HER PEN IS MIGHTY ALLY OF QUALITY TV
There are letter writers, and there are letter writers .
Dorothy Swanson is a letter writer .
Swanson has penned, she estimates, more than 300 letters and instigated the writing of thousands of others. But instead of inviting the standard “thanks for writing†response, her letters elicit much more substantial replies--on occasion influencing programming decisions at the television networks.
Swanson’s crusades to get two prime-time TV series--â€Cagney & Lacey†and “Designing Womenâ€--back on the air have worked so well for the Fairfax, Va., resident that other shows with ratings problems have sought her support and that of Viewers for Quality Television, a 3-year-old group she co-founded to back worthy but not necessarily popular shows.
They don’t necessarily get it. “She’s not just some public-relations service,†notes Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, co-executive producer of CBS’ “Designing Women.â€
Indeed, Swanson doesn’t even get paid for her efforts. Her reward, she said, is enjoying the “moments of truth†that her favorite TV programs provide.
Thus, she said, she turned down requests to write letters on behalf of ABC’s struggling “Spenser: For Hire†and CBS’ “The Wizard.â€
“Designing Women,†though, was one that captured her heart. So when CBS moved and then shelved the first-year comedy series earlier this season, she launched a massive letter-writing campaign to resurrect it.
The series, which had bounced through Monday, Thursday and Sunday-night time slots and had seen its standing in the ratings plummet from a high of No. 16 to a low of No. 65--has now returned to its original 9:30 p.m. position on Mondays and is back in Nielsen’s Top 20.
“This show was an example of not being given enough time in its original slot,†said the 47-year-old Swanson. “I let my instincts tell me it could be done, and the resurgence of it proves that days of passive consumerism are over.â€
She is quick to share the credit for its revival with “Designing Women’s†fan club, columnists who informed viewers where to write and devoted followers who contributed to the chain-reaction letter-writing campaign.
Still, producers Bloodworth-Thomason and her husband, Harry Thomason, said Swanson’s campaign was very effective. “CBS was deluged with letters,†Bloodworth-Thomason said--more than 50,000 by one estimate.
It was an occurrence similar to one experienced by the network’s executives in 1983. That’s when Swanson waged her first campaign on behalf of a struggling and ultimately canceled “Cagney & Lacey,†enlisting the help of what she jokingly referred to as everybody she knew in her life. Her efforts, coupled with those of other “Cagney & Lacey†supporters across the United States and Canada, helped persuade CBS to give the police drama another chance, says executive producer Barney Rosenzweig.
“If Dorothy had been around during the Normandy invasion, it would’ve ended much earlier,†Bloodworth-Thomason quipped.
However, it would be overstating hers and VQT’s influence to say they were determining factors in network decision-making, according to CBS Entertainment President B. Donald (Bud) Grant.
“The general public, represented by the Nielsens and other rating services, is really the determining factor,†Grant said. “As a national network the TV medium serves many different populations, so it’s important for us and the advertisers to reach a large number of people. That’s why it’s broad casting, not narrowcasting. But groups such as VQT do make a contribution, and I’m fully in favor of and support their goals.â€
Swanson runs VQT with its co-founder, Donna Deen, a Texan whose crusade for a struggling “St. Elsewhere†in 1983 drew media attention. Swanson saw an article about Deen, contacted her and VQT was born the following year, designed to unite viewers who appreciate quality TV.
“It’s difficult running an organization half a country apart,†said Deen, a 28-year-old real estate agent and assistant manager of an antique store in Plano, Tex. But they do, primarily because they don’t want to be “dictated to by 1,700 Nielsen families,†Swanson said.
“As a group, we have more impact than an individual might have,†she said.
VQT members vote on whether to endorse a series as being “quality.†These are programs that Swanson describes as challenging viewers and requiring more concentration from them--shows that they will remember tomorrow. Those currently given the organization’s seal of approval are “Cagney & Lacey,†“Cheers,†“The Cosby Show,†“Family Ties,†“The Golden Girls,†“Hill Street Blues,†“Kate & Allie,†“Moonlighting,†“Newhart,†“St. Elsewhere,†“L.A. Law†and “Murder, She Wrote.â€
If one of these series was in trouble, VQT would support it in a positive way by launching a letter-writing campaign akin to those waged for “Cagney & Lacey†and “Designing Women.â€
But not every show can be saved, Deen said. The potential success of a campaign can be determined by a simple formula: “the three P’sâ€--the press, the people and the producers.
“With these things, a show can be brought back,†Deen said. “ ‘Designing Women’ and ‘Cagney & Lacey’ had the support of the press, the loyal following of the people and the willingness of their producers to reach out.â€
And they had Swanson.
A former elementary school teacher financially independent enough to devote most of her time to VQT, Swanson said she still feels like she is informing and educating (through a newsletter distributed to the group’s members). Instead of working with a class, however, she works with a TV audience.
A demographic survey of the group revealed that its members are between the ages of 35 and 45, have postgraduate degrees and are primarily female--characteristics that attract advertisers, Swanson said.
“We realize that TV exists for the masses and that the networks have to make money,†Swanson said. “But as VQT continues to grow, then we will remain a positive group aimed to inform people about quality TV.â€
And Swanson will continue to write letters.
(Those interested in more information about Viewers for Quality Television should write to Dorothy Swanson, Box 195, Fairfax Station, Va. 22039.)
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