The Cincinnati Post from Cincinnati, Ohio • 25

riHnvTIuZTTgpSEl Bj JHtnJfeA Here comes Rosie! Si I new goes unnoticed dience that It be' like one celebrity and three serial mass murderers a whole different kind of a gig and I think the American viewing public is kind of ready for something different than what they've been given for the last number of Ms O'Donnell said the hour-long show is bring patterned after the schmoozy daytime talk show that was hosted by Griffin whose celebrity-packed chat sessions were light and breezy controversy-free and awfully popular between 1962 and 1986 when and his hard-edged Imitators finally snuffed out light and breezy Hie show will open with a five-minute comedy monologue break away and come back with actors singers comedians an audience-participation segment and occasionally an author or politician By Greg Paeth lght time right hour right offer for Rosie The stand-up comic comedic actress and unlikely friend of Madonna makes a monumental career move Monday when her day-time talk show debuts In most of the country including Cincinnati where she bumps Rolands Watts back to the 11 am time slot weekdays on WCPO (Channels) In the wake of last fell's assault on trash talkers like Jerry Springer Jenny Jones and Rickl Lake Ms insists her show is going to be strikingly different kind of retro-talk a Merv Griffin for the '90s "I in kidding that the only dysfunctional person (on the show) will be Ms O'Donnell said in a recent interview "I just wanted to make It clear to the au Monday's lineup Includes George Clooney Greater Cincinnati's highest-paid export and Susan Lucd who has set the record for futility in riaytlmA TTmmy competition ABC's Morning co-host Joan Lunden appears Tuesday with Fran Drescher and Dennis Franz Wednesday Former Cincinnatian Sarah Jessica Parker Is scheduled for Thursday with Gloria Estefen Ms O'Donnell said a mqjor change in her personal life dictated radical alterations In her professional life "I have a new baby and I have done one movie since he was bom and during that 23-day shoot I got to see him an hour each (fey I decided that's not the kind of parent I want to be so I was try- lng to find a job that would lncori' Please see ROSIE 4B It was a personal revolution no question about it As I stared Into the mirror a thin film of perspiration formed on my forehead The reflection was a stranger Would there be courage enough to see this through? The Issue was in doubt It all started over the weekend at our annual family reunion with a remark by a young cousin from California twice removed She said that men were seldom adventurous and most were boring She said she regretted to Inform me that I was a perfect example TERRY DUENNE8fllW Post Diary of WCPO network switch Paul Harper runs the four-person WCPO (Channel 9) promotion department that includes staffers Eric Dietrich Mary Kay Deal and Scott Dailey It was responsibility to oversee everything you taw read or heard about the affiliation swap which took place early Monday morning when Channel 9 became an ABC affiliate after $5 years with CBS WKRC (Channel 12) simultaneously moved to CBS after an equal number of years with ABC The Cincinnati Post asked Harper to write a behindrthescenet chronology about what went into making the switch as easy as possible far viewers in some 775009 Greater Cincinnati homes Hit monthrbpnumth account follows: Sept 6 1995 Memo from corporate: Channel 9 will be the ABC affiliate in the late spring of 1996 thrilled! ABC is a strong network great shows the NFL younger demographics Comfort level: High The date set and the switch just a vague concept October The date is set: June 3 1996 We have a target and the creative wheels are spinning Make calls to stations around the country that have been through a switch for advice what did and work? Talk to research people and consultants and get more advice Ask for ideas from outside ad agencies Comfort level: Medium The switch seems a long way off and we're in the early planning stages but the job ahead is creating anxiety Comment from the boss: "We will have one of the most successful switch campaigns in the country November The pot is still simmering and mental lists are made for all the things that need to be changed: on-air graphics coffee cups banners logos on news cars business cards stationery etc Switch diarist Paul Harper on the WCPO news set says he's been carried by staffers from left Mary Kay Deal Eric Dietrich and John LaRoche for years They sold the switch to viewers She pointed out that I never went anywhere without a coat and tie She claimed that men In suits In 1996 looked pretty much like men In suits in 1896 She asked me to take note of how many times women had completely changed their in the same 100 years She admitted some of the changes had not been successful but that the very effort proved the superiority of courage and willingness to take chances She asked if I had ever changed my hair color I allowed as I had not because age and periodic unemployment had taken care of that for me She asked If I had ever undergone cosmetic surgery but before I could answer she said it was obvious I had not She asked if I had ever worn a purple suit or a gold lame T-shirt or red ankle boots I had to confess I had not It was clear she concluded that I was hopelessly calcified terminally conservative and hadn't had a new thought since high school I stuttered and spluttered She then laughed assured me she was only kidding and went off to torture some other old person Still for the next several days I help thinking about what she said It was true that I was always the guy in the tie It was true that when I anchored TV news my five suits were varying shades of black It was true that a Cincinnati newspaper once said idea of leisure clothes is rolling up the sleeves of his dress All of which brought me to this confrontation with the mirror Uncle William and Aunt Phyllis Guilfoyle had invited us and cousins George and Ida Guilfoyle from Lewis County to the restaurant in Aberdeen Ohio At first I thought about going without a tie but even that was not radical enough in my new mood It had to be a revolution At last I had it Since the fourth grade I had always combed my hair the same way Sometimes the length was longer sometimes shorter but I always parted it on the left the way Uncle George taught me when I was 9 Defiantly I took brush in shaking hand With a few savage strokes I parted it on the right The hair startled out of many decades of habit stood straight up With water I forced it into a semblance of respectability What now peered back at me from the mirror was an entirely new Nick The difference was shocking I could not help but wonder how my wife Nina who has been with me nearly 37 years now would react Would she faint? Boldly I marched downstairs and confronted her she asked want to be Well it was a bit dark in the hall In the car in full daylight I looked at her directly "Anything wrong?" she asked When we got to the restaurant I half hoped the pretty young hostess would notice the difference even though she had never seen me before But there was still a chance William 1 and George had known me even longer than Nina As we sat at the table I looked slowly from one to the other in anticipation of their questions Finally it came Uncle William said wrong with you? What are you staring The rest of the evening's 1 conversation was about family and friends not about the greatest puling since the Red Sea When we got home I made one last stab at it "Notice anything different about me tonight?" "Yes Nick but the tie that bad Go try to start a revolution in this family Comfort level: Medium to high The news promotion load in November is a good diversion December The plan is taking shape We create the overall mission statement: Keep it simple help viewers understand without insulting their intelligence overdo the advertising (ha!) remind people that many things wont change have fUn be positive Local advertising agencies pitch marketing ideas on how to position for the switch Liked the ideas from GalvinKemper ad agency (which was eventually hired) for print advertising Comfort level: High except for Dec 23 when I did my Christmas shopping January 1996 The plan is on paper In April we'll launch series of spots that bring people closer to our main news anchors We want viewers to be loyal to our news people before during and after the switch Eric is in charge of scheduling talent directing the film shoot and editing create a series of spots using our news anchor people as well as Regis and Kathie Lee Oprah Peter Jennings Pat Sqjak and Vanna White to explain what is and what isn't changing Spots will air one week before the switch Other stations warned us not to start too soon because people get tired of the hype Mary Kay will write produce direct and edit this campaign create a printed program guide to help people We'll also set up a toll-free number with operators to help answer questions from viewers Art director John LaRoche joins the station from Columbus and begins work on the new on-air graphics with a design firm in Los Angeles We need a completely new which includes the ABC logo Scott joins Mary Kay and Eric as a writerproducer in the promotion department Comfort level: beginning to feel like the plate spinners on the Ed Sullivan Show- smiling and confident on the outside thinking about a career in food service on the inside Please see SWITCH 8B Channel 9 receptionist Kay Barksdale fields some questions but most calls go to a toll-free number with switch information Vintage Dance Week celebrates graceful history "With the Viennese waltz you get so dizzy that got to fall in love with whoever dancing In addition to daily dance seminars and classes in introductory through advanced levels Vintage Dance Week Includes evening balls in classic period clothing Each ball has a different theme ragtime Jazz and Victorian with music by by Fleeting Moments Waltz Si Quickstep Orchestra as well as the East Coast trio BLT This is the Flying Cloud 14th annual dance week The group also hosts four or five dress balls each year weekly dance classes and supports a performing troupe Members range in profession from scientists and engineers to carpenters and farmers and in age from 20s to 80s Academy director Tamara Anderson computer specialist at Procter Gamble explains why people from so many walks of life are interested: think dance is a universal she said "It has a romantic appeal to anybody who has any fondness for history" By Mary Jo DILonardo Potjtffjportar A far cry from the Beer Barrel Polka the polka of the 1850s is a grandiose choreographed affair done best when replete with twirling ball gowns and dashing tuxedos Hardly the staple at dance bars the polka along with the quadrille the mazurka the schottische and the waltz will be on display at Vintage Dance Week June 16 through 22 Sponsored by the Flying Cloud Academy of Vintage Dance a week of dance classes seminars and evening balls Held in the past at the University YMCA this year's dance week will be at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music expected to attract nearly 100 dancers from all over the country Dance Instructors for the week include 82-year-old Frankie Manning noted dance instructor from the and 308 as well as Nora Din-zelbacher of California Richard Powers the founder of the Flying Cloud Academy and Cathy Stephens current artistic director a fabulous said Flying Cloud member Michael Atkinson UC English professor who does the ragtime one-step Argentine tann and Viennese waltz in his spare time 4 Freelance columnist Nick Clooney writes for The Post every Monday Wednesday and Friday To order his book" Nick Collected Columns of Nick Clooney send check or money order for $2280 Includes $110 tax and $175 shipping and handling) to The I Post Community Service 125 Court SL Cincinnati Chlo 45202 Members of the Flying Cloud Academy of Vintage Dance are sponsors of the annual dance week now In its 14th year In foreground are Paul Trageser Tamara Anderson I' 9 Vintage Dance Week costs $265 per person To register call Dwight Blubaugh 755-3153 i.