Popular Culture Review
58
documentaries were easily trumped by the phenomenal success of the stylish
infotainment programs. But more important, compared to entertainment shows of
that era, Scared Sexless equaled the number-15 series. Amen, just behind Matlock
and ahead of Monday Night Football, Family Ties, In the Heat o f the Night, Dallas,
and Newhart (Brooks and Marsh). It didn’t matter that long-form documentaries
could attract one in five of the people watching television. A news program that
could connect with an entertainment-size audience would be a gold mine of revenue,
cheaper to produce, and could be staffed with expendable employees rather than
truculent TV stars.
Nurturing Prime-Time News
There were also institutional and economic factors that helped news gain a
foothold in prime time. One was the availability of recognizable correspondents.
After the cancellation of 1986, Connie Chung was available, as was Jane Pauley in
1989 when she left Today. Diane Sawyer jumped to ABC after leaving CBS in
1989 and several magazine efforts were built around her popularity.
Linda Ellerbee, who won accolades for co-hosting the magazine NBC News
Overnight—acknowledged as one of the best written and most intelligent news
programs ever (Brown 172)—went to ABC and co-hosted Our World, a magazine
like documentary series that began in 1985.
Prime-Time Entertainment Series Ratings
September 1987-April 1988 (Brooks & Marsh)
The Cosby Show (NBC)
A Different World (NBC)
Cheers (NBC)
The Golden Girls (NBC)
Growing Pains (ABC)
Who's the Boss? (ABC)
Night Court (NBC)
60 Minutes (CBS)
Murder, She Wrote (CBS)
A//(NBC)
The Wonder Years (ABC)
Moonlighting (ABC)
L.A. Law (NBC)
Matlock (NBC)
Amen (NBC)
Scared Sexless (NBC)
27.8
25.0
23.4
21.8
21.3
21.2
20.8
20.6
20.2
18.8
18.8
18.3
18.3
17.8
17.5
17.5