simmytbone
09-02-2014, 02:54 AM
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/anchors-bring-new-era-network-stability-article-1.1922051
Network anchors Brian Williams, Scott Pelley and David Muir could bolster evening news stability
Nightly reports continue to hold sway at news divisions, and current trio may someday rival an earlier Big Three
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS / Tuesday, September 2, 2014, 2:00 AM
With David Muir taking the anchor seat at “ABC World News,” the pieces could be in place for another Big Three era in broadcast network nightly news.
It’s not a lock. Nothing is a lock in the media news game, as David Gregory can attest after getting bounced from “Meet the Press.”
But it’s also possible we could be looking at a stretch of broadcast evening news anchor stability — an echo, if not an exact replica, of the extraordinary two decades when it was Dan Rather at CBS, Peter Jennings at ABC and Tom Brokaw at NBC.
Muir will contend with Brian Williams at “NBC Nightly News” and Scott Pelley at “CBS Evening News,” and all three seem solid.
While it’s obviously too soon to judge Muir’s tenure, he has been Diane Sawyer’s regular sub for some time. Like Williams and Pelley, he worked his way up through his network’s news division and by all accounts is well-respected.
@ 40, Muir is the youngest of the three. But Pelley, at 57, and Williams, at 55, could stay in those seats for at least another decade if they are so inclined.
It also has to be noted that they are three white guys — which is no reflection on them, but does bring anchoring back to one of the more undeniable traditions of network television news.
However sincere the many diversity efforts in media, white men remain the comfort zone.
Sawyer, who stepped down from the ABC anchor seat voluntarily last week, was arguably the first woman network evening news anchor whose tenure sparked no side issues. She created few headlines and raised the show’s ratings.
Barbara Walters, Connie Chung and Katie Couric were not so fortunate, for some reasons they might have controlled and some they could not.
A major part of the problem going forward remains this: While all the networks have some terrific women journalists, they remain outnumbered. For reasons rooted more in the sociology of America than official corporate policies, it’s harder for women to get on the fast track and therefore be in the queue when openings arise.
In any case, diversity probably isn’t a big concern for most viewers when they decide whether to watch the network evening news.
As TV reports have expanded and alternate sources of news have exploded, fewer are watching.
In 1980, ABC, NBC and CBS averaged 42.3 million total viewers a night. Two weeks ago, their combined average was 21.9 million, or just about half of 1980.
But numbers are tricky. It’s also true that over the last 10 years, since 2004, the evening newscast audience has risen 5%-10%.
“When we get news 24 hours a day, I think people need the evening newscast more than ever,” says Muir — because it can take that stream of information, pause briefly and make sense of it by explaining what it means.
The networks all say that’s the mission of their news divisions, and it helps when viewers know and can get to trust the anchors who are delivering it.
That doesn’t mean broadcast evening news had an all-golden era from 1983, when Jennings completed the original Big Three, until 2004, when Brokaw ended the period by stepping down.
The 50% viewership decline occurred during those years. Right in the middle, 1993 to 1995, CBS tried to boost Rather’s show by having Chung co-anchor it.
Many factors could derail Muir, Pelley and Williams in years ahead, from unforeseen health issues to a crisis of demographics. Evening news viewership tilts toward old, which is never TV’s preference.
But things don’t always break bad, and it’s just possible that in the mercurial world of media, we might have some stable elements.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb296/tnawrestlingfan/tnaimpactwrestlingfan/tv-cbs-pelley_zpsb5418ee8.jpg
Scott Pelley directs the ‘CBS Evening News.’
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb296/tnawrestlingfan/tnaimpactwrestlingfan/big2tvf-2-web_zps10fad383.jpg
Brian Williams continues to anchor NBC’s report.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb296/tnawrestlingfan/tnaimpactwrestlingfan/big2tvf-1-web_zpsf8cf3fee.jpg
ABC’s new anchor, David Muir, will be the youngest of the big three.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb296/tnawrestlingfan/tnaimpactwrestlingfan/2992953ea173-brokaw_zps7028a929.jpg
An earlier era of network news competition was presided over by (from l.) Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather.
credit: nydailynews.com
Network anchors Brian Williams, Scott Pelley and David Muir could bolster evening news stability
Nightly reports continue to hold sway at news divisions, and current trio may someday rival an earlier Big Three
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS / Tuesday, September 2, 2014, 2:00 AM
With David Muir taking the anchor seat at “ABC World News,” the pieces could be in place for another Big Three era in broadcast network nightly news.
It’s not a lock. Nothing is a lock in the media news game, as David Gregory can attest after getting bounced from “Meet the Press.”
But it’s also possible we could be looking at a stretch of broadcast evening news anchor stability — an echo, if not an exact replica, of the extraordinary two decades when it was Dan Rather at CBS, Peter Jennings at ABC and Tom Brokaw at NBC.
Muir will contend with Brian Williams at “NBC Nightly News” and Scott Pelley at “CBS Evening News,” and all three seem solid.
While it’s obviously too soon to judge Muir’s tenure, he has been Diane Sawyer’s regular sub for some time. Like Williams and Pelley, he worked his way up through his network’s news division and by all accounts is well-respected.
@ 40, Muir is the youngest of the three. But Pelley, at 57, and Williams, at 55, could stay in those seats for at least another decade if they are so inclined.
It also has to be noted that they are three white guys — which is no reflection on them, but does bring anchoring back to one of the more undeniable traditions of network television news.
However sincere the many diversity efforts in media, white men remain the comfort zone.
Sawyer, who stepped down from the ABC anchor seat voluntarily last week, was arguably the first woman network evening news anchor whose tenure sparked no side issues. She created few headlines and raised the show’s ratings.
Barbara Walters, Connie Chung and Katie Couric were not so fortunate, for some reasons they might have controlled and some they could not.
A major part of the problem going forward remains this: While all the networks have some terrific women journalists, they remain outnumbered. For reasons rooted more in the sociology of America than official corporate policies, it’s harder for women to get on the fast track and therefore be in the queue when openings arise.
In any case, diversity probably isn’t a big concern for most viewers when they decide whether to watch the network evening news.
As TV reports have expanded and alternate sources of news have exploded, fewer are watching.
In 1980, ABC, NBC and CBS averaged 42.3 million total viewers a night. Two weeks ago, their combined average was 21.9 million, or just about half of 1980.
But numbers are tricky. It’s also true that over the last 10 years, since 2004, the evening newscast audience has risen 5%-10%.
“When we get news 24 hours a day, I think people need the evening newscast more than ever,” says Muir — because it can take that stream of information, pause briefly and make sense of it by explaining what it means.
The networks all say that’s the mission of their news divisions, and it helps when viewers know and can get to trust the anchors who are delivering it.
That doesn’t mean broadcast evening news had an all-golden era from 1983, when Jennings completed the original Big Three, until 2004, when Brokaw ended the period by stepping down.
The 50% viewership decline occurred during those years. Right in the middle, 1993 to 1995, CBS tried to boost Rather’s show by having Chung co-anchor it.
Many factors could derail Muir, Pelley and Williams in years ahead, from unforeseen health issues to a crisis of demographics. Evening news viewership tilts toward old, which is never TV’s preference.
But things don’t always break bad, and it’s just possible that in the mercurial world of media, we might have some stable elements.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb296/tnawrestlingfan/tnaimpactwrestlingfan/tv-cbs-pelley_zpsb5418ee8.jpg
Scott Pelley directs the ‘CBS Evening News.’
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb296/tnawrestlingfan/tnaimpactwrestlingfan/big2tvf-2-web_zps10fad383.jpg
Brian Williams continues to anchor NBC’s report.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb296/tnawrestlingfan/tnaimpactwrestlingfan/big2tvf-1-web_zpsf8cf3fee.jpg
ABC’s new anchor, David Muir, will be the youngest of the big three.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb296/tnawrestlingfan/tnaimpactwrestlingfan/2992953ea173-brokaw_zps7028a929.jpg
An earlier era of network news competition was presided over by (from l.) Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather.
credit: nydailynews.com