People in the News for June 11, 1998

Thursday, June 11, 1998 | 10:31 a.m.

It's the core American value, applicable to everything from beer to sex to, in this case, Mike Wallace: If "60 Minutes" is good, 120 minutes must be twice as better! The CBS brain trust is arguing for a second night of the granddaddy of newsmagazine shows, motivated by a feeling for which "overwhelming public demand" isn't an entirely apt description, but "potential advertising windfall" is. The "Minutes" men and women, however -- loathe to dilute the brand name and, more importantly, to double their workload -- oppose the idea. "They want to do it," Wallace says. "We don't want them to. In effect, we have agreed to disagree." The idea has been kicking around for a while, prompted by basic TV economics: Cloning a proven news show is cheaper and easier than the hit-or-(more often)-miss process of creating new sitcoms. Witness the many "Dateline: NBC's." Talks between CBS suits and "60 Minutes" staff have been ongoing; for now, the network has backed down, not including a second "Minutes" on its fall schedule, but considering it a possible midseason replacement. Most of the show's staff think CBS will eventually have its way. Cue the sad violins: "It has been the most successful show ... in the history of CBS," muses correspondent Steve Kroft. "Why fool around with it?" Because that, too, is the American Way, Steve-o: If it ain't broke, you must immediately break it so it can be fixed even better!

The real Bob

Few things induce cringes like the words "Bob" and "Saget" used together. But wait -- don't hold "America's Funniest Home Videos" and "Full House" against him! That wasn't the real Bob Saget! "I could not do the kind of comedy I find funny at that hour," says Saget. The real Bob Saget is on display in the new Norm Macdonald film "Dirty Work," which Saget directed. Having seen the previews, we can tell you what the real Bob Saget is all about: mooning jokes. Split from Mrs. Saget, Bob devoted himself to the movie and its stars, Macdonald and Chevy Chase. "Chevy," he says. "I left my wife for Chevy. Chevy and I fell in love!" Is it too late to bring back the old Bob Saget?

Carey on

Now is not the time for any "home base" jokes about Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and singer Mariah Carey -- they've split up. The two are just "good friends, but still very close," a Carey spokeswoman said Wednesday. Although Jeter is a fixture on the sports pages and Carey on the pop culture pages, they couldn't handle a spotlight built for two. "Media pressure was too much for them as a couple," the spokeswoman says. That damned invasive media wouldn't leave them alone, wouldn't quit poking around in their private lives. Carey also complained about her lack of privacy to InStyle magazine, whose photographers she allowed to shoot her Manhattan townhouse. Having your cake and complaining about it, too -- it's the American way.

Compiled by Scott Dickensheets