CONTAINING LINKS TO 58103 STORIES FROM THE NETWORKS' NIGHTLY NEWSCASTS
TYNDALL DECADE IN REVIEW
TOP THIRTY STORIES OF DECADE 2000s

minsTotalABCCBSNBC
Iraq: war, invasion, combat6445196723292149
Israeli-Palestinian conflict2424754813857
Afghanistan fighting2372714931727
Hijacked jets attacks on 9/112339711761867
NYSE-NASDAQ market action1951516584851
Iraq: Saddam Hussein ousted1783612529643
Iraq: post-war reconstruction1745466452491
Hurricane Katrina on Gulf Coast1688441443804
Crude oil, gasoline prices1429462558409
Wild fires in western states1245402406437
Iraq: search for WMD arsenal1153402324427
2000 election count, recount1114330370415
Influenza: seasonal, swine strains1026313317397
Healthcare reform debate1024350370304
Economy recession, recovery1019318344357
2008 Barack Obama campaign860293290277
Winter weather842287267289
Airline anti-terrorism security811249259303
Automobile industry troubles797242262292
Unemployment trends789262264263
Domestic terrorism prevention788272230286
al-Qaeda network targeted714241230243
Osama bin Laden manhunt702228246228
Iraq: terrorist attacks on civilians687217234236
Israel-Hezbollah fight in Lebanon619188213218
Christmas holiday celebrations598166207225
Tornado season585207194184
2008 John McCain campaign579180180219
Enron Corporation bankruptcy546175179192
Financial industry TARP bailout533193167173
Total Top Thirty Stories39208121581295213764


FOCUS OF COVERAGE

minsTotalABCCBSNBC
US Foreign Policy22025709773457583
Federal Domestic Politics23636746976998464
Federal Electoral Politics10853342237393692
International (non-USFP)25337895681388244
National non-Political31856106661016411026
Regional-Local-Domestic3293398391200611087
Total Coverage146643474524909450096


Condoleezza Rice was the unsung Newsmaker of the Decade. As National Security Advisor she warned President George Bush in the summer of 2001 of the pending terrorist attacks of 9/11. As Secretary of State she failed to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace. She organized the Councils of War that decided on regime change in Iraq. The invasion and occupation that ensued were, by far and away, the decade’s top story.
NBC, whose anchor Brian Williams was in New Orleans when the floods came, committed itself to covering Hurricane Katrina. For NBC Katrina was almost as big a story as 9/11. The greatest global calamity was the Indonesian tsunami (416 min).
Barack Obama was not the top election story. That honor goes to the 2000 Bush-Gore race that was decided by the Supreme Court. As NBC’s late Tim Russert wrote: Florida, Florida, Florida. Al Gore also failed to convert the news agenda to covering climate change. Global warming attracted scant attention (354 min v 1429) compared with the cost of oil’s carbon based fossil fuels.
Major public policy debates: healthcare reform (1024 min), Medicare prescription drugs (456), illegal immigration (391), tax cuts (343), stem cells (296), gun control (221), gay marriage (212), Social Security privatization (211).
Scandals—Enron bankruptcy (546 min), Catholic pedophile priests (372), abu-Ghraib Prison (366), Valerie Plame (351)...Celebrities— Michael Jackson (378), Pope John Paul II (291), Arnold Schwarzenegger (239), Martha Stewart (224)...Overcovered—DC Beltway snipers (450), Terri Schiavo (188), anthrax spore letters (457), Elian Gonzalez (510).


TOP 20 MOST USED REPORTERS (Anchors excl)

networknameassignmentmins
NBCAndrea MitchellDiplomatic2416
NBCRobert BazellMedicine2328
NBCPete WilliamsJustice2280
CBSDavid MartinPentagon2096
NBCDavid GregoryWhite House2082
NBCLisa MyersCapitol/Investigative2069
CBSJim AxelrodWhite House1960
NBCJ.MiklaszewskiPentagon1829
NBCAnne ThompsonDom/Environment1758
CBSAnthony MasonEconomy1697
ABCDan HarrisDomestic1694
ABCMartha RaddatzPentagon1675
CBSJohn RobertsWhite House1602
ABC/CBSDean ReynoldsDomestic1527
ABCBetsy StarkEconomy1497
NBCRobert HagerDC Bureau1481
CBSByron PittsDomestic1463
ABCBrian RossInvestigative1461
ABCLisa StarkDC Bureau1445
CBSSharyl AttkissonDC Bureau1445