The Sacramento Bee from Sacramento, California • 57

The Sacramento Bee Wednesday March 3 1999 Ft Shania Twain takes a I Taped concert comes on heels On special Shania Twain and Elton John perform a medley of Still the and About the Way You Look Tonight" Jl Barbara Walters left interviews Monica Lewinsky tonight on Kushman: said is not the point anymore of Grammy wins By Brian Mansfield Gannett News Service Think Shania Twain and you think videos the black-clad splash-dancer of Be Stupid (You Know I Love the denim-vested farm girl of Man of the blond predator of Impress Me The clip for her biggest hit Still the acknowledges her status as a music-video icon Throughout the black-and-white fantasy she appears on a television screen a video image But guess what? hate being in says Twain who has released 18 of them during her three-album career averaging a new one every three months since 1995 I love directing them and I love being in the editing suite that whole side of For Twain the exceptionally photogenic Ontario native who recently won two Grammy awards for Still the (best female country vocal performance and best country song co-written with her husband and producer Robert John Lange) the allure of the camera pales next to the rush of live performance other aspect of my career I see as something that takes me away from what I enjoy the most which is the stage and the she says So Twain 33 felt much more comfortable making her forthcoming television special Winter which airs at 7 tonight on CBS (Channel 13 KOVR) a live concert in an amphitheater says Twain The bulk of the show comes from two days of performances taped in January in Bayfront Park Also appearing on are the Backstreet Boys who join her for This Moment On and Elton John who pairs with Twain for a medley of Still the and his About the Way You Look Twain also performs a number she sings on a forthcoming album of songs from musical written with lyricist Tim Rice recognition she has yet to win an award from the Nashville-based Country Music Association Some believe the oversight has less to do with her crossover appeal than with her lack of ties to the publishing community Since Twain and Lange write and produce all her material been anybody here sharing in the success says Luke Lewis president of Mercury Nashville for which she records to last year there were no agents no promoters -nobody getting a piece That might have a little bit to do with how some people cast their votes for country music Still she has her admirers environment with the possessive attitude that radio formats take about artists difficult to cross yourself over into multiple formats and continue to be successful where you says CMA executive director Ed Benson be better off as an industry if we had more people who could straddle formats really the future for The future for Twain includes performing in Canada this month then in May June and early July in US cities where ticket demand was highest the first time around just something of a victory says Ron Baird agent at Creative Artists Agency After that looking forward to spending some time with Lange Between her touring schedule and his production chores for the Backstreet Boys and others the two often spend as much as eight weeks apart When the tour ends around the Fourth of July Twain and Lange plan to retreat to a recently purchased home near Geneva Switzerland After taking the rest of July off she hopes to start writing her next album with Lange Though Twain keeps a notebook of ideas she and Lange write during their occasional times together have to be together for more than one week to really get -Twain says impossible not to see each other for a whole month then get together for five or six days and expect to write She expects to start recording her next album around the end of the year though considering making a Christmas record before then The possibilities are endless like to write songs for other artists she wants to direct videos she might eventually even try her hand at books love she says just be the creative person and not be the person in front of the pamera I would get so much more pleasure feel like a politician sometimes because you walk opt the door and you wave and smile that ends going to be fine with that not going to be somebody who wants to hold on to my fame for the rest of my ON TV Shania Winter Break 7 tonight on CE) invitation to sing on came after a chance meeting with John at a radio station ran into each other in the Twain says started singing Still the to me right off the bat I was so flattered that he knew who I was and that he knew my song called me up not long after and asked if be interested in singing a song on this project he was putting together for I said sure I was just so taken by our meeting that I was thrilled to be While Twain may be new enough at the superstar game to be excited by imprimatur her recent achievements Jlace hbr in a rarified stratum The eight-times-platinum success of on makes her one of only three female singers (Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey are the others) to have two albums each pass the 8 million mark breakthrough second album Woman in has shipped 11 million copies silenced doubters of her singing abilities with a tour that grossed $36 million last year putting her practically neck-and-neck with Garth Brooks country power base may be strong but it broad Despite her sales and Grammy eiythingyou need to know about these people Their every move is calculated for self-interest and if they damage the institution of journalism contribute to the incivility of society divert a attention from what matters hey at least they got ratings Look in this era of corporations running newsrooms including print newsrooms no one expects network news departments to operate in the red like they did 30 years ago But at the same time when you call yourself a news operation you have a responsibility to fulfill Journalism is supposed to be about reporting facts putting events in context showing us each other helping us make choices in a complex multifaceted world It be just about making money or we all lose But if anything educational about interview with Lewinsky tonight that everyone involved is in it for the bucks Besides likely ratings boost the network is charging $16 million a minute for ads up from usual $320000 Over two hours Westin and ABC figure to get educated by more than $30 million Walters meanwhile can boast that she remains the league leader in the TV news term for landing interviews with hot subjects and notice that to these substance-oriented people what matters is not what actually gets said in the interview but just that it happened Lewinsky is getting nothing from ABC other than possibly a cathartic experience and after what been through certainly earned that Right? Well she also did an interview with Channel Four for which she was paid $660000 plus 75 percent of the proceeds from the sale to other countries And what a coincidence on Thursday only a few hours after the ABC interview book hits the bookstores (She got a $15 million advance from St Press by the way) So maybe Westin is right Maybe there is a lesson in all of this Maybe that television news is getting damn hard to trust RICK KUSHMAN is The TV columnist Write to him at PO Box 15779 Sacramento CA 95852 e-mail rkush-mansacbeecom or call (916) 321-1142 esi Continued from page FI say that during his own reports the faux moral outrage of cable talkers such as Chris Matthews John McLaughlin or particularly Geraldo Rivera 1 still fuming about OJ Simpson JonBenet Ramsey and who knows the Boston Red Sox sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees after the 1919 season The worst part is that American viewers know getting flim-flammed and the TV people know they know Whatever As long as it hurt ratings So tonight because the country needs to hear more and because ABC thinks this is educational Walters sits down with Lewinsky and according to reports in the Washington Post asks her a number of questions about sex For what worth which clearly is not much Donaldson and his ABC pundit pals fired that very criticism at independent voyeur Kenneth Starr: that he was too focused on sex According to a story in the New York Daily News which obtained an unedited audio tape of the first 60 minutes of the Walters interview Lewinsky apologizes to Hilary and Chelsea Clinton what happened and for what been She also calls President Clinton her al soul someone who was and with her But Walters said in an interview with the Washington Post this is not huggy kissy Of course it Barbara never fib to us TV news these days especially national TV news has sunk to where just another piece of manipulative network marketing Sometimes we believe it no more than we believe a TV commercial Everyone is winking fudging and playing with reality just enough to do things like pretend that or really are news shows even worse at the cable 1 news networks where 24-hour Lewinsky coverage interrupted periodically for updates of bomb- ing in Baghdad a new book on Ramsey or the auction of trophies helped new- comers MSNBC and Fox News build a viewership base been a sad moment for America a fine moment for Fox Fox News Channel vice president John Moody told the Boston Globe recently That pretty much tells you ev- rT3 0 FLORIN ROAD 3 you SfflEopd: easMiiiofe raas Motor sports coverage Every Friday in The Bee Fast Slightly insane the only sport ever see with cheering sections for reckless drivers and multi-car pile ups And now every week The Bee brings complete motor sports action to your doorstep Follow the biggest names and the most explosive drivers from both national and international circuits Get columns by race-world insiders highlights stats and money leader breakdowns from NASCAR Formula One The NHRA Indy Racing League and CART Plus schedules for TV coverage and live racing events Events EVENT: Hypnotist Tom Deluca 7:30 pm University Union Ballroom California State University Sacramento 6000 St $8 general $550 CSUS students 278-6595 MUSIC: Attila and Dave Project experimental rock noon-1 2:50 pm Union Auditorium CSUS 6000 St free 278-6595 COMEDY: Milt Abel and Karen Anderson 8 pm Laughs Unlimited 1207 Front St Old Sacramento $7 446-5905 COMEDY: George Lopez Rene Hicks and Bryan Kellen 8:30 pm Punch Line 2100 Arden Way Suite 225 $10 925-5500 CLUBS: Funkengruven 9:30 pm Harlow's 2708 St $3 441-4693 CLUBS: Beer Dawgs 9 pm II 7512 Auburn Blvd Citrus Heights no cover 726-4647 CLUBS: Moe Better Mann Show 9 pm Old Ironsides 1901 10th St $4443-9751 CLUBS: Jimmy Pailer and the Bad Boys 9:30 pm Torch Club 1612 St no cover 443-2797 0 0 0 0 Can you believe it! WE1JE GONE mom TOYOTA PARTS SERVICE present their annual DAY SPECIAL! This Thursday-Friday-Saturday lit -Gearing Up- Motor Sports Coverage Every Friday in Sports The Bee It's good to know HERE'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF THE BIG SAVINGS! TOYOTA TIMING BELT REPLACEMENT REGULAR SALE PRICE $17995 tax MARCH MADNESS 20 OFF PRICE $14396 tax for a 4-cylinder Toyota Camry only wwmm ir Jt- i i I i -i LJ i i I 1 LJ LJ I 1 I LJ I 1 I wmm.