The Missoulian from Missoula, Montana • 52

1 1 i- i i i' iuki Mi690ulian, Friday, August 4, 1989 E-21 II Is it i i F'liij, 4 fc3-f ENTERTAINEI MIKE Mel I Young man's diary a window to the past By MAC SWAN for the Missoulian Review "The Road to Virginia City: The Diary of James Knox Polk Miller," edited by Andrew Rolle. University of Oklahoma Press. Paperback, 135 pages. $7.95. ENTERTAINER CONFIDENTIAL ECECI plans to shuffle time for late news ABC shows that will remain in prime time will be "2020" and "Monday Night Football." "Star Trek: The Next Generation," a syndicated show, will also stay in KECI's line-up, but it will be moving to Saturday.

Ragsdale says that in the station's market research, those were the only shows that tested higher than a local news show at 10 p.m.; that's why the station is keeping those programs on the schedule. The decision also means that KECI will be returning "The Tonight Show with Johnny Car- son" to its schedule. And Missoula viewers will be able to see "Saturday Night Live" again without waiting until 2:30 a.m. Sunday to catch it on Spokane's KHQ. "There are always relative trade-offs," Ragsdale says.

"You can't do everything." In fact, the station is losing ABC shows it would like to carry "Roseanne," for example. But at the same time, it means that KECI programmers won't be pulling out their hair when they're trying to schedule two networks' worth of shows. And they won't be dealing with logjams of the sort that came up when KECI decided to show ABC's mammoth "War and Remembrance." "This is not a minor move for this company," Ragsdale says. "This is a major move." And Harmon says that the move indicates KECI's commitment to its news programs. It's also an acknowledgment that the available audience for news at 10 p.m.

is larger than the audience at 11. Bill Sullivan, the general manager of KPAX, says that a May Nielsen survey of the Missoula area's "main viewing area" indicates that an average of 26,300 households were watching television at 10 p.m. By 11, he says, that number had dropped to 7,600. In technical terms, the May HUT (homes using television) figure dropped from 41 percent at 10 p.m. to 16 percent at 11 p.m.

The numbers list all homes with televisions on and tuned to any channel. "It'll be a different competitive environment at 10 o'clock," Sullivan says. "People will have a news choice at 10." Adds Marquand: "Once we have two 10 o'clock newscasts, you can see who's doing well. I'll be real interested to see what the first rating book says head-to-head." Before your next trek south to Virginia City or down Interstate 15 to Salt Lake City, pick up the paperback reissue of "The Road to Virginia City." Originally printed in 1960, this diary has been expertly edited by Andrew Rolle so that our window to the past is clear. As a young man near the end of the Civil War, diarist James Knox Polk Miller crossed the prairie from Saint Jo to Salt Lake on a wagon train.

Finding only marginal success with his cigar-stand business in the Mormon settlement, he walked most of the way to Virginia City to better his fortunes, sometimes wrapping his bleeding feet in pillows. His account of frontier life reconstructs many of the images we have of crooked sheriffs and other desperados held in check by vigilantes with their own penchant for violence. For Miller, a young man of 19, issoula's television news programs are heading for a showdown next month at Virginia City is civilized and provides an opportunity to test himself and his desire to become a better person. Part of the charm of his diary emerges from his longing to lead a moral life and to conduct himself with civility. Although he notes incidents of vigilante justice, he is occupied with the life of the citizen: He joins theaters and social groups and attends social functions.

Miller's descriptions reveal frontier society in a personal way, as you and I might have experienced it. Your road to Virginia City will be enriched by reading this book. It's a pleasant jourrtey. iyU the 10 p.m. time slot.

12 rtrait itudSo GOOD AUGUST 6 THRU AUGUST 1 KECI station officials say they're moving their late local news broadcast from 1 1 to 10 p.m., where the show will go head-to-head with the late news report on KPAX. It will be the first time in roughly five years that Missoula's two television stations will have TV news shows competing in the same time period. (KECI's early-evening shows are seen at 5 and 6 p.m.; KPAX has its early news show at 5:30 p.m., so there's no direct competition there.) "You always want to go head to head," says Jim Harmon, KECI's news director. "You always want to compete." Adds Harmon's counterpart at KPAX, Ian Marquand: "I think it would add a competitive incentive. It makes our jobs as news directors more interesting and much more fun." The reason behind KECI's move stems from that station's decision years ago to add an extra hour of prime-time programming so that it could present some ABC network shows.

(KECI is a primary NBC affiliate, but it shows some ABC programs.) The extra hour of entertainment programming pushed KECI's late-night news to 1 1 p.m. But Harmon says that market research helped convince KECI officials that local viewers preferred the late news at 10 p.m., a traditional time for late-night news in the Rocky Mountain time zone. So KECI after considerable thought elected to drop its fourth hour of prime time programming effective Sept. 18. The decision will severely limit the amount of ABC programming the station can show.

In fact, says Ann Ragsdale, KECI's general manager, the only 5 14-piece portrait package 2-8x10s, 2-5x7s and 10 wallets. Adults families welcome Meanwhile, Marquand is settling into his new post as KPAX's news director. He's been anchoring the station's noon broadcast, but look for Lynn Hlghtower to continue anchoring the 5:30 and 10 p.m. shows. "By not anchoring at 5:30 p.m., that frees me up incredibly" for reporting and administrative duties, he says.

And Marquand and Harmon, at KECI, are continuing to sift through audition tapes in the search to replace a couple of broadcasters. KPAX is looking for a replacement for weather broadcaster Greg Shoup and KECI is searching to replace Wendy Ninteman, now working for KUFM radio. r'ifUFa JO ii II I HPiJpsual BMnlf WiiM SMBl mkm UitfBlri ALBUMS i At Sears, our photographers are experienced professionals in every way. They make sure your baby looks just right, so your portraits come out great! Alio available: Instant Color Passport Photos and Copy Restoration. Prieo mdvdM S2 deposit.

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