 |
         
|
When Andrea Mitchell aired a soundbite from Haley Barbour in her NBC report on possible changes in the Electoral College system, it marked the seventh time in the past seven weeks that she used a clip from her own MSNBC program, Andrea Mitchell Reports. I observe this not to criticize but to note a new concept in video newsgathering -- instead of venturing out into the field to collect video and then subsequently going on air to broadcast her results, the on-air live interviews at lunchtime become her newsgathering, which she later edits into her day-end packages.
Islamists may be able to kick the dancing star Tata Waletanna and bandleader Moussa Mega out of the city of Gao, but they cannot make the music stop. CBS' Elizabeth Palmer proves it.
Just like ABC's David Kerley did on Thursday, Pierre Thomas did on Friday. Both peppered their packages with real-life smash-and-grab crime footage, via retail security cameras. Kerley showed us pharmacies; Thomas' Investigation showed us gun shops. Thomas estimated that more than a quarter of a million firearms are stolen each year, about 10% from stores, about 90% in home burglaries. His anchor Diane Sawyer translated this statistic thus in her misleading introduction: "A huge percentage of the guns out on the street are stolen." Thomas was more circumspect: "many," he said.
Remember that this week started with Inauguration Day? ABC reminded us with Jason Wu, its Person of the Week, who designed the First Lady's red Inaugural Ball gown. Of the seven stories filed this week by ABC on the inauguration, Diane Sawyer told us about the gown, David Wright about Beyonce, Cecilia Vega about the First Family. Only one, by Jonathan Karl was about the politics of the President's speech.
NBC, with its Rockefeller Center location and its Today show plaza, likes to style itself as a Big Apple tourist destination in its own right -- check out this Erica Hill package last month. So NBC's love for Broadway comes as no surprise: it aired 12 of the 24 features on the Great White Way in our database. Kristen Dahlgren on The Phantom of the Opera is the latest entrant. Yet it is a surprise that ABC, with its Good Morning America studio right on Times Square, is not just as boosterish.
How pathetic was the day's news agenda? CBS cross-promoted two separate segments on Sunday's 60 Minutes: Steve Kroft on Barack Obama and Scott Pelley on Lance Armstrong. They even roped in Bob Schieffer to try to justify the decision to publicize Kroft's profile as newsworthy.
You must be logged in to this website to leave a comment. Please click here to log in so you can participate in the discussion.
