“The Path to 9/11” was the road to nowhere.
Much was made in advance of ABC Entertainment’s docudrama, which aired Sunday and Monday on KMGH-Channel 7, about who might have been responsible for missing signs the terrorist attacks were coming.
In fact, said Byron Grandy, news director at Channel 7, the public fell silent after a surge of interest in midweek.
Worse, the first half of the two-parter was hammered in the ratings by NBC’s debut of “Sunday Night Football” on KUSA-Channel 9, which bagged a 20 rating and 31 share, compared to a 6.5/10 for “Path.” Not much of a return on the network’s $40-million investment.
In the aftermath, Tim Rutten, who covers media for the Los Angeles Times, called it “the smoking ruin that is ABC’s reputation.” A bit harsh. It’s not the worst thing to appear on our living-room screens. (Fill in your own “worst” here.)
Reactions to “Path” e-mailed to Channel 7 ranged from “This is like the last gasp for all the uninformed Clinton haters out there” to “Where was the sense of unfairness when Michael Moore spread his lies and called it a documentary?”
“Most folks were upset at what they had heard, even though no one had seen the movie,” said Grandy. “Some radio stations got worked up pretty good in the middle of the week.
“For all the chatter about the program, I would think a 10 share (which represents the percentage of people watching) was not an extremely high number.”
Grandy understands the turmoil. “Everybody’s passionate about (9/11), as well they should be. There are facts you can’t avoid. It happened.”
Just not the way ABC tried to tell us it did.
A dissenting voice
Not everyone is thrilled by KCNC-Channel 4’s new-style 6:30 evening newscast.
Reader A.L. Schafer feels left out. “Rude! That’s what too many of the (Channel 4) ‘news team’ act like when we, the audience, want them to get on with the news, the weather, the sports. Look at the camera! Stop ignoring us!
“(Jim) Benemann and (Molly) Hughes want to be actors, entertainers, not news reporters. Channel 7 with (Mike) Landess does it right!”
Around the dial
The second episode of KUVO 89.3-FM’s “Caliente! Latin Jazz With Eddie Palmieri” airs at noon Friday and 5 p.m. Sunday. The series, taped in part at the KUVO studios, focuses on the links between Afro Caribbean rhythms and jazz … Worth a look: If you can access Channel 8, take time to watch “Student Voices: Teen Suicide,” airing at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and 11:30 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 11 … Quotable: “Did the people who run ABC Entertainment really believe that Bill Clinton, Madeleine Albright and Sandy Berger would watch themselves on television doing and saying things they never did or said and not object?” Tim Rutten
Dick Kreck’s column appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He may be reached at 303-954-1456 or dkreck@denverpost.com.
