Tillman long shot to land at WUSA

Scratch Spencer Tillman's name off the list of candidates to replace Frank Herzog as the main sports anchor at WUSA-TV (Channel 9).

Mr. Tillman, a CBS Sports reporter, met with staffers from WUSA's troubled sports department last week. According to people familiar with the situation, he left the meeting with doubts about the department's resources and capabilities.

Sources said Mr. Tillman still could take the job, but one described the possibility as "remote."

WUSA's general manager, Darryll J. Green, and news director, David Roberts, declined to comment.

Mr. Tillman's agent, Carol Perry, would only say that "there have been discussions" between her client and the CBS affiliate.

This is the second time that WUSA has wooed Mr. Tillman, who also serves as CBS' lead college football analyst.

In 2002, WUSA wanted to hire Mr. Tillman to succeed Jess Atkinson as sports chief. When he turned the station down, managers tapped Baltimore sportscaster Steve Davis for the job, then replaced Mr. Davis with Mr. Herzog about six months later.

Last week, Mr. Green and Mr. Roberts told Mr. Herzog -- a Channel 9 fixture for most of the past 35 years -- that WUSA won't renew his contract when it expires in November.

The changes have put WUSA's main on-air news team in further flux.

Veteran anchor Gordon Peterson is now in talks to renew his contract, which expires at the end of the year. Mr. Peterson and his agent have declined to comment on his future at Channel 9, which he joined in 1969.

WUSA's main anchorwoman, Gurvir Dhindsa, departed July 9. Tracey Neale, formerly of Fox station WTTG-TV (Channel 5), will replace her, probably beginning in mid-August.

Amateur hour

The glut of "reality" TV shows in prime time means actors are losing jobs to real people.

Now radio is getting in on the action.

WMAL-AM (630) is accepting three-minute audition tapes for its new "Who Wants to Be a Talk Show Host" contest.

Beginning Aug. 2, the news-and-talk station will air one tape a day at 11:35 a.m. For four weeks, listeners will vote for a weekly finalist, who will be announced each Friday.

Then, on Aug. 29, the four finalists will each host a one-hour tryout show. At 8:08 a.m. the next day, WMAL will name the winner, who will be invited to host a regularly scheduled weekend show on the ABC-owned station.

McLaughlin moves

Don't fret if NBC station WRC-TV (Channel 4) pre-empts "The McLaughlin Group" Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. when football season begins in September: NewsChannel 8 is expected to carry the program in that time slot throughout the fall.

Bad intelligence

This column reported two weeks ago that WRC interrupted a badminton game on "Today" on July 1 to show Saddam Hussein's first appearance before an Iraqi court.

Now the sleuths at the Media Research Center -- an Alexandria group that investigates liberal bias in the press -- tell us that the station actually interrupted a "Today" interview with Robert Redford for its brief Saddam report.

• Call Chris Baker at 202/636-3139 or send e-mail to cbaker@washingtontimes.com.