Lexington Herald-Leader from Lexington, Kentucky • 27

1 wqjqrqinnjin i Lexington Herald-Leader TV Section Tuesday April 7 1992 Television D3 Classified D4 new Which newscast wins most households? The February ratings put Channel 27 on top again no surprise there But the race for second continues to tighten We parents just have to establish some limits 11 pm 6 pm 11pm 6 pm And Channel 56 the only commercial TV station that do any local reporting might soon begin a 10 pm newscast For viewers all of this is good More competition almost always means better newscasts It also means that the stations will be even more receptive than usual to suggestions from viewers To offer your opinions call: Channel 27 299-0411 Channel 36 233-3600 Channel 18 255-4404 and Channel 56 299-3856 -Susan White Herald-Leader TV writer or years Channel 27 has been Lexington's dominant news leader Except for some feeble challenges from Channel 18 in the Channel 278 early and late evening newscasts have never even had a serious competitor But things are different now Channel 36 once the perennial basement dweller is tied for No 2 and poised to climb Channel 18 which moved into the '90s in slow motion has suddenly spun into fast-forward determined to become competitive again Nate: TTwAiMron Co ewan 32300 houaatokk in 31 comm Note: Thn AC Mam Cn own 364330 hoimholdi In 33 aounW 41 fl ror-ti 7' Y- v-' 3 mi fcr iv Hr 4 1 s- Herao-LMaaNHobin Trtay ban Ralph Gabbard WKYT president and general manager might see his station face its greatest news challenge Tylin Smith WDKY vice president and general manager says his station's newscast will be unlike others in Lexington Channel 27: Ratings champ stays on guard Fox affiliate hopes to find its news niche nother TV newscast for Well yes Channel 56Y on the climbers down below In doing so he has surrounded himself with some formidable safeguards His 6 and 11 pjn newscasts are downright intimidating drawing twice as many viewers as their nearest competitors The 6 pm news is so popular in feet that it gives a boost to the CBS Evening News which is Na 3 nationally but Na 1 in Lexington All of his anchors are popular with viewers He has retained a cluster of valuable veteran reporters He continues to challenge himself WDKY (Channel 56) Lexington's Fox affiliate will eventually have a local newscast Fox has said that all its affiliates must do news A target date Jan 1 has even been mentioned in trade publications When Channel 56s news finally does begin it will air at 10 pmt where it be competing with the three established newscasts The 10 pm slot will appeal to work-weary families too tired to stay up any later than that Channel 568 news might have another unique feature: It might be produced by Channel 27 Lexington's long- Lexington? Tylin Smith says hesitantly IVobably Someday In some kind of unique format that hasn't been created yet Two facts are clear Channel 27s local news has been Na 1 for so long that you'd think the station's top boss would have learned to relax and enjoy the success No way Ralph Gabbard has remained king of the news mountain for 17 years precisely because he keeps a wary eye friend of mine who is the mother of a toddler called me recently and ended up £JT talking about her son I could feel her frustration and confusion with every word she spoke Her son was trying to mark his individual boundaries which match those set by his parents The boy a strong-willed child was throwing tantrums whenever and wherever he could They were set off when his parents said no After reading every bode she could find about child behavior and after talking to her parents and to every other mother who has been through the same thing my friend was experiencing a few moments of self-doubt The woman sounded just like me when my older son was younger My 4-year-old has sent my husband and me through bo many hoops and over so many obstacles that I truly thought for a time we were rearing a future serial killer He would throw tantrums in grocery stores department stores at church and at home If we said he do something he did it anyway If we told him to do something he When we tried to reason with him we get through That all ended this year when he took a turn for the better more often than not nicer and more helpfuL polite And learned how to charm things out of his sister by saying beautiful sister" Most of die change is die result of maturity older and outgrowing a lot of those nerve-wracking behavioral patterns In addition I think all die adults around him deserve a lot of credit They were his role models At his school and at his baby sitter's before that my son slowly realised that there are limits to what he could do and expectations of what he should da Those limits are honored by his teacher at Sunday school and by neighbors and other family members My husband and I told those folks what we expected of our son and what we tolerate and fortunately all the adults in my life backed us up We didn't do anything spectacular We simply did to our son what had bam done to us We said na It worked in our situation because we both had great parents When I visited the Florence Crit-tenton Home several days ago I mentioned my style to Rita Soper the director and Kent Conder the counselor I fully expected to be condemned Instead they said more parents should do die same It's not that I am such a great parent they said just that I had good parents and good role models A lot of our children don't have that because a lot of parents aren't sure what they are supposed to da Inconsistency can be deadly From Rita and Kent I got a few dues and added a couple of common-sense things to their advice: Give your children structure love and discipline Have expectations of them that will guide them into the future not just into tomorrow That includes not allowing them to stay out until 2 ajn even if they are teenagers Know where they are and whom they are with Let your children know they are wanted So many youngsters assume Please see WKYT D2 Please see WDKY D2 J- UJ Expect dramatic changes in Channel 18's newscasts says John Duvall station president and general manager Chris Aldridge WTVQ vice president and general manager hopes to maintain his station's upward momentum department's downward slide in die ratings from a strong No 2 to its current tie for second with Channel 36 Channel 18 goes on the offensive to win viewers Out of basement Channel 36 plans steady challenge Aldridge said "But smart broadcasters We have seven other TV stations in very competitive markets and we're going to move this station in the right direction We will be successful We've not failed Part of strategy is to maintain the upward momentum Channel 368 news department has eqjoyed lately After years in die ratings basement the station is now tied for Na 2 with Channel 18 Aldridge said it would be "ludicrous" to dump Lindgren who has But those were oily "very very marginal Duvall said "Compared to what weYe going to be doing in the next three months it will be like a gnat on the hind end of an elephant" The elephant itself began to emerge last week On Wednesday Alan Little a 35-year-old assistant news director at KING-TV in Seattle was named news The changes in Channel 18's news department began modestly enough in January just two months after John Duvall was named president and general manager Several anchors were demoted to reporters and a national search was mounted for a news director It was all part of a strategy to stop the news First Channel 368 general manager Chris Aldridge wants to squelch the rumors Na John Lindgren be leaving the anchor desk And na the new owner Park Broadcasting slashed the news budget "We are a conservative company" Please see WLEX D2 Please see WTVQ D2 rightly or wrongly that they wanted or needed when we parents Laura Bundy takes success in stride stay longer at work or when we socialize in the evenings Forget giving your children more money and forget die tennis shoes and jeans You did fine without them and so will they And finally Rita and Kent said everybody has to be involved in die rearing of children Not just the parents but adults at church school and in die neighborhood as well So my friend relax Lead your son down die right road rather than just pointing it out More than likely he will follow The subject of Ruthless a black comedy whore advertisements feature a close-up of Laura is a child so consumed with becoming an actress that she is willing to do anything to get the role of Rppi Longstocking in her school play Imagine Baby Jane meeting The Bad Seed or a children's version of the movie Heathers Laura's character Tina Denmark is angelically charming one moment mid dangerously calculating the next Portraying such a character is challenging but Laura pulls it off convincingly Your neighbor might be a tad more excited about all that than Laura who seems to take it in stride show is a lot of Laura says smiling sweetly as she sits on a pink beanbag and pets her blade poodle Lily in her New York apartment Why she be blase about her starring role? It is just one more chapter in a professional career that began when she was 18 months old and has moved rapidly since It is a career that includes beauty pageants soap operas modeling a Radio City Music Hall show and TV commercials By Kathleen Boyee Contributing writer EW YORK Laura Ashley Bell Bundy might lode like the girl next door but how many of your neighbors could boast of starring in an off-Broadway play and being best buddies with a movie star? The 10-year-old Lexington native has tlie lead role in Ruthless which has been in previews since March 13 Laura also has been grist for the gossip columns because of her friendship with Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin In Ruthless Laura Bundy plays a shrewd ambitious girl who wants to star in her school's play Tom Carter Tom Garter is on vacation His gadgets column win resume April 14 Please see BUNDY D2.