She's Got the 'Survivor' Beat   

Former cops reporter competes in TV reality show

To get a story, Tammy Leitner has entered burning buildings alongside training firefighters, tossed tires with a NASCAR pit crew--even spent time behind bars. But how far will the Mesa, Arizona, police reporter go for a million dollars? For that, you'll have to tune in to the latest incarnation of "Survivor," the "reality" TV show and former national craze.

With the show's mantra "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast," one might assume an intrepid newshound stands a good chance at snagging the purse. Alas, fans know the prerequisites on this show are more along the lines of a penchant to backstab, an ability to keep one's mouth shut no matter how jerky the other players get, and--most important--a high tolerance for starvation. Reporters' skills? Hmm.

The gist of the show is that 16 contestants of varying ages and backgrounds (though mostly good-looking) are plopped onto an exotic locale for 39 days, divided into "tribes," then left to compete against one another at various games, scrounge for food and deal with personalities cast to clash. Every few days, the tribes kick off a member. Last one standing's got the cash and a good 15 minutes in the limelight.

Leitner, who is forbidden from speaking to the press by a Fort Knox-of-a-CBS contract, is a solid bet for a strong finish, according to her fiancé, fellow East Valley Tribune reporter Michael Gossie--who unsuccessfully auditioned for "Survivor" a couple times. After all, he says, on the crime beat she eats liars, cheats and schemers for breakfast.

"As a journalist, her job is to observe people to try to get a read on things and sort out the truthful from the not-so-truthful," says Gossie, who met Leitner while both worked at Corning, New York's Leader. "This will help her tremendously."

Leitner, 29, quit the Tribune in October, saying she was going to write a book about a serial rape case she had been covering. But while the newsroom thought she was off researching the case, Leitner was "surviving" the Marquesas Islands in the South Pacific.

The real story out, especially since the show debuted in February, the Tribune is making the most of its brush with semi-celebrity. Besides the typical someone-from-here-is-on-the-show copy, the paper has spotlighted the buff Leitner's pre-show workout regime, spun food features on island cuisine and is even cosponsoring a contest with a local TV station in which people who predict the show's ultimate survivor can win a car. The winner is revealed on the final episode in May.

Though supposedly a game of brains and brawn, "Survivor" winners tend to have more wiles than muscles. Leitner, whose audition tape featured her whaling on a punching bag like it was an editor who inserted a mistake into her copy, is described, unequivocally, as tough. Really tough. Even with the gloves off.

Tribune Executive Editor Jim Ripley recalls a time when Leitner was most displeased by a decision he made on one of her stories. After letting her cool off awhile, he headed to her desk to offer the olive branch, teasingly put his fists up and asked Leitner if she wanted to duke it out. "She looked at me and said, 'You don't want to go there,' " Ripley says, laughing. "She is very tough."