TV Alert! Doug Bruckner on Maury!

Check your local listings for the Maury show, tomorrow, Thursday, February 9th, and tune in for an appearance by tabloid television legend Doug Bruckner.

The storied correspondent and producer will be on hand with a collection of rock-em-sock-em wild-as-anything videotape segments from Nash Entertainment’s brand-new World’s Most Amazing Videos show, which is pulling lots of young viewers to Spike TV.

The appearance promises to be a great one. More than fifteen years ago, Bruckner and Povich faced off as competitors: Doug in the left corner as lead correspondent for Hard Copy in Los Angeles, and Maury, of course, as the urbane and groundbreaking host of A Current Affair in New York City.

Together, they made television and journalism history, and were far more influential in setting the course for today’s network and cable news coverage than any heroes George Clooney can conjure and polish.

Don’t expect any fisticuffs or harsh words. Bruckner and Povich are veterans of television’s most invigorating war and share memories of the true, overlooked television Golden Era.

Tabloid Baby spoke with Doug this afternoon.

Doug, what’s your proudest achievement in tabloid television?
Before I got into tabloid television, I was a so-called "serious" news reporter. I did some of the first stories on identity theft, auto insurance fraud, staged auto accidents and cosmetic surgery horrors. I won a local Emmy, Golden Mikes, and about six L.A. Press Club Awards. But nothing compared to my experience working in tabloid television. I faced down Charles Manson. I interviewed survivors of the Branch Davidian shoot-out outside Waco, Texas and I went around the world chasing down the Cheyenne Brando story.

You were involved with last year’s revival of A Current Affair. What happened?
The show was leading the way on they type of stories that made it famous the first time around. Traditional tabloid stories like Natalee Holloway and the cruise ship disappearance. But the plug was pulled on the show just as it was getting traction. In fact, one of the last shows carried an exclusive interview with the Holloway suspect, Joran Van Der Sloot. Funny, this week, all the news shows are bragging about getting his parents. We had the man himself. The cancellation is Fox’s loss. The show could have gone another ten years. And if someone is smart enough to do a similar show, we’re there!

Relive and learn about the Tabloid Television era in Tabloid Baby, and join the grassroots movement to make Tabloid Baby an Oprah’s Book Club selection.