Hard Copy is an American
tabloid news televisionTabloid television, also known as Teletabloid, is a form of tabloid journalism. Tabloid television newscasts usually incorporate flashy graphics and sensationalized stories.Often, there is a heavy emphasis on crime, stories with good video, and celebrity news...
show that ran in syndication from 1989 to 1999.
Hard Copy was aggressive in its use of questionable material on television, including gratuitous violence.
The original hosts of
Hard Copy were Alan Frio and Terry Murphy;
Barry NolanBarry Nolan is an American former presenter on Comcast Cable's CN8 channel, once hosting the shows Nitebeat and Backstage, and Backstage with Barry Nolan...
joined the series in 1990 and stayed until 1998. In the show's final season, current
KFMBKFMB-TV is the local CBS television affiliate in San Diego, California. Its studios are located on Engineer Road in the Kearny Mesa area of San Diego along with its sister radio stations, AM 760 and FM 100.7...
sports director Kyle Kraska took over as host.
Overview
In the late 1980s, as investigative news shows and daytime talk shows were changing their formats and style,
Hard Copy was created by
Metromedia TelevisionMetromedia was a media company that owned radio and television stations in the United States from 1956 to 1986 and owned Orion Pictures from 1986-1997.- Overview :...
veterans Mark Monsky and John Parsons Peditto, who told original staffers that the idea was to "combine the stories of
20/20 with the production techniques of
MTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
." This would be the show's format at launch, but it was quickly abandoned due to ratings concerns. Monsky and Parsons Peditto would leave the series within the first season, and the show took on a hard tabloid format after their departure, with stories featuring outrageous content or titillation being featured much more than serious topics, along with graphics in bold and large fonts, and MTV-style camera work.
From 1990 through 1993, in its second, third and fourth seasons, the show was under the direction of executive producer and
A Current Affair creator Peter Brennan and a team of Fox Television tabloid veterans that included producers
Burt KearnsBurt Kearns is an American television and film producer, writer, director, journalist and author, known for his influential work in reality television and his controversial 1999 tabloid television memoir, Tabloid Baby.-Early career:...
and Neal Travis and reporter Rafael Abramovitz. Under their control,
Hard Copy evolved into the apotheosis of smart, witty and outrageous tabloid reporting.
Hard Copy became such a staple of popular culture it was parodied on
The SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
in the episode "
Homer Badman"Homer Badman", also known as "Homer: Bad Man" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons sixth season and originally aired November 27, 1994. It was written by Greg Daniels and directed by Jeffrey Lynch. After his attempt to grab a gummy candy off of the seat of a young feminist's pants is accused for...
" as
Rock Bottom, a show which clearly misrepresents facts in order to create scandal. Meanwhile, the team broke news in the
Cheyenne BrandoTarita Cheyenne Brando was the daughter of Marlon Brando by his third wife Tarita Teriipia, a Tahitian whom he met while filming Mutiny on the Bounty in 1962....
,
the Menendez BrothersJoseph Lyle Menendez and Erik Galen Menendez are brothers who are known for their conviction in a highly publicized trial for the shotgun murders in 1989 of their wealthy parents, entertainment executive Jose Menendez and his wife Mary "Kitty" Menendez , residents of Beverly Hills, California...
,
William Kennedy SmithWilliam Kennedy Smith is an American physician whose work focuses on landmines and the rehabilitation of people disabled by them....
,
Clarence ThomasClarence Thomas is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Succeeding Thurgood Marshall, Thomas is the second African American to serve on the Court....
and the
British Royal FamilyThe British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
sagas, while pioneering the "mini movie" long-form story techniques in multi-episode reports on the Chappaquiddick incident,
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, and the death of
Marilyn MonroeMarilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
.
1996 celebrity boycott
In 1996, actor
George ClooneyGeorge Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
began a public boycott of
Hard Copy and its sister show
Entertainment TonightEntertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
(both were produced by
Paramount TelevisionParamount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...
) after
Hard Copy violated a six-month agreement not to air segments about Clooney by airing footage of Clooney and then-girlfriend Celine Balitran on the set of his film
Batman & Robin. Other celebrities supported the boycott including
Whoopi GoldbergWhoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
,
MadonnaMadonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, and
Steven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
.
Paramount Television eventually agreed to change the way both shows obtained their news. They also agreed not to air "unauthorized footage" of celebrities or "footage that is known to have been obtained illegally."
Hosts
- Alan Frio: Host (1989–1990)
- Barry Nolan
Barry Nolan is an American former presenter on Comcast Cable's CN8 channel, once hosting the shows Nitebeat and Backstage, and Backstage with Barry Nolan...
: Host (1990–1998)
- Terry Murphy: Host (1989–1998)
- Kyle Kraska: Host (1998–1999)
- Jerry Penacoli
Jerry Penacoli is an American actor and entertainment reporter.-Reporting career:Before going national, Penacoli served as a newscaster and talk-show host in several markets, starting with Jacksonville, Florida, then, WTVJ, Miami, where Jerry served as host of PM Magazine in the early 1980s, then...
: Reporter (1996–1999)
- Pat Lalama: Reporter (1996–1999)
- Edward Miller
Edward S. Miller was the Deputy Assistant Director of the Inspections Division under Mark Felt with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation.In November 1980, Miller, then head of the FBI's Domestic Intelligence Division, and W...
: Reporter (1996–1999)
- Doug Bruckner
Doug Bruckner is an American television news correspondent, reporter, host, voice-over artist and producer, who is among the best-known correspondents in the history of tabloid television, well known for his exclusive interviews with the most notorious criminals of our time.-Career highlights:A...
: Reporter
- Rafael Abramovitz: Correspondent
- Diane Dimond
Diane Dimond is a television journalist, reporter and host. She is best known for her work as a correspondent on Hard Copy, Extra, and Entertainment Tonight.-Career:...
: Reporter
- Sylvia Villagran: Reporter
International version
An Australian version of the series hosted by
Gordon ElliottGordon Elliott is a British-born Australian journalist and producer. He is the executive producer of ABC's daytime program The Chew, but is probably better known for his 1990s TV talk show program, The Gordon Elliott Show....
aired in the early 1990s.