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TYNDALL HEADLINE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM APRIL 26, 2013
The two-week-long domination of the news agenda by the Boston Marathon bombings is finally starting to crack. Sure enough the investigation into the bombings was Story of the Day yet again, completing a clean sweep of the week, but only ABC selected it as its lead, with Linsey Davis offering a hat tip to the scoop by the Boston Globe's Eric Moskowitz. ABC's newscast was anchored by substitute David Muir. Elsewhere, CBS and NBC both acted true to form. CBS, which has specialized on the conflict in Syria from its inception, kicked off from the Pentagon with David Martin. NBC, which has covered the disruption to airline travel every day this week, assigned Tom Costello to lead with the vote to end the FAA's furloughs of air traffic controlers.
TYNDALL PICKS FOR APRIL 26, 2013: CLICK ON GRID ELEMENTS TO SEARCH FOR MATCHING ITEMS
BOSTON MARATHON IS RUNNING OUT THE STRING The two-week-long domination of the news agenda by the Boston Marathon bombings is finally starting to crack. Sure enough the investigation into the bombings was Story of the Day yet again, completing a clean sweep of the week, but only ABC selected it as its lead, with Linsey Davis offering a hat tip to the scoop by the Boston Globe's Eric Moskowitz. ABC's newscast was anchored by substitute David Muir. Elsewhere, CBS and NBC both acted true to form. CBS, which has specialized on the conflict in Syria from its inception, kicked off from the Pentagon with David Martin. NBC, which has covered the disruption to airline travel every day this week, assigned Tom Costello to lead with the vote to end the FAA's furloughs of air traffic controlers.
The scoop by the Globe's Moskowitz was to sit down with the Cambridge motorist whose SUV was allegedly carjacked by the Brothers Tsarnaev en route to their fatal shootout in Watertown. ABC's Davis did not get to sit down with the 26-year-old motorist, or even to learn his name, but she did get Moskowitz to tell her the story of kidnapping and escape that "Danny" had told him. On NBC, investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff recounted the same story, also second hand, but his source was not a journalist at the Globe but Professor James Alan Fox, criminologist at Northeastern.
You can see how the momentum of the Boston story is petering out. Both CBS and NBC filed features on amputees in hospital. NBC's Katy Tur brought us disabled military veterans from the Semper Fi Fund Making a Difference by counseling their fellow legless. CBS' Don Dahler had Heather Abbott explain how she coped with making her decision in the orthopedic "gray zone."
And to demonstrate just how close to the bottom of the barrel this story has come, look at ABC's coverage. First, Matt Gutman was assigned to file a preview for 20/20's hourlong primetime social psychology survey In An Instant, which examines how humans behave in crowds such as -- oh, I don't know -- spectators watching a pair of bombs explode at the end of a marathon. Then substitute anchor David Muir tried to give us all an earworm for the weekend by designating Neil Diamond as his network's Person of the Week for serenading New England with that Fenway Park anthem.
FRIDAY’S FINDINGS The Syria story almost qualified for top spot. Following Thursday's announcement by Secretary Chuck Hagel that his spies had picked up non-dispositive evidence that a small amount of Sarin nerve gas had been used in the civil war there, both NBC and ABC filed a follow-up from the White House. ABC's Jonathan Karl explained that the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad had produced video evidence to bolster their allegation. NBC's Chuck Todd replayed President Barack Obama's soundbite of concern, "with a lot of caveats." On CBS, David Martin from the Pentagon outlined the burden of proof that is required of the evidence and Holly Williams from Istanbul introduced us to Ghassan Hitto, the Texas resident who is now opposition Prime Minister in exile.
NBC's Tom Costello and ABC's David Kerley were both stationed at Reagan National Airport, to signify that what was at stake in the dispute about budget cuts at the Federal Aviation Administration was the disruptions to airline travel. CBS covered the same issue from Capitol Hill with Nancy Cordes, to signify that what was at stake was the indiscriminate cuts leveled by the budget sequester: Cordes cited programs such as Head Start and Meals on Wheels and WIC nutrition that have failed to attract the attention that Congress -- and, let's face it, NBC too -- lavished on the FAA.
Members of Congress and network news correspondents are among the most frequent of flyers.
CBS stuck to economic bread and butter. Not only did Cordes, alone, treat the FAA cuts as a budget story, Anthony Mason, was also alone in being assigned the quarterly macro-economic growth statistics, as recorded by the Gross Domestic Product. So far this year, CBS has covered the federal budget almost as much as NBC and ABC combined; since the start of last year, CBS has covered the recovery from the recession more than NBC and ABC combined.
No network has sent a reporter all week long to Bangladesh to cover the sweatshop factory collapse that has killed 200 apparel workers. ABC at least made a gesture, by having Muhammad Lila in Islamabad narrate some video from the scene.
The explanation by CBS' in-house physician Jon LaPook about biotech research into betatrophin, complete with his network's computer animation of how the pancreas works, was eyeopening. The hormone may eventually lead to medication that will end a diabetic's reliance on insulin shots. Dr LaPook told us that Douglas Melton runs the experiment that tests the hormone. Too bad that he could not get around to mentioning where Dr Melton and his laboratory mice can be found.
ABC's substitute anchor David Muir really does seem to have earworms in his brain. He not only assigned himself to string together all those Sweet Caroline singalongs, he also assigned himself to the George Jones obituary. Anchor Scott Pelley handled the same chores on CBS, only his Jones obit is not posted online. NBC's is, via Janet Shamlian.
Check out Anne Thompson standing next to Shell Oil's dumptruck wheels in Alberta on NBC.
The scoop by the Globe's Moskowitz was to sit down with the Cambridge motorist whose SUV was allegedly carjacked by the Brothers Tsarnaev en route to their fatal shootout in Watertown. ABC's Davis did not get to sit down with the 26-year-old motorist, or even to learn his name, but she did get Moskowitz to tell her the story of kidnapping and escape that "Danny" had told him. On NBC, investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff recounted the same story, also second hand, but his source was not a journalist at the Globe but Professor James Alan Fox, criminologist at Northeastern.
You can see how the momentum of the Boston story is petering out. Both CBS and NBC filed features on amputees in hospital. NBC's Katy Tur brought us disabled military veterans from the Semper Fi Fund Making a Difference by counseling their fellow legless. CBS' Don Dahler had Heather Abbott explain how she coped with making her decision in the orthopedic "gray zone."
And to demonstrate just how close to the bottom of the barrel this story has come, look at ABC's coverage. First, Matt Gutman was assigned to file a preview for 20/20's hourlong primetime social psychology survey In An Instant, which examines how humans behave in crowds such as -- oh, I don't know -- spectators watching a pair of bombs explode at the end of a marathon. Then substitute anchor David Muir tried to give us all an earworm for the weekend by designating Neil Diamond as his network's Person of the Week for serenading New England with that Fenway Park anthem.
FRIDAY’S FINDINGS The Syria story almost qualified for top spot. Following Thursday's announcement by Secretary Chuck Hagel that his spies had picked up non-dispositive evidence that a small amount of Sarin nerve gas had been used in the civil war there, both NBC and ABC filed a follow-up from the White House. ABC's Jonathan Karl explained that the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad had produced video evidence to bolster their allegation. NBC's Chuck Todd replayed President Barack Obama's soundbite of concern, "with a lot of caveats." On CBS, David Martin from the Pentagon outlined the burden of proof that is required of the evidence and Holly Williams from Istanbul introduced us to Ghassan Hitto, the Texas resident who is now opposition Prime Minister in exile.
NBC's Tom Costello and ABC's David Kerley were both stationed at Reagan National Airport, to signify that what was at stake in the dispute about budget cuts at the Federal Aviation Administration was the disruptions to airline travel. CBS covered the same issue from Capitol Hill with Nancy Cordes, to signify that what was at stake was the indiscriminate cuts leveled by the budget sequester: Cordes cited programs such as Head Start and Meals on Wheels and WIC nutrition that have failed to attract the attention that Congress -- and, let's face it, NBC too -- lavished on the FAA.
Members of Congress and network news correspondents are among the most frequent of flyers.
CBS stuck to economic bread and butter. Not only did Cordes, alone, treat the FAA cuts as a budget story, Anthony Mason, was also alone in being assigned the quarterly macro-economic growth statistics, as recorded by the Gross Domestic Product. So far this year, CBS has covered the federal budget almost as much as NBC and ABC combined; since the start of last year, CBS has covered the recovery from the recession more than NBC and ABC combined.
No network has sent a reporter all week long to Bangladesh to cover the sweatshop factory collapse that has killed 200 apparel workers. ABC at least made a gesture, by having Muhammad Lila in Islamabad narrate some video from the scene.
The explanation by CBS' in-house physician Jon LaPook about biotech research into betatrophin, complete with his network's computer animation of how the pancreas works, was eyeopening. The hormone may eventually lead to medication that will end a diabetic's reliance on insulin shots. Dr LaPook told us that Douglas Melton runs the experiment that tests the hormone. Too bad that he could not get around to mentioning where Dr Melton and his laboratory mice can be found.
ABC's substitute anchor David Muir really does seem to have earworms in his brain. He not only assigned himself to string together all those Sweet Caroline singalongs, he also assigned himself to the George Jones obituary. Anchor Scott Pelley handled the same chores on CBS, only his Jones obit is not posted online. NBC's is, via Janet Shamlian.
Check out Anne Thompson standing next to Shell Oil's dumptruck wheels in Alberta on NBC.
