CNN Full of Grace
By John M. Higgins -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/27/2005 6:12:00 PM
Anyone who witnessed legal analyst Nancy Grace’s combative performance at the recent Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles won’t be surprised by the behind-the-scenes reports coming from CNN Headline News’ new show, Nancy Grace. The diva act continues. However, CNN may be inclined to take the bad with the good, because Grace is lifting the beleaguered channel in the ratings. Just one week into the prime time show (which got off with a rocky start with a glitch-filled premiere), Grace has already had her make-up person reassigned, and laced into a production staffer so mercilessly that he quit the show. In a departure for the traditionally low-glitz CNN, Grace has commanded a room of her own for makeup. But it’s not as if she wants privacy; the host calls her staff in for meetings while she’s being spruced up. As the show enters its second week, CNN staffers expect more tension. “This is cable honey, skip the diva business,” says one. It was an echo of reactions to Grace at the TCA gathering in January, when her grande-dame manner during Q&As with journalists raised eyebrows. Luckily for her bosses, she’s also raising ratings. “Nancy Grace Premiere Week” goosed the longtime ratings laggard Headline News by 81% in the 8 p.m. (ET) timeslot and outpaced Keith Olbermann’s Countdown on MSNBC.
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