NBC Nightly News

[WAVY 10 Fan 232]

This caught me by surprise. Apparently, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams is losing viewers at an even faster rate than Katic at CBS.

 

http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56345

[ib-td 1]

I think all of the network anchors and newscasts are, for the most part, boring. Someone needs to get a little more innovative at NBC/ABC/CBS because the network newscasts are such a bore.

 

There it is...in a nutshell.

[alaskanews 108]

I think all of the network anchors and newscasts are, for the most part, boring. Someone needs to get a little more innovative at NBC/ABC/CBS because the network newscasts are such a bore.

 

they arent supposed to be exciting, they are supposed to be informative. i like that the nightly newscasts arent very tabloidish, although i have a soft spot for tabloid news, it gets old real fast when you dont get any information other than what paris hilton is doing and how many "news alert/breaking news" stingers you can cram in a minute. CBS tried to be innovative with the evening news and it went over like a lead balloon. the current format works, this new generation is just to A.D.D. to sit down and watch an informative news program

[mobilene 2]

Whatever happened to focusing on the fundamentals -- choosing important stories, doing good reporting, etc? Isn't that how it used to work? jim

[Andy B 0]

I think the openers sum up whats up with News, it's boring, slow paced! Other countries news is more modern [can't explain it well but it's less of a "at home" feeling] and contemporary.

 

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwb_z4GDsQU

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9N7lUki_aPc

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wdkEeRjKrWc

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cpe67yDdTo

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=csc-rzKeBX8

[10Viewer 319]

Yeah, something needs to change with the evening newscasts. I think if they made them an hour long and spread them out so they aren't competing with each other at the same time, I think that would be a start. For instance, have Nightly News from 6:30-7:30 PM but CBS Evening News would have their newscast from 10-11PM and ABC from 7-8PM each night.

 

The UK has very popular national newscasts that are concise and informative, while having a little bit of pizzaz to them. I think that's the direction the American networks should go.

[ThunderJay27 27]

So is the standard y'all are trying to get at is to make national news have a (and excuse the word here) "typical" local news feel such as KYW? Meaning a feel and look reserved more so for local news programs.

[10Viewer 319]

It's not "beyond ridiculous". Dan Rather himself suggested that CBS move its newscast to 10PM to be more competitive.

 

I think competing against each other at the same time each day may be causing the networks to shoot themselves in the foot.

 

Americans don't watch the national news at 6:30 like they did decades ago. And why are the newscasts still a half-hour long?? They should have changed that a long time ago.

 

However, I will add this. Television in general is quickly loosing its relevance. People are spending more time on the Internet because television just isn't fulfilling anymore. I know I hardly watch TV at all except for local/national news and the weather, pretty much. DVDs and video games are also part of the mix. And Cable pretty much sucks, too. People are tired of being hit with non-stop commercials and the ridiculous programming anymore.

[WXmanTim 88]

Here is the thing with European and Asian "national" newscasts: They're national only because the home country is relatively small. Comparing the tone and pacing of theirs to our national newscasts is comparing the proverbial "apples to oranges."

 

Yes, the BBC has "local" newscasts, tailored to the region, but they are only short cut-ins from what I've seen and are dropped, at the appropriate times, within the national broadcasts.

 

Additionally, the BBC controls all the licenses that broadcast its over-the-air channels, (as does, I believe, ITN/ITV (?)) while ours are, obvious to anyone on this board, owned and held by numerous individual companies, people, community groups and religious organizations. The network newscasts will never, permanently, adopt an hour-long format because these ownership groups would never permit it. For nearly 60 years they have had control of the 4:00pm - 6:30pm and 7:00-8:00 (ET) slot and will not give up the local ad-time for an additional half-hour of network news (except in special circumstances).

 

That being said, the US national newscasts are a relic of the pre-24-hour cable news channel past, but they are still watched. All three each - yes, even Katie's abysmal show - have more viewers than any one show on the four cable news nets during any daypart. The numbers may fluctuate back and forth more than they did in the past (think Walter Cronkite), but the viewers are still there.

 

Personally, though, I believe this to be the last generation of network news anchors. Taking longevity of the previous generation of news anchors into account, both Couric (50) and Williams (47) have at least a good twenty years before they would consider retirement (this is assuming Couric survives her ratings woes). ABC, on the other hand, likely has one last anchor change to go through, depending on how long Charles Gibson (64) stays at the helm of World News.

 

Once this generation of anchors approaches its end, the viewership will have decreased so dramatically as to make a national newscast economically undesirable and the networks will allow their affiliates to reclaim the half-hour. Instead, the networks might offer a five-to-ten minute "round-up" of the top world and national stories for insertion into the local newscasts (similar to what is currently offered on the radio by CBS's "World News Round-Up") or they might go the affiliate-service model and offer their a-list stories and reporters directly to the affiliates for a fee (instead of the b-list reporters they currently use). Both would allow them to maintain a news division and still adequately provide news to the morning shows, without the expense of producing a half-hour network newscast that has lost its ad base.

 

Just some thoughts.

[ThunderJay27 27]

So is the standard y'all are trying to get at is to make national news have a (and excuse the word here) "typical" local news feel such as KYW? Meaning a feel and look reserved more so for local news programs.

 

No, I mean, a national newscast multiple times a day, like in Europe. Ususally in Europe, the Noon program is the news, then human interest stuff, the Evening news is the general news, then some populist stuff, and the Nightly news at around 10 features in depth news and political review. I didn't mean that it would be a local newscast. I mean that there should be multiple newscasts, so they can focus more on specific things. It's more of a matter of content over flashyness. For example, Elizabeth Vargas would host the 1pm national news, Both Her and Charles Gibson at 6:30, and Charles gibson alone at the 10pm. Also, when I mean local news should be contained in the newscast, I mean like this:

Regional Open:

[yt=425,350][/yt]

 

Regional Close (different region)

[yt=425,350][/yt]

 

See? It works really well.

 

 

 

 

I wasn't talking about the time stuff. Personally, I like the local news throughout the day instead of national news. If you want national news throughout the day, catch Today until 10, tune over to the cable news networks, then Nightly at 6:30 est.

Anyway, I was talking about the comments made before yours about the quality, look, and feel of the potential "new generation" network nightly newscasts.