MorningNews

I’m not even sure it has much to do with the target demo’s attention span. To me it simply boils down to, why would I watch this newscast for a recap of news that I’ve seen 5 hours ago? I’ve caught myself way too many times picking up my phone to find a news article that a newscast has just teased for after the break. TV network news did terrible at keeping up with the internet.

No.. NBC Nightly News was on a downward climb when Brian Williams was at the helm, ABC was becoming more competitive. Lester isn't going to be a scapegoat for an overall industry trend. Less and less people each year are tuning into the network evening newscasts. I myself haven't watched consistently like I used to in for the last 5 or so years. My parents and grandparents turn it off right after the local news wraps. 10-15 years ago the TV was tuned to KTRK Eyewitness News from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. then again at 10 p.m. for the late news, people just don't do that anymore.

What the heck is this all about - was your highlight reel rejected by the station? Seems like you have a personal vendetta more so than displeasure with the news product.

Just chiming in to say that I will always root against this show and all associated with it for the decision to dump Ann back in 2012. Especially when it was revealed that she suffered workplace bullying at the hands of Lauer and that fat ass executive producer.

Random but - Larry Potash is one of my favorite anchormen on television in any market. Love that guy.

Katie and Matt anchored the 9 A.M. hour for the first several years until about 2004-2005 when NBC introduced the idea of several Today anchors. It then became Ann and Al with a rotation of Campbell Brown, Natalie Morales and a few others. For the most part Katie and Matt still opened the hour and hung around for Ann’s update and Al’s weather but disappeared after the first commercial break. The show used to be so strong back then.

KHOU (CBS) in Houston has fired traffic reporter Darby Douglas for the second time. Darby was let go in 2009, brought back in 2014 and then let go again a few days ago. http://mikemcguff.blogspot.com/2018/06/darby-douglas-exits-khou-11.html

The 6 hour blocks of news on most Fox O&Os is insane. Not sure why KDFW would fix something that wasn’t broken. And how does Good Day Dallas work? Do Tim and Lauren anchor all 5 hours currently?

Lester Holt has been a favorite of mine since Weekend Today when he anchored with Campbell Brown. That was a good while ago and Lester still has the same charm and charismatic personality that made him a hit back then.

Did we ever find out if CBS is building a new set for EN or are they permanently in CTM’s spot?

Not sure what’s wrong with that. I’ve liked Jeff Glor for a really long time in the EN role, didn’t care for him much during his Early Show stints.

I don’t really get this - what was the point of cutting host and other personalities from the show if they were planning to expand? I love Robin and George but they canny carry the show alone with Michael for 3 hours. An expanding show to me is perfect reason for keeping at least Amy. Good Morning America seems to blunder these opportunities pretty bad especially compared to Today who had a great expansion plan in 2000 and again in 2007.

I’ve been wondering this same thing because almost every time I tune in Paula is filling in for Robin instead of Amy. However, almost every time including this week, I check social media and Amy is also on some foreign island enjoying vacation. I wish Amy was utilized more as she should be Robin’s replacement one day but I’m just really glad they’re not sticking Lara in the big chair.

I’d love to read this as them phasing Michael out and ending the experiment. But I think it almost just means Michael is officially at Robin and George’s level and acknowledging that their format is now a three anchor show. I was really supportive of the Michael decision at first but man was I wrong.

I'm all for having a thoughtful conversation about it, but there's simply nothing else to talk about. I disagree with you and your statement that the Red Carpet of an entertainment award show, which many people have negative feelings about this year, is an appropriate setting for a nightly newscast. If ABC wanted to broadcast from the LA bureau then fine, but the Red Carpet of the biggest circle jerk in existence - that's just in poor taste. Agree to disagree.

We’re not going to agree on this so I’m just going to walk away from the discussion. I don’t think it’s appropriate for World News Tonight to broadcast the newscast from the Red Carpet of a major entertainment show. They’ve never done the show from the Red Carpet and ABC has had the Oscars for decades now. It’s like tuning into E! News for election coverage or ESPN for a high speed chase. It’s in poor taste and I’m not looking to get my news of the day from someone standing on the Red Carpet. You are, so fine - we can disagree on that.

Fine. I haven't watched it since a few years ago after David came on board and changed the show's pace and style. I haven't heard great things since then so my bad for not watching myself. It just seemed like a joke to broadcast the show from the Oscars Red Carpet. This is a program about the world's event and the Oscars, especially the red carpet, is not the place for that in my opinion. I also said the show is a former shell of itself (when Peter Jennings averaged 15 million viewers nightly). I agreed with you that NBC shouldn't pack up and move everything to the Olympics so I'm not just bashing ABC, but the Oscars Red Carpet is just not the proper setting for a nightly world news summary.

The show has never broadcast from the red carpet and ABC has had the rights for the Academy since last century. The point being made is that ABC’s nightly newscast is a shell of its former self. One that used to be taken seriously and watched by about 6-8 million more people on average. Is NO ONE allowed to voice criticism and disappointment in the direction of a once globally renowned news network? Or are only the opinions that praise WNT or GMA acceptable?

Fair point. It’s never made sense to me that they do it either which is why I was a fan of Lester Holt returning to the states before the olympics ended. Also, I am not aware of if the show aired from LA today but it did yesterday.

For the first time in years that I can remember, Good Morning America did not broadcast the entire show from Hollywood this morning following last night’s Oscars.

The network’s flagship newscast should not be broadcasting from the red carpet of an entertainment award show especially when there is breaking news coming out of the White House. The show has completely lost its identity as an actual summary of the world’s most critical events of the day. The Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Dan Rather days were the last time these programs had any credibility - and they would not have anchored from a red carpet. I don’t understand how this is a complex thought.

Definitely agree - Diane, Charlie, Robin and Tony on weather was the greatest period for this show. The content was fresh and captivating. The team was genuinely one of the most natural and best to have ever done morning television.

Yeah I was surprised to see Lester in the NN studio earlier this week. Did he come back specifically for the mass shooting news out of Florida?

I continue to watch because I love the franchise and have been avid since Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson replaced Kevin Newman and Lisa McRee. The show still has very strong personalities that are some of the best to do it, my complaints have always centered around Michael Strahan and Lara Spencer. More specifically with the show’s constant attempts to portray them as the anchors we should take seriously. In my opinion, it’s an insult to Robin, George and Amy’s creditbility. The show is wretched now after the 7 a.m. hour and I have every right to voice my complaints about that as someone who has watched for over 20 years.

Good Morning America should be ashamed of themselves. They get a huge get with the first exclusive interview of the Florida shooters legal guardians and they let Michael Strahan conduct it. I’m never going to take him seriously, they should really stop trying to push him off as a serious journalist.