Up Too Close and Personal

By Richard Zoglin

"I don't know about you, but I'm kinda tired right now," ABC's Jim McKay was saying. There was a smile of dazed satiety on his face after a big night of Olympics action, highlighted by the U.S.-Czechoslovakia hockey game. But gosh, Jim, it was only Monday. Still to come were two more dramatic hockey games, the skating artistry of "little Katya" and the battle of the Brians. Not to mention, back in the real world, the grudge match between Bob Dole and George Bush and the scramble among Democratic presidential hopefuls to survive New Hampshire. Talk about tired.

It was another of those weeks when TV seems to have a bear hug on the nation's attention. And another week that illustrated the video corollary of Parkinson's Law: the significance of an event expands according to the TV time allotted for it. The Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary have undoubtedly been blown out of proportion by most of the press. But the three networks' decision virtually to set up shop in those states (all three evening newscasts originated from New Hampshire on Monday and Tuesday) helped magnify every twist and nuance in the poll results. As for the Olympics, world-class competitions in skiing and skating take place even in years not divisible by four -- and are ignored by 98% of the U.S. audience. But with blanket TV coverage for 16 days in Calgary, a tiny slip on the ice suddenly becomes the stuff of national exhilaration or despair.

Never mind the Southern primaries; TV's own Super Tuesday came last week, as ABC's Olympics coverage vied with the unfolding story from New Hampshire. NBC and CBS each weighed in with an hour-long election special (NBC's in prime time), and CBS's 48 Hours devoted its entire hour to a behind-the-scenes look at New Hampshire campaigning. ABC, locked into Olympics coverage for most of the evening, squeezed in reports from Anchorman Peter Jennings before a half- hour wrap-up at midnight Eastern standard time. ABC's last-of-the-evening program was, bravely, the first of the political season to shun the obligatory candidate interviews. A good thing: by that time, one more round of "spin $ control" from Gephardt, Simon, Kemp, et al., might have caused mass defections to the Soviet hockey team.

TV, of course, is not just covering the presidential campaign; it is providing much of the substance for it as well. The Dan Rather-George Bush confrontation of four weeks ago has already secured a place in U.S. political folklore. Almost every week since, another TV "moment" has grabbed the spotlight. After Iowa, it was Pat Robertson's bristling response to Tom Brokaw's characterization of him as a "former television evangelist." Last week it was Dole's ill-tempered admonition to Bush -- after another Brokaw question -- to "stop lying about my record."

If politicians seem unusually testy around network anchormen these days, the rhetoric on the other side is just as heated. CBS's Bob Schieffer, the early front runner for TV's gold medal in campaign hyperbole, reported after Robertson's strong showing in Iowa that "this Republican race has been blown wide open"; last week Bush came from "flat on his back" to create an "entirely new ball game." Then again, Schieffer has to talk loudly to be heard above Rather, who is overflowing with folksy metaphors ("the Granite State just might be a ticket to Tombstone") and melodramatic flourishes (the Bush-Dole fight is the "political equivalent of the Thrilla in Manila").

Building up the drama, of course, is the name of the game in TV political coverage, just as it is in sports coverage. Calgary has certainly had dramatic moments, even without ABC's help: from Dan Jansen's heartbreaking stumbles to the U.S. hockey team's courageous battle against the Soviets. Technically, ABC is doing its usual fine job, especially on the ski slopes, where well-placed cameras provide a dazzling sensation of speed. Journalistically, however, the network that pioneered TV Olympics coverage is growing sloppy with age.

No, the trouble is not ABC's much discussed decision to break away from live hockey for commercials or for taped skiing highlights, thus missing some key goals. Given the time constraints, the network's choices have been defensible. Nor is it the silly features that fill the slow spots (Dr. Ruth Westheimer on the advisability of sex before skiing). One can even ignore, if not forgive, those pointless post-event interviews, which have deteriorated so badly that reporters no longer even bother to frame a question, just thrust a mike into the athlete's face. ("That was a tremendous performance. Your thoughts?")

The main problem is ABC's relentless hyping of the "human drama" at the expense of nuts-and-bolts reporting. The network's signature "Up Close and Personal" reports, adorned this year with groovy pop songs, have proliferated like dandelions, while most of the commentators are too caught up in emotional cheerleading to convey much decipherable information. "I've said it before and I'll say it again: the short program means exactly what it says," announces gushy Skating Analyst Dick Button, who may actually believe he is telling us something. And woe betide any viewer who misses part of ABC's prime-time coverage. Those late-night wrap-ups, with Frank Gifford and his wife Kathie Lee as co-hosts, show few highlights of the day's action, opting instead for another easily disposable stack of features and interviews.

Are people tuning in? For most nights last week, ABC's ratings were disappointing, falling below the network's guarantee to advertisers of 21.5% of the national audience. But viewership peaked on Tuesday for the pairs' figure-skating finals, at a hefty 25.5%. Election programs on CBS and NBC, meanwhile, were among the week's lowest-ranked shows. It was not surprising. Dan, Tom and Peter are merely helping elect a President. ABC is manufacturing heroes.