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TYNDALL HEADLINE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM APRIL 6, 2011
For the second straight day, the status of the federal budget was Story of the Day. All three newscasts outlined those inessential parts of the federal government that would cease operation if Congressional negotiators prove unable to arrive at a formula for funding the remainder of the fiscal year. Calling it a "government shutdown" is a misnomer since only 800K out of a total federal workforce of 4.4m (civilian and military) would be furloughed. NBC led with John Yang from its Chicago bureau, demonstrating that the Postal Service would continue to deliver; CBS, with substitute anchor Harry Smith, chose Nancy Cordes on Capitol Hill. ABC had Jake Tapper at the White House handle the shutdown preview, yet oddly it decided not to lead with major news, choosing a survey of motoring costs instead.
TYNDALL PICKS FOR APRIL 6, 2011: CLICK ON GRID ELEMENTS TO SEARCH FOR MATCHING ITEMS
BUDGET SHOWDOWN LOOMS, FAILS TO COMPEL ABC’S ATTENTION For the second straight day, the status of the federal budget was Story of the Day. All three newscasts outlined those inessential parts of the federal government that would cease operation if Congressional negotiators prove unable to arrive at a formula for funding the remainder of the fiscal year. Calling it a "government shutdown" is a misnomer since only 800K out of a total federal workforce of 4.4m (civilian and military) would be furloughed. NBC led with John Yang from its Chicago bureau, demonstrating that the Postal Service would continue to deliver; CBS, with substitute anchor Harry Smith, chose Nancy Cordes on Capitol Hill. ABC had Jake Tapper at the White House handle the shutdown preview, yet oddly it decided not to lead with major news, choosing a survey of motoring costs instead.
ABC's quixotic decision not to lead its newscast with the major news of the day is not an aberration. On four separate occasions in the last two weeks, ABC has kicked off counterintuitively, with a topic that was not breaking news, and was not considered newsworthy enough even to mention in passing on either of the other two newscasts. Besides Barbara Pinto's automotive package, ABC has led its agenda with Yunji de Nies on an antibiotic-resistant superbug in southern California nursing homes; with Steve Osunsami on unreinforced masonry buildings along Tennessee's New Madrid earthquake fault; and with David Muir on opinion poll results from a babyboomer-targeted Website on the depletion of that generation's nesteggs.
Now Barbara Pinto cites a survey by the AAA that adds all the costs of operating an automobile--gasoline, depreciation, insurance, maintenance, replacement tires--and comes up with an average of 59˘ per mile: motorists are responding by carpooling and telecommuting.
It turns out that ABC handled the federal budget showdown almost as intensively as its two rivals even as it downplayed the story in its pecking order. For ABC's follow-up, Good Morning America anchor George Stephanopoulos grabbed a sitdown with House Speaker John Boehner to ask him about his relations with the Tea Party. CBS used White House correspondent Chip Reid to cover the spin from the White House; while NBC Congressional correspondent Kelly O'Donnell introduced a montage of dueling soundbites from all points on the political spectrum. For political analysis, CBS turned to in-house expert John Dickerson while NBC had political director Chuck Todd run the numbers from his network's latest in-house opinion poll.
CHRISTIE GRABS SPOTLIGHT IN NYC’S BACK YARD A large part of ABC's newscast was devoted to anchor Diane Sawyer's trip to New Jersey for an extended profile of its soundbite-friendly Republican governor Chris Christie. NBC anchor Brian Williams made the same trip last fall, so it is CBS' turn to give Christie the spotlight next. Being so close to the nation's media center certainly helps his ability to attract attention. Sawyer stood up for her family's profession: mother and aunts are schoolteachers. "Listen. I do not want to get rid of tenure. I want to make it better," Christie promised. In the next exchange, the governor contradicted himself: "Tenure is failing our students…You have to prove yourself every day."
WEDNESDAY WISDOM Hey ABC! This is World News not GMA! Deborah Roberts on Hormone Replacement Therapy was the fourth piece on menopause in the last six weeks. What about Libya?
NBC's Stephanie Gosk was in Benghazi for more Mad Max-style battlefield footage: catch the rocket launcher on the pick-up truck…
…CBS' Elizabeth Palmer was in Tripoli for Moammar Khadafy's letter to "dear son, excellency" Barack Hussein abu-Oumama
His actions "outrageous"…his words "inflammatory"…his ratings "falling"--ABC's John Berman on Glenn Beck, shown the door at FOX News
Outrageous and inflammatory, NBC's double-self-promotion touted Meredith Vieira's interview on Today with billionaire Donald Trump: President Obama "may not have been born in this country"…
…Meanwhile Chuck Todd told us that NBC's own in-house poll had the Celebrity Apprentice star and almost-birther hard on Mitt Romney's heels in the GOP Campaign 2012 sweepstakes
On the snack food beat, NBC' Kevin Tibbles trumped Anthony Mason at CBS: Mason picked up on a hit on cable TV's Food Network to tout cupcakes…
…Tibbles found a professor of mathematics at the University of Chicago to present the formula for morphology of a Pringles chip
ABC's quixotic decision not to lead its newscast with the major news of the day is not an aberration. On four separate occasions in the last two weeks, ABC has kicked off counterintuitively, with a topic that was not breaking news, and was not considered newsworthy enough even to mention in passing on either of the other two newscasts. Besides Barbara Pinto's automotive package, ABC has led its agenda with Yunji de Nies on an antibiotic-resistant superbug in southern California nursing homes; with Steve Osunsami on unreinforced masonry buildings along Tennessee's New Madrid earthquake fault; and with David Muir on opinion poll results from a babyboomer-targeted Website on the depletion of that generation's nesteggs.
Now Barbara Pinto cites a survey by the AAA that adds all the costs of operating an automobile--gasoline, depreciation, insurance, maintenance, replacement tires--and comes up with an average of 59˘ per mile: motorists are responding by carpooling and telecommuting.
It turns out that ABC handled the federal budget showdown almost as intensively as its two rivals even as it downplayed the story in its pecking order. For ABC's follow-up, Good Morning America anchor George Stephanopoulos grabbed a sitdown with House Speaker John Boehner to ask him about his relations with the Tea Party. CBS used White House correspondent Chip Reid to cover the spin from the White House; while NBC Congressional correspondent Kelly O'Donnell introduced a montage of dueling soundbites from all points on the political spectrum. For political analysis, CBS turned to in-house expert John Dickerson while NBC had political director Chuck Todd run the numbers from his network's latest in-house opinion poll.
CHRISTIE GRABS SPOTLIGHT IN NYC’S BACK YARD A large part of ABC's newscast was devoted to anchor Diane Sawyer's trip to New Jersey for an extended profile of its soundbite-friendly Republican governor Chris Christie. NBC anchor Brian Williams made the same trip last fall, so it is CBS' turn to give Christie the spotlight next. Being so close to the nation's media center certainly helps his ability to attract attention. Sawyer stood up for her family's profession: mother and aunts are schoolteachers. "Listen. I do not want to get rid of tenure. I want to make it better," Christie promised. In the next exchange, the governor contradicted himself: "Tenure is failing our students…You have to prove yourself every day."
WEDNESDAY WISDOM Hey ABC! This is World News not GMA! Deborah Roberts on Hormone Replacement Therapy was the fourth piece on menopause in the last six weeks. What about Libya?
NBC's Stephanie Gosk was in Benghazi for more Mad Max-style battlefield footage: catch the rocket launcher on the pick-up truck…
…CBS' Elizabeth Palmer was in Tripoli for Moammar Khadafy's letter to "dear son, excellency" Barack Hussein abu-Oumama
His actions "outrageous"…his words "inflammatory"…his ratings "falling"--ABC's John Berman on Glenn Beck, shown the door at FOX News
Outrageous and inflammatory, NBC's double-self-promotion touted Meredith Vieira's interview on Today with billionaire Donald Trump: President Obama "may not have been born in this country"…
…Meanwhile Chuck Todd told us that NBC's own in-house poll had the Celebrity Apprentice star and almost-birther hard on Mitt Romney's heels in the GOP Campaign 2012 sweepstakes
On the snack food beat, NBC' Kevin Tibbles trumped Anthony Mason at CBS: Mason picked up on a hit on cable TV's Food Network to tout cupcakes…
…Tibbles found a professor of mathematics at the University of Chicago to present the formula for morphology of a Pringles chip
