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TYNDALL HEADLINE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM JUNE 13, 2013
It's a tie! It turned out that the total time spent on the civil war in Syria by the three newscasts and on the Supreme Court decision about biotech patents was precisely the same: 8.6 minutes. None of the networks led with biotech, however, while both NBC, with substitute anchor Lester Holt, and CBS led with Syria. The leads break the tie so Syria is Story of the Day. ABC, which also had a substitute anchor, David Muir, decided to lead with the wildfires near Colorado Springs, making this the ninth weekday out of the last 14 on which ABC has led with wild nature. By contrast CBS has led with natural disasters three times out of the same 14, NBC four times.
TYNDALL PICKS FOR JUNE 13, 2013: CLICK ON GRID ELEMENTS TO SEARCH FOR MATCHING ITEMS
SYRIA & GENETICS DEADLOCKED It's a tie! It turned out that the total time spent on the civil war in Syria by the three newscasts and on the Supreme Court decision about biotech patents was precisely the same: 8.6 minutes. None of the networks led with biotech, however, while both NBC, with substitute anchor Lester Holt, and CBS led with Syria. The leads break the tie so Syria is Story of the Day. ABC, which also had a substitute anchor, David Muir, decided to lead with the wildfires near Colorado Springs, making this the ninth weekday out of the last 14 on which ABC has led with wild nature. By contrast CBS has led with natural disasters three times out of the same 14, NBC four times.
Ever since anchor Diane Sawyer arrived at World News from Good Morning America, ABC's evening newscast has been inflected with the tabloid, celebrity breeziness of morning fare. Terry Moran's coverage of the Supreme Court ruling, which rejected patents for the discovery of naturally-existing genetic material, inflected too far. Moran went way beyond dropping Angelina Jolie's name, since she had been a customer for the BRCA test that was the subject of the lawsuit. He actually made the story about her, including five different shots of Jolie's pulchritude on the red carpet.
Admittedly, NBC's Pete Williams used Jolie too, but compared with Moran, only in passing. On CBS, Jan Crawford told us that agribusiness patents for genetically-modified food survive the Court's ban and Anthony Mason followed up with the impact of the ruling on Amgen, Genentech, and GlaxoSmithKline. ABC's in-house physician Jennifer Ashton (at the tail of the Moran videostream) encouraged patients with BRCA cancer in the family to undergo the screening, patent or no patent.
All three White House correspondents covered the double-barreled news on Syria. The United States claims it has proof that the deaths of at least 100 out of the 90,000 killed in the civil war there were caused by the regime's limited use of Sarin nerve gas. Simultaneously, the Pentagon will supply some small arms to some opposition militias. NBC's Chuck Todd named the recipient as the Supreme Military Council, whatever that is. ABC's report was filed by Jonathan Karl, with an emphasis on the Sarin, downplaying the weapons. CBS' main report was filed from London by Clarissa Ward, with a recap of several now-slain rebels she had met during her reporting forays inside Syria, following Major Garrett's brief stand-up at the White House. Ward remembered Idlib: that extraordinary moustache, and the ambulance thief.
As for natural disasters, the Derecho that forecaster Ginger Zee predicted on Wednesday with her Virtual View from ABC's computer animators never materialized. NBC's Tom Costello and ABC's David Kerley filed on the eastward advance of an ordinary severe storm. The Weather Channel's Chris Warren forecast its eventual disappearance on NBC.
The wildfires, on the other hand, are burning near Colorado Springs with undiminished intensity. All three networks had a correspondent on the scene as the evacuation of 13,000 homes was ordered: NBC's Miguel Almaguer, ABC's Clayton Sandell, and CBS' Barry Petersen.
THURSDAY’S THOUGHTS The espionage at the National Security Agency, which had dominated headlines for the previous week, found itself with only one correspondent -- and even then ABC's Brian Ross was more interested in Edward Snowden, the confessed leaker of top secrets, than the cyberspooking itself. Ross was somewhat ad hominem against Snowden, likening him to the 70s-era's Philip Agee, calling him a high school dropout and a would-be male model, and finding a psychologist to diagnose self-absorbed egotism.
There is an organization called the Authentics Foundation, which is trying to crack down on the street trade for Big Apple tourists in knock-off Louis Vuitton, Tony Burch, Coach, Burberry, Ferragamo. ABC's Linsey Davis gave free publicity to Valerie Salembier, the well-dressed matron who insists on authenticity -- and passed on tips about where the LV logo should be if you want your counterfeit to look like the genuine article.
I noted on Wednesday that CBS, alone of the three newscasts, has followed the prosecution of mobster-turned-FBI-informant James Whitey Bulger for reverting to racketeering. Now Carter Evans adds one more chapter, including publicity for Dick Lehr's book Whitey. When Bulger was living incognito at the Princess Eugenia apartments in Santa Monica under the name Charlie Gasko, he befriended a neighbor, who eventually ratted him out. The neighbor's name was Bond -- Josh Bond.
Last week CBS' Seth Doane brought us the case of Blaec Lammers, a mentally-ill 21-year-old, who was able to purchase an arsenal of firearms, background check and all, because his diagnosis had not involved his being involuntarily committed to an institution. Lammers' parents had to organize for their own son to be arrested. Now CBS' Manuel Bojorquez brings us the case of Nhan Tran, a mentally-ill 34-year-old, who is so enraged by the sound of passing cars that he shoots bullets at them. He was able to purchase his gun, background check and all, because his diagnosis had not involved his being involuntarily committed to an institution. This February, one of Tran's bullets went through an SUV window and killed Devin Aryal, aged nine.
Speaking of ill mental health, if you are a babyboomer and you are going demented -- losing your empathy, changing your personality, shedding your inhibitions, rarely speaking, moving compulsively -- you might not be getting Alzheimer's Disease, NBC's Robert Bazell reassured us. Well, reassuring it was not. This incurable dementia may be frontal temporal instead. You will end up institutionalized, overweight, and dead within years.
I told you ABC was celebrity oriented. It was the only newscast to find the journey to Splitsville by Rupert Murdoch, the tabloid newspapermen and media mogul, newsworthy. In what way did Rebecca Jarvis find his soon-to-be-ex-wife Wendi newsworthy? She was the woman in pink who foiled the cream pie thrower.
Two good-news education stories to close NBC's newscast in two days: Wednesday's Education Nation saw Rehema Ellis at the above-average Annapolis High School in Maryland; now John Yang's Making a Difference brings us the graduating high school seniors of Kalamazoo, where every single one is eligible for a scholarship to a state college. The Kalamazoo Promise was featured on CBS, back when Katie Couric was anchor, six years ago.
Get your shoes shined in Pittsburgh and you may be helping uninsured pediatric hospital patients pay for surgery. Byron Pitts explained that it will only happen if you tip well. That is America Strong on ABC.
Ever since anchor Diane Sawyer arrived at World News from Good Morning America, ABC's evening newscast has been inflected with the tabloid, celebrity breeziness of morning fare. Terry Moran's coverage of the Supreme Court ruling, which rejected patents for the discovery of naturally-existing genetic material, inflected too far. Moran went way beyond dropping Angelina Jolie's name, since she had been a customer for the BRCA test that was the subject of the lawsuit. He actually made the story about her, including five different shots of Jolie's pulchritude on the red carpet.
Admittedly, NBC's Pete Williams used Jolie too, but compared with Moran, only in passing. On CBS, Jan Crawford told us that agribusiness patents for genetically-modified food survive the Court's ban and Anthony Mason followed up with the impact of the ruling on Amgen, Genentech, and GlaxoSmithKline. ABC's in-house physician Jennifer Ashton (at the tail of the Moran videostream) encouraged patients with BRCA cancer in the family to undergo the screening, patent or no patent.
All three White House correspondents covered the double-barreled news on Syria. The United States claims it has proof that the deaths of at least 100 out of the 90,000 killed in the civil war there were caused by the regime's limited use of Sarin nerve gas. Simultaneously, the Pentagon will supply some small arms to some opposition militias. NBC's Chuck Todd named the recipient as the Supreme Military Council, whatever that is. ABC's report was filed by Jonathan Karl, with an emphasis on the Sarin, downplaying the weapons. CBS' main report was filed from London by Clarissa Ward, with a recap of several now-slain rebels she had met during her reporting forays inside Syria, following Major Garrett's brief stand-up at the White House. Ward remembered Idlib: that extraordinary moustache, and the ambulance thief.
As for natural disasters, the Derecho that forecaster Ginger Zee predicted on Wednesday with her Virtual View from ABC's computer animators never materialized. NBC's Tom Costello and ABC's David Kerley filed on the eastward advance of an ordinary severe storm. The Weather Channel's Chris Warren forecast its eventual disappearance on NBC.
The wildfires, on the other hand, are burning near Colorado Springs with undiminished intensity. All three networks had a correspondent on the scene as the evacuation of 13,000 homes was ordered: NBC's Miguel Almaguer, ABC's Clayton Sandell, and CBS' Barry Petersen.
THURSDAY’S THOUGHTS The espionage at the National Security Agency, which had dominated headlines for the previous week, found itself with only one correspondent -- and even then ABC's Brian Ross was more interested in Edward Snowden, the confessed leaker of top secrets, than the cyberspooking itself. Ross was somewhat ad hominem against Snowden, likening him to the 70s-era's Philip Agee, calling him a high school dropout and a would-be male model, and finding a psychologist to diagnose self-absorbed egotism.
There is an organization called the Authentics Foundation, which is trying to crack down on the street trade for Big Apple tourists in knock-off Louis Vuitton, Tony Burch, Coach, Burberry, Ferragamo. ABC's Linsey Davis gave free publicity to Valerie Salembier, the well-dressed matron who insists on authenticity -- and passed on tips about where the LV logo should be if you want your counterfeit to look like the genuine article.
I noted on Wednesday that CBS, alone of the three newscasts, has followed the prosecution of mobster-turned-FBI-informant James Whitey Bulger for reverting to racketeering. Now Carter Evans adds one more chapter, including publicity for Dick Lehr's book Whitey. When Bulger was living incognito at the Princess Eugenia apartments in Santa Monica under the name Charlie Gasko, he befriended a neighbor, who eventually ratted him out. The neighbor's name was Bond -- Josh Bond.
Last week CBS' Seth Doane brought us the case of Blaec Lammers, a mentally-ill 21-year-old, who was able to purchase an arsenal of firearms, background check and all, because his diagnosis had not involved his being involuntarily committed to an institution. Lammers' parents had to organize for their own son to be arrested. Now CBS' Manuel Bojorquez brings us the case of Nhan Tran, a mentally-ill 34-year-old, who is so enraged by the sound of passing cars that he shoots bullets at them. He was able to purchase his gun, background check and all, because his diagnosis had not involved his being involuntarily committed to an institution. This February, one of Tran's bullets went through an SUV window and killed Devin Aryal, aged nine.
Speaking of ill mental health, if you are a babyboomer and you are going demented -- losing your empathy, changing your personality, shedding your inhibitions, rarely speaking, moving compulsively -- you might not be getting Alzheimer's Disease, NBC's Robert Bazell reassured us. Well, reassuring it was not. This incurable dementia may be frontal temporal instead. You will end up institutionalized, overweight, and dead within years.
I told you ABC was celebrity oriented. It was the only newscast to find the journey to Splitsville by Rupert Murdoch, the tabloid newspapermen and media mogul, newsworthy. In what way did Rebecca Jarvis find his soon-to-be-ex-wife Wendi newsworthy? She was the woman in pink who foiled the cream pie thrower.
Two good-news education stories to close NBC's newscast in two days: Wednesday's Education Nation saw Rehema Ellis at the above-average Annapolis High School in Maryland; now John Yang's Making a Difference brings us the graduating high school seniors of Kalamazoo, where every single one is eligible for a scholarship to a state college. The Kalamazoo Promise was featured on CBS, back when Katie Couric was anchor, six years ago.
Get your shoes shined in Pittsburgh and you may be helping uninsured pediatric hospital patients pay for surgery. Byron Pitts explained that it will only happen if you tip well. That is America Strong on ABC.
