A lot of people will like "Tabloid Wars," a six-part Bravo docudrama that looks at the inner workings of the New York Daily News.
I just don't think I'll be one of them.
Don't take that the wrong way. It's the biggest compliment I can give this fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled series - it's so good at portraying how driven reporters can be, it reminded me all too well of my exhausting, tension-filled days working as a police reporter for The Salt Lake Tribune, only times 10.
The series debuts tonight at 10 p.m. on the Bravo cable channel. It will be repeated throughout the week.
Reporters at tabloid newspapers in New York City must be much more competitive and frenetic than those in our much smaller news market. The tabloid wars between the Daily News and the New York Post in this show are intense enough to make most editors' toes curl.
The two first episodes alone nearly gave me post-traumatic stress.
The series follows several reporters and editors as they doggedly put out a newspaper every day. There's the night police reporter who's sent on a story about actor Robert DeNiro's nanny stealing earrings, the junior gossip reporter whose life is all about going to parties and getting celebrity dirt. And the husband-and-wife gossip columnists attend social functions every night as a part of their job.
The hurried pace has one goal - to beat the Post at every turn. And that means reporters do whatever it takes to get the story. In one segment, a police reporter stakes out a Broadway theater and pounces on Christian Slater for a quote after the actor is accused of groping a stranger.
Reminds me of the times I loitered by the corner hedges of someone's house, waiting for them to come home.
"Tabloid Wars" is well produced, with flashy graphics and editing to propel the stories behind the stories.
But I don't know that it's a positive portrayal of the press. Sometimes the newshounds at the Daily News come off as callous or selfish. And sometimes we are that way, even when we say we're sensitive to the players in a story.
---
Television columnist Vince Horiuchi can be reached at vince@sltrib.com or 801-257-8607. For more television insights, visit Horiuchi's blog, "The Village Vidiot," at http://blogs.sltrib.com/tv/ and catch his PopCast podcast every Tuesday at http://sltrib.com/entertainment. Send comments about this column to livingeditor@sltrib.com
Channeling
Days of '47 Parade: KSL Channel 5, today, 9. Live coverage of the parade from Salt Lake City. The telecast becomes available at noon on Comcast's On Demand service, where it will be available through Aug. 24.
CMA Music Festival: KTVX Channel 4, tonight, 8. Performances by some of country music's biggest stars, including Brad Paisley, Martina McBride, Brooks & Dunn and Kenny Chesney.
Hell's Kitchen: KSTU Channel 13, tonight, 8. Chefs get jealous when some of their colleagues go to Las Vegas with Ramsay.
