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As soon as the H1N1 swine 'flu virus started spreading from human to human in Mexico in 2009, there were an astonishing 195 separate reports on the networks' nightly newscasts in just nine months. It was the second most heavily covered story for that entire year. The H7N9 avian 'flu virus in Shanghai is so far spreading only bird-to-human, ABC's in-house physician Richard Besser reassured us. If it goes human-to-human, watch out.
There was a pair of big economic stories that NBC and CBS both covered with a correspondent each. ABC, under substitute anchor David Muir, assigned a correspondent to neither. This is true to form: so far this year, ABC has covered both unemployment and the federal budget less heavily than its rivals. NBC's Chuck Todd and CBS' Major Garrett both reported on Barack Obama's opening proposal on the FY14 budget from the White House (Todd's "heck to pay" was just too cute); March's discouraging jobs data were handled by CBS' Anthony Mason and NBC's Tom Costello. As for ABC's White House correspondent Jonathan Karl, he paid attention instead to the compliment that President Obama paid to Kamala Harris, California's Attorney General.
In a fit of cross-promotion for its sibling cable channels, NBC's Todd included an MSNBC soundbite, NBC's Costello quoted CNBC economist Steve Liesman, and NBC's Andrea Mitchell used two separate MSNBC programs for her coverage of the Kamala compliment. Mitchell could hardly keep a straight face as she dignified Mika Brzezinski's outrage on Morning Joe with a soundbite.
San Francisco's livery limousine smart-phone app producer Uber landed free publicity from CBS' Bill Whitaker for his coverage of H-1B visas.
CBS' closing On The Road feature by Steve Hartman was remarkable for his apt selection of a pair of fifth-graders as interview subjects, one blue, one gray. Meet salutin' Zev Flinchman and Johnny Reb Kloe Tucker. As for NBC's Coney Island closer: see Katy Tur and I am the Walrus.
ABC's Matt Gutman is hanging out on campus at the University of Miami. Professor Arlette Perry gave him a basketball soundbite Thursday. Now Professor Claudia Townsend opines on fast food marketing in a report that managed to compile clips from six separate Madison Avenue campaigns -- including one with a hirsute Jason Alexander. It is no surprise that it should be ABC's newscast that devotes a reporter to what is new at KFC. See how frequently fast food has appeared on ABC's radar in the last couple of years.
ABC keeps that basketball streak alive for a third straight day as substitute anchor David Muir travels to the Rutgers University campus to preview a 20/20 feature Losing It on anger mismanagement by adults in youth sports. He strung together ESPN footage of fired coach Mike Wise, plus a soundbite from a soccer referee on campus, plus a clip of child-hockey misbehavior, plus cross-promotion from ABC's Candid Camera-style series What Would You Do? It turned out that there was real news being made on the Rutgers campus, as the Athletic Director resigned. Muir covered the resignation (as did NBC's Anne Thompson, whose report was not posted online) but Muir did not bother to identify the AD by name.
Muir reappeared later for ABC's Person of the Week. DNA mapper Francis Collins was ABC's face of the Brain Initiative whereas CBS' Bill Plante chose Nobel laureate Eric Kandel. Collins' special appeal for Muir seemed to be that he had once joshed with Stephen Colbert on his eponymous Report on Comedy Central. Muir showed us a colorful computer animation from Harvard Medical School representing the firing of neurons in our three pounds of gray matter. Muir took the representation literally, stating that human brain activity is "more colorful than any computer." No it's not.
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