The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 50

1 4 The Kansas City Star Saturday March 21 1998 parting news director spurred momentum and quality at KSHB news director at its Cleveland station WEWS The chance to stay in the Scripps family while keeping her own under one roof convinced Heider to go a great station and I feel lucky to be going Heider said LeMay their news director is a brilliant thinker and John Lansing is a legend in the Lansing recently took over WEWS after serving as No 2 at largest station WXYZ in Detroit WEWS currently clinging to first place in the Cleveland market has made a strong commitment to investigative reporting much as KSHB did under tenure Her four-man investigative news team Public Defenders has won several awards and is distinguishing itself with good old-fashioned TV journalism Other high points of time at Channel 41 include the hiring of Kansas City area native Elizabeth Alex In recent months Alex has flourished in a prominent role as lead anchor on News at Heider oversaw the rapid expansion of news staff and hired staff who kept an energetic if not always crisp look and feel to the newscasts Heider sent reporters to cover the TWA 800 and Valujet plane crashes and interrupted programs for breaking news Recently Channel 41 scooped everyone on the Baby Carlie kidnapping case If one thing that distinguishes energy Even competitors will concede as much The most common refrain TVKC hears from staffers at the other news outfits in town is That's what we were like 10 or 15 years ago And the low points? The ratings of course KSHB is fourth among the four local newscasts right where it was when Heider arrived But even there some bright spots exist 7 to 9 am morning show (mostly has moved into third place passing mostly CBS Heider going back to Cleveland jn Heider is moving on after two years as news director at KSHB Channel 41 returning to Cleveland the city where she spent six years in TV news before coming here to take her TVKC rst news (frrector job- The transition probably happen for at least a couple of months while KSHB general manager Jim Swinehart searches for her replacement husband Tim a former City Hall reporter with The Star took a job at the Cleveland Plain Dealer earlier this year At the time of his departure Lynn told TVKC they would carry on a 1 But that was before EW Scripps Co which owns KSHB announced it was looking for an assistant I morning show vuk More notably the 10 pm newscast is now consjs-" tently holding on to at least half of its audience (those watching Channel 41 just before 10 pm) and that retention rate is slowly rising an excellent omen for Alex and company think the morning show will be No 1 within a' year and the rest of the product will become very competitive third or second place within two Heider said really wanted to stay here and go the this station is going to arrive And I really wanted to be part of Speaking of Alex look for her on newscast tonight She and her husband just adopted baby Margaret Bernadette and taking two to? three weeks off StarTouch: 889-7827 and enter 8852 (TVKC) mail: barnhartkcstarconi SATURDAY EVENING TELEVISION REMOTEPatrol By Aaron Barnhart Tribune Media Services Another Walter Mosley character comes to life in "Always (8 tonight HBO) with Laurence Fishbume introducing us to Socrates Fortlow just out after 18 years in the pen He still has nightmares about his crime but there better days ahead for Socrates he can see it even from his -in-the-wall in south-central Los Angeles He may not be having much luck overcoming his own Clemons but Socrates can and US Comedy Arts Tribute to Monty Python (10 pm on HBOT Recorded in Aspen Colo this special offers a reunion of the surviving members of the British comedy troupe They reminisce about the TV and -In movie projects they made together and clips from those traditionally unique ventures are sprinkled liberally throughout the hour Pictured (clockwise from top left): Eric Idle John Cleese Graham Chapman (who died in 1989) Teny Gilliam Michael Palin and Terry Jones 1 98974471 1 An Americanized version of Cage aux Folles" the hit French comedy that also yielded a stage musical1-director Mike truly amusing 1 996 farce casts Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as homosexual -7 companions facing a crisis whenttys Williams character's son (Dan Futterman) wants his dad to meet his prospective in-laws (Gene Hackman Dianne Wiest) 336976 (CC) (7:05 pm on TBS Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise had to seem among the unlikeliest nfdWe-star pairings of the 1980s but they 1 ended up yielding magnificence through their work together Hoffmdn and director Barry Levinson wort Oscars for thel 988 saga of a young huckster and the autistic older i brother he never knew he had Valeria Golino also appears 77361957 I The Magnificent Seven (8 pm! on Chris (Michael Biehn) hopes his cohorts will come to his rescue in this new episode after a sheriff (Cliff DeYoung) with a sinister agency arrests him and sentences him to do hard labor in a prison camp of the crooked lawman's plan to steal the savings of inmates and he feels that keeping Chris under his dose watch will maintain the secret oftfc nasty scheme 34583 (CC) does help others overcome theirs the terrific supporting cast includes Natalie Cole Cicely Tyson and pfjgid Coulter Rated TV-MA for adult content galore New Star TV Dr Quinn Medicine Woman (7 pm on Distraught over the death of his beloved Marjorie Loren (Orson Bean) tries to sell his store and move away However Mike (Jane Seymour) learns of his intentions and does all she can to keep him in Colorado Springs Meanwhile several couples are feeling anything but joyous as the Sweethearts Dance approaches 21353 (CC) Hills Cop (7 pm on The first two editions were huge hits but it took a while for Eddie Murphy to develop his third round as Detroit detective Axel Foley In this 1 994 variation on the same action-comedy theme the wisecracking sleuth returns to the West Coast to smash a Ithal counterfeiting ring 70792 (CC) Reed: One of Our (7 pm on UF Brian Dennehy again reprised the Chicago-police-detective role played in several other projects in this 1996 mystery which the actor also directed and cowrote After his partner is killed while protecting a woman Reed and his wife (fellow returnee Susan Ruttan) provide shelter for her Charles Dutton also appears 974150 (7 pm on MAX The original French thriller has been remade a number of times between TV versions and other variations and in this 1996 edition Sharon Stone and Isabelle Adjani play ladies who plot to kill the man (Chazz Palminteri) who has abused them both but their scheme takes unexpected turns Kathy Bates also stars as the police detective investigating the homicide 983808 (CC) Birdcage" (7 pm on SHO Profiler (9 pm on The swjch for a serial rapist takes Sam (Ally-Walker) and her colleagues to Florida in this new episode but their mteo -may be jeopardized by the history of-the female police officer (Alicia -ft Coppola) they're assigned to with She is a sexual-assault herself and her related rage emerges in the course of the case alumnus Larry Wilcox also appears 374976 (CC) Watch for your new and improved Star TV book coming Sunday Color-coded charts will make the new book easier to use Parental guidance symbols and VCR-plus numbers will guide you through the many programming choices each day Your favorite features and channels will continue to appear in the bigger and better organized format The Features Department editors indicates program contains violence explicit sex or inappropriate language for children For daily soap-opera updates and weekly summaries: (816) 889-7827 and enter SOAP (7627) PLEX Sci-Fi (Buzz (Amazing (Earth 2 7646889 1 Science Theater 3000 1784995 46514179 Paid Prog 1 Paid Prog eeTlindit Muvo in Low" (1988)9883266 4191686 Flintatone jScooby Video videos Ntional Geographic Explorer 612808 Off the Air 1 Off ihe Air Understanding 993063 Underetendtng 631686 Understanding Legend (Outdoors Fishing Flahln' (Saltwater 389686 Understanding 392150 Understanding 355262 Understanding 577482 Understanding 652044 Understanding 578088 Underetendhrg 656983 (Understanding 608063 Understanding Bill Pence Fisherman lnwndTV (Hot Rod tn NASCAR 326745 (Mechanic (Mechanic (this Weak 72247q On Loose Ton Loose TGolor 3891632 Travelers K98624 TundanaaW buH Riding 627006- (Race of Week 322614 Tractor Icbasslcl '(vacations (vacations Parks' parks (journeys pathfinder Babylon 5 387228 Ctrylnns ctry Inns (SportT Lonesome 990976 Wild West 991605 Brisco County 639228 Paid Prog Paid Prog Road Trips (Holiday Romantic (kin dry Travel TOAV rv IMS Calient Control 1955179 Onda Max 28957 Highlander 668570 Earth: Conflict 684518 Piaaeaaon Baseball Seattle Mariners at Chicago White Sox 799112 Griffith I nr 3.