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The Senate Armed Services Committee may place Iran's nuclear ambitions high on its agenda. So does CBS. Its reporters account for 34 of the 66 packages in our database, which means that CBS covers this story as heavily as the other two newscasts put together. David Martin at the Pentagon files the latest update.
CBS also usually treats the threat of cyber-espionage -- coordinated global computer hacking -- as more pressing than its rivals do. Not this time: when Chinese hackers were accused of military-quality invasions of the systems at The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, it was NBC's Pete Williams who filed a story.
Cecilia Vega also ran with a story of newspaper security lapses, but hers was local not global, and low, not high, tech. ABC's Vega warned vacationing newspaper subscribers that the suspension of daily delivery during their absence can tip off burglars that the vacant home is an inviting target.
Thursday's newscasts offered three contrasting stories that exemplified the three distinct house styles of the three network newscasts. On ABC, Vega's package turned into service journalism -- so-called News You Can Use -- offering burglary prevention tips to householders, intercut with CCTV found-footage of real-life crimes in progress. A favorite format at CBS is the anecdotal personal profile, having a detailed individual description stand for an entire societal condition: see Jon LaPook meet Zac Pogliano as a portrayal of schizophrenia. NBC likes trend pieces and the education beat: so Rehema Ellis tells us about MOOCs. She preferred Coursera over Udacity or edX, and she gave a special plug to Professor Philip Zelikow's history course from the University of Virginia.
Yes, Beyonce Knowles did lip-synch the national anthem on Inauguration Day. The superstar turned her confession into a publicity stunt for her halftime show at the Super Bowl by singing The Star Spangled Banner live and a capella at an NFL Network press conference. All three newscasts complied with free publicity, although Chris Jansing's report was not posted online by NBC. The other two -- by ABC's Paula Faris and CBS' Mark Strassmann -- are streamed.
Beyonce's press conference was in New Orleans, where the game will be covered by CBS Sports. CBS' Strassmann attended the press conference. For the record his was the seventh report filed in the past four days by CBS with a New Orleans dateline, tantamount to cross-promotion for Sunday's coverage. ABC, too, joined in big game fever, with David Wright's round-up of famous, funny Super Bowl TV ads. His greatest hits are here.
The closing story of CBS' newscast by Seth Doane is the apotheosis of the type of feature that the network nightly newscasts have perfected. Take an abiding national treasure. Emphasize its visual splendor. Add tidbits of trivia. Personalize it, using an eccentric central character with a strong regional accent. Watch.
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