2 • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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EVENTS CALENDAR INSIDE
THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2003
Table of contents
Live music calendar ...3
Playwrights to compete in regional festival ...4
Skiers jump on board for extreme winter sport ...5
The Elevator Division plans summer trour ...6
Rollins' Spoken Word tour comes to Lawrence ...7
School House Rockin' ...8
'Kansan' reviewers pass, fail mix of albums ...11
Learn to tap into partner's sexuality to climax ...12
Successful dieting up to the individuals ...13
'Adaptation' will puzzle and thrill at the same time ...14
Tongue in Beak ...15
Shinobi's back, packed with whole new punch ...16
Contact Brooke Hesler, Jayplay editor, at bhesler@kansan.com or 864-4810.
Network introduces new reality shows
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — ABC executives on Wednesday defended their increasing reliance on reality programs as an inevitable part of reversing the network's fortunes.
ABC will introduce four new reality shows in the next few months and the genre will account for about one-seventh of ABC's total schedule, said ABC Entertainment President Susan Lyne.
But "Are You Hot: The Search for America's Sexiest People" and the other series won't dominate a schedule that remains mostly comedies and dramas, Lyne said.
"This is not an either-or," she told the Television Critics Association. "It's all part of the process of rebuilding the network that was in some trouble."
The network, which had a severe ratings swoon last season, has begun to
revive with help from the reality show "The Bachelor" and spin-off "The Bachelorette," as well as several new comedies.
Broadcast networks can't ignore the kind of programming that has demonstrated such appeal, particularly among elusive younger viewers. Lyne said.
There is an awareness the reality craze can be like "crack" for network executives, she added.
ABC remains intent on developing scripted series but can't ignore that there are limits on the number that can be successfully started, she said. Four dramas have bitten the dust so far this season at ABC.
Questioned about how titillating shows like "Are You Hot" fit in with the image of Walt Disney-owned ABC, Lloyd Braun, chairman of ABC Entertainment Television Group, said the network does draw the line.