Comments on: Everybody Hates Brian

By: L-Ham

L-Ham — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 23:18:22 +0000

I think that the FCC deregulations in the 1980s undid that “serve the public good” business… I recall Tom Fenton ranting about that in his book “Bad News.”

By: rick

rick — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 17:49:41 +0000

Nate, I completely agree, but what if we eventually live in a world where there isn’t an evening news (which, honestly, seems far fetched in that the networks at the very least will continue with the model out of goodwill and their constitutional responsibility to “serve the public interest”), then where do we turn in times of crisis. The idea that we want to see a pro guiding us through troubled times is no doubt factual, but what if those times come and we simply don’t know the people on screen.

The way I see things working out is that the anchor becomes less a news reader and more involved in news deliver — which is already happening. It’s their face that introduces the various web-video clips and the like and more or less becomes the physical embodiment of a networks news division — whether or not we ever really see them doing actual journalism.

By: nate

nate — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:37:50 +0000

i think that while people aren’t watching charl(i)es gibson and brian williams, they still serve a purpose as our most trusted news sources. think about where people turn in a time of crisis. On september 11th I sat glued to Peter Jennings magnificent coverage rather than the cable stations. Nobody on cable can lend the right amount of respect, gravitas (without sensationalizing), and compassionate humanity (something that absolutely nobody on any of the cable stations brings to the table, because they’re all about finding a scapegoat as soon as possible) that the network anchors (maybe even katie, but i refuse to watch because her News Eyebrows scare me) exude. They comfort in a time of need instead of just reporting, and they let you know that you’re not alone in times of confusion. Without these few people, who do we feel we can trust in journalism anymore?

By: L-Ham

L-Ham — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 13:25:57 +0000

You’d be surprised at how profitable the evening news programs are, but they have been bleeding viewers for two decades so surely it won’t last forever.

If you do decide to tune in- I suggest you go with #1. 7.5 million total viewers and 2.5 million demo viewers can’t be wrong (note: lower numbers because it’s summer, in winter it tends to be more like 9 or 10 million, and can we talk about how messed up the ratings system is anyhow? really now…).