced by the star-studded nomination lists in that genre. NBC led all networks with 97 nominations. The Emmy Awards will be telecast Sept. 10 on ABC. Emmy list Comedy Series: "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS; "Frasier," NBC; "Friends," NBC; "Sex and the City," HBO; "Will & Grace," NBC. Drama Series: "ER," NBC; "Law & Order," NBC; "The Practice," ABC; "The Sopranos," HBO; "The West Wing," NBC. Miniseries: "Arabian Nights," ABC; "The Beach Boys: An American Family," ABC; "The Corner," HBO; "Jesus," CBS; "P.T. Barnum," A&E. Television Movie: "Annie," ABC; "If These Walls Could Talk II," HBO; "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge," HBO; "Oprah Winfrey Presents: Tuesdays With Morrie," ABC; "RKO 281," HBO. Actor, Comedy Series: Michael J. Fox, "Spin City," ABC; Kelsey Grammer, "Frasier," NBC; John Lithgow, "3rd Rock From the Sun," NBC; Eric McCormack, "Will & Grace," NBC; Ray Romano, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS. Actor, Drama Series: Dennis Franz, "NYPD Blue," ABC; James Gandolfini, "The Sopranos," HBO; Jerry Orbach, "Law & Order," NBC; Martin Sheen, "The West Wing," NBC; Sam Waterston, "Law & Order," NBC. Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Beau Bridges, "P.T. Barnum," A&E; Brian Dennehy, "Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman," Showtime; Jack Lemmon, "Oprah Winfrey Presents: Tuesdays With Morrie," ABC; William H. Macy, "A Slight Case of Murder," TNT; Liev Schreiber, "RKO 281," HBO. Actress, Comedy Series: Jenna Elfman, "Dharma & Greg," ABC; Patricia Heaton, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS; Jane Kaczmarek, "Malcolm in the Middle," Fox; Debra Messing, "Will & Grace," NBC; Sarah Jessica Parker, "Sex and the City," HBO. Actress, Drama Series: Lorraine Bracco, "The Sopranos," HBO; Amy Brenneman, "Judging Amy," CBS; Edie Falco, "The Sopranos," HBO; Julianna Margulies, "ER," NBC; Sela Ward, "Once and Again," ABC. Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Halle Berry, "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge," HBO; Judy Davis, "A Cooler Climate," Showtime; Sally Field, "A Cooler Climate," Showtime; Holly Hunter, "Harlan County War," Showtime; Gena Rowlands, "The Color of Love: Jacey's Story," CBS. Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Peter Boyle, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS; Brad Garrett, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS; Sean Hayes, "Will & Grace," NBC; Peter MacNicol, "Ally McBeal," Fox; David Hyde Pierce, "Frasier," NBC. Supporting Actor, Drama Series: Michael Badalucco, "The Practice," ABC; Dominic Chianese, "The Sopranos," HBO; Steve Harris, "The Practice," ABC; Richard Schiff, "The West Wing," NBC; John Spencer, "The West Wing," NBC. Supporting Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Hank Azaria, "Oprah Winfrey Presents: Tuesdays With Morrie," ABC; Klaus Maria Brandauer, "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge," HBO; James Cromwell, "RKO 281," HBO; Danny Glover, "Freedom Song," TNT; John Malkovich, "RKO 281," HBO. Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Jennifer Aniston, "Friends," NBC; Kim Cattrall, "Sex and the City," HBO; Lisa Kudrow, "Friends," NBC; Megan Mullally, "Will & Grace," NBC; Doris Roberts, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS. Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Stockard Channing, "The West Wing," NBC; Tyne Daly, "Judging Amy," CBS; Allison Janney, "The West Wing," NBC; Nancy Marchand, "The Sopranos," HBO; Holland Taylor, "The Practice," ABC. Supporting Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Kathy Bates, "Annie," ABC; Elizabeth Franz, "Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman," Showtime; Melanie Griffith, "RKO 281," HBO; Maggie Smith, "David Copperfield," PBS. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com >>>

Remote patrol

USA Network is about to lose the rights to pro wrestling. But the perfect replacement just might be sitting over on USA's sister channel Sci-Fi. It's "Crossing Over With John Edward" (3 and 10 p.m. weekdays on Sci-Fi), featuring the young, fast-talking clairvoyant who delivers messages to audience members from their dead relatives. As with wrestling, "Crossing Over" left me asking these questions: Is it real? Was this scripted? And even if it is - does anyone care? As a child, we're told, John Edward was diagnosed with psychic powers. And probably hyperactivity as well. He seems to run only in high gear. At the start of the show, he bolts to the set and immediately begins peppering members of the audience with questions. Before long it appears he's "crossed over" to the nether world and made a match between his subject and a loved one. But frankly, he talks so fast and so much, it's kind of hard to tell. He's the yappy medium. Still, Edward's nonstop style is disarming, and he does have a way of pulling his audience from laughter to tears in a heartbeat. @ART CAPTION:Edward @ART:Photo (color) >>>

Remote patrol

"Buena Vista Social Club," one of the more "listened-to" films of the last year, comes to the small screen in a PBS presentation at 8 tonight on Channel 19. The Wim Wenders documentary, nominated this year for an Academy Award, is a portrait of several aging Cuban music legends who were recruited - in some cases, out of retirement - by a team of admiring producers in the United States and England. The resulting CD sold 3 million copies and won a Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album. A short film following "Buena Vista Social Club" shows how the movie has re-energized the Afro-Cuban club scene in New York City. @ART CAPTION:Director Wim Wenders escorting musician Compay Segundo in "Buena Vista Social Club." @ART:Photo >>>

Remote patrol

When Betty Hutton was the No. 1 female star at Paramount Pictures in the 1940s, Bob Hope called her "a vitamin pill with legs." She still is. Hutton, 79, gave up show business years ago for a quieter life in Rhode Island. But several times during a rollicking interview on "Private Screenings" (7 tonight, Turner Classic Movies), she looks like she's going to fly out of her chair. Hutton, an old friend of host Robert Osborne, carries on throughout the interview, sings bars from her more famous show tunes and tells tales on some of the greats she once worked for (working on a Preston Sturges film sounded like paid vacation). Following the program is a Hutton moviefest, starting aptly enough with "Incendiary Blonde." @ART CAPTION:Hutton @ART:Photo >>>

Remote patrol

An auditor tells "Investigative Reports" tonight that as many as 20,000 doctors have made mistakes that put their patients' lives at serious risk. Giving out wrong prescriptions alone may result in 7,000 deaths every year. Tonight's report, airing at 9 on A&E, argues that no simple explanation exists for the negligence. It blames, in part, a "code of secrecy" that keeps doctors and nurses from discussing errors. In a remarkable interview, a chief of surgery shows how he made a simple mix-up involving two similar-looking vials that nearly killed a patient. Also tonight, Jeff Probst, the smirky host of "Survivor" - now there's a guy they need to vote off that island - resumes his stateside job as host of VH1's "Rock 'n' Roll Jeopardy." The young-adult version of Grandpa's favorite game show begins its third season at 7 on VH1. @ART CAPTION:The account of how improper medical treatment almost cost young Taylor Roberts' life is covered in tonight's "Investigative Reports." @ART:Photo (color) >>>

Top of the week

Today Trial of the century It has been 55 years since the beginning of the Nuremberg trials for war crimes committed by the Nazis and nearly 40 years since "Judgment at Nuremberg" made the trials come alive for a mass audience. Now Alec Baldwin leads an all-star cast in the first part of a two-part miniseries, "Nuremberg," beginning 7 p.m. today and Monday on TNT. Baldwin stars as Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, who mounts the prosecution of the first war-crimes tribunal in history. Jill Hennessy co-stars as his right hand (his girl Friday, to be precise - but hey, they needed somebody to lighten up the otherwise all-male cast). Brian Cox plays Jackson's nemesis and the trial's signature defendant, Hermann Goering. Christopher Plummer and Max von Sydow also star. The surprisingly fast-paced first part is mostly prelude to the trial. We see the formidable tasks that confronted Jackson as he assembled not only the case against the 21 accused Nazi criminals, but also the various diplomatic and logistical hurdles before there could even be a trial in Nuremberg. Through spare, efficient writing, a great deal of history gets conveyed in these two hours. (Teachers may want to check out the curriculum guide at turnerlearning.com.) - Aaron Barnhart Monday When you're a Jet The classic Broadway musical about gang violence in New York of the 1950s, "West Side Story," might still be the best work of musical theater and dance that Broadway has produced. Leonard Bernstein's score, some would argue, is at once the most sophisticated and most listenable music ever written for the Broadway stage. The show, which marked Stephen Sondheim's debut as a lyricist, has been produced more than a few times at Starlight Theatre. But this year marks the first time the show will be staged with the technical resources to do it right (thanks to a $10 million stage upgrade). "West Side Story" opens Monday and runs through July 23. Tickets cost $9 to $50. Call (816) 363-7827. - Robert Trussell Saturday Emily, Aaron and friends Composers are great devotees of literature, perhaps because they read books while waiting for musical ideas to come. Copland and his American contemporaries (Bernstein, Barber, Thomson) were all avid readers, and when they set poetry to music it grew from deep passion for the art of words. Copland was turned on to Emily Dickinson in 1940 and nine years later he set 12 of her poems to music. Eight of these form the centerpiece of this weekend's Summerfest Concerts, at 7 p.m. Saturday and at 5 p.m. July 23. Soprano Rebecca Lloyd is soloist for the Copland, in a program that also includes chamber music by Telemann, Britten and Milton Barnes. At St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 13th and Holmes. Tickets cost $17.50 for general admission, $15 for adults 65 and older and students with IDs. Children 12 and younger are admitted free. For tickets call (816) 235-2700. - Paul Horsley @ART CAPTION:Baldwin @ART CREDIT:TNT @ART CAPTION:Soprano Rebecca Lloyd @ART:Photos (2) >>>

'Survivor' fracas

When Tracy Townsend was getting her journalism degree at Ohio State University, she probably never envisioned that someday she'd be reading a commercial for a CBS game show during the 10 p.m. news. But that's what the KCTV, Channel 5, anchor has been doing to help her station promote "Survivor," this summer's No. 1-rated TV show. Now the union that represents Channel 5's on-air talent wants the "Survivor Updates" stopped, calling them "shameless" and insulting to the news staff who reads them. The local American Federation of Television and Radio Artists chapter filed a formal complaint late last month with station management, saying news employees like Townsend shouldn't be assigned to do segments that promote "Survivor." After a meeting with general manager John Rose resolved nothing, the concerns were restated in a follow-up letter. Don Scott, executive director of the local AFTRA chapter, says the employees are worried "that their reputations as journalists are somewhat impacted when viewers tune in to a prime-time newscast and see reporters and anchors basically selling a product." Granted, every TV station does the occasional "news story" about one of its more popular shows. But Scott says that the volume of "Survivor Updates" - and the fact that the segment is sponsored - cross the invisible line of propriety. Rose's response: Show me that line. "In terms of 'Survivor,' almost every news organization is reporting on it, too, and not just one time," Rose says. "ABC even did a story on 'Survivor.' It's even been on the front page of The Star." (Well, it's been on the FYI cover a few times.) "It's been deemed pretty newsworthy by a number of news organizations." So whose idea was it to start doing the updates? Channel 5's sales department? Some network honcho at CBS? "I guarantee you, CBS hasn't called us or asked us to do anything on 'Survivor,' " Rose says. "News came up with the idea of doing 'Survivor Updates.' " Wait a minute. "Survivor Updates" came from the newsroom? The same newsroom where employees are grousing about the updates? What's that about? Rose chuckles. "I know this never happens in The Star's newsroom, where you're all unified, and you never have debates among your staff about whether a story is newsworthy or not," he says. "But that happens over here. And it's actually been pretty healthy because it's flushed out some pretty good discussion." The wider context of KCTV's "healthy" dispute, of course, is the role of CBS News in promoting CBS Entertainment shows. Such programs as "The Early Show," "48 Hours" and "Sunday Morning" have all done pieces about "Survivor." Critics say CBS is sacrificing editorial integrity for short-term ratings. AFTRA's July 6 letter to KCTV also cites another example of reporters and anchors at the station being asked to do thinly guised commercials. It alleges that Meredith Corp., which owns Channel 5, supplied video and canned scripts for home and garden "stories" to be aired during KCTV's newscasts. The stories feature Better Homes & Gardens, which Meredith also owns. Rose says the station does receive video and scripts that mention Meredith magazines, but he says the station is under no obligation to use them and the news staff has "total editorial control" over the materials. Where the matter goes from here is uncertain. But don't be surprised if today's "healthy" newsroom discussion becomes tomorrow's ugly tribal council. Beginning Monday, a "Montel Williams" repeat replaces "Forgive or Forget" in WDAF's lineup at 1 p.m. weekdays. "Forgive or Forget" moves to overnights. Channel 4 also added a second "M*A*S*H" repeat weekdays at midnight. To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com >>>

Remote patrol weekend

Alec Baldwin, as we know, has his political opinions. Less well known is that Baldwin has been sharing with TV executives his quiet passion for history. Television, he says, should present "relevant, historical dramas" about epochal events that have shaped our world today. He says he has pitched several such productions to the big networks, but that each time "the networks just completely glaze over." Thankfully, executives at TNT stayed clear-eyed when Baldwin told them he wanted to retell the story of the 1945 Nuremberg war trials. The result is a masterful two-part miniseries, "Nuremberg," that begins 7 p.m. Sunday. With no slight intended to Stanley Kramer's 1961 classic "Judgment at Nuremberg," this brilliant new production should help keep the memory of that watershed tribunal alive for another generation. There were 21 defendants at Nuremberg, all Nazi leaders accused of "crimes against humanity." But the trials also passed judgment on the moral agnosticism of the Nazi elite. Many of these men liked their consciences as clean as their fingernails. So they would simply claim they had "just followed orders." By the end of the Nuremberg trials, which took place in 1945-46, that claim would be discredited - or rather, buried under a mountain of documentary evidence on the horrors of the Holocaust brought forth by the prosecution. Baldwin, the movie's lead, along with director Yves Simoneau and screenplay writer David Rintels, breathes not only life but also fire into these moral and intellectual matters. The film opens with chilling, boisterous footage of one of Hitler's military parades and sustains the emotional tenor of that opening throughout. With spare, pungent writing by Rintels (who adapted the book Nuremberg: Infamy on Trial by Joseph Persico) and a terrific turn by Baldwin, "Nuremberg" gallops along its first two hours. Yet the viewer is never denied the vital facts that put this movie atop Baldwin's wish list. Baldwin plays Robert Jackson, the U.S. Supreme Court justice sent to Germany to head up the prosecution. His nemesis, and the trial's star defendant, is Hermann Goering (Brian Cox). If Adolf Eichmann, in Hannah Arendt's phrase, embodied "the banality of evil," then Goering is more like the absurdity of evil. In the opening minutes of the movie, Hitler's No. 2 roars up to a P.O.W. camp in a limousine. He embraces an Allied officer as "a fellow airman" and magnanimously offers the man his surrender. Charmed, the officer takes Goering down to the officers' tent to tie one on. Cox seizes the vortex of Goering's complex personalities. We see the military man bound by honor; the cruel psychopath who laughs at his fellow inmates' sufferings; and, further down, the disturbingly efficient executor of Hitler's plan. "The victors will always be the judge, the vanquished always the accused," says Goering at one point, and with such certitude that you almost feel sorry for the old blighter. The film's only major female role is given to ex-"Law & Order" knockout Jill Hennessy, who plays Jackson's secretary and, increasingly, his love interest. (Their little flirtation doesn't get in the story's way, thank goodness.) There are many fine touches and supporting roles in "Nuremberg," which co-stars Christopher Plummer, Herbert Knaup and Michael Ironside. For too long TNT has been made to stand in the shadow of HBO. No longer. With "Nuremberg" TNT has produced a movie for the ages - and done a good deed as well. Part 2 of "Nuremberg" airs at 7 p.m. Monday on TNT. @ART CAPTION:Alec Baldwin (left), Jill Hennessy and Christopher Plummer in 'Nuremberg' @ART:Photo @ART CREDIT:TNT >>>