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Former President Gerald Ford was buried at his Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, qualifying for Story of the Day for the sixth straight weekday since he died. Only ABC led with the funeral: CBS chose a follow-up from Baghdad to the execution of Saddam Hussein; NBC opted for the winter weather on the great plains. Yet all three networks were unanimous on how to close their newscasts. They showcased the heroism of Wesley Autrey in the New York City subway.

Autrey saw a fellow passenger suffer an epileptic seizure and fall off the platform. As a train approached, he jumped into the gutter between the rails on top of the fallen man, making sure that their arms were pinned by their sides clear of the oncoming wheels. Both men survived and all three networks produced computer-graphics animation to depict the danger.

ABC's David Muir (no link) went up to 137th Street in Harlem for a show-and-tell with Autrey himself: his network's animation showed the pair's feet facing the train and he estimated the depth of the gutter at a half-foot. CBS' graphics also showed them feet first and Steve Hartman called the clearance "exactly 21 inches." NBC's Rehema Ellis showed the men's heads pointing towards the train and had them surviving in a two-foot clearance.

"What better way to start off a New Year than save a life?" Autrey inquired of ABC's Muir (CBS' Hartman included the same soundbite, but was not personally on the scene).

Andrew Tyndall 1/4/07 10:20:21 pm

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