Can 'Dr. Laura' Survive Storm of Protest?

Three months before Dr. Laura Schlessinger's Sept. 11 television debut, the decision to create a show around the tough-talking queen of talk radio is becoming a media firestorm.

Some of the country's biggest advertisers have pulled out of her coming TV show, as well as her existing top-rated radio program. A full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times -- underwritten by groups ranging from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to Norman Lear's People for the American Way -- denounces Schlessinger and warns advertisers about "how alienating her program has become."

Late last month, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council added fuel to the fire by denouncing her radio show for being "discriminatory." The regulatory agency requires broadcasters to apologize on the air for an offender's remarks.

On the streets of Hollywood, gays and lesbians have protested the new TV show in front of the studios of Paramount Pictures, its producer. There also have been protests in San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Phoenix and Seattle. Others are planned for New York and Tucson.

Schlessinger's critics object to her frequent disparaging remarks about gays and lesbians; she has referred to them as "deviants" and "biological errors." An Internet Web site, stopdrlaura.com, now lists the names, addresses and telephone numbers of Paramount executives, to facilitate sending protests. The Web site also provides updates on the latest developments in the controversy.

"This is unprecedented," said Dick Kurlander, vice president for programming at Petry Television, a New York-based company that consults TV stations on what syndicated shows to buy. "I have never seen anything like this before a show's premiere."

Paramount holds tough

For now, Paramount has no intention of buckling to the growing protests.

"Paramount Television Group recognizes every individual's right to have and express his or her own point of view, as well as the right to assemble and demonstrate in an orderly and peaceful manner," the studio has said in a prepared statement issued to the news media. "We have a long history of support for the civil and human rights of all people. We have been equally strong in our support and respect for the free exchange of speech and ideas."

Despite the flap, the idea to develop a TV talk show hosted by Schlessinger could be considered a brilliant stroke, at least on paper. She is the queen of talk radio, who vies for the top slot in radio syndication with Rush Limbaugh. She's tough-minded, tough-talking and no-nonsense, and her stands, often controversial, have made her a brand name in the crowded bazaar of TV syndication.

This is magic in the world of 500 channels, which is why Paramount's TV syndication arm leaped at the chance to make a deal with her and 175 TV stations around the country, including KCBS-TV Channel 2 in Los Angeles, jumped on board. That's a whopping 95 percent of the country.

Among the station groups, in addition to CBS, that have bought the show are Hearst Corp., E.W. Scripps Co., Media General Inc. and Jefferson-Pilot Corp.

"They shouldn't cave in, no matter how vocal the protests become," Kurlander said. "This is a classic First Amendment battle. They (gays and lesbians) have a right to make their views known and Paramount has a right to air and syndicate the show -- and the audience will make a determination."

But some advertisers aren't waiting for the first ratings reports in the fall. Procter & Gamble Co., one of the nation's biggest spenders in TV advertising, recently dropped out of the TV show, as well as Schlessinger's radio program. Xerox Corp., whose contract with her radio show expired, announced it has no plans to renew. Meanwhile, reports that AT&T Corp. and American Express Co. have pulled out of the new TV show were erroneous.

Upon hearing of P&G's decision, Paramount issued a prepared statement expressing that it was "disappointed that Procter & Gamble has chose to withdraw its advertising without even having seen the show or judging it on its own merits." The studio went on to state that the TV show will deal with moral and ethical issues, but "without contributing to an environment of hurt, hate or intolerance."

The studio also maintained that Dr. Laura's new show "will be an advertiser-friendly program" that won't offend viewers.

Nervousness among stations

So far, TV stations around the country have remained steadfast in their decision to air Schlessinger's show, in part because they have a contract with Paramount -- though some are clearly worried about possible fallout.

"It's a mixed-bag response, depending on the region and cultural differences," said Ruth Lee Leaycraft, vice president of programming at Continental Television Sales, a New York-based spot sales company that sells advertising on a market-by-market basis. "For a station in Ft. Meyers, Fla., whose area is populated by older people, they are looking forward to the show. Her philosophy adheres to a lot of people there. But in urban areas, which have a broader population, they (station owners) are nervous."

While Schlessinger's radio show is a known commodity, her TV talk show has not yet begun taping. (It will be produced at a rented studio facility in Woodland Hills.) And there will be no pilot, meaning stations are committing to a full year of programs based solely on the success of Dr. Laura's radio show and the belief that her popularity will translate to television.

Aside from the fact that Schlessinger will be the host, its focus on topical subjects, a live audience and telephone call-in elements, little is known about the show. One thing Schlessinger won't be doing, however, is bashing gays, Leaycraft believes. (Paramount officials declined to comment directly on the issue.)

"I am willing to bet a dinner that she won't touch this subject for a long time, if ever," she said. "There is a lot more to her philosophy than homosexuality."