Popular Culture Review Vol. 13, No. 2, Summer 2002 | Page 61

Celebrity Newsmagazines 57 The structure for the parachute approach typically included four segments related to a single topic. Field producers would be assigned to drop in to a location, gather footage, and get out. A leading anchor would introduce the program’s theme and provide the continuity. Av Westin of ABC News described the anchor as the person who would string the individual pearls together to form a necklace (Mascaro 1988). But the ratings for 1987 also demonstrated the ability of stylish infotainment programs to entice a large audience to watch news in prime time. NBC aired two documentaries that achieved ratings equivalent to middling entertainment shows— Life in the Fat Lane (3 June) scored a 15.7 rating and a 28 share, and Scared Sexless (29 December), a 17.5 rating and a 30 share. Life in the Fat Lane warned viewers about the dangers of fad diets and overeating and suggested that changes in life style would be required to reduce the risk of disease. But above all, it was a fun show that used the guitar riffs of the popular baby-boomers’ song “Wipe Out” as the soundtrack for tricky editing showing bouncing bellies, shimmying thighs, and undulating butt cheeks. Among the guests yucking it up with anchor Connie Chung were comedian Dom DeLuise, who claimed his mother could roll salami so tight you could pick your teeth with it; L.A. Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who confessed to his love affair with linguini; the rotund TV stars Nell Carter and Oprah Winfrey, who talked about diets; and fitness queen, movie star Jane Fonda. The producer for the two Connie Chung programs and four other life style documentaries that year, Sid Feders, explained the success of Life in the Fat Lane this way: “One, it had a good subject. Everyone in this country is either fat or thinks they are. Two, it had Connie Chung, a major star who was going to bring in an audience. Three, you have the stars—Dom DeLuise, Jane Fonda, Oprah Winfrey and Nell Carter. That’s the formula that I have been pushing” (Mascaro 1988). Feders’ system worked again in December with Scared Sexless, an even more stylized presentation. Chung appeared on set roaming among brass beds. Again the producer used accelerated montages that flashed through the tease, with fly-by images of Elvis, fast cars, and glitzy street scenes. The theme of this documentary was that the threat of sexually transmitted diseases had curtailed heterosexual America’s sexual activity. And who better to connect with baby boomers about sex than Laugh-In’s skinny dancer with the tattoos on her belly and bedroom eyes, Goldie Hawn. To balance the sex appeal for this show, Chung also talked to Alan Alda, who portrayed the main character on Race car hunk Danny Sullivan and football star Marcus Allen rounded out the program and added both sex- and macho appeal. The network documentary slate for 1987 was a scorecard for executives (See Table, “Prime-Time Entertainment Series Ratings”). The most popular long-form