The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 57

i if iir mr i fiw puinp -nj TV RADIO WEDNESDAY AUGUST 26 1992 7n THE MIAMI HERALD III Soper miss Andrew but he was missed on TV i I By HAL BOEDEKER Herald Television Critic Bob colleagues at I WIOD-AM started chuckling at one point during the coverage of Hurricane Andrew The former WSVN-Channel 7 weatherman forgot he was on radio was waving my arms as if I were on Soper said Tuesday winds were blowing counterclockwise and my left arm was spinning around They saw that I wanted to hold up a picture to the radio receiver and say you see what I WTVJ-Channel 4 weathercas-ter Bryan Norcross was the man of the hour But the beloved Soper was putting in similarly long hours at 610 AM The 49-year-old meteorologist and his wife Susan returned from vacation in Georgia at 5 pm Sunday Soper went on the air at 6 and stayed there for 16 hours to be part of knew this would be an important event in South Florida But when the storm knocked the Coral Gables center out Norcross provided forecasters with information Cheatwood also said Channel 7 miss Soper WSVN had three weather people rotating on 12-hour shifts: meteorologist Tom Burse and weathercasters Jillian Warry and Steve Adams not taking anything away from Cheatwood said could have stuck one of my people on the air and disseminated the same information I wanted fresh bodies Having to rely on one person is far too much to ask of one person an In an earlier interview Cheatwood cited stylistic as the reason contract was not renewed It ageism Cheatwood maintained Fitz is 39 years old but has tremendous appeal to the younger he said appeals to their mind set style how Soper has many fans But thousands of South Florid Allen Shaklan Channel 6 general manager said he has heard the rumors too and the station has talked to attorney now we have any agreement with Bob Soper but we think Bob Soper is he said Though Soper pay close attention to TV coverage he was busy himself he praises Channel 4 and Norcross think he did an excellent Soper said stayed on so long he almost lost his voice and maybe that the way to go But he had at his fingertips and in his head the answers to information people were Meteorologists are critical Soper believes critical to have a meteorologist guiding hurricane coverage He Norcross and WPLG-Channel Don Noe are meteorologists Joel Cheatwood Channel vice president of news disagreed that a meteorologist is necessary because all weathercasters relied on the National Hurricane Center for information ians miss unflashy Soper A recent TeleHerald poll found that he was considered the best TV weather person Soper received 5486 votes in the call-in poll by comparison Norcross came in fourth with 1 50 votes After the hurricane Soper received about 50 calls from fans who said wish you had been and were glad to hear you on Soper hopes Hurricane Andrew prompts a new look at mobile-home safety and tougher building codes of these communities that were devastated so badly really have he said were newer homes We always presumed the older structures would be the ones to suffer the At the end of a conversation Soper finally acknowledged he missed covering the storm on TV had to do everything verbally which is not a he said I think the pictures reinforce what trying to Soon he may be waving his arms on television again looks like we might be able to stay in South he said tell you yet But close to negotiations with one TV station And of course maintain my position at Which TV station? There might be a tip-off in how Soper returned to South Florida He only learned of the storm Sunday morning on vacation he had tried to ignore TV Headed to Channel Despite packed flights and long standby lists from Atlanta back to South Florida Soper found a couple of seats on a charter flight carrying a CBS crew He had to get authorization for the seats from WCIX-Channel 6 and the CBS bureau in Miami Soper declines to discuss rumors that headed to Channel 6 people talking to have asked me not to reveal who talking he said feel important to have me and they want to let people know there in a special way I know what that special way Programming trend creates a season for youth not our Added NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield: because we target young adults mean we want an older segment as well They just happen to fall under what is our primary marketing strategy We were skewing too old before and that had to Does strategy make sense? In other words not inviting you to the party but if you want to drop by we kick you out This time Does this kind of strategy make sound economic sense? In the case of Fox perhaps It has after all consistently worked to appeal to teens and young adults 1 8-34 an identity the network has nurtured and it serves Fox well to be a niche-programming service has never claimed to be a mainstream programming said Betsy Frank a vice president with the New York advertising agency of Saatchi Saatchi I think got to separate them from the Frank added that it accurate to term the new youth revolution a direction just as erroneous to presume that the networks are blindly following the marketing demands of their program sponsors are a convenient Frank said true that most advertising Network shows for fall tune out those over 50 By RAY RICHMOND Orange County Register With the dawn of a new fall network prime-time television season nearly upon us interesting to note that the research and focus-group data have returned a single inescapable conclusion: You trust anyone over 50 The strategy: Ignore them -The reward: untold advertiser riches through exclusively targeting the demographic group ages 18-49 The price: middle-aged and elderly viewers who evidently buy consumer products anyway When historians reflect on the 1992-93 television season what they are likely to note is that network programmers completely bought into the notion that anything worth hawking on TV is probably beyond the means or awareness of any adult older than 50 Consequently the new primetime schedules are overstocked with shows that will be embraced by yuppies and boomers and their adult offspring Call it the greening of the television dial Age is now officially a dirty word Youth not only will be served it will be given the run of the store a programming strategy that inspired NBC to dump three shows said to appeal to the Geri-tol set The Golden Girls Mat-lock and In the Heat of the Night CHANGING NETWORKS: In a recent episode of Matlock Dick Van Dyke right joined the star Andy Griffith one of three shows popular with older viewers that NBC is dumping RETURNED FROM VACATION: Bob Soper covered the hurricane on WIOD weather and I wanted to be part of he said wanted to lend the expertise I have in that Soper hinted that he should be back on TV soon Channel 7 yanked him from the air last month and his contract runs out Oct 12 to go with three unproven shows aimed at the whippersnap-pers (The three shows in one form or another are moving to other networks) Fox started concept Only CBS continues to embrace in its actions and words the entertainment tastes of the older American And just fine with CBS whose prime-time programming whiz Peter Tortorici says the other guys want to leave us as the only broad-based network on commercial TV just fine with If you want a culprit blame Fox It started this concept of old being mold and things have been moving slowly in the direction of servicing the so-called to the exclusion of the old in the past few years Interestingly however no one seems to want to take credit (or blame) for this development The networks pass the buck to the sponsors the sponsors to the ad agencies the agencies to their research firms About the only certainty is that the trend has sprouted from a depressed network economic environment Older folks evidently have less disposable income to purchase the kinds of products hawked over primetime TV so out Period 18-to-49 demographic seems to be the audience that our sponsors are most interested in insisted ABC Entertainment President Bob Iger in the crafting of a number of our shows we ignored the older segment of our audience And certainly not trying to alienate them welcome their viewership But Sister-in-law is victimized for eight years (cc) 5 PM Geraldo Rape victims whose stories believed (1:00) 7 PM Inside Edition Sister-in-law is victimized for eight years (cc) 7:30 PM IB Entertainment Tonight Susan Dey (cc) 10 PM (B 48 Hours Authorities fight the flood of bogus goods and services in the marketplace (1:00) (cc) Montel Williams Racist families (1:00) LATE NIGHT 11 PM 0 63 Arsenio Hall (R) Kurt Russell William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy Sister (1:00) (cc) 11:35 PM OO The Tonight Show Musician Michael Fein-stein filmmaker David Lynch comedian Norm McDonald Brian Dennehy (1:00) (cc) MIDNIGHT C3 Jane Whitney See 11 am (1:00) IusaI Late Mr Pete Show Sally Kirkland Brigitte Neilsen 12:35 AM Late Night With David Letterman Waylon Jennings author Tama Jan-owitz Tony Danza (1:00) 1 AM 03 Dennis Miller (R) Comedian Chris Connelly Tori Spelling (Beverly Hills 9021 0 comedian David Spade George Wendt (1:00) 1:35 AM OO Later With Bob Costas (R) Bill Murray (Part 1 of 2) Need a little humor in your politics? Read Doonesbury on the comics page of The Miami Herald ITALKtSHOWS buys are based on adults ages 18 to 49 that does not necessarily mean we know that older people buy products because we do and our clients For the sake of efficiency however Frank noted it pays to target young adults going to get older ones the mix different At least one network buy into the idea that once you turn 50 the purchases stop and the TV set remains off CBS whose Entertainment Division president Jeff Sagansky is disgusted by the youth-paved road traveled by his competitors looking for is to be a Sagansky said other guys have a different vision of the broadcast world like to know who decided that at the age of 50 you suddenly decide to stop buying deodorant and toothpaste and just sit in the corner gumming pabulum and holding your Rogaine I know who decided it but everyone seems to have embraced CBS programming partner Tortorici likens putting older viewers out to pasture to the main room at Palace and saying just want to sing to these people over here in the Tortorici prefers to think about prototypical family that can sit in front of the television set Grandma and Mom and Dad and the kids all 3 HUNGARIAN BUDAPEST The European Diner Place with quality food selection Twilight specials $895 Tues-Sun 940 71st St MB 868-4848 3 INDIA AKASH OF LONDON Miami Herald Open LunchDinner Tuesday thru Sunday Best New Restaurant New Times Spectacular Sunday Brunch $750 11730 Biscayne Blvd 891-9919 (6) '4 Miami Review El Herald Mon-Sat Lunch Dinner 276 Alhambra Circle CG 448-9691 (2) KEBAB REST Miami Herald Open Daily Lunch Dinner Lunch $450 Early Bird Only $595 514 NE 167 St NMB 940-6309 (6) 3 ITALIAN ITALIAN '4 Herald Same Family For Over 40 Years Complete Dinner Specials start at $595 Tuesday-Sunday 14300 Dixie Hwy NM Catering and Take-out Available 947-6734 (6) PAPA Miami Herald Early Bird Dining 4-6pm All Entrees Served with Soup Salad Garlic Rolls 9539 SW 160 St 235-4423 (2) CALL CLASSIFIED 374-2780 MISS an Important calll (ft) MOTOROLA BRAVOSALE $29" 6 Memory Beeps or Vibrates 900 MHZ 1V Key West to Vero Beach SUNSHINE BEEPER 441-2110 ncr tout our answering iSi 3 THAI A New Exotic Thai Restaurant town We have a variety of food Lun Din 7 day Please come try our SW 117 Ave 274-7423 CLASSIFIED 374-2788 number in parentheses at the end of listing corresponds to the restaurant's number on map CALL NOW TO ADVERTISE 376-2780 New deadline Thursday 5 pm 7 AM OO Today Jason Ro-bards Garth Brooks author Neil Sheehan discusses Vietnam tomatoes (2:00) (cc) (D This Morning Financial report famine in Somalia Willem Dafoe (Light Sleeper )- reviews of Diggstown and Single White Female fastest sailor traveling preacher (2:00) (cc) QD 03 Good Morning America Waylon Jennings Jimmy Connors first influence Oregon homosexual initiative David Lynch Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks women and car care disabled woman tries to regain custody of her sons (2:00) (cc) 9 AM (D Donahue (R) Joan Rivers (1:00) (cc) (B Regis Kathie Lee George Bums Dana Carvey Richard Lewis Jerry Seinfeld (1:00) 10 AM (D Maury Povich (R) AIDS and marriage (1:00) Cristina (R) Older women reveal romantic secrets (1:00) Joan Rivers (R) Soap-opera stars (1:00) 10:30 AM Doctor Dean Children and growth hormones 11 AM Sally Jessy Raphael (R) Ungrateful teens (1:00) 12:30 PM A Closer Look With Faith Daniels Olympic swimmers Jeff Rouse Melvin Stewart Ron Karnaugh (cc) 4 PM Sally Jessy Raphael Secret sexual fetishes (1:00) 03 Oprah Winfrey life and death (1:00) (cc) Cristina (Spanish 1:00) 4:30 PM (B Inside Edition 3 AMERICAN Eatery Mia Herald complete dinner sped wsalad garlic bread $475 clad Sun Next UofM 5813 Ponce De Leon Blvd 661-7091 (2) 3 ARABIC PHOENICIA Miami Herald Phoenicia introduces exciting new menu with vegetable combination specials 2841 Coral Way 443-1426 (2) 3 CHINESE NEW CHINATOWN El Herald The Miami Herald Miami News Need we say more? 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