Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • 25

Albuquerque journal 1 Puzzles 3 Section 4 Classifieds TVWeather i if i i -f I i v. WARNER BROS. "Friends" stars, from top, include David Schwimmer as Ross, Matt LeBlanc as Joey, Jennifer Anlston as Rachel and Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe. Monica (Courteney Cox Arquette) and Chandler (Matthew Perry), not pictured, round out the cast. Culture Shock COURT(0 PHtnO COURTESY COURT TV Elans ho.t cf 3 -j," I it 1 1 LEANNE POTTS Of the Journal 'Friends' exits new TV world Former Albuquerquean Diane Dirriond has gotten the scoop on plenty of high-profile stories in her broadcast career By Rick Nathanson Journal Staff Writer fter 20 years in the national spotlight as a news reporter and anchor, Diane Dimond admitted that "some f.t -SSL fc i 1 .1 51 1 ,0 that she will get to interview the entertainer, who has repeatedly rejected interview requests from her over the years.

"His attorney, Mark Geragos, and I have a long relationship, but as soon as he got on the Jackson case, he wouldn't talk to me, either," she said in a recent interview. Covered it all During her years as a radio and then a television reporter, Dimond, 51, has covered Capitol Hill, the White House, the Pentagon and the House of Representatives. She anchored live reports of the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton, whom she called "a man who squandered his opportunities, a man who was driven by his demons, a man who was always distracted." She subsequently covered the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush, Al Gore and Ralph Nader, and she became known as the correspondent who spent 35 straight days outside Gore's Washington residence as the nation awaited the final controversial ballot recount. Dimond first garnered national attention outside the Beltway, covering the groundbreaking saga of See DIMOND on PAGE C2 IIP I "if am mJJL in if times I wondered if I should get out of the business but then Michael Jackson popped into my life again, and here we are." Dimond, who grew up in Albuquerque, was an investigative reporter with the syndicated TV show "Hard Copy" in 1993 when she broke the story that entertainer Michael Jackson had been accused of sexual misconduct with an underage boy.

One year and a $25 million settlement later, the charges were dropped and Jackson and Dimond both went about their respective businesses. Ten years later Dimond, now working at Court TV, got a call from a source saying, got another she recalled. "I asked if this one was going to stick and if they were going to raid Jackson's Neverland Ranch again. I told them I want to be there when that happens, and I want to be the only reporter standing on the road." On Nov. 18, Americans sat riveted before their televisions as Dimond, the lone reporter on the scene, filed PHOTO COURTESY DIANE DIMOND Diane Dimond prepares for a "Hollywood at Large" broadcast for Court TV from a rooftop In Santa Maria, overlooking the courthouse where a Michael Jackson hearing was unfolding.

The final episode of "Friends" is still more than a month away, but already coverage of the end of the NBC series' 10-year run is everywhere. Target, that yardstick of middle-class sentiment, is selling a "Friends" farewell kit that includes a DVD with seven episodes, recipes, trivia cards, coasters and a serving tray. Rachel, Monica, Joey and the gang even beat out "The Sopranos" for the cover of Entertainment Weekly the week the hit mob show finally returned from its 15-month absence. Talk about a pop-culture coup. The "Friends" finale is monopolizing the media because the show's wrapup May 6 will mark the end of the era in which network TV reigned supreme in the leisure time of those under 40.

"Friends" will be remembered as the last network TV show that reliably attracted the 18- to 40-year-old demographic. Because in the decade since "Friends" debuted, the whole world changed. There is now an array of entertainment choices competing with ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. Video games, hundreds of cable TV channels that specialize in everything from golf to cooking, DVDs, the Internet, mp3 players and TiVo have pushed network TV from its throne. The attention span of the nation's TV viewers has been split into a million pieces.

We are no longer a mass audience but a collection of niche markets. This scatter effect has been building for years, with viewership of network TV losing a percentage point a year since the mid-'90s. But this season Nielsen ratings showed a plunge of around seven points, a defection that rattled the networks so much they're talking about going to a a live report for Court TV as a caravan of police vehicles drove onto the sprawling Neverland Ranch to execute a search warrant. "I feel sorry for the guy," Dimond said of Jackson. "He doesn't live in reality, and reality is now biting him in you-know-where.

It's kind of painful to watch." But watch it she will. Dimond, host of Court TV's "Hollywood At Large," will be among the high-profile journalists reporting on the Jackson case as it continues to wind its way through the criminal justice system. There is little chance, however, Aussie actor is dog's best friend in 'Scooby-Doo' dialogue live, since obviously there is nothing there to shoot to. It was to help the actors, as well. They loved what I did and fortunately chose me for the final film.

Have you always been a voice actor? Fanning: I also do stunts (like in the films "Ghost Ship" and "Crocodile Hunter: Collision and acting on the side. You've got to have lots of strings on your bow as a performer or else you don't eat. Has the studio kept you under wraps to enhance the mystique of the Scooby See 'SCOOBY' on PAGE C2 rendition of the fraidy-cat dog from the 1969 cartoon. With the sequel "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed" doing well in theaters, Fanning, 37, talked with The Associated Press about how he got the job, the speech problems of a perpetually hungry andor frightened canine, and the perils of the voice on people's answering machines. How did they pick you for Scooby? Fanning: Fortunately, they shot the first film in my hometown along the Gold Coast in Australia, and they were looking for a voice reader.

Just delivering the Neil Fanning gives animated character a voice in movie By Anthony Breznican The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Neil Fanning looks like the kind of fearsome tough guy who would make Scooby-Doo exclaim "Ruh-roh!" and scamper away. But the Australian actor IS Scooby he voices the animated character in the new bve-action movie, using a lively impression of the late actor Don Messick's original if. df CHRIS PIZ2ELLOTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS Nell Fanning, the voice behind "Scooby-Doo," checks out a poster for the film. See 'FRIENDS' on PAGE C2 (CJolofte For individuals and families who buy their own health insurance. From Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico.

Call toll-free 1.866.445.1396 for more information or go to www.bcbsnm.com A Division ol Health Can Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee ol the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association 1 I.