Early early show adds to KCTV makeover

"Good morning, it is - yes, it is - 4:30 a.m.," a chuckling Bob Thill says to the camera. It's Day 3 at Kansas City's new early riser, KCTV, Channel 5, which launched a 4:30 a.m. newscast Monday, beating the sunrise by three hours and its competitors by 30 minutes in the red-hot morning TV derby.

Brian Curtis and Carolyn Long are the official anchors, but Curtis shrewdly arranged to take the rest of the week off after just two shifts of 4:30 duty. So on this day it's weekend anchor Thill who had to roll out of bed at 2 a.m. to join Long, weatherman Bruce Thomas and reporter Heather Staggers for their lonely 2 1/2-hour news vigil.

Brisk and professional, they smile and banter and repeat the same headlines over and over, in between last night's sports report and other taped features. Every 10 minutes or so, cameraman Mike Fox maneuvers his dolly a few feet over to the "WeatherCenter," which is actually a tiny green-walled alcove where Thomas delivers 19 weather reports each morning.

It was only six weeks ago that KCTV's new general manager Kirk Black revived the station's 5 a.m. newscast - and almost immediately the station's ratings rose, with ripple effects being felt all the way to 7 a.m.

Looking closer at the ratings report, Black saw something that fascinated him: Nearly as many Kansas Citians were up at 4:30 a.m. watching TV as there were at 5 a.m. It was then that Black remembered which bird got the worm and decided to go after what he calls "the next great frontier in morning news."

The first hour of this day's show hums along without incident - no one so much as yawns off-camera - though there are a couple moments of late-night comedy. After Thomas opens a segment by declaring, "It's cloudy out there!" viewers are treated to a live shot of a nearly pitch-black KCI Airport. It's a visual worthy of an old George Carlin routine ("the forecast for tonight: dark"). Later, the other cameraman, Jeff Bailey, changes the backdrop to a sun-streaked skyline. This gets a laugh backstage because sunrise is at 7:29. The show's over at 7.

Thomas claims to be wearing extra makeup over his tired eyelids. Yet there's a spring in his step as he waltzes over to his weather pod. As well there should be: The former Waco, Texas, weathercaster, hired in 1998 for his expertise in Doppler radar, was just promoted from weekends to chief morning meteorologist.

Also from weekends is Long, who replaces Valissa Smith (she and meteorologist Gary Amble have been reassigned). Long says the sleep adjustment has been harder than she thought it would be. The problem is that she lies awake at night, mentally preparing for next day's show. "There's so much adrenaline," she says.

Now there's a word some people never thought they'd hear a Channel 5 employee utter. The CBS affiliate has been long known as a "country club" for its cushy, high-paying positions and solid, steady, perhaps complacent leadership. Then came the shake-up - early retirement offers this summer, followed by the surprise ouster of program director Peter Barrett in October.

Now KCTV has new management, new top talent and, it seems, new attitude. Observers both inside and outside the station agree: It's about time. Though it's been a solid No. 2 overall, Channel 5's appeal has been in steady decline with younger viewers, the kind advertisers often pay through the nose to reach. KCTV ranks third in these viewer groups behind market leader KMBC, Channel 9, and WDAF, Channel 4.

Already there had been bold moves, such as replacing retired anchor Wendall Anschutz with political reporter Dave Helling and appointing Krista Klaus to fill consumer reporter Stan Cramer's sizable shoes. But the 4:30 a.m. decision was the first one that general manager Black had not had to make out of necessity. To make it happen, he and news director Don North overhauled KCTV's early news format. Now the emphasis is on local coverage, with traffic and weather "on the 5's," similar to the competition. Channel 5 can't afford to buy a helicopter, so executive producer Alvie Cater will compensate by expanding the network of live City Cams.

He'll also hire a traffic personality, whom he describes as a sort of Johnny Rowlands without wings. Channels 4 and 9 have no plans to move back their 5 a.m. start time for news. So for now, it's Channel 5 when you need to know what it's like outside at 4:45 a.m. Besides, of course, dark.

**In other local news...**

In the November sweeps period, KMBC's Larry Moore and Lara Moritz outrated KCTV's Helling and Dee Griffin at 10 p.m. though the margin has narrowed since last year. Both stations lost viewers, but Channel 9 lost more of them. In late night, "Seinfeld" repeats on KMBC were the most popular late-night choice. "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on fourth-place KSHB, Channel 41, scored a rare win over "Late Show With David Letterman" on KCTV. WDAF's newscast dominated KCTV's at noon. At 5 and 6 p.m., it was channels 9, 5, 4 and 41, respectively, as usual, in total viewers. The most watched program between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays was "Jeopardy!"

Channels 4 and 9 have their news choppers back in the air after post-Sept. 11 government restrictions were eased. Helicopters are still prohibited from flying over stadiums or hovering generally. "We wish the limitations were all lifted," said WDAF general manager Stan Knott, "but it's a public safety issue and we understand." To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com.