Will NBC Make Jane an Anchor?

By WILLIAM A. HENRY III

The public outcry when a TV personality is pushed toward unwilling retirement typically resembles a Roman candle on the Fourth of July: the blaze is bright but brief, the heat evanesces, and all that lingers is a fond memory in the mind's eye. That is how it has gone for even the biggest stars, from Red Skelton to Walter Cronkite. NBC doubtless imagined it would be no different when it undertook to freshen the Today show by easing veteran co- anchor Jane Pauley toward the sidelines. But in the eight months since Pauley announced she would resign from the show, after seeing her role threatened by the advancement of the younger Deborah Norville, the fortunes of Today have steadily plummeted while Pauley's popularity has only risen. Ironically, she seems to have become a bigger star while mostly sitting on the sidelines than she was when she broadcast for two hours every weekday morning. By the yardstick of public affection, in fact, she may be the hottest property NBC News has.

Last week the network took a big step toward acknowledging that fact by outlining a plan that could lead to her becoming co-anchor of the evening newscast. Officially, the anchor's chair will continue to belong only to Tom Brokaw, who has held the post since 1982. But to boost ratings and, NBC said, to exploit Brokaw's skills as a reporter, the network plans to send him out on the road far more often: at least three times a month. Whenever he is away, Pauley will serve as "sub-anchor." Says Nightly News executive producer Steve Friedman: "Tom will be at the People's Congress in Moscow in July and then the NATO summit in London, but he'll be doing more than the big news on the road. We'll be trying to find the not-so-obvious things."

According to NBC sources, Brokaw was not even consulted before news president Michael Gartner replaced veteran Nightly News executive producer Bill Wheatley about a month ago with Friedman, a volatile former executive producer of Today. But because Brokaw and Pauley have been close friends since * working together on Today, he is to all appearances comfortable with her assignment, at least as long as she remains sub-anchor. "Read my lips: nothing has changed," says Brokaw. "There will be internal restructuring, but we will still be covering the news. Jane will liberate me, in a way." Brokaw points out, however, that "I can't be on the road any more than I was last year. I was gone over a third of the time. I will travel when there is a compelling reason." When Gartner met with executives of affiliate stations last week, he hinted that a formal promotion for Pauley may follow. Asked if she might be named official co-anchor, he replied, "Never say never."

No network has given a woman a real shot at the top anchor job since Barbara Walters failed to perform ratings magic for a sluggish ABC reporting staff in the mid-1970s. Waiting in the wings are Diane Sawyer at ABC and Connie Chung at CBS. But the big three networks have been unwilling to alter the competitive lineup of solo anchors that has stood unchanged for almost seven years, although many observers think viewers are yearning for fresh faces.

Ratings for Dan Rather, who has held the solo spot at CBS since March 1981, have dropped 55% from their peak. Brokaw is down 44% from his high point. And while Peter Jennings, the regular ABC anchor since 1983, has helped lift his network into the lead, the gains by ABC World News Tonight do not fully offset the losses at the rival networks. Something new is needed to bring the lost viewers back. To judge from the past eight months of surging public affection for her, Jane Pauley just may have it.

With reporting by Mary Cronin/New York